AVC c/o 2016 Hopefuls

Started by Lab Rat83
Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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Coquette22 said:
2) You seem to be hung up on grades. I'm curious as to how you would revamp the admissions process. Just about all schools use grades to help rank students. Is it perfect? No. But they do need some way of figuring out who is going to be able to handle the academic rigours of vet school, and there's only so much funding for so many seats, so they have to draw the line somewhere. There is no crystal ball to tell them who the best candidates are. Like I said, not perfect - I have classmates who get 60s right now, but I know they'll be amazing veterinarians and I have classmates that get 90s that I think will be lousy, but I don't pretend to know a better way of ranking.
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For example:
Have a cut-off.
For example:
People 80% and above get an interview, regardless of province (number of spots remain the same). People below 80% do not get an interview.
Don't give someone with a 75% average from PEI an interview and not give one to the students with a 75% average from NS and Nfld.

If PEI does not have enough acceptances with that average, go below.

Or have a different process of choosing who gets an interview. IE: consider grades, experience, GRE and references instead of just grades and GRE for an interview cut-off. For example, references would certainly be a disadvantage to those with high grades but questionable attitudes/ethics and give those who are more dedicated to the profession a better chance.
 
But no matter how you decide it, it's going to be unfair to someone. As I said, no process is perfect, and I'm sure if you surveyed every SDNer at every school, I'm sure we could all pick out someone in our classes who doesn't deserve to be there, and someone we know who got denied who really deserved it. I'm hardly a person of questionable ethics, but your suggestion of reference letters would be a huge disadvantage to me as it's been awhile since I worked in a vet clinic and I never had the opportunity to do a research project, and all my summer jobs have been largely non-animal related. If you choose 80% as the cut-off, what about the outstanding candidate that got a 79%? Tons of experience, glowing letters of reference, fantastic GRE, but just one point shy of the cut-off.

ETA: Though I will agree that the system is far from perfect. I definitely had moments of rage-quit last year when I was waitlisted, because the number of NS seats had dropped from 16 to 12 due to 4 deferrals. You can bet I was doing some screaming that if I lived in another province I would have been accepted.
 
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Coquette22 said:
But no matter how you decide it, it's going to be unfair to someone. As I said, no process is perfect, and I'm sure if you surveyed every SDNer at every school, I'm sure we could all pick out someone in our classes who doesn't deserve to be there, and someone we know who got denied who really deserved it. I'm hardly a person of questionable ethics, but your suggestion of reference letters would be a huge disadvantage to me as it's been awhile since I worked in a vet clinic and I never had the opportunity to do a research project, and all my summer jobs have been largely non-animal related. If you choose 80% as the cut-off, what about the outstanding candidate that got a 79%? Tons of experience, glowing letters of reference, fantastic GRE, but just one point shy of the cut-off.

ETA: Though I will agree that the system is far from perfect. I definitely had moments of rage-quit last year when I was waitlisted, because the number of NS seats had dropped from 16 to 12 due to 4 deferrals. You can bet I was doing some screaming that if I lived in another province I would have been accepted.
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Exactly! Thank you Coquette.
 
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Coquette22 said:
But no matter how you decide it, it's going to be unfair to someone. As I said, no process is perfect, and I'm sure if you surveyed every SDNer at every school, I'm sure we could all pick out someone in our classes who doesn't deserve to be there, and someone we know who got denied who really deserved it. I'm hardly a person of questionable ethics, but your suggestion of reference letters would be a huge disadvantage to me as it's been awhile since I worked in a vet clinic and I never had the opportunity to do a research project, and all my summer jobs have been largely non-animal related. If you choose 80% as the cut-off, what about the outstanding candidate that got a 79%? Tons of experience, glowing letters of reference, fantastic GRE, but just one point shy of the cut-off.

ETA: Though I will agree that the system is far from perfect. I definitely had moments of rage-quit last year when I was waitlisted, because the number of NS seats had dropped from 16 to 12 due to 4 deferrals. You can bet I was doing some screaming that if I lived in another province I would have been accepted.
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Yes, but, unlike the Americans, we cannot tailor what schools we apply to based on our stats. I think they need to be as broad as possible when inviting people for an interview for that reason.

The system is still not going to be perfect if they do it differently, but rejecting people based on where they live really bothers me. It would be a lot fairer to introduce a cut off for ALL provinces rather than say "The perfect applicant with the 79% from PEI can come for an interview but the perfect applicant with the 79% from NS will be rejected automatically because there are more of you applying." Naw. Cut it off. There must be some magic average where more people do horrible compared to awesome when they get in. In the states, it seems to be around a 3.0 (=80%).

They are already introducing a form of cut-off next application. If you have below 60% in the four biology courses, do not bother applying. Makes me wonder how many people that is going to deter. Probably no where near enough to put everyone on a level playing field.

Also... why aren't grad courses counted (like they are in the states)?! I think that should be considered/included in the application if people are willing to go that extra mile to raise their grades and experience (while realizing that they cannot stay stagnant in undergrad forever).

Just my two cents.
It sucks for ME.
It sucks for others.
I realize that.
I just do not understand the reasoning behind the provincial biases. If they ever decide to scrap that, I would be happy with that.
 
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I hope everyone who has already interviewed had a great experience and good luck to everyone who is still waiting! Mine is this Thursday, I'm excited, nervous and anxious to get it over with 🙂
 
I guess it depends on - how much do you want it and how much are you willing to sacrifice.

I jumped provinces, without knowing where it would take me.

I am prepared to jump again if required, since some provinces do not receive even enough qualified applicants for their number of seats.

UCVM received over 250 applicants, interviewed 128 (all in one day) and accept 30-32. I know one person who was wait listed last year, who didn't get an interview this year.

So I agree that sometimes it just isn't fair.

But there is an SDNer who was from BC and moved to Ont and is going to OVC now.

If you are willing to sacrifice taking the pay cut, moving to a province you aren't familiar with and starting out there, it has been successful!
 
Trematode said:
Yes, but, unlike the Americans, we cannot tailor what schools we apply to based on our stats. I think they need to be as broad as possible when inviting people for an interview for that reason.

The system is still not going to be perfect if they do it differently, but rejecting people based on where they live really bothers me. It would be a lot fairer to introduce a cut off for ALL provinces rather than say "The perfect applicant with the 79% from PEI can come for an interview but the perfect applicant with the 79% from NS will be rejected automatically because there are more of you applying." Naw. Cut it off. There must be some magic average where more people do horrible compared to awesome when they get in. In the states, it seems to be around a 3.0 (=80%).

They are already introducing a form of cut-off next application. If you have below 60% in the four biology courses, do not bother applying. Makes me wonder how many people that is going to deter. Probably no where near enough to put everyone on a level playing field.

Also... why aren't grad courses counted (like they are in the states)?! I think that should be considered/included in the application if people are willing to go that extra mile to raise their grades and experience (while realizing that they cannot stay stagnant in undergrad forever).

Just my two cents.
It sucks for ME.
It sucks for others.
I realize that.
I just do not understand the reasoning behind the provincial biases. If they ever decide to scrap that, I would be happy with that.
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Some schools in the states also have different requirements for in-state verses out of state admissions, usually they'll take students with lower GPA's if they are in-state students. There are about 15-30 seats at each school for out-of-staters. Stinks to be an out of stater. But I could move and live somewhere for a year and then try as an in-state student. Would save me a lot of money too.

No matter how they do it, they have to say no to people. People who may be quite qualified and who would do really well in vet school. Its up to us to make ourselves the best candidate that we can given our circumstances.

Dont give up. Take the opportunities you have and make the best of them. Life is too short to get stuck on what-ifs.

🙂
 
Lab Rat83

They use the MMI format.

4 groups of 8 stations, 2 interviewers per station.

64 students in the morning, 64 in the afternoon.

First 32 due interviews then swap and do an essay.

Others start with the essay, then interview.

It's pretty intense!
 
Good luck Ellie! :luck:

LeilaFay, thanks for sharing your story. I know people on the WCVM thread love how supportive and grounded you are. And I agree about UCVM's interview; I interviewed there this year and it was super intense!
 
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ky261682 said:
Good luck Ellie! :luck:

LeilaFay, thanks for sharing your story. I know people on the WCVM thread love how supportive and grounded you are. And I agree about UCVM's interview; I interviewed there this year and it was super intense!
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They say if you can make it through an MMI, you can make it through any job interview! 😉
 
Thanks for the support guys, I am so happy to be done! Regardless of what the outcome is I am very proud of how my interview went today, no regrets 😀 Good luck to you Ky for tomorrow!! :luck:
 
I hope everyones interviews have been going well 🙂

I have a question for current AVC students - how easy is it to get by without a car? I'm considering not bringing mine with me.
 
lwoodsi1 said:
I have a question for current AVC students - how easy is it to get by without a car? I'm considering not bringing mine with me.
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Depends where you live. I have my car, but I don't use it much (I really only use it to get between PEI and Nova Scotia). You can get mostly around Charlottetown on foot (though never try jaywalking here). Public transit isn't fantastic, but it is there. Taxis aren't too expensive for the odd trip. If' you're within walking distance of a grocery store and school, you should be okay without one. Biking is an option too, if you're so inclined. As for what "walking distance" is, keep in mind that in the winter, it can (and will) hit -30C (-22F) with the windchill, and sidewalks aren't necessarily plowed out all that quickly. This probably won't happen until February or so, though, so it might be an option to see how you get on without your car for Fall semester, and then maybe drive it up for Winter?

I'll add on though that if 2016 is anything like 2015, there will probably be a lot of carpooling. If there's something going on, chances are someone in your class will be going, and you can almost always hitch a ride with someone else.
 
Coquette22 said:
Depends where you live. I have my car, but I don't use it much (I really only use it to get between PEI and Nova Scotia). You can get mostly around Charlottetown on foot (though never try jaywalking here). Public transit isn't fantastic, but it is there. Taxis aren't too expensive for the odd trip. If' you're within walking distance of a grocery store and school, you should be okay without one. Biking is an option too, if you're so inclined. As for what "walking distance" is, keep in mind that in the winter, it can (and will) hit -30C (-22F) with the windchill, and sidewalks aren't necessarily plowed out all that quickly. This probably won't happen until February or so, though, so it might be an option to see how you get on without your car for Fall semester, and then maybe drive it up for Winter?

I'll add on though that if 2016 is anything like 2015, there will probably be a lot of carpooling. If there's something going on, chances are someone in your class will be going, and you can almost always hitch a ride with someone else.
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The apartment I'm currently considering is 5 minutes from AVC when driving so I don't think I could walk that - at least not when it's cold. I'm a HUGE wimp when it comes to cold. The apartment is close to Grafton st though and I think there's a bus route that goes to Grafton although I have no idea where on Grafton it goes. I hadn't thought about car pooling - that's definitely a great idea. My boyfriend will also be bringing his car and on days he isn't using it, I can always offer rides in exchange 😀

Also, I hear that there is no street parking allowed in Charlottetown in the winter? What the heck do people do with their cars if their apartments dont offer off street parking?

By the way - do you know when we find out the times for our classes? I think what I'm most concerned about is being able to get to AVC for class and then back to my apt so I'm eager to get this info.
 
I don't know if the schedule will be finalized for a few weeks, I wouldn't think it'd be posted until after the Canadian acceptances are sorted out. I can send you the link to last year's schedule though. I think it'll be pretty similar.

A lot of apartment buildings do offer off-street parking. The ones that don't are inhabited by people who don't have cars. 😉 Also, a lot of vet students are in shared houses or basement apartments of private houses, rather than traditional apartment buildings, so there's often parking in the driveway. If parking is availabe, there usually isn't a charge for it. I haven't had a problem yet finding an apartment with parking. Have you checked the Trius transit site for bus schedules and routes?
 
Interview is over with (finally)! I think I did ok but not great. I'm trying not to pick apart my answers but I could have given better answers for a few questions. At least I know what to expect for next year.

Coquette was a superb tour guide 👍 My mom and sister really enjoyed the tour 🙂
 
Congrats on being done Ky! I too am trying my best not to pick apart my answers/interview but easier said than done. Now onto what I think is going to be the hardest part of this process.... waiting for the final letters to arrive! 😱
 
I had a dream last night that two male successful applicants from NS got arrested. They had to interview two more NS residents to make up for it. Heylodeb and Ky had sent me messages to be on the look out for an interview invite and I was second on the list to receive one.

The interview was in a sauna though. Someone from SDN told them I was vegetarian, but somehow the message got twisted around. They proceeded to roast a chicken in the sauna room for my lunch because they thought I was a carnivore.

I guess this is what happens when you drink 6 glasses of wine the night before.
 
Hi everyone! I'm brand new I had no idea this thread existed but I'm so glad I found it! I had my interview on the 18th so I'm panicking a little more everyday about getting my letter haha I hope I see all of you in September if anyone wants to chat about how the interview went I'd be down!
 
Trematode said:
I had a dream last night that two male successful applicants from NS got arrested. They had to interview two more NS residents to make up for it. Heylodeb and Ky had sent me messages to be on the look out for an interview invite and I was second on the list to receive one.

The interview was in a sauna though. Someone from SDN told them I was vegetarian, but somehow the message got twisted around. They proceeded to roast a chicken in the sauna room for my lunch because they thought I was a carnivore.

I guess this is what happens when you drink 6 glasses of wine the night before.
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Love dreams like this. My best crazy dream involved Hilary Clinton trying to assassinate me because I knew too much about magic tricks. No alcohol the night before...I might be crazy.

And welcome to the forum billerz15!
 
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My vet school dreams are totally corny.
The last dream I had, I was in lab and figured out by what was going on around me that I was a vet student. In places, AVC looked like Hogwarts. It had a Tim Horton's too. Then a hurricane struck and we had to get away from the cafeteria, which had giant glass windows. Next thing I knew, I was out in this horse field, looking for rats.

Congrats on interviews everyone. 😀.
I do not go on SDN as frequently as I used to (and I was even absent for like a month), so it is hard to keep track of who did what when sometimes 😕. I have placed vet school in the back burner for the meantime. This month, I should start studying for the GRE. I want to get that written before apps are due in November.
 
Coquette22 said:
I don't know if the schedule will be finalized for a few weeks, I wouldn't think it'd be posted until after the Canadian acceptances are sorted out. I can send you the link to last year's schedule though. I think it'll be pretty similar.

A lot of apartment buildings do offer off-street parking. The ones that don't are inhabited by people who don't have cars. 😉 Also, a lot of vet students are in shared houses or basement apartments of private houses, rather than traditional apartment buildings, so there's often parking in the driveway. If parking is availabe, there usually isn't a charge for it. I haven't had a problem yet finding an apartment with parking. Have you checked the Trius transit site for bus schedules and routes?
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thanks for sending me the link - it's nice to get an idea of what my schedule could possibly be like.

all the apartments that i've found that come with off-street parking only provide 1 spot. my boyfriend and I both have cars and since street parking is an issue in the winter, it becomes problematic for both of us to bring our cars. however, i found an apartment that's only about a 7 minute walk to AVC. i imagine i can tolerate a 7 minute walk even if it's cold, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed on getting the apartment!
 
For those of you who don't know: LeilaFay was accepted to WCVM's DVM class of 2016! There is not a single person on SDN that I was routing for more🙂

Congrats Leila! I absolutely admire your dedication and perseverance. Enjoy your high, you earned it 110%.
 
lwoodsi1 said:
all the apartments that i've found that come with off-street parking only provide 1 spot. my boyfriend and I both have cars and since street parking is an issue in the winter, it becomes problematic for both of us to bring our cars.
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Ah, for some reason it wasn't registering in my head that you needed two spots. I'd say you're sort of an exception, at least in our class. Some people don't have cars, some people have one. But a lot of people with significant others left their significant other behind, so there isn't usually an issue with needing two spaces. I can think of one or two people who might need two spaces, but I think they rented houses. Hope the apartment works out for you!

And cojic: Best of luck!
 
Lab Rat83 said:
For those of you who don't know: LeilaFay was accepted to WCVM's DVM class of 2016! There is not a single person on SDN that I was routing for more🙂

Congrats Leila! I absolutely admire your dedication and perseverance. Enjoy your high, you earned it 110%.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much Lab Rat83!! <3
 
Anyone else feel like the music from Jeopardy should be their theme song? Only a couple more days to a week until we all know. Trying to keep busy and not think about it but it is difficult when at least 5 people each day ask me when I find out :laugh:
 
Coquette22 said:
Damnit, ky, I got all excited when I saw you post and I thought maybe they'd started sending already!
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Sorry, no such luck yet 🙁 I hope I get news by Friday; I'm not sure if my nerves can take anymore waiting. The next time I post on this thread will be with news 🙂
 
Hi everybody! I will be starting this fall. Soooo excited! Just wondering where everyone is planning on getting housing this fall. I have found some apartments but not sure which one yet. I know some vet students stay in the Browns court apartments across from the school, but is there any other popular apartment buildings in Charlottetown. Also is anyone thinking about getting roommates to keep costs low?
 
Also, hello everyone. I'm new here though I've been reading the thread since before I took the GRE.

I had my interview on May 23... still waiting. But I ran into Dr. Singh the other day in the AVC caf and he mentioned at June 20th would be the date most people would be getting letters. So a few more days at least and they should start rolling in....I hope.
 
KittenWhisperer is correct (and welcome to the board!). You'll see more activity on Facebook after the Canadians find out their status, so it'll be easier to sort out housing then. The only real "complex" I can think of is Browns (I live there now). There's a lot of small buildings in Charlottetown, so the vet students tend to be fairly spread out. But the town is pretty small, and it's not hard to meet up with people.

I have it on good authority that final decisions will possibly go out tomorrow, but no promises. Sometime this week guaranteed though!
 
Coquette22 said:
I have it on good authority that final decisions will possibly go out tomorrow, but no promises. Sometime this week guaranteed though!
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I hope it is sometime this week. If I don't hear by Friday I'll be going to Calgary because I need to let them know by next Monday. I would hate to possibly decline AVC because they notified a day or 2 late 🙁
 
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BurnieBear said:
Hi everybody! I will be starting this fall. Soooo excited! Just wondering where everyone is planning on getting housing this fall. I have found some apartments but not sure which one yet. I know some vet students stay in the Browns court apartments across from the school, but is there any other popular apartment buildings in Charlottetown. Also is anyone thinking about getting roommates to keep costs low?
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I'm going to be living with my boyfriend in one of norray's apartment buildings on queen street. it's close to the school and the pictures of the apartment looked nice. plus they'll allow my cat!
 
Coquette22 said:
I wonder if it might be worth asking AVC if they can tell you over the phone, given the circumstances? They don't often have Canadian students in that situation, so they may be willing to work with you.
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The mail comes before 1pm so if nothing by that time Friday I'll give that a try. :xf: for swift mail delivery!
 
Hi everyone, just thought I'd share that I didn't get into AVC this year 🙁 (I got my letter this morning). But good luck to those of you still waiting!!! I think you'll have a great class this year.
 
Sorry kr 🙁

I received my letter this morning...and I'm in! Super excited and relieved. I was not going to make it through the weekend not knowing :laugh:

Good luck to everyone :luck:
 
ky261682 said:
Sorry kr 🙁

I received my letter this morning...and I'm in! Super excited and relieved. I was not going to make it through the weekend not knowing :laugh:

Good luck to everyone :luck:
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YAY!!!!! That came quick! :clap::highfive::claps:
Congrats!
So have you made a decisions yet?! 😀
 
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