Class of 2016 hopefuls: how are you doing?

[sunnex3]

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some of you are so on point.

i haven't even finished filling out the VMCAS application, and i JUST finished brainstorming for my PS. haven't even started writing the darn thing yet. 🙁

i'm actually really freaking out about how i'm going to get everything done, but luckily none of my schools have an extensive supplemental apps...but still!

i'm especially worried because starting this weekend i'm working my full time schedule for the next year - 3 13hr shifts at the hospital (F/Sa/Su)- then I'm taking 1.5 classes as well and on top of that applying. scheduling and prioritizing is going to be really tough until october 3rd.

 

[LittleWiz]

some of you are so on point.

i haven't even finished filling out the VMCAS application, and i JUST finished brainstorming for my PS. haven't even started writing the darn thing yet. 🙁

i'm actually really freaking out about how i'm going to get everything done, but luckily none of my schools have an extensive supplemental apps...but still!

i'm especially worried because starting this weekend i'm working my full time schedule for the next year - 3 13hr shifts at the hospital (F/Sa/Su)- then I'm taking 1.5 classes as well and on top of that applying. scheduling and prioritizing is going to be really tough until october 3rd.

You are certainly not alone! I'm way behind on my PS as well. And it doesn't help that VMCAS sends e-mails every few weeks saying I haven't submitted by app yet and my evaluators haven't submitted their evals yet either. Makes me feel even more pinched for time!

 

[Trilt]

You are certainly not alone! I'm way behind on my PS as well. And it doesn't help that VMCAS sends e-mails every few weeks saying I haven't submitted by app yet and my evaluators haven't submitted their evals yet either. Makes me feel even more pinched for time!

I /hate/ those emails! ugh like I don't know I haven't submitted yet.

 

[ontarioprevet]

You are certainly not alone! I'm way behind on my PS as well. And it doesn't help that VMCAS sends e-mails every few weeks saying I haven't submitted by app yet and my evaluators haven't submitted their evals yet either. Makes me feel even more pinched for time!

I completely agree!

 

[squirrelsrule]

I hate those emails too. My goal is to submit it next Monday since I have Friday, Sunday, and Monday off work. Hoping I can get it finished up by then. I just have to fill out my descriptions a little better and finish up my PS, which is nearly done 😀. For a while there I thought the PS writing was gonna kill me, but I survived 🙂.

 

[ontarioprevet]

My issue is the references- as is usually the case!

 

[sunnex3]

My issue is the references- as is usually the case!

exactly the opposite for me! i have 6 references (none of which are completed yet, just people who have agreed to write me references) and now i have to choose which ones i want the schools to read...

6 weeks everyone! i'm quietly freaking out on the inside...

 

[sunnex3]

I hate those emails too. My goal is to submit it next Monday since I have Friday, Sunday, and Monday off work. Hoping I can get it finished up by then. I just have to fill out my descriptions a little better and finish up my PS, which is nearly done 😀. For a while there I thought the PS writing was gonna kill me, but I survived 🙂.

you're so ahead of the game...i wish i were on top of things like you.

 

[squirrelsrule]

I knew I was gonna be crazy busy over the summer, so I started way early on my PS (I think I had my first draft done in April 🙂 ). I rehab about 150 animals a year and am working full time and have to take Micro in the fall, so I just knew if I didn't really focus on it early it would never get done. Seems to be paying off 🙂. Plus I have always been one of those people that gets stuff for school done right away. If we get a project, I will have it done early because I can't stand leaving things go to the last minute.

I am sure you'll be fine though, you still have a month and a half to go! For the PS, I didn't brainstorm (brainstorming never works for me), I just started writing. I sent my first draft off to Kaydubs who gave me great feedback for what parts are good and what parts aren't what a PS should be about. Then I revised and sent it off again, and again and again until finally, I like it and the people who have been reviewing it like it too. Now down to the minor revisions and it's done 🙂. The only issue for you will be that most of the reviewers are starting up with school and might not have the time to review yours. If you need my help, I can look it over for you. I have gotten a lot of great advice from everyone and feel I know what's expected in the PS now. Obviously I haven't gotten into vet school yet, though, so I understand if you'd rather have a successful applicant read it! If you get a draft done and want to exchange this weekend and review each others, I'd be up for that too.

 

[ontarioprevet]

exactly the opposite for me! i have 6 references (none of which are completed yet, just people who have agreed to write me references) and now i have to choose which ones i want the schools to read...

6 weeks everyone! i'm quietly freaking out on the inside...

I have four referees confirmed and inputted, however none of them have submitted yet! It would help if they did so and give me less stress when I receive those VMCAS emails that say 'none of your references have been completed' etc etc

 

[sunnex3]

I knew I was gonna be crazy busy over the summer, so I started way early on my PS (I think I had my first draft done in April 🙂 ). I rehab about 150 animals a year and am working full time and have to take Micro in the fall, so I just knew if I didn't really focus on it early it would never get done. Seems to be paying off 🙂. Plus I have always been one of those people that gets stuff for school done right away. If we get a project, I will have it done early because I can't stand leaving things go to the last minute.

I am sure you'll be fine though, you still have a month and a half to go! For the PS, I didn't brainstorm (brainstorming never works for me), I just started writing. I sent my first draft off to Kaydubs who gave me great feedback for what parts are good and what parts aren't what a PS should be about. Then I revised and sent it off again, and again and again until finally, I like it and the people who have been reviewing it like it too. Now down to the minor revisions and it's done 🙂. The only issue for you will be that most of the reviewers are starting up with school and might not have the time to review yours. If you need my help, I can look it over for you. I have gotten a lot of great advice from everyone and feel I know what's expected in the PS now. Obviously I haven't gotten into vet school yet, though, so I understand if you'd rather have a successful applicant read it! If you get a draft done and want to exchange this weekend and review each others, I'd be up for that too.

yeah i'm planning on starting my draft this weekend and have my first draft done hopefully by the end of next week.

we'll see when i get my draft done! i'd love to switch and read over yours as well! i'm usually very on top of things (as you said about yourself) but for some reason i couldn't get it done for VMCAS...i think it had something to do with graduating in May and just being glad about being done with undergrad so i kinda slacked off this summer.

 

[ontarioprevet]

October still feels far away! (Even though it isn't)

 

[LetItSnow]

October still feels far away! (Even though it isn't)

In my head last year I kept telling myself that it was due "at the end of September," not "October."

That kept it in perspective for me. 🙂

 

[ontarioprevet]

In my head last year I kept telling myself that it was due "at the end of September," not "October."

That kept it in perspective for me. 🙂

Good point!
I just can't believe how fast time goes by...

 

[HelloNello]

You are certainly not alone! I'm way behind on my PS as well. And it doesn't help that VMCAS sends e-mails every few weeks saying I haven't submitted by app yet and my evaluators haven't submitted their evals yet either. Makes me feel even more pinched for time!

This makes me feel less alone. I've started having full on panic attacks over this. Everyone keeps telling me it'll work out, but I'm definitely nervous 🙁

PS: Has anyone applied to Glasgow or Edinburgh yet? If so, do they require you to send copies of your transcripts to them and does anyone have the addresses? I've been searching high and low, but can't seem to find the answers. I know I could e-mail, but I was hoping someone on SDN might know the answer.

What are you all doing about AP scores? I took English, human geo, and psych. None are pre reqs for vet school. Do I need to send my official scores or can I just report them?

 

[sunnex3]

This makes me feel less alone. I've started having full on panic attacks over this. Everyone keeps telling me it'll work out, but I'm definitely nervous 🙁

PS: Has anyone applied to Glasgow or Edinburgh yet? If so, do they require you to send copies of your transcripts to them and does anyone have the addresses? I've been searching high and low, but can't seem to find the answers. I know I could e-mail, but I was hoping someone on SDN might know the answer.

What are you all doing about AP scores? I took English, human geo, and psych. None are pre reqs for vet school. Do I need to send my official scores or can I just report them?

whoops totally forgot about them AP scores....those are from such a long time ago!

darn PS i still haven't started it...i've been doing everything else besides work on it! started my CSU supplemental today, made an excel spreadsheet with all important requirements/deadlines, etc. but i just can't seem to tackle writing the PS yet. i think this is going to be my biggest battle for applying...can't seem to get my thoughts together 🙁

 

[hedgiehog]

sunnex I'm in the exact same boat as you. I sort of have an idea of what I want to write in my personal statement but I just can't seem to get it going. Whenever I sit down to start it I just think it sounds silly. I hope once I get back to school before anything too hard starts I'll be able to just power through it.

 

[HelloNello]

.

 

[RemyHou]

Just start writing is my advice. I am a terrible writer and my first draft reflected it. It was you typical "I love animals" personal statement. I had just started writing everything down and when I re-read it I found some good points in it. It helped me to just write. I wrote about everything I knew about vet med and everything I've been through. Now, 8 drafts later, my personal statement is pretty good and it definitely screams who I am. If you are not a good writer (like myself) and try to make it perfect on your first round you will go nuts.

Goodluck everybody. Glad SDN is here to help keep me somewhat sane in the next few months.

I think what you said was really good advice. I've been nit-picking my PS to death ever since I first wrote it. On top of that, I'm really starting to feel the pressure since I haven't heard anything back from my evaluators yet.

 

[smm482]

I'm glad I'm not the only one hung up on my PS. I applied 2 years ago and was working on my app right up until the final night. This go around I am determined to get things done earlier which is difficult since I am the ultimate procrastinator. I'm forcing myself to treat Sept. 1 as my VMCAS. Now that I am a more "non-trad" applicant (I graduated undergrad in 2007) I have a completely different spin on things this cycle. My PS from two years ago received good feedback in my file reviews, but I am in such a different place now that everything I wrote seems almost irrelevant. Time to start from scratch...now with another two years of life to cram into 3000 characters!

 

[sunnex3]

ugh i started writing my PS today and i had no idea how little space 5000 characters is...until now. i'm already at 2500 characters and i'm not even like 1/3 done with what i want to say! i was thinking i'd have a hard time thinking of stuff to write about, but it looks like it's going to be exactly the opposite...

😱

 

[smm482]

now with another two years of life to cram into 3000 characters!

Ah yes, 5000 characters! I've been listening to my boss complain about the fact that they only get 3000 characters for their elor and the # is stuck in my mind!

 

[squirrelsrule]

Wow, eLORs can only be 3000 characters, that is super short!

 

[sunnex3]

freak out! seriously i have so much i want to write about...how am i going to trim this down? my current plan is to just writewritewrite as much as i can and then focus on shortening...i don't want the length to affect how i'm writing it.

AHHHHH!

 

[squirrelsrule]

That's the best bet. I'd just write it out as you want to say it and then worry about length. I did that and found that I repeated myself a lot and even though I was saying different things, it could easily be condensed so it flowed better and wasn't as repetitive. Good luck!

 

[JumpHigherLivie]

ugh i started writing my PS today and i had no idea how little space 5000 characters is...until now. i'm already at 2500 characters and i'm not even like 1/3 done with what i want to say! i was thinking i'd have a hard time thinking of stuff to write about, but it looks like it's going to be exactly the opposite...

My advise is to ignore the characters for now and write the personal statement you WANT to write. Just get it out of your system ... you wont be happy until you do.

Then get realistic. First, is the topic manner going to get you into vet school (I wrote my first PS on my love of horses and equine med ... but even though it was a HUGE driving force for me, I didn't think that PS would get ME into vet school, so I wrote the PS that I thought would grab the adcom. But, I never could have done this if I hadn't gotten the first one otu of my system.

THEN after you've written your PS (and maybe you didn't need to write two like me!) start hacking. You may have to hack out entire paragraphs. You may get down to the fewer words for the same meaning point.

But IMHO, I never could have written a good PS if I had started out with the character set in mind, bc I needed to see everything I wanted to say on paper, before I could choose what I needed to say under the character constraints (and remember, that limit includes spaces!)

 

[squirrelsrule]

Was talking to the vet from Michigan about Michigan's vet program and now I am thinking I don't want to apply there. She said their wildlife program is not good at all and in her class they raised a baby robin and then the professor killed it and threw it in the woods to teach them about herd health 😱. I had thought their program looked good because they have the wildlife ward and it looked really cool, but she said that wasn't anything good either. Not sure now if I'd be happy there. I do not intend to specialize in wildlife, but wildlife is very close to my heart and I do want to get involved with any rehabilitation going on at vet school. So, I guess I will be looking for a different 3rd school to apply to. Maybe Tennessee? Not sure.

 

[JumpHigherLivie]

Hi Squirrelsrule --

I'm a current vet student at MSU (starting third year) and I'd love to answer any questions you might have and be very candid about the pros and cons of MSU if you'd like to PM me.
I obviously don't know anything about the robin incident but I find it shocking and can't honestly imagine something like that happening at MSU. You should check out MSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital on Facebook ... they have a page and we've been quite busy wtih wildlife this summer ... everything from hawks, to a lion getting an MRI, and a number of their pictures are on the web.

 

[twelvetigers]

Never, never, never make any rash decisions based on hearsay. These stories seem to come around no matter what. Especially if it sounds ridiculous.

 

[psilovethomas]

Was talking to the vet from Michigan about Michigan's vet program and now I am thinking I don't want to apply there. She said their wildlife program is not good at all and in her class they raised a baby robin and then the professor killed it and threw it in the woods to teach them about herd health 😱. I had thought their program looked good because they have the wildlife ward and it looked really cool, but she said that wasn't anything good either. Not sure now if I'd be happy there. I do not intend to specialize in wildlife, but wildlife is very close to my heart and I do want to get involved with any rehabilitation going on at vet school. So, I guess I will be looking for a different 3rd school to apply to. Maybe Tennessee? Not sure.

I don't think it was appropriate to share this story with SDN. MSU is a great school and I don't think this would happen.

 

[squirrelsrule]

I don't think it was appropriate to share this story with SDN. MSU is a great school and I don't think this would happen.

I didn't mean to offend anyone or to say that MSUs program isn't good. I am just concerned about if the school is right for me. The vet went to the school 10 years ago, so perhaps things have changed, I'd hope so.

Also, the vet I talked to did love the school overall. She was not into wildlife rehab though, so she warned me that that part might make me not like the school.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Never, never, never make any rash decisions based on hearsay. These stories seem to come around no matter what. Especially if it sounds ridiculous.

+10000

even people who seem pretty normal and knowledgeable otherwise can sometimes have a wild story or two on something they don't know too much about. it's human nature to be fascinated by and want to perpetuate scandalous and/or polarizing tales. if anything, apply if it's a school you would have applied to without such hearsay, and check it out yourself when you go for an interview/visit.

 

[rustysmom]

Squirrelsrule -

I am a 4th year student at Michigan State and I have worked with the wildlife staff on a few cases so far and look forward to working with them again. Just from the little bit I've seen, I think our wildlife rehab program is fantastic. The wildlife veterinarians on staff are very professional and interested in teaching students and the public. We do have an elective Zoo and Wildlife Medicine rotation that is very popular year after year. You can volunteer in the wildlife ward as a first year veterinary student, if you want.

Although Michigan State does not currently interview, you are welcome to tour the school and hospital at any time you set up with the admissions staff. If you have questions about MSU, feel free to PM me as well.

 

[squirrelsrule]

That is good to hear Rustysmom. The more I think about it the more it feels like a rash decision to not apply based on what one person says. I will have to see about taking a tour.

 

[Class]

Class of 2016 mean they will be graduated in 2016, right?

My place must be here. Does this belong to pharmacy? No?

 

[Class]

Uh, sorry, this looks like the vet-sub-forum.

 

[Bisbee]

Right...this is pre-veterinary, not pharmacy.

 

[squirrelsrule]

I have a question about the explanation statement. I want to put some kind of explanation statement in about my status as a non-matriculated student for the first 2 years of college. I called VMCAS to see about what to list my status as since I was still in High School and they told me to contact the school but that unless they said to that I shouldn't mark it as non-matriculated and I got the vibe that non-matriculated was a bad thing. When I called the school, though, they told me that I had to list it as non-matriculated 🙁. So, I want to put something in there about how I was degree seeking and was labeled as non-matriculated because I was a post-secondary student.

Here's the explanation statement I just came up with:

I was considered a non-matriculated student at Lake Erie College for Fall and Spring semesters of 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 school years. This was not because I was non-degree seeking, but because I was a post secondary student. I was enrolled in high school taking courses at the college, which counted towards both my high school and college degree. I was seeking the Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from Lake Erie College as a post secondary student and achieved that the year after graduating high school. My non-matriculation status was only assigned because I was still in High School.

Does that sound good? Too long? Not enough info? Not really sure if this is even something I should bring up, but I went from Non-matriculated to Senior status so I feel it needs explained, plus I don't have anything else I need to explain, so why not use it for this since it will make me feel better about the non-matriculated status.


Oh, and I finished my PS today . Finished amid picking maggots out of baby squirrels ears and rectums and trying to warm another group of pinkie squirrels left in a car for 24 hours. Ah the life of a rehabber, I love it 🙂. Never a dull moment.

 

[LetItSnow]

Here's the explanation statement I just came up with:

I was considered a non-matriculated student at Lake Erie College for Fall and Spring semesters of 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 school years. This was not because I was non-degree seeking, but because I was a post secondary student. I was enrolled in high school taking courses at the college, which counted towards both my high school and college degree. I was seeking the Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from Lake Erie College as a post secondary student and achieved that the year after graduating high school. My non-matriculation status was only assigned because I was still in High School.

Does that sound good? Too long? Not enough info?

My gut says don't bother bringing it up, since it should be clear from your transcripts and the application info what happened.

If you do want to put something in there, though, I'd cut it down a bit. Merge the first two sentences and ditch the rest: "... College from 2002 to 2004, because I was a post-secondary student while pursuing a B.S. in biology. I was considered non-matriculated only because I was still finishing my high school degree."

Something like that, anyway. Less is more. Too many details can confuse them and make them think harder about it than you want. Since you're not trying to explain something 'negative', all you need to do here is clarify.

 

[squirrelsrule]

My application is submitted . I did decide to enter the shorter explanation statement in, thanks LetItSnow. It probably doesn't make any difference, but it made me feel better, so I added it in there.

I decided to apply to Ohio, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.

Now to work on the supplementals, haven't even looked at Tennessee's yet.

 

[livefor32]

What are you guys addressing in the explanation section? I wanted to use the section to address my GPA, but I was curious what others were using it for.

 

[sunnex3]

My application is submitted . I did decide to enter the shorter explanation statement in, thanks LetItSnow. It probably doesn't make any difference, but it made me feel better, so I added it in there.

I decided to apply to Ohio, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.

Now to work on the supplementals, haven't even looked at Tennessee's yet.

SR do you have any idea what the wisconsin supplemental is like? i know they don't actually even give it to us to complete until november right?

eek so many deadlines, october 3rd for vmcas then november 1st for tufts then the wisconsin supplemental after!

 

[sunnex3]

What are you guys addressing in the explanation section? I wanted to use the section to address my GPA, but I was curious what others were using it for.

i know a lot of people use this section to address hardships such as depression or serious medical illnesses that may have affected your academics...i think anything that is not explicitly reflected in your application that might help explain some red flags in your app are appropriate to put in your explanation statement...

i'm not putting anything there so i don't know exactly what to tell you, but this seems to be what i've read here and there.

 

[sunnex3]

My application is submitted . I did decide to enter the shorter explanation statement in, thanks LetItSnow. It probably doesn't make any difference, but it made me feel better, so I added it in there.

I decided to apply to Ohio, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.

Now to work on the supplementals, haven't even looked at Tennessee's yet.

btw i secretly hate you right now for being all submitted and done with vmcas

 

[squirrelsrule]

SR do you have any idea what the wisconsin supplemental is like? i know they don't actually even give it to us to complete until november right?

eek so many deadlines, october 3rd for vmcas then november 1st for tufts then the wisconsin supplemental after!

I guess Wisconsin sends you the supplemental via email and you have a week to submit it. Can't remember when they said to be on the look out for it. I wonder if it is a week from the date it is sent or a week from when it is opened. I am gonna be freaked out that I'll miss it and check my email like ever 10 minutes as the time gets closer and will probably have nightmares about missing the email.

 

[jrwinsto]

On the subject of explanation section, do you guys think it would be appropriate to put down the reason for some breaks in work/school for me were because I was helping to take care of 2 terminally ill grandparents?

 

[squirrelsrule]

On the subject of explanation section, do you guys think it would be appropriate to put down the reason for some breaks in work/school for me were because I was helping to take care of 2 terminally ill grandparents?

There is a question on there asking if you have had 3 or more months when you were not working or going to school and if you click yes you explain below. I'd put it there.

Depending on how long the breaks were, you could put an explanation in as well, but if it was just 2 short (like 2-3 months) breaks where you missed a semester, I think I'd explain it under the lapse in work or school and be done with it. Don't want to draw more attention to it if it isn't something that will be noticed anyways.

 

[hedgiehog]

I finished my first draft of my personal statement last night and I'm actually kind of happy with it. I sent it out to some people to read it and have already revised it some but I'm starting to feel a lot better about applying this year.

 

[sunnex3]

I finished my first draft of my personal statement last night and I'm actually kind of happy with it. I sent it out to some people to read it and have already revised it some but I'm starting to feel a lot better about applying this year.

i'm almost done with my first draft! plan on finishing it by tomorrow. i also filled out a bunch of stuff on VMCAS today too so i'm feeling a littttle bit better about applying

 

[rubygirl]

I guess Wisconsin sends you the supplemental via email and you have a week to submit it. Can't remember when they said to be on the look out for it. I wonder if it is a week from the date it is sent or a week from when it is opened. I am gonna be freaked out that I'll miss it and check my email like ever 10 minutes as the time gets closer and will probably have nightmares about missing the email.

they have a pre supplement that has to be submitted earlier, i don't remember the exact date, but it is basically just contact information, then after the craziness with everything else starts to settle down they send you an email, they should send you one after the pre supplement closes, then another once the supplement is available. i think we had like 10-14 days to finish it once it opened last cycle, it was due by december 8th last year. like everything else it is a set deadline, but they will tell you what that is when they open the supplement, also the people that work in the admissions office at Wisc U are really nice, just call them and they can probably answer all of your questions too