C/O 2017 Applicants!

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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Abney said:
Philliab. I'm with you. I have been avoiding this thread because the type As make me nervous :laugh: I just can't get gung ho so it totally freaks me out 😛
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Though my patients would disagree, I'm not scary. Really! 🙂
 
Abney said:
Philliab. I'm with you. I have been avoiding this thread because the type As make me nervous :laugh: I just can't get gung ho so it totally freaks me out 😛
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The worst part is that I can't not look at this thread. :laugh:
 
Philliab said:
The worst part is that I can't not look at this thread. :laugh:
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i know. its just. so. tempting. i've basically put the rest of my vmcas off so I can focus on figuring out what schools I want to apply to. which comes second to working 40+ hours a week. but every time I come on here i end up going through old threads and reading everything I can. its addicting.
 
irrelephant23 said:
i know. its just. so. tempting. i've basically put the rest of my vmcas off so I can focus on figuring out what schools I want to apply to. which comes second to working 40+ hours a week. but every time I come on here i end up going through old threads and reading everything I can. its addicting.
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Don't worry guys!!!! I'm the number one procrastinator (possibly on this thread). I did my PS in like, two weeks before it was due. Possibly a week. who knows. It was a horrible two weeks since I did ALL the supplements at the same time.

Take yoga! keep busy, especially AFTER you turn in that app. It's a LOOOONG haul. Keep on working towards hours! (just in case, since these app cycles seem to flow one into another).
 
TigerWillow said:
Take yoga! keep busy, especially AFTER you turn in that app. It's a LOOOONG haul. Keep on working towards hours! (just in case, since these app cycles seem to flow one into another).
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This. Do not stop getting experience and a variety of them just because you hit submit. If you're granted an interview, talking about new experiences not on your application will really show your commitment to the profession and give you more to talk about. And then you won't be behind if you have to apply again. Of course, I hope that doesn't it happen.
 
I think what I'm dealing with is guilt that I have to keep asking my eLOR writers to keep doing it. And if I apply to private school they have to fill out separate ones. I am CERTAIN that my advisers, who are writing a couple of mine, are super busy writing LORs for a ton of people and I hate having to ask. 🙁
 
irrelephant23 said:
i know. its just. so. tempting. i've basically put the rest of my vmcas off so I can focus on figuring out what schools I want to apply to. which comes second to working 40+ hours a week. but every time I come on here i end up going through old threads and reading everything I can. its addicting.
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You can do it!!!! I worked 40+ hours when I applied so I know how it feels so daunting and overwhelming each time you open the app and then come scan this site, but you will get it done!!! Accomplishing it in little bits at a time is better than nothing at all. Fill in what you can when you can. It's only June! Remind yourself that 🙂

I submitted mine I think two weeks before the deadline. I submitted my supps that had essays the week after. Everyone has their own pace 🙂

And like TW said, prepare yourself for the wait after!!! No matter how early or how late you submit, y'all are going to hear from some schools at the same time as everyone else regardless!
 
Katie8 said:
You can do it!!!! I worked 40+ hours when I applied so I know how it feels so daunting and overwhelming each time you open the app and then come scan this site, but you will get it done!!! Accomplishing it in little bits at a time is better than nothing at all. Fill in what you can when you can. It's only June! Remind yourself that 🙂

I submitted mine I think two weeks before the deadline. I submitted my supps that had essays the week after. Everyone has their own pace 🙂

And like TW said, prepare yourself for the wait after!!! No matter how early or how late you submit, y'all are going to hear from some schools at the same time as everyone else regardless!
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👍 I submitted mine a week before the deadline myself since I had a bunch of other stuff to take care of first. You have plenty of time and doing what you can now is the best thing to do.

And second on what TW and Orca said...be prepared for that seemingly endless wait after you submit everything. Keep getting more experience cuz it will definitely help for interviews and keep you sane during the waiting. In know it definitely helped me 🙂
 
Thanks everyone for the encouragement!!! I know personally how important it is to keep getting hours and experiences after submitting. In a way I'm glad that I didn't get in last cycle because I would have missed out on two awesome wildlife med internships I'm doing this summer that I absolutely love! Now I'm crazy about wildlife!

PS: You're all superstars!
 
Abney said:
I think what I'm dealing with is guilt that I have to keep asking my eLOR writers to keep doing it. And if I apply to private school they have to fill out separate ones. I am CERTAIN that my advisers, who are writing a couple of mine, are super busy writing LORs for a ton of people and I hate having to ask. 🙁
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What schools require separate letters? I haven't come across that yet in my school research.
 
Ooooh okay gotchya! I haven't really looked at them yet so that makes sense. Thanks for the headsup!
 
irrelephant23 said:
Ooooh okay gotchya! I haven't really looked at them yet so that makes sense. Thanks for the headsup!
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Texas A&M is another one. You have to go through the UT med system for the app. Plus, some of the secondary apps might require more eLORs. When I applied to Cornell last cycle, I have to get more eLORs for extra experiences I listed.

So, just make sure that you know what your schools want for their apps. It'll save you heartburn in the end 😉
 
zanydogz said:
Texas A&M is another one. You have to go through the UT med system for the app. Plus, some of the secondary apps might require more eLORs. When I applied to Cornell last cycle, I have to get more eLORs for extra experiences I listed.

So, just make sure that you know what your schools want for their apps. It'll save you heartburn in the end 😉
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Tufts is another one. And they want a vet and 2 professors for their LORs. I think any of the Caribbean schools you have to apply to separately as well.
 
irrelephant23 said:
Tufts wants separate eLOR's? I didn't see that on their website at all. All it says is two academic/professors and one vet. It doesn't say anything about having separate letters from VMCAS. This is the link I am looking at: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/dvm/application.html#application_requirements
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That's because they don't use VMCAS at all 😉

Edit: The plus side is that if you ever have to reapply with them, they keep EVERYTHING on file so you don't need to resend things or re-fill out all those tedious experience and grade sections
 
Minnerbelle said:
That's because they don't use VMCAS at all 😉
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I just looked at their website again and actually read the information. Wow, I feel like an idiot! I never even noticed that on the VMCAS designations!! Thank you so much for pointing that out! That's one less VMCAS fee for me! I'm glad I can stay anonymous on this forum! They'd probably reject me automatically for being so dumb :laugh: oh wellll!

EDIT: I wish VMCAS did that! I spend a wonderful time double checking all my course spellings again.
PS. just realized I only used one period in that entire post. Sorry for all the !!!!!!!!!
 
TigerWillow said:
Keep on working towards hours! (just in case, since these app cycles seem to flow one into another).
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orca2011 said:
This. Do not stop getting experience and a variety of them just because you hit submit. If you're granted an interview, talking about new experiences not on your application will really show your commitment to the profession and give you more to talk about. And then you won't be behind if you have to apply again. Of course, I hope that doesn't it happen.
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Agreed. 👍 After I submitted my application last year, I didn't get any new veterinary experience. Partially because I wanted to focus on my courses, and I was also on stand-by waiting for a research project to start up. It was supposed to start last November, but it's now June, and it still hasn't started!

When I had a file review with one school, they asked me what I had been doing since my application, and I felt very embarrassed to tell them that I hadn't earned any more veterinary experience hours. It's was a bit of a disappointment for me to fill out the veterinary experience portion without anything new to add from the fall and spring. However, now I have some more hours. I will also be starting research very soon that will continue throughout the school year, and I will be spending time in a clinic as soon as my summer classes end. I'm not making the same mistake again!
 
I'm looking at Cornell's supplemental and it says to list "up to 5 of your most significant animal/vet experiences." Do you think it would be better to list less than 5 in order to only send the strongest recommendations, or list 5 even if it means trying to get a letter from someone I haven't worked with in 4 years? Because I'm pretty sure those are my options for it...
 
equineconstant said:
I'm looking at Cornell's supplemental and it says to list "up to 5 of your most significant animal/vet experiences." Do you think it would be better to list less than 5 in order to only send the strongest recommendations, or list 5 even if it means trying to get a letter from someone I haven't worked with in 4 years? Because I'm pretty sure those are my options for it...
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I think it depends on how good you think that last recommendation is going to be. My 2 vet LORs came from vets I hadn't see in 3-4 years, and they wrote probably the best ones of the bunch.

If you get 4 awesome letters, and the last one is going to be like "Equinecionstant shadowed me 4 years ago. From what I can remember, I think she was probably fine as I don't remember her pissing me off," it's probably best to leave that last one out. Especially if it's experience in a field you have a ton of hours in already.

But if that last experience will add something special to your apps, even with a lukewarm rec, I don't think it'll hurt as long as all your other LORs are fabulous. Others might have a different opinion though. You can always call Cornell and ask too
 
The last letter would be from when I volunteered at the zoo in the hoofstock section. It was when I was in high school, and I don't think I was that memorable (pretty much what you said, probably fine and all that). It's not a field I've got other experience in, but it is animal experience rather than vet experience. And of course I'll still include it in my animal experience, just maybe not as one of my "5 most significant" for Cornell. ...wait, does that make it better or worse? :laugh:
 
equineconstant said:
I'm looking at Cornell's supplemental and it says to list "up to 5 of your most significant animal/vet experiences." Do you think it would be better to list less than 5 in order to only send the strongest recommendations, or list 5 even if it means trying to get a letter from someone I haven't worked with in 4 years? Because I'm pretty sure those are my options for it...
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I applied to Cornell last year, so I feel you. I would probably say that if you have less than 5 its okay. I would definitely put your most recent ones and the ones that you've done the longest. If you really think that you can't get a good letter from someone who you worked with 4 yrs ago, then don't write it down for Cornell...just put it on your VMCAS. Oh and the experiences you write for VMCAS and Cornell are probably going to be the same, so don't be surprised to see duplicates. Also, make sure that any experience you write down in Cornell is followed by an eLOR. Its annoying, but its what they want 🙄
 
equineconstant said:
The last letter would be from when I volunteered at the zoo in the hoofstock section. It was when I was in high school, and I don't think I was that memorable (pretty much what you said, probably fine and all that). It's not a field I've got other experience in, but it is animal experience rather than vet experience. And of course I'll still include it in my animal experience, just maybe not as one of my "5 most significant" for Cornell. ...wait, does that make it better or worse? :laugh:
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zanydogz said:
I applied to Cornell last year, so I feel you. I would probably say that if you have less than 5 its okay. I would definitely put your most recent ones and the ones that you've done the longest. If you really think that you can't get a good letter from someone who you worked with 4 yrs ago, then don't write it down for Cornell...just put it on your VMCAS. Oh and the experiences you write for VMCAS and Cornell are probably going to be the same, so don't be surprised to see duplicates. Also, make sure that any experience you write down in Cornell is followed by an eLOR. Its annoying, but its what they want 🙄
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I know that they really like to see a variety of experiences. I also read that they look at the experiences on your VMCAS as well, but I'm assuming they put more emphasis and focus on the experiences you listed on the supplemental. As everyone else has said, I would avoid putting any experiences on the supplemental that would give you a bad recommendation.
 
TwistedRose said:
Agreed. 👍 After I submitted my application last year, I didn't get any new veterinary experience. Partially because I wanted to focus on my courses, and I was also on stand-by waiting for a research project to start up. It was supposed to start last November, but it's now June, and it still hasn't started!

When I had a file review with one school, they asked me what I had been doing since my application, and I felt very embarrassed to tell them that I hadn't earned any more veterinary experience hours. It's was a bit of a disappointment for me to fill out the veterinary experience portion without anything new to add from the fall and spring. However, now I have some more hours. I will also be starting research very soon that will continue throughout the school year, and I will be spending time in a clinic as soon as my summer classes end. I'm not making the same mistake again!
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I think that is the BEST advice, especially if your vet hours are low to begin with...I am fortunate enough that my full time job is "veterinary hours" but other than just working from Oct-March (when I realized I did not get in) I didnt get any hours. I had a good number to begin with but I didnt want to make it seem like I wasnt still trying to experience new things...since then I shadowed two zoo vets, started volunteering at a horse rescue and spay/neuter clinic for cats (animal experience), and am trying to get in touch with an equine vet, and like I said I have another 12 months of full time work as a vet tech. This time around I will not be stopping in October just because apps close!

The application cycles really will just run together if you end up applying more than once...and it sucks trying to cram "new experiences" in over one summer while working full time. So my advice is to not focus so much on HOURS but what you are LEARNING, building your resume is only useful if you are building your knowledge as well. Stick with the experiences through the fall and into the next cycle if you can!
 
NCSU's supplemental app is now up for anyone interested.
 
So I just opened up my vet app folder, and I totally have like a gazillion drafts of all these PS statements.


Completely unorganized. Can't even find my final draft (sending it to one of you guys!). Thank dog I don't have to apply again.

So note: organize all the ps and give them appropriate titles!!! It's ridiculous right now. I've given up for the time being.
 
TigerWillow said:
So I just opened up my vet app folder, and I totally have like a gazillion drafts of all these PS statements.


Completely unorganized. Can't even find my final draft (sending it to one of you guys!). Thank dog I don't have to apply again.

So note: organize all the ps and give them appropriate titles!!! It's ridiculous right now. I've given up for the time being.
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Hahah. I have like 10 million copies of mine too, especially since I applied twice. I'm not actually quite sure if I have the original copy from my first cycle anymore. I might have saved over it...
 
Trilt said:
Aww, swapped out the "what are you passionate about other than vet med" question. I liked that one. :c
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me too!! I wrote about cooking 🙂 it was fun!
 
Just opened an application because this may actually happen this year. (And I'm slightly terrified).

But now I completely understand every time anyone has ever complained about the coursework section. What a pain in the you-know-what.
 
kakurubird said:
But now I completely understand every time anyone has ever complained about the coursework section. What a pain in the you-know-what.
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Ugh, forreal. My transcripts weren't good enough? 🙄
 
hopefulinva said:
Ugh, forreal. My transcripts weren't good enough? 🙄
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Seriously. I think everyone should adopt grad school application procedures. Upload copies of your transcripts and that's it. No picking options from drop down menus/typing it all in. Wayyy easier. My favorite application was for a grad school program at the school I studied abroad in the UK. Deadline was like July 1 for September admission. No app fee. No GRE required. No official transcripts required. One LOR. Just upload copies of your transcripts and resume and one essay about why that program and how it will help you meet your career goals and you're done. And then you get your decision in two weeks.
 
Hi everyone! Been a lurker since I decided to become a vet a year and a half ago. I'm applying this cycle as a 1st timer, oh boy! Just took my GRE today, and for those of you about to take it, IT"S HORRIBLE!!!! The time goes so fast and staring at the computer screen for four hours leaves you loopy. I managed a 159 verbal and a 151 quantitative. Decent enough :shrug:. My cum GPA is 3.89, so hopefully my woefully average scores are fine. I'm applying to Oklahoma and Wisconsin. I can't wait to get to know all of you 😀
 
GRE was the first test I ever actually ran out of time on.

On my only sitting. Because it was switching to the new style, and we had to have taken it by August 1st. And I took it in July.

Glad it worked out for me anyway.

😎👍
 
hopefulinva said:
GRE was the first test I ever actually ran out of time on.

On my only sitting. Because it was switching to the new style, and we had to have taken it by August 1st. And I took it in July.

Glad it worked out for me anyway.

😎👍
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The first time, I think I rushed through it cause I was anxious. The second time, I ran out of time because I was too calm, or I just flat out didn't care. I wasn't in a good place mentally when I took it both times, but I was definitely in a worse place the 2nd time around. Pretty sure that's why my verbal score dropped by 100 points. Quantitative and Writing went up though. Haha. Not by much, but still up.
 
hopefulinva said:
GRE was the first test I ever actually ran out of time on.

On my only sitting. Because it was switching to the new style, and we had to have taken it by August 1st. And I took it in July.

Glad it worked out for me anyway.

😎👍
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I took both the old and the new last year within 3 weeks of each other. The first time I took it, it was the old one and i hated the fact that you couldn't go back to questions. I would look at a question (analogies :barf:) and realize that I didn't know it and didn't want to waste the time on it. That backfired because I would finish the section with like 5 minutes to spare and be ticked that I didn't use that time and couldn't go back. So the first time I took it, I finished in under three hours. But when I took it the second time and could actually go back to questions, I took every last second. So freakin long.
 
Lots of personal issues in my life right now.
On top of that, I had to make the horrible decision last night to euthanize my kitty of 17+ years. My heart is just shattered & I literally feel like my entire world is crumbling around me.

I have no motivation to study for the GRE, & that's the next most important thing I need to knock off my list. Even when I try to study, there is no focus & by the time I finish one sentence I can't remember the first word I read.

So much on my list to do that's all time sensitive & I just wanna crawl in a hole & stay there.
 
I'm going to pull my hat out of the ring for this year. When trying to write my personal statement, I realized that it was pretty much impossible to do without having any kind of vet experience at all. I hate writing personal statements but I am a big believer in them being a very good thing to do. (I I spent eleven years ice-skating and quit right before going to undergrad. My personal statement was extremely cathartic and an excellent way to get in touch with all my feelings about quitting and be ok with it.) While I can think of many reasons why I don't want to go to grad school anymore, I can't come up with a whole lot of reasons yet why I want to be a vet (besides a gut feeling which has never failed me yet). Can't exactly write about that, or try to put together some silly inspiring story like "I was in the Galapagos this winter and was really inspired by the giant tortoise breeding center (all true)...and I'm sure they need a vet there somewhere."

Bottom line: I need to rack up some clinic hours not only for my application to be competitive but for myself. I do need to make sure this is really what I want to do.

But I DO still have a question for when I do apply. Auburn's website says Organic Chemistry and Physics have to have been completed within six years. Is that six years of application or enrollment? I took O-chem I in spring 2007, O-chem II in fall 2007, and Physics I in Spring 2008. So I might have to retake all three. Which wouldn't be that big a deal and might be a blessing in disguise since I have to take Biochem anyway and wouldn't mind an O-chem refresher first. I will ask the Auburn people when I tour in July but since I'm trying to figure out where to enroll to take these courses now, it would be helpful if someone has some kind of experience with it.
 
I'm having trouble figuring out to do for my eLORs. I emailed my advisor, but she hasn't gotten back to me, and y'all usually have good advice, so...

Facts:
-Cornell wants up to 5 "most significant" experience letters
-At least 2 of the schools I'm applying to want academic/science letters
-Missouri wants an employer letter
-I did this HPAC committee interview at my school, so they can write me a committee letter. Their letter would be based on the interview and also on 4 letters of recommendation they had me turn into them before the interview.
-VMCAS only allows 6 letters. And I really don't want to deal with figuring out how to send more. Especially since at least one of my schools won't read more than 4.

Questions:
-Do you think the committee letter would count as science/academic?
-Anyone know how Missouri picks which 4 of the 6 letters I'm submitting to read?

Right now I'm thinking of these for my eLORs; any thoughts?:

1. Microbiology teacher for my science/academic, unless HPAC would count and might be better
2. One of the professors from the Writing Center (where I'm a tutor) as an employer
3-5. Veterinarians I've worked with (small animal, exotic, and equine)
6. A significant animal experience letter. Unfortunately, neither of these letter writers has seen me since I started college. For this, I am considering asking someone from the Audubon Zoo, where I volunteered my senior year in high school (possibly more impressive experience, but I'm not sure they could write a very strong letter) or my trainer from riding in high school (he knew me for 2 years, but the experience is possibly not as great).

Sorry for the long post, but there's a lot to my question! Also, I may or may not be procrastinating working on my personal statement. 😉
 
equineconstant said:
I'm having trouble figuring out to do for my eLORs. I emailed my advisor, but she hasn't gotten back to me, and y'all usually have good advice, so...

Facts:
-Cornell wants up to 5 "most significant" experience letters
-At least 2 of the schools I'm applying to want academic/science letters
-Missouri wants an employer letter
-I did this HPAC committee interview at my school, so they can write me a committee letter. Their letter would be based on the interview and also on 4 letters of recommendation they had me turn into them before the interview.
-VMCAS only allows 6 letters. And I really don't want to deal with figuring out how to send more. Especially since at least one of my schools won't read more than 4.

Questions:
-Do you think the committee letter would count as science/academic?
-Anyone know how Missouri picks which 4 of the 6 letters I'm submitting to read?

Right now I'm thinking of these for my eLORs; any thoughts?:

1. Microbiology teacher for my science/academic, unless HPAC would count and might be better
2. One of the professors from the Writing Center (where I'm a tutor) as an employer
3-5. Veterinarians I've worked with (small animal, exotic, and equine)
6. A significant animal experience letter. Unfortunately, neither of these letter writers has seen me since I started college. For this, I am considering asking someone from the Audubon Zoo, where I volunteered my senior year in high school (possibly more impressive experience, but I'm not sure they could write a very strong letter) or my trainer from riding in high school (he knew me for 2 years, but the experience is possibly not as great).

Sorry for the long post, but there's a lot to my question! Also, I may or may not be procrastinating working on my personal statement. 😉
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For Cornell, you can submit some letters through their system, rather than through VMCAS.
For your VMCAS letters, I would probably think again about that #6 letter. It doesn't seem like it would be a very strong letter and if you already have 5 letters, a 6th likely won't make a different and especially won't if it's not very strong.

Where did you find the info on Missouri wanted an employer? I can't find that anywhere, but am considering applying there.
 
Don't forget that some of those letters might qualify for different things based on the school you're looking at. The professor at the writing center could be seen as both employer and academic (even if the person didn't actually teach you anything). I am employed as a research assistant by my PI who also happened to teach on of my upper level Animal Sci courses. If you can't get any more overlap, then definitely consider submitting through the Cornell system! I've never had any experience with that, but I know a lot of other schools do not allow separate letters from VMCAS.
 
I stumbled across this on youtube, thought it might be helpful to some of you. It discusses the interview process, at least from Minnesota's point of view, but I know Illinois uses behavior based as well.

http://youtu.be/zVqsDMyAfS8
 
equineconstant said:
Ok, I can't find it on the Missouri website. But it is on this chart here:
http://www.aavmc.org/data/files/vmcas/2013/evalreq.pdf



So...😕
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hmmm well I applied last year to Missouri as an OOS and was accepted and I did not have an evaluation from an employer. But I applied through VMCAS and then did the supplemental application. You could always call or e-mail and ask (they are really nice) because then you will know for sure what to do and it might have changed since last year.
 
SpunkyMaddie said:
hmmm well I applied last year to Missouri as an OOS and was accepted and I did not have an evaluation from an employer. But I applied through VMCAS and then did the supplemental application. You could always call or e-mail and ask (they are really nice) because then you will know for sure what to do and it might have changed since last year.
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Do you remember when the supplemental from last year went up? It seems all they have now is last year's still up.
I get the impression that they have their own forms or something and don't just want straight up letters? Or is that just if you use their direct application instead of the supplemental/VMCAS? I'm going to do through VMCAS and the supplemental also.
 
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