Class of 2020 Applicants

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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:ninja:

Makes me glad I don't post on the APVMA page. Less worry about being found out :laugh:
 
heyyimhayley said:
It's right on their website.... January interviews... so my guess would be invites ~ a month before that.
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I know they gave the date of interviews; I suppose I was just wondering if some schools tend to send notification sooner (or even later) than the typical "month prior". But thanks.
 
AniSci said:
I know they gave the date of interviews; I suppose I was just wondering if some schools tend to send notification sooner (or even later) than the typical "month prior". But thanks.
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I haven't seen any give more than about a month's notice (just my experience and what I remember from reading the schools threads last year, others can correct me), though I have seen some give less.
 
My cover on APVMA would be blown because of my username... but I'm not a huge poster. I have a couple of times when I needed something, or when I was just surfing and knew the answer to someone's question.
 
AniSci said:
I know they gave the date of interviews; I suppose I was just wondering if some schools tend to send notification sooner (or even later) than the typical "month prior". But thanks.
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That will depend on the school. Mizzou sent the invites much earlier than the interview dates (~2 months) while Minnesota and Illinois were closer to ~1 month for me last year. Other schools like UF sent invites closer to the interviews. I wouldn't expect to hear much until December unless you applied to a Carribean school or one that does rolling admissions like LMU or Midwestern. Those schools issue decisions sooner because they review your applications when they receive it rather than waiting to receive all the applications from VMCAS.
 
heyyimhayley said:
My cover on APVMA would be blown because of my username... but I'm not a huge poster. I have a couple of times when I needed something, or when I was just surfing and knew the answer to someone's question.
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I am the same way. I used to post more but then eventually the page sort of just degraded into people asking the same ten basic, terrible questions over and over again (seriously, if you think SDN is bad sometimes...), so I only ever really comment now if I happen to stumble upon a question I know the answer to.

And, yeah, I'm probably super easy to find through there. Oh, well.
 
Just spent half an hour on the phone with VMCAS looking for my transcripts. They said they can't find them. On to calling the school and having them sent again for more money, just in case. Hopefully they'll be able to overnight them, but I'm not sure.

Edit: And yes, I'm not very sneaky with my usernames. lol. I use this for almost everything so that people I know know it's me.
 
AniSci said:
I know they gave the date of interviews; I suppose I was just wondering if some schools tend to send notification sooner (or even later) than the typical "month prior". But thanks.
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I heard back from St. George's already (well kind of).. I was asked to interview for their VSP program instead of the DVM program so I'm thinking that some schools are already clearing through some piles! But then again, I submitted my application since the mid-end of August so maybe they had a certain level they compared me to?
 
Despoina said:
I heard back from St. George's already (well kind of).. I was asked to interview for their VSP program instead of the DVM program so I'm thinking that some schools are already clearing through some piles! But then again, I submitted my application since the mid-end of August so maybe they had a certain level they compared me to?
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The island schools tend to move at a different pace than the US schools. As was mentioned earlier I think, they look at applications as they get them rather than waiting for all of them to be received like most of the US schools do.
 
batsenecal said:
My concern is that they aren't going to get my transcript. I'm not going to pay hundreds of dollars unless I know they have my transcript. I can't imagine they haven't received it yet, but it is also already too late to resend transcripts. :dead:
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Same boat... Ergh!
 
batsenecal said:
Just spent half an hour on the phone with VMCAS looking for my transcripts. They said they can't find them. On to calling the school and having them sent again for more money, just in case. Hopefully they'll be able to overnight them, but I'm not sure.
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Having the same issue. I mailed all 6 transcripts on August 23rd and all have been received except for one. No straight answer from them after a few attempts, so I'm going to harass Monday morning to see how they lost the one that came from a university less than 1 state away and not those from across the country. Then I'll be making the decision to overnight a second copy just to be safe and spend that extra money. Transcript dept and the mail room have ONE job! Haha. :beat: *rant over*
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
Any friends/colleagues at your school get in with low vet hours? I have 400 research hours to pad them a bit, but updating my VMCAS yesterday made me realize how low mine are comparatively.
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I am actually one of those people. I had maybe a couple hundred hours more than you, but my lack of solid clinical experience was definitely a weak area of mine last year. Like you, I had a little bit of research experience to pad it out.

I've seen plenty of people on accepted student threads who don't have thousands of hours, so try not to stress out in comparing yourself. Vet experience is only one thing they look at, so applicants who really stand out in other areas or have low amounts, but high quality experience can and do make it in.

To be fair, I did get waitlisted at first, and I had so thoroughly given up on getting in that when I got my phone acceptance I was so stunned my friend thought somebody had died.

Basically, you can't let the people with 1000+ hours worry you. Obviously if you don't get in this cycle, that'll be an area to work on. But for now, all you can do is focus on being you and being awesome. I'm rooting for you!
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
Any friends/colleagues at your school get in with low vet hours? I have 400 research hours to pad them a bit, but updating my VMCAS yesterday made me realize how low mine are comparatively.
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IMO, Illinois is a touch harder to get in with lower hours. The admissions process: First step is the academic cutoff. Once you pass that round, your academics are no longer considered. It's all experience, essays, letters, and interview after that. I applied twice. My grades really didn't change from cycle to cycle, but I got significantly more experience.

There are also schools that are really, really academics-based and experience is more of a secondary thing that can only help you.
 
I do agree that Illinois is one of the schools where it's harder to get in with lower experience hours, just because after the interview invites are sent, they no longer look at GPA/GRE. That's not to say it isn't possible, but I think it's tougher here than at other schools.

UC Davis comes to the mind when I think of schools that give academics some pretty serious weight over veterinary hours. Their minimum is something like 180 hours, so once you're past that it seems like the more important factors will be the combination of your academic qualifications and performance on their interview.

It's two ends of the spectrum. In the end, what having low experience means for an application will vary from school to school. I guess I really didn't articulate it well the first time, but I just meant to say that having low hours, in general terms for somebody who is applying to multiple schools, is not necessarily a death sentence.
 
thecatastrophist said:
I do agree that Illinois is one of the schools where it's harder to get in with lower experience hours, just because after the interview invites are sent, they no longer look at GPA/GRE. That's not to say it isn't possible, but I think it's tougher here than at other schools.

UC Davis comes to the mind when I think of schools that give academics some pretty serious weight over veterinary hours. Their minimum is something like 180 hours, so once you're past that it seems like the more important factors will be the combination of your academic qualifications and performance on their interview.

It's two ends of the spectrum. In the end, what having low experience means for an application will vary from school to school. I guess I really didn't articulate it well the first time, but I just meant to say that having low hours, in general terms for somebody who is applying to multiple schools, is not necessarily a death sentence.
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Definitely not! If academics are where your game is at, I also suggest Michigan @wheelin2vetmed . Very, very academics-based admissions process
 
If I am ever in a position of authority and respect in the future and my students/employees ask for a recommendation from me, I'm going to treat it like an honor and do it by the deadline they give me instead of treating it like a burden and waiting until the very last absolute minute to finish it. I'm still waiting on my advisor to finish his recommendation. He told me he'd get it done on Thursday. Nope. Friday. Nope. I sincerely doubt he'll do it this weekend so I'm going to have to contact him again on Monday. He at least accessed VMCAS and accepted so I'm hoping he's just somewhat unfamiliar with the evaluation process (he's not, I'm just telling myself that because I like to make excuses for people).
 
Jess Monster said:
If I am ever in a position of authority and respect in the future and my students/employees ask for a recommendation from me, I'm going to treat it like an honor and do it by the deadline they give me instead of treating it like a burden and waiting until the very last absolute minute to finish it. I'm still waiting on my advisor to finish his recommendation. He told me he'd get it done on Thursday. Nope. Friday. Nope. I sincerely doubt he'll do it this weekend so I'm going to have to contact him again on Monday. He at least accessed VMCAS and accepted so I'm hoping he's just somewhat unfamiliar with the evaluation process (he's not, I'm just telling myself that because I like to make excuses for people).
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I feel for you. I've got one more eLOR to be finished, too (also my advisor!). I trust that she will try to get it in, and even if she doesn't, I've already got three others finished, but... she insisted that she write me a recommendation -- I didn't even have to ask. The fact that she volunteered herself tells me that she could potentially write a very good letter. I'm just panicky because she's still listed as 'Requested'.
 
Yeah, I know people get super busy, and it's often hard to even remember to write a letter, but if you agreed to do it, it's crappy to just not do it. I'm still waiting on a letter from a vet I worked with for 2 years. I asked him in person last year and sent an email this summer. He was happy to write it and said he would get started right away, but I'm still waiting. I've been in touch since then to check in, and he keeps saying he'll do it on such and such weekend. I'm glad I asked a fourth person for a letter and that my other writers followed through, but it's still disappointing. 🙁 I mean, if it turns out an evaluator just can't do it, I'd rather hear, "Sorry, I can't" than be misled.
 
missdarjeeling said:
Yeah, I know people get super busy, and it's often hard to even remember to write a letter, but if you agreed to do it, it's crappy to just not do it. I'm still waiting on a letter from a vet I worked with for 2 years. I asked him in person last year and sent an email this summer. He was happy to write it and said he would get started right away, but I'm still waiting. I've been in touch since then to check in, and he keeps saying he'll do it on such and such weekend. I'm glad I asked a fourth person for a letter and that my other writers followed through, but it's still disappointing. 🙁 I mean, if it turns out an evaluator just can't do it, I'd rather hear, "Sorry, I can't" than be misled.
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honestly? He probably does mean to do it. Time is hard to come by for some vets and it gets procrastinated. Not on purpose, but because life happens. You aren't being misled.
 
dyachei said:
honestly? He probably does mean to do it. Time is hard to come by for some vets and it gets procrastinated. Not on purpose, but because life happens. You aren't being misled.
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Agreed. Time gets away from people especially professionals. I think the key is to have their deadline be very early (usually a month after you ask) that way it doesn't get forgotten about and if "life" happens, you have wiggle room. I had the deadline for all my LORs on Aug 1
 
pinkpuppy9 said:
Definitely not! If academics are where your game is at, I also suggest Michigan @wheelin2vetmed . Very, very academics-based admissions process
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Well, I'm kinda done at this point applying. I applied to places I was interested in living at, so my choices may not have been ideal for my stats, but oh well.

Ended up with cGPA 3.73, last 40+ GPA 4.0, GRE 159 V / 160 Q / 4.5 W, 108 SA / 21 LA hours, 400 research hours.

I applied to Royal VC, Tufts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado. My big question is: realistically, what should I do to boost my experience hours if I don't get in this cycle?

Come December, I graduate, so I'll need to work and start paying off some loans. I'd love to get a job at a clinic, but honestly, I don't think I could efficiently perform vet tech related duties from a wheelchair. The whole situation would be a constant hassle for the clinic, and me. So although I'd love to just watch a DVM all day every day, that's probably not possible as well.

If I wasn't to get in based on low experience, how would you guys/gals get more if you were in my situation?
 
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Minnesota's a great choice to apply to for your stats. I applied there last year and from what I remember, they weight the last 45 credit hour GPA pretty heavily.

I was going to get a job at a clinic myself when I wasn't admitted the first time (I had a few interviews lined up before I got called), but for your specific situation, maybe there's some less tech-y work that you can find that's still veterinary experience. The first few things that come to mind are research with a DVM, public health sector work, a diagnostic laboratory or a receptionist position within a clinic if you can manage that. If not, I'd start talking to schools about why you might have trouble just upping observational hours and see what each individual school says. I believe that VMCAS counts any experience supervised by a DVM as veterinary experience, so there's no reason that your experience must come from a traditional clinic setting.

Either that, or you could work an unrelated job and start racking up veterinary experience one day a week or so when you aren't working. If you start doing that about now, you can have several hundred more hours racked up by this time next year. If you did that, I'd definitely consider rotating around various areas to improve the breadth of your experience. Some schools like to see a variety in experience, so getting an idea of different areas out there can't hurt.
 
dyachei said:
honestly? He probably does mean to do it. Time is hard to come by for some vets and it gets procrastinated. Not on purpose, but because life happens. You aren't being misled.
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I know time is hard to come by. What I mean is I'd rather have someone tell me that they've gotten way busier than anticipated and may not be able to do it than to keep promising and not be able to follow through. I've had situations of my own where I've wanted to do something for someone else but haven't been able to because life happens. I try to be honest and clear about maybe not being able to do whatever it is when that's the case. I'm sure he means to do it, but that doesn't make it less disappointing to hear "I'll do it this weekend" a few times and then not have it happen. I'd rather hear, "I'll try my best but may not be able to."
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
I applied to Royal VC, Tufts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado. My big question is: realistically, what should I do to boost my experience hours if I don't get in this cycle?

Come December, I graduate, so I'll need to work and start paying off some loans. I'd love to get a job at a clinic, but honestly, I don't think I could efficiently perform vet tech related duties from a wheelchair. The whole situation would be a constant hassle for the clinic, and me. So although I'd love to just watch a DVM all day every day, that's probably not possible as well.

If I wasn't to get in based on low experience, how would you guys/gals get more if you were in my situation?
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I think you should apply for clinic jobs - you never know, they may be willing to work through any challenges posed by your wheelchair. Don't keep yourself from applying just because you don't think you'd get the position - absolutely, there are other options for work with a DVM beyond clinical settings, but don't be afraid to apply for those, too.
 
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thecatastrophist said:
...research with a DVM, public health sector work, a diagnostic laboratory or a receptionist position within a clinic if you can manage that. If not, I'd start talking to schools about why you might have trouble just upping observational hours and see what each individual school says. I believe that VMCAS counts any experience supervised by a DVM as veterinary experience, so there's no reason that your experience must come from a traditional clinic setting.
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Thanks, I'll start looking in other areas. I can always shadow different vets (I'm having a fairly easy time securing those opportunities), but I was thinking schools would want to see hands-on experience, or may weight that more, than just watching someone do their thing day after day.

PrincessButterCup said:
I think you should apply for clinic jobs - you never know, they may be willing to work through any challenges posed by your wheelchair. Don't keep yourself from applying just because you don't think you'd get the position - absolutely, there are other options for work with a DVM beyond clinical settings, but don't be afraid to apply for those, too.
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For sure. I'm definitely not going to keep myself from applying, but from what I've seen so far in clinical settings, tech work needs to be completed swiftly and efficiently. If a vet school accepts me, it's because they're willing to invest the time and years to work out the kinks and allow me to experiment before I enter the workplace as a DVM; I'd also have techs to assist me with some of the more basic physical tasks. But in an established clinic, I think it would severely lower the productivity and increase the time it takes to do most tasks when a wheelchair user is added to the mix. Not saying I couldn't run labs or something like that, but the standard tech stuff might not work. Simply being a realist.
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
Well, I'm kinda done at this point applying. I applied to places I was interested in living at, so my choices may not have been ideal for my stats, but oh well.

Ended up with cGPA 3.73, last 40+ GPA 4.0, GRE 159 V / 160 Q / 4.5 W, 108 SA / 21 LA hours, 400 research hours.

I applied to Royal VC, Tufts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado. My big question is: realistically, what should I do to boost my experience hours if I don't get in this cycle?

Come December, I graduate, so I'll need to work and start paying off some loans. I'd love to get a job at a clinic, but honestly, I don't think I could efficiently perform vet tech related duties from a wheelchair. The whole situation would be a constant hassle for the clinic, and me. So although I'd love to just watch a DVM all day every day, that's probably not possible as well.

If I wasn't to get in based on low experience, how would you guys/gals get more if you were in my situation?
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Hey, you have to like where you live. That's a totally valid way to pick schools, too.

Do you feel like you could do some equine/LA shadowing in barns/stables? I'm not sure what field work would be like for you, I guess it depends on the type of chair you have, wouldn't it? Based off of the small amount of equine hours I have, I feel like you could easily wheel through a barn and watch from outside the stall. Not sure if it's the best idea to get in one, but that's entirely your decision.

If I were in your shoes, I would feel that I could shadow/work all day at a clinic if it was the right clinic. The building would have to give me the basic space I'd need for mobility, and the staff would have to be willing to lend me a hand when I just am not able to do something. I'd make some calls, explain your situation, and see who's willing to take you on. Receptionist sounds like something that could be promising, but I understand that its not as 'valuable' as assistant/tech jobs.

Also, do you live near a teaching hospital? A lot of teaching hospitals have viewing rooms for surgeries (especially equine), so you may be able to get some shadowing that way if the surgeon/school allows. It seems to be harder for pre-vets to get hours at the actual vet schools though. You could also apply for lab-related positions. I'm not sure where you live, but Idexx seems to be hiring lab techs all the time. You may be able to work with some DVMs there, but I'm not entirely sure what their hierarchy is like.
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
Thanks, I'll start looking in other areas. I can always shadow different vets (I'm having a fairly easy time securing those opportunities), but I was thinking schools would want to see hands-on experience, or may weight that more, than just watching someone do their thing day after day.
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I wouldn't worry about that. I'm sure some schools give more weight to hands on stuff, but really a lot of that stuff that you would do as an assistant or a tech isn't what you would be doing as a vet anyway. Plenty of people get in based on hours that are largely shadowing! As long as you're asking questions and making sure it's a meaningful experience, I think you'll be fine just shadowing if you can't find something more hands-on.
 
Hey everyone, I finally decided to join after lurking every now and then when I did a google search.
This is my first attempt and I was pretty chill about it at first (other than rounding up evaluations, but that's another story). I got the major stuff like transcript entry outta the way as soon as VMCAS opened, but still have to work on my personal statement today/tomorrow and submit because I'm a procrastinator (eek)...annnd now that it's getting down to the wire I'm starting to get nervous!

Has anyone else noticed a change of max character count in some of the fields? I'd already entered/saved a pretty long statement in the academic infraction section (dumb thing I did in my very first semester, it asks for "a reflection on the incident" in addition to the specific charge) but a couple days ago as I was double-checking my personal info I noticed that this field apparently now has a limit of only 500 characters. That's ridiculously short to be able to explain every point they ask for. Now I'm afraid to edit this section or submit the thing because I don't want it to get cut off--I emailed customer service a couple days back to see if this change was intentional but they have yet to reply! it's really worrying me because I need to complete my PS and submit ASAP but would have no idea how to shorten this section (even the Special Circumstances only allots 2000 characters, some of which I'll have to use to explain a medical issue I dealt with one terrible semester).

this isn't the "what are my chances" thread so I won't list all my stats, but I'm applying to LSU (my undergrad), Colorado State, Washington St and Ohio St...would have chosen differently for the latter 2 but these are the schools in which I already have all prereqs. So many others want a lifetime of physics, ugh (would've tried Missouri too but they want the weird odd amount of 5 physics credits when I only have 4?)
 
Devastating said:
Hey everyone, I finally decided to join after lurking every now and then when I did a google search.
This is my first attempt and I was pretty chill about it at first (other than rounding up evaluations, but that's another story). I got the major stuff like transcript entry outta the way as soon as VMCAS opened, but still have to work on my personal statement today/tomorrow and submit because I'm a procrastinator (eek)...annnd now that it's getting down to the wire I'm starting to get nervous!

Has anyone else noticed a change of max character count in some of the fields? I'd already entered/saved a pretty long statement in the academic infraction section (dumb thing I did in my very first semester, it asks for "a reflection on the incident" in addition to the specific charge) but a couple days ago as I was double-checking my personal info I noticed that this field apparently now has a limit of only 500 characters. That's ridiculously short to be able to explain every point they ask for. Now I'm afraid to edit this section or submit the thing because I don't want it to get cut off--I emailed customer service a couple days back to see if this change was intentional but they have yet to reply! it's really worrying me because I need to complete my PS and submit ASAP but would have no idea how to shorten this section (even the Special Circumstances only allots 2000 characters, some of which I'll have to use to explain a medical issue I dealt with one terrible semester).

this isn't the "what are my chances" thread so I won't list all my stats, but I'm applying to LSU (my undergrad), Colorado State, Washington St and Ohio St...would have chosen differently for the latter 2 but these are the schools in which I already have all prereqs. So many others want a lifetime of physics, ugh (would've tried Missouri too but they want the weird odd amount of 5 physics credits when I only have 4?)
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I think you might've misunderstood. Some schools count physics as a 4-credit hour class while others think it's five. But usually, what schools are looking at when they want physics isn't the exact credit number, but instead a one-year physics 1&2 sequence that includes labs. If you haven't submitted already but would like to add a few schools, you may want to consider calling their admissions office to see if they're okay with your physics classes.
 
finnickthedog said:
Crappy as VMCAS is, I don't think this is accurate.
I signed up the day it opened and I'm positive it was always 4500 for this cycle.
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I remember it being 5000 in May, and it changed to 4500 sometime in early June. I remember double-checking it in the early days and seeing it was 5000.
 
missdarjeeling said:
I remember it being 5000 in May, and it changed to 4500 sometime in early June. I remember double-checking it in the early days and seeing it was 5000.
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I also remember seeing it be 5000 and then checking later and thinking, they took out 500 characters! Ugh!
 
Is anyone having an issue with no explanation statement on the essays part of the VMCAS app or is it just me?
 
Does anyone have a different address for the VMCAS Transcript department that's not a PO Box?

To avoid the possibility that the geniuses working their mail room lost my last transcript, I'd like to just overnight another copy. However, FedEx says they will not deliver to a PO Box.

Has anyone else had an issue with FedEx overnighting or have any suggestions? Thanks.
 
vetlove1004 said:
Is anyone having an issue with no explanation statement on the essays part of the VMCAS app or is it just me?
Click to expand...

Look a few pages back on this thread. Its still there but they moved it to... the personal section? Cant remember exactly where but its there.
 
Anyone else apply for the application fee to be waived? If so do you know when we find out if it has been?
 
I'm starting to feel like I must be crazy, because I swear I never saw it say 5000 characters... which is why I was so confused when people were talking about it being 5000 characters. I remember people later complaining about how it changed, but I just assumed they meant from last year because I never saw the 5000 limit. Weird.

LuckySpartan said:
Anyone else apply for the application fee to be waived? If so do you know when we find out if it has been?
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I did.
No idea when we find out though.
 
I thought it was 4800 when it first opened, but figured I had misread when it turned out to be 4500. Considering how VCMAS has kep changing things this application cycle (changing it so telephone numbers were required for experiences and then no longer requiring them again, saying jk on making us put experiences in order, moving the explanation statement, etc.) I wouldn't be surprised if they actually had it at 5000 and then changed it quickly after opening.
 
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