WCVM c/o 2015

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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silymnd

silymnd

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Hello,

Just wanted to start a thread for us.

I contacted Elaine for an admissions package and she said that starting this year the application will be online. It should be up and ready in November.

A little about me:
Female
British Columbia
20
3rd year Biological Science at U of Guelph
2nd time applying (interviewed and rejected last year)

Can't wait to chat with other WCVM hopefuls!
 
Good to see you back, but unfortunate all in the same. You're all set up for next year already are you? I am excited that the WCVM application will be online. I heard that Elaine is retiring and that's why it's online this year (apparently she didn't really like computers).

About me:
Female
Alberta
26
BSc in Biological Science and Primatology
Missed an interview by 4 spots last year
 
Unfortunately I can't apply - I am an Ontario resident. Good luck to both of you!
 
WCVM is undergoing a big digital revolution, I guess you could say. Elaine did retire, but I'm not sure if that's why applications are now online. They are also hoping that by next year, you will no longer need to buy a microscope since they will have everything up digitally. Instead of buying a microscope, it'll be mandatory to buy a laptop (but laptops are much more useful than having your own microscope).

Good luck to you guys!
 
groff00- being an Albertan resident are you thinking about applying to Calgary as well?
 
Yes I will be applying to UCVM but WCVM would be my preference. I applied to Calgary last year and got an interview. Now I just need to interview at WCVM.

Braki...how are things going? Are you loving it?
 
Umm... it's got good and bad parts. A lot of the stuff I learn is pretty cool and interesting, and overall I like being here. However, some of the courses are not taught as well as I would have expected and that makes it disappointing. We have a gigantic chunk of midterms currently (one a week for 6 weeks), which makes it very hard but they say everyone gets through it.
 
it's Nov already! but the online application is still not available!
 
Lol I've been checking multiple times everyday...nothing and the application is due even earlier than the Calgary one
 
The application is now up on the WCVM website 🙂 ( as of Nov 12th , 2010)
 
How many hours per week have you devoted to non-curricular work or employment? What is this asking? My last application I put '0' but now I think I might have interpreted this question wrong...
 
silymnd said:
How many hours per week have you devoted to non-curricular work or employment? What is this asking? My last application I put '0' but now I think I might have interpreted this question wrong...
Click to expand...



I was just answering that question, I thought it was regarding any work you do on the side like a part time job. In my case I put a few hours a week because I go home on weekends to work on my farm, doing chores etc.

I have a question about the personal statement ( this is my first time applying), what is an average length? what topics are important to include?

Also does anyone know if a school teacher is suitable as a reference?

Thanks 🙂

Good luck to everyone with their applications!
 
last year the statement was supposed to be 200 words about why you wanna be a vet and what you see in your future. but this year it doesn't say what you have to write about...
 
and teachers make a good reference as long as they know you well. im thinking of using vets for all 3 references. is that a good idea?
 
to silymnd,

I was wondering with the personal statement part of the application who you would contact to see what should be included.Or is it open to write about what you feel is necessary


Thanks
 
you can call Norine Demeria at 306-966-7459 or email <[email protected]>. if you don't mind sharing your results with us afterwards?
 
Hello,

No information back about the personal statement. Has anyone else found anything?

Best of luck with the application process
 
well i just submitted my application =)) happy holidays
 
Are there any Canadian vet schools that accept US residents? Just wondering why WCVM is so restrictive.
 
I believe OVC in Guelph and AVC in PEI both accept US residents. WCVM and UCVM do not. I'm not sure why.
 
For the personal statement, when they ask you to write about your "objectives for the future" are they asking for what you plan to achieve once you're in vet school, or what you plan to do if veterinary medicine does not work out. I assumed it would be the former, but I just wanted to clarify with the other applicants here.
 
Mohorsegirl said:
Are there any Canadian vet schools that accept US residents? Just wondering why WCVM is so restrictive.
Click to expand...

UCVM and WCVM do not have any seats for international students because the schools are provincially funded.
 
Just found out I got an interview in May! I am so excited and so nervous all at the same time! Anyone else hear back yet?
 
cheeto said:
UCVM and WCVM do not have any seats for international students because the schools are provincially funded.
Click to expand...

So are AVC and OVC, which is why domestic residents pay less than the internationals at those two schools. I'm not sure why UCVM and WCVM don't take internationals as well, but I'm guessing it's not funding.
 
Yea got an interview this year as well. Been keeping an eye on forum for a little while and last year's too.

Congratulations Kylana. Are you a BC resident? Have you had an interview before? Trying to get all the information I can.
 
Thanks BHu and congrats to you too! Yes I am a BC resident and this is my first time applying so no interview before. Which province are you from?
 
Yea I'm from BC as well. UBC actually. Been trying to ask around but people are all hush hush. Not a fan.
You from UBC Kylana?
 
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Yep, I did go to UBC. I already graduated though. I was in LFS and majored in Nutritional Science 🙂 Absolutely loved it!
 
anybody got invited to interviews? mine's in bc on the 5th of may
 
Hey sillymd- doing mine May 2nd.

Congratulations on an interview again.

I've seen you in last year's posting and was wondering if you would mind sharing some of you experiences with the WCVM interview. It's unfortunate that the interviews are so close to exam and I will not have as much free time as I want to prepare.

What are some of the things that was asked? Was it formated more on ethics/situation or was it more inquiring about personal information.

Thanks
 
May 3rd for me! Good luck to you both! 🙂 And while I am at it, good luck to the Canucks as well, especially after tonight...
 
BHu said:
What are some of the things that was asked? Was it formated more on ethics/situation or was it more inquiring about personal information.
Click to expand...

I can try to answer a bit about this. They may ask some ethics questions (e.g. what would you do if a client came to you wanting x procedure on their dog). At first they'll ask you questions about yourself. They'll ask you a fair amount of questions that you can find online (e.g. why do you want to be a vet). They'll ask you about current events. A lot of their questions, though, are tailored towards you and your experiences. Almost all of my experience was with small animals, so they asked me questions about small animals. A lot of their questions will be based on your responses to previous questions. From talking to other students, it seems that sometimes they have a timer counting down your interview; for mine, there was no timer. Usually the panel consists of two faculty members at WCVM, plus a veterinarian from your province. There's usually one "mean" one (the degree of meanness can vary between interviewers and between years).

Hope that helps. 🙂
 
Thank you Braki. It's been difficult finding people who have done the interview and could share their experience.

My interview is getting close and I have little time to prepare because I still have two more exams...
I'll take any advice I can take. 😀

I have one last question, are there any behavioral questions like "describe a time you faced a obstacle and overcame it"?

Also, I have also heard about this "mean" individual with the bad cop idea. Could you elaborate on that?

Thanks again
 
I didn't get any behavioural questions like that in my interview. The questions are usually more straight forward. Instead of asking, "describe a time when you displayed leadership", they'll just ask you straight out if you take on a lot of leadership roles and why you like to do it.

The "mean" interviewer can vary a lot. Usually he'll just be there to take what you say and kind of use it to ask questions that'll throw you off, or press you on the things you say, etc. I think it's there to see how well you react under that type of situation, so that you don't freak out and break down when you're caught off-guard.
 
Haha sounds good. It's pretty much what I expected but the reduced emphasis on behavior question is a relief. I personally find those difficult to answer as they are almost cryptic because they are design for a specific purpose and I often second guess myself on trying to answer the purpose.

Also, if you don't mind me asking, is the current events veterinary field based or something like what's happening in the world in Libya.

And on a completely different topic, how you liking WCVM? Hows it the curriculum? I am accepted in a fews schools abroad and am keeping my options open in terms of committing the next four years of my education.
 
Current events is usually related to stuff that you'd read on the news. They like to make sure that you're well-rounded and keeping up on other things. They could ask you things around the world, but they may also ask you about local news items. I think it kinda depends on who you get; my current events question was crazy easy (what do you thinking about global warming?), but some of my friends had some really hard ones.

As for the curriculum itself, I enjoy it here. It is very hard (we just finished classes on Thursday, and are now staring at 5 finals in 6 days for our finals week), but it's interesting. The teaching is ok. There are some really awesome teachers and some not-so-awesome teachers, just like with every school. They've been making a lot of changes to the curriculum in the past few years and I think it's really good. Everything's integrated, so when you're learning the GI system, for example, you're learning GI in every single subject, and it makes it a lot easier to learn and retain information. The available electives in third year cover a lot of different subjects and sound very enjoyable from what I've heard. As far the school goes, I know its food production medicine program is very well-reputed, its attrition rate is incredibly low (typically <1 student per four years), and its NAVLE pass rate is consistently very high (mid-high 90s typically). First year definitely wasn't perfect, but I hear the teaching gets better from second year onwards as well, so that's also a plus. 🙂
 
That sounds excellent. The difficult and condensed curriculum is expected but it's good to hear it coordinated to allow for better information retention at WCVM. I personally would love to go to Australia over WCVM simply for the culture and the surfing. However, I think the biggest obstacle is still the international tuition.

Well no matter what happens, I appreciate all the advice Braki. Who knows, maybe I may up in WCVM and I can thank you in person.
 
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Do you guys mind me asking what your averages were, those who got interviewed? I'm especially interested in BC applicants, and UBC students even more.

Also how much experience you guys had - I'll have at least 200 hours emergency clinic and 1000+ caring for ~7 experimental animal colonies, and I don't know if that makes me competitive or if I should aim more for next year.

=)

WHY IS THIS ALL SO STRESSFUL!?
 
I am a BC applicant with a 90 average after 3rd year. I had around 1000 hours as vet assistant + some volunteer experience at SPCA and therapeutic riding centers. I'm not that great with interviews. I didn't get in last year even though I did get invited for an interview. I ended up being 32nd out of 78 that applied last year. But... I got in this year, letters just came out today!!!
 
kermit123 said:
Do you guys mind me asking what your averages were, those who got interviewed? I'm especially interested in BC applicants, and UBC students even more.

Also how much experience you guys had - I'll have at least 200 hours emergency clinic and 1000+ caring for ~7 experimental animal colonies, and I don't know if that makes me competitive or if I should aim more for next year.

=)

WHY IS THIS ALL SO STRESSFUL!?
Click to expand...

I went to UBC! 🙂 My average was 91% (every year, oddly enough...apparently I am a very consistent student although I never actually got 91% in any of my classes until my very last term!)

I felt like I didn't have a ton of experience...I believe I had 600 hours of vet experience at the time of applying. In addition I did internships/worked/volunteered at three different wildlife rehab centres for three summers. My other summer I worked at the UBC Dairy. Oh and I worked at the UBC Animal Care Centre too for two years...I did have a lot of non-vet non-animal related volunteering and club involvement though. Not sure how important that was, but my interviewers spent a good chunk of time commenting on it and asking questions about it.

And CONGRATS Silymnd!! I guess I will see you in Saskatoon in August!! 🙂 So excited!!

And GOOD LUCK with applying Kermit! (ps, I actually might have met you if those 200 hours were at VAEC...hopefully that doesn't sound creepy, not meant to be!)
 
Congratulations to you both.

Doesn't look like I'll be attending WCVM. Guess my interview didn't go so well. I think two years of applying is enough for me.
 
silymnd said:
I am a BC applicant with a 90 average after 3rd year. I had around 1000 hours as vet assistant + some volunteer experience at SPCA and therapeutic riding centers. I'm not that great with interviews. I didn't get in last year even though I did get invited for an interview. I ended up being 32nd out of 78 that applied last year. But... I got in this year, letters just came out today!!!
Click to expand...

Congrats sily! I knew you'd make it this time around. I'll see you guys in August. Super lucky too, I don't think you guys have to buy microscopes this year.
 
Kylana said:
I went to UBC! 🙂 My average was 91% (every year, oddly enough...apparently I am a very consistent student although I never actually got 91% in any of my classes until my very last term!)

I felt like I didn't have a ton of experience...I believe I had 600 hours of vet experience at the time of applying. In addition I did internships/worked/volunteered at three different wildlife rehab centres for three summers. My other summer I worked at the UBC Dairy. Oh and I worked at the UBC Animal Care Centre too for two years...I did have a lot of non-vet non-animal related volunteering and club involvement though. Not sure how important that was, but my interviewers spent a good chunk of time commenting on it and asking questions about it.

And CONGRATS Silymnd!! I guess I will see you in Saskatoon in August!! 🙂 So excited!!

And GOOD LUCK with applying Kermit! (ps, I actually might have met you if those 200 hours were at VAEC...hopefully that doesn't sound creepy, not meant to be!)
Click to expand...

WOW, you crazyyy!

My average was 81.5, but my average was 74.5 in second year, and apparently they weight your best years higher? *CROSSES FINGERS*

… I also worked at the Animal Care Centre! AND IT WAS VAEC. You're freaking me out, man.

I have quite a bit of other involvement too, but you guys and your freaky high averages are making me sad. =( Haha.
 
thanks Kermit! With an 81.5% average I would say you at least have a shot... I do know people from UBC who got accepted to WCVM in the past few years with averages in the mid 80's, not sure what the lowest was though. I heard of a friend of a friend being accepted after moving to Saskatchewan for a year to gain residency and his average was in the 70's, so I guess where there is a will there is a way! On the website it says that the averages are 78% to 88% (in the chart at the bottom of this page http://explore.usask.ca/programs/nondirect/vm/) although it is super vague and doesn't even say if this is the average of the people admitted or interviewed or just everyone who applied (thinking it might be everyone who applied as 78% seems a tad low for an average if their cut off is 75%...) or what province they are referring to. So maybe that is not very helpful. You might need to get your average slightly higher if you can manage (I am assuming you have one more year at UBC? or two? or are you done?), but I'd say it is doable. I think it is probably easier to get a higher average in the upper years anyhow, because Gen Chem at UBC is a bit brutal

I was, and I guess sort of still am, a VTA locum at VAEC for the past year and volunteered there on Friday nights for about two years before that!

Anyhow, I wish you luck with your application this year and hope to see you in Saskatoon soon! Let me know if you have any questions of if there is anything I can do to help! 🙂
 
I did just finish - I'm not SUPER concerned about that now, more about my experience. A friend emailed WCVM and someone from UBC got in with an 80% last year. Also, the GPA just got bumped up to 75 from 70% this year, probably because a lot of people with averages that were too low were applying &#8230;

I mean, if absolutely necessary I can re-take courses &#8230; but I don't know how WCVM looks at that. I think that if I get my hours up, I will more than make up for my low-ish average with extracurriculars and my employment throughout university.

(It's weird to say my average is low when most of my friends have averages in the 60s &#8230; haha but I guess that's the difference between people applying to graduate programs and those just trying to make it through a Bachelors'.)
 
Oh wow that is really encouraging to hear that someone got in from UBC with an 80% average. I know a few people out at UBC who are hoping for vet school but are so frustrated trying to bring their average up from the high 70's, so I guess there is still some hope for them! But luckily for you, if you are done school then it will be super easy to get lots of experience and stuff before having to send in your application at the end of the year....:xf:
 
hey guys
just a thought: extracurricular activities can make up for low marks, but high marks can't make up for no extracurricular activities. and try to do more community involvement instead of animal/veterinary stuff. do more leadership stuff that you can talk about in the interview. at my interview they weren't even interested in my employment as vet assistant. they asked me more about my community and leadership involvement instead.
just a thought =))
 
So you're saying my volunteer position as a museum educator is a good thing? And as a recruitment counsellor for my sorority? AND AS A RESIDENCE ADVISOR?

Awwww yeah.

I think I've had a good balance of stuff. I think I have potential. I mean, in the end, I guess it just matters how awesome everyone else is &#8230;

*hopes no one else is awesome*
 
hello, just found this forum, and I am excited to say that my girlfriend got accepted to wcvm this year, and i'll be moving to saskatoon with her.

We're coming from Winnipeg, and are pretty excited and nervous about the move
 
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