Michigan State c/o 2020 Applicants

[lilylilac]

Those seem more like open-ended topics than prompts. Is the phrasing on the supplemental actually identical?
Although I mean, at least they express that they want to know how it will make you a better veterinarian. That does give me something.

Those prompts were pretty much what was on the supplemental this year, with emphasis on how xyz will make you a better veterinarian

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[finnickthedog]

Those prompts were pretty much what was on the supplemental this year, with emphasis on how xyz will make you a better veterinarian

And is it 900 characters? I keep forgetting.

900 characters + relatively open ended prompt does not sound like fun.
And yet I'm pretty excited to (eventually) get the supplemental

 

[pinkpuppy9]

And is it 900 characters? I keep forgetting.

900 characters + relatively open ended prompt does not sound like fun.
And yet I'm pretty excited to (eventually) get the supplemental

That sounds write. Just remember to bring to the table what you have to offer in each category, and explain why it will make you a better veterinarian.

It was really hard for me, too. I don't have much agricultural experience so that particular essay left me cringing haha.

 

[lilylilac]

And is it 900 characters? I keep forgetting.

900 characters + relatively open ended prompt does not sound like fun.
And yet I'm pretty excited to (eventually) get the supplemental

Yep, 900 characters which also includes spaces if I remember correctly

 

[finnickthedog]

That sounds write. Just remember to bring to the table what you have to offer in each category, and explain why it will make you a better veterinarian.

It was really hard for me, too. I don't have much agricultural experience so that particular essay left me cringing haha.

Haha, yeah my food animal/agriculture experience is basically... I went sheep herding a handful of times. Definitely not exceptional, but I'm gonna try to sell it anyways. I can see myself cringing already.

That's one of the things I'm really going to try to build over the next year. My grades aren't going to change much between this cycle and the next one because I'm graduating and I want to take the winter semester off to decide if I even want to pursue an advanced degree. I figure since they have a whole category devoted to food animal, that's going to be the area to hit hard. *shrug*

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Haha, yeah my food animal/agriculture experience is basically... I went sheep herding a handful of times. Definitely not exceptional, but I'm gonna try to sell it anyways. I can see myself cringing already.

That's one of the things I'm really going to try to build over the next year. My grades aren't going to change much between this cycle and the next one because I'm graduating and I want to take the winter semester off to decide if I even want to pursue an advanced degree. I figure since they have a whole category devoted to food animal, that's going to be the area to hit hard. *shrug*

There is no next cycle. You will get in this cycle. Repeat 20 times.

 

[Felixor90]

I would be curious to know... I am going to call Tuesday. It just seems as though, if they interviewed everyone with an SIS score above 790 (prior to the supplemental/ file review points) they would 1. be interviewing a TON of candidates and 2. would send out interview invites when they do the supplemental considering you have to have a 790 just to received that....

Who knows! Ill try to get some answers

Funny that you question it, because @pinkpuppy9 said the exact same thing last year, but yes they really do mean it. If your SIS is above 790, you get an interview. Remember that last year was their first time doing interviews so I'm guessing they wanted to get a large pool to be the guinea pigs. They might increase the minimum this year or they might want a second round of guinea pigs. I called last year and they were pretty up front with how they select for interviews, so you shouldn't have a hard time getting a precise answer from them on whether the minimum has changed.

So I'm pretty sure they had around 400 interviewees last year, and Felix can correct me if I'm wrong there! I had a hard time believing it was anyone above 790 that got interviewed but I think that's definitely true. They seemed pretty organized about the entire thing honestly so I wouldn't be too stressed about those numbers.

The original number we heard was 420, but when we asked during the interview debriefing, they said the final number was somewhere around 460, but I can't remember the exact number. And I agree that they handled it perfectly. Everything was scheduled well and I didn't feel lost in the crowd like with some other schools.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Funny that you question it, because @pinkpuppy9 said the exact same thing last year, but yes they really do mean it. If your SIS is above 790, you get an interview. Remember that last year was their first time doing interviews so I'm guessing they wanted to get a large pool to be the guinea pigs. They might increase the minimum this year or they might want a second round of guinea pigs. I called last year and they were pretty up front with how they select for interviews, so you shouldn't have a hard time getting a precise answer from them on whether the minimum has changed.



The original number we heard was 420, but when we asked during the interview debriefing, they said the final number was somewhere around 460, but I can't remember the exact number. And I agree that they handled it perfectly. Everything was scheduled well and I didn't feel lost in the crowd like with some other schools.

*coughcough*Illinois*coughcough*

It really did seem hard to believe that they were interviewing that many. It also caused the entire cycle to take forever because there were a ton of interview weekends, and the people who chose the last weekend were given equal consideration as those who chose the first (and it should be that way). It just left a lot of us waiting for a very, very long time.

 

[Felixor90]

*coughcough*Illinois*coughcough*

It really did seem hard to believe that they were interviewing that many. It also caused the entire cycle to take forever because there were a ton of interview weekends, and the people who chose the last weekend were given equal consideration as those who chose the first (and it should be that way). It just left a lot of us waiting for a very, very long time.

Illinois is exactly the one I was thinking of. Kansas State too to a certain extent. I really do believe they're setting the minimum for interviews that low because they want to use the first few sets as practice rounds to tailor the MMI process to what they want. As they lock down exactly how they want to run things, I bet you they'll start raising the minimum and inviting less applicants. Heck, it seemed like they nailed it last year so you might even see them raise it this year. Guess someone's gonna have to take over my role of annoying calling applicant and ask.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Illinois is exactly the one I was thinking of. Kansas State too to a certain extent. I really do believe they're setting the minimum for interviews that low because they want to use the first few sets as practice rounds to tailor the MMI process to what they want. As they lock down exactly how they want to run things, I bet you they'll start raising the minimum and inviting less applicants. Heck, it seemed like they nailed it last year so you might even see them raise it this year. Guess someone's gonna have to take over my role of annoying calling applicant and ask.

It's hard to say. The interview ended up playing such a minute role in final decisions last year that I don't know how they'd change it. Based off of what I've been told by vets in the area, recent graduates, etc., the interview was put in place to weed out those who look great on paper, but really, REALLY don't have the soft skills needed to make it in the biz. I guess they were starting to have some issues with that or something. They might start weighting the interview more heavily, but I feel like they'd still want a huge pool to choose from since they really hammer down on academics. This is one of the schools where an interview won't make up for lower academic stats (at least it didn't last year).

 

[heyyimhayley]

Right on the Applicant Selection page...

http://cvm.msu.edu/future-students/dvm/selection

Edit: They've slightly modified their prompts from last year. They're a heck of a lot clearer this year. Remember to answer the question!

What if we don't think some of these apply to us at all? Specifically I have no food animal experience and no socioeconomic hardship...

 

[Felixor90]

It's hard to say. The interview ended up playing such a minute role in final decisions last year that I don't know how they'd change it. Based off of what I've been told by vets in the area, recent graduates, etc., the interview was put in place to weed out those who look great on paper, but really, REALLY don't have the soft skills needed to make it in the biz. I guess they were starting to have some issues with that or something. They might start weighting the interview more heavily, but I feel like they'd still want a huge pool to choose from since they really hammer down on academics. This is one of the schools where an interview won't make up for lower academic stats (at least it didn't last year).

Yeah I was told by an upperclassman that they had too many antisocial people in their class and that's why they started doing interviews again. I hope they start weighing it more in the future. That was one very expensive plane ticket for it not to count so much!

 

[Felixor90]

What if we don't think some of these apply to us at all? Specifically I have no food animal experience and no socioeconomic hardship...

You leave it blank.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Yeah I was told by an upperclassman that they had too many antisocial people in their class and that's why they started doing interviews again. I hope they start weighing it more in the future. That was one very expensive plane ticket for it not to count so much!

I'm just glad they let us pick weekends or I would have had the same plane ticket! Last year they had that blurb about "If you do poorly on your interview, it won't get you rejected, yadayadayada." Something about being re-evaluated regardless of your interview outcome. I don't see that this year.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

What if we don't think some of these apply to us at all? Specifically I have no food animal experience and no socioeconomic hardship...

I mean, you can reach if you want to...

The socioeconomic one is the one in particular where you really have to be compelling. If you truly don't have any LA experience, there's no point in wasting your or the reader's time. If you have something, you'd know it.

 

[equus_susurrus12]

Yeah I have some food animal (helping weigh, tag and vaccinate beef cattle and helping in the livestock hospitalization barn a bit from work), but I don't think I have a socioeconomic hardship. I got sick as an undergrad with a chronic illness and used that to address some of my grades in the "explanation statement", but will they even look at that?

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Yeah I have some food animal (helping weigh, tag and vaccinate beef cattle and helping in the livestock hospitalization barn a bit from work), but I don't think I have a socioeconomic hardship. I got sick as an undergrad with a chronic illness and used that to address some of my grades in the "explanation statement", but will they even look at that?

They'll read it, sure. If you don't automatically know you have a hardship, you likely don't have one. They look at things like minority status, family situations, etc. The example I was given was "a student who has to work 40+ hours a week while taking classes just to make ends meet." That was about 2 years ago, though. Criteria may have changed, it may not have.

 

[HavocMI]

What if we don't think some of these apply to us at all? Specifically I have no food animal experience and no socioeconomic hardship...

You're better off either putting N/A or leaving it blank versus reaching for something. You don't have a ton of time to submit so a better use of your time maybe used by cleaning up and perfecting your other questions to make them stand out. Besides, if the reviewer sees something that was just thrown in there, especially if it wasn't relevant, they might wonder the validity of your other questions. I've always had the thought that clear and focused responses speak louder than those full of fluff or barely apply to the topic.

 

[LuckySpartan]

GRE question: Did you all do the essay portion even though MSU doesnt look at it? Can you just skip it? If you do will MSU see that or can you opt not to have that score sent to them?

Yes I am just taking the GRE now "Life" happened this summer and I had to put it off

 

[finnickthedog]

GRE question: Did you all do the essay portion even though MSU doesnt look at it? Can you just skip it? If you do will MSU see that or can you opt not to have that score sent to them?

Yes I am just taking the GRE now "Life" happened this summer and I had to put it off

I did the essay portion. I figured what if I didn't get in this cycle and I decided to apply for a program that needed my writing score in the meantime? Or what if I decided to apply to another vet school next cycle that did look at the writing score? Or what MSU changed their process before next cycle and decides that they need the writing score too?

I just figured there was no reason not to do it. Worst case scenario I'd do poorly and MSU doesn't care anyways.

I believe you can skip it though if you so choose.
You cannot opt to not send that particular score though. MSU will see it... and I'm sure if there's no writing score they'll know you opted out of taking it.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

GRE question: Did you all do the essay portion even though MSU doesnt look at it? Can you just skip it? If you do will MSU see that or can you opt not to have that score sent to them?

Yes I am just taking the GRE now "Life" happened this summer and I had to put it off

I did it just because I figured I might as well since I paid for it!

 

[Cometbt]

GRE question: Did you all do the essay portion even though MSU doesnt look at it? Can you just skip it? If you do will MSU see that or can you opt not to have that score sent to them?

Yes I am just taking the GRE now "Life" happened this summer and I had to put it off

I didn't take it the first time and it was nice to not have that extra stress. I just left it blank and hit continue--it shows up as a 0.0 on your scores. However, I didn't get into MSU last year and I'm wishing I had taken it because most other schools do require the essay.

 

[Pugsforlove2014]

I had zip for food animal but did have some equine experience. I believe that I put something in socioeconomic hardships that wasn'the related to money or minority so you should think about that a little.

 

[bigreddog]

Hi guys. My VMCAS application was submitted 8/28 and just verified yesterday. This morning I received an email from MSU saying they got my VMCAS application and will calculate my SIS once they receive my Official GRE scores. Only thing is I had my GRE scores sent on 8/14! I'm freaking out a bit because if MSU hasn't got my GRE scores does that mean other schools that I applied to not get them either. I sent them an email asking them to please double check for my scores. Has anyone else had an issue with GRE scores or received an email like this?

 

[Vdubs03]

I think it's just a generic email. I got it a few weeks ago, and I knew they had my scores. They sent me the supplemental maybe 3 business days after that. So I wouldn't worry too much!

 

[bigreddog]

I think it's just a generic email. I got it a few weeks ago, and I knew they had my scores. They sent me the supplemental maybe 3 business days after that. So I wouldn't worry too much!

Thanks. They actually just emailed me back saying they do have my scores. Freak out over.

 

[davisa]

When I took the GRE I chose MSU code 1465 which is apparently the graduate school admissions, but they would rather have institution code 1572 which goes directly to CVM admissions. However, I was told they could look and find mine in the graduate school admissions. Luckily, it is all settled and supplemental has been received!

 

[finnickthedog]

So did you guys get the supplemental pretty soon after you were verified then?
I thought I read something about six weeks or so...but that might have been up to six weeks from submission which would include VMCAS' slow verifying.

I'm just anxious to be done with all the app so I can starting worrying about prepping myself for the stress of interviews.

 

[lilylilac]

So did you guys get the supplemental pretty soon after you were verified then?
I thought I read something about six weeks or so...but that might have been up to six weeks from submission which would include VMCAS' slow verifying.

I'm just anxious to be done with all the app so I can starting worrying about prepping myself for the stress of interviews.

I got it within a week after verification

 

[HavocMI]

So did you guys get the supplemental pretty soon after you were verified then?
I thought I read something about six weeks or so...but that might have been up to six weeks from submission which would include VMCAS' slow verifying.

I'm just anxious to be done with all the app so I can starting worrying about prepping myself for the stress of interviews.

The biggest holdup for getting your supplemental is getting your application processed through VMCAS and sent over to MSU. The last few days before the deadline, they get flooded with everyone who where waiting for their transcripts or references, slowing everything down a ton. Since that happens, when VMCAS finally does send everything over to MSU, its in one large lump so it'll take them a little bit to get things ready to send out the emails. Now that the deadline's past though, it'll give everyone time to catch back up, so a bunch of supplementals should starts flying out relatively soon.

You're almost done, just a little more wait!
p.s. Try not to stress over the interviews (I know it's impossible not to), but as long as your professional and have some confidence in your self, you'll be just fine.

 

[LuckySpartan]

p.s. Try not to stress over the interviews (I know it's impossible not to), but as long as your professional and have some confidence in your self, you'll be just fine.

Can you advise on the factors that determine who gets an interview? Is it the same as last year when they interviewed everyone with an SIS of 790 or above?

 

[HavocMI]

Can you advise on the factors that determine who gets an interview? Is it the same as last year when they interviewed everyone with an SIS of 790 or above?

I'm not sure how they plan on deciding who gets to goto interviews this year, but I'll contact them tomorrow and see when it'll be posted. I know last year it was everyone who completed the supplemental application like you said, but since that was their first year, I would think they'd make adjustments. As soon as I know, I'll post it on here.

 

[elephantlover93]

Hey guys! So I got the email about them having to calculate my SIS score in order to determine whether I get a supplemental or not on 9/14. Do you think I should have gotten it by now if I was going to get one? (Which I think I will because I calculated my own SIS score and it was above the 790 they said it needed to be at)

 

[lilylilac]

Hey guys! So I got the email about them having to calculate my SIS score in order to determine whether I get a supplemental or not on 9/14. Do you think I should have gotten it by now if I was going to get one? (Which I think I will because I calculated my own SIS score and it was above the 790 they said it needed to be at)

It took a week until I was sent the supplemental, so I wouldn't be worried yet. I submitted early too, so it might take longer now that they're busier with more verified applications.

 

[elephantlover93]

It took a week until I was sent the supplemental, so I wouldn't be worried yet. I submitted early too, so it might take longer now that they're busier with more verified applications.

Yeah I submitted on 8/25 and got verified 9/10 so it was pretty early too. Did you get it a week from the email or a week from when you were verified?

 

[lilylilac]

Yeah I submitted on 8/25 and got verified 9/10 so it was pretty early too. Did you get it a week from the email or a week from when you were verified?

Week from the email

 

[LuckySpartan]

Yeah I submitted on 8/25 and got verified 9/10 so it was pretty early too. Did you get it a week from the email or a week from when you were verified?

The email is most likely automated. I would assume that the length of time between them receiving your application and them calculating your SIS will depend on the volume of applications they have at that time. I wouldn't worry about it. I would definitely allow two weeks before I would consider calling them

 

[HavocMI]

Hey guys! So I got the email about them having to calculate my SIS score in order to determine whether I get a supplemental or not on 9/14. Do you think I should have gotten it by now if I was going to get one? (Which I think I will because I calculated my own SIS score and it was above the 790 they said it needed to be at)

If you received an email from MSU (from admiss@....) then it came from the admissions team and you should be able to get into your supplemental already. If you cant get in, you should either give them a call or email either [email protected] or [email protected]

Lucky, sorry about not answering your MMI question yet, the main adviser is gone until next week, so I'll have to try again then.

 

[LuckySpartan]

Is it true to form that the GPA calculated by VMCAS isn't consistent with the GPA calculated by the applicants school? My GPA by subject for science is significantly off from my calculations but I was basing it on MSU's prerequisites. My baccalaureate science GPA is more accurate to my calculations

 

[equus_susurrus12]

Is it true to form that the GPA calculated by VMCAS isn't consistent with the GPA calculated by the applicants school? My GPA by subject for science is significantly off from my calculations but I was basing it on MSU's prerequisites. My baccalaureate science GPA is more accurate to my calculations

Apparently VMCAS calculates the GPA differently. If you ever retook courses, VMCAS uses both course grades in evaluation of GPA. So an F and an A would still average to a C. It also gets more complicated if you have attended multiple institutions. I don't really understand their reasoning, but I do know that MSU takes the highest grade for a repeated course. They will use the highest grades in classes that you have taken that satisfy their prerequisites.
My VMCAS GPA is very different from my GPA with repeated courses taken into account.

 

[finnickthedog]

Is it true to form that the GPA calculated by VMCAS isn't consistent with the GPA calculated by the applicants school? My GPA by subject for science is significantly off from my calculations but I was basing it on MSU's prerequisites. My baccalaureate science GPA is more accurate to my calculations

Well, VMCAS factors all attempts at a course into your GPA.
I believe MSU will replace your grade if you retake a course (although I cannot find where it says that on the new site)
So in that case it would have to be different unless you didn't retake any classes.

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In other news, I just received the supplemental. Haven't actually created an account and checked it out yet because I'm at class.
I was just verified on Friday so that was pretty fast for me. I wasn't expecting it so quickly.

 

[HavocMI]

Is it true to form that the GPA calculated by VMCAS isn't consistent with the GPA calculated by the applicants school? My GPA by subject for science is significantly off from my calculations but I was basing it on MSU's prerequisites. My baccalaureate science GPA is more accurate to my calculations

Yep, there is some inconsistencies between the two. The one to use for MSU is the prereqs like your doing, since that's the one that they use. I do believe that they also only take the grade from a course that you retake, but as finnick said, I can't seem to find it.

 

[finnickthedog]

I have a question...

So now that I'm on the supplemental I can see that my veterinarian reference put "owner" as her occupation (which is accurate... I mean she does own the clinic). Does anyone know if there is an indicator on the evaluation that she is in fact a veterinarian aside from the occupation section? I'm just slightly concerned since that's the only vet eval I have and I want to make sure it's clear enough that it's a vet eval.

If no one knows I can ask VMCAS... but man, I really hate calling them.

 

[HavocMI]

I have a question...

So now that I'm on the supplemental I can see that my veterinarian reference put "owner" as her occupation (which is accurate... I mean she does own the clinic). Does anyone know if there is an indicator on the evaluation that she is in fact a veterinarian aside from the occupation section? I'm just slightly concerned since that's the only vet eval I have and I want to make sure it's clear enough that it's a vet eval.

If no one knows I can ask VMCAS... but man, I really hate calling them.

You'll be alright. We only see part of the information on the supplemental compared to what is sent over from VMCAS. The people reviewing the supplementals have all of the information and should be able to know right away (especially if they contact them). The only reason you would need to worry would be if they didn't put anything in your references saying they were DVM or the owner of the clinic.

 

[finnickthedog]

You'll be alright. We only see part of the information on the supplemental compared to what is sent over from VMCAS. The people reviewing the supplementals have all of the information and should be able to know right away (especially if they contact them). The only reason you would need to worry would be if they didn't put anything in your references saying they were DVM or the owner of the clinic.

Times like these I wish I could just see the whole thing

Thanks for answering!

 

[LuckySpartan]

Well, VMCAS factors all attempts at a course into your GPA.
I believe MSU will replace your grade if you retake a course (although I cannot find where it says that on the new site)
So in that case it would have to be different unless you didn't retake any classes.

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In other news, I just received the supplemental. Haven't actually created an account and checked it out yet because I'm at class.
I was just verified on Friday so that was pretty fast for me. I wasn't expecting it so quickly.

Yes indeed I did know they replaced grades. I just hate how off it is. I hope MSU doesn't look at it before they calculate it themselves. All my science GPAs in the grade levels are more consistent with 3.70 or above but the category one says 3.2 which is completely wrong

 

[HavocMI]

Yes indeed I did know they replaced grades. I just hate how off it is. I hope MSU doesn't look at it before they calculate it themselves. All my science GPAs in the grade levels are more consistent with 3.70 or above but the category one says 3.2 which is completely wrong

From talking with them before, I'm pretty sure they just use VMCAS as a way to get everyone's information in one spot, then do their own calculations and go from there. VMCAS has to leave a good portion of the calculations (overall GPA, last 3 semesters, etc..) pretty generic since every school does things a little different since they look for different things. Every school has a different idea as to what makes up a good DVM student and there's no way to code all of that into one system and not go insane.

 

[LuckySpartan]

From talking with them before, I'm pretty sure they just use VMCAS as a way to get everyone's information in one spot, then do their own calculations and go from there. VMCAS has to leave a good portion of the calculations (overall GPA, last 3 semesters, etc..) pretty generic since every school does things a little different since they look for different things. Every school has a different idea as to what makes up a good DVM student and there's no way to code all of that into one system and not go insane.

I can't thank you enough for being an advocate and a voice of reason for us during this process. I really appreciate your participation on SDN!

 

[HavocMI]

No problem! Glad I can be of some help to everyone

 

[Felixor90]

MSU is way nicer with how they calculate GPAs. All of mine were .3-.4 higher than the VMCAS ones. Also, if you've taken calculus, trig, and pre-calc (and maybe statistics...can't remember), they only use 2 of those to fulfill your math prereqs and they'll use the ones with the highest grade, which really helped since I sucked at trig and got a C in that one, but A's in the others.