First timer

[DoogieGa]

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Hey all I have been reading these forums for the past 6 to 8 months and all of the information is very handy insider tips. good luck to all those who applied for this cycle and congrats to those who got interviews lined up. I know this is going to be a task for the ages.
I'm finishing up my bachelors degree by the next fall.( fall 2010) and I want to start getting everything ready to get the applications going for the next cycle. I haven't taken the GRE's yet but I think I got plenty of time. The schools I'm looking at are UF, UGA, AU, Tuskegee and a few others down in the south( open to any suggestions).
My main questions is how did you guys get started with the application and what resources have you used to make the application process easier. I'm trying to just get everything in order. I know yall are all busy but If any one can point me in the right direction to get started that would be great. Thanks guys.

 

[MrDoAnything]

Start asking/notifying/getting/thinking about who you want recommendations from vets, teachers, and advisors. In my experience (and take this lightly since this is only my first time going through the cycle) the earlier you get the recs from your superiors the better. As I saw during my application process some of the people I wanted to write recs (and who even agreed to writing them) took a lot of annoying before they completed them (and some just blew me off). GOOD LUCK!

 

[Bearby]

Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Veterinary-Medical-School-Admission-Requirements/dp/1557535329 It helps you decide where to apply based on what they require.

Ask people now if they would mind writing your letter of recommendation but tell them that the form doesn't open until June/July. That way you aren't springing it on them. You will have to keep yourself in their mind as well so keep in touch with them, send them an e-mail or stop by every once and a while.

I printed out my unofficial transcripts (I went to more than one school for undergrad) and put them in order so that when it came time to fill out the courses section I wasn't scrambling and knew exactly what I took and when.

Start working on a personal statement. I started by just writing down some things that I thought were important about what I've done and what I want to do and then formulated an essay around that. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I think because I didn't sit down to write it from top to finish. I skipped around and went back at the end to make sure it flowed.

Write down your experiences and a little bit of information about each one. Make sure you know how many hours you spent doing that experience.

That's all I can think of.

 

[GellaBella]

Hello!

I went through and made a single excel sheet that contained all my schools, what prerequisites they require, dates applications were due (you won't know this necessarily yet), dates supplementals were due etc

basically anything I could think of. Then I color coded the items based on whether I had completed them (blue) and what was coming up next (red). That helped me stay focused on getting things done.

I think about this time last year I was just looking at schools I was thinking of applying to and trying to get clinical veterinary experience (I had none). I didn't start worrying about letters of recommendation or anything like that until VMCAS came out. since they prefer electronic LORs I just waited until my evaluators were able to submit online that way they could write the letter and send it off and it wouldn't get lost or anything like that.

Good luck!

 

[DVMDream]

Definetly start seeing about eLOR's and make sure you have people who would be willing to write them (those won't come up until the VMCAS opens, but at least you will already have people lined up). Start brainstorming a personal statement and write things down as they come to mind. Begin studying for the GRE and take it early in case you do have to re-take it (hopefully not). Write down ideas for what makes you unique for the why are you unique essays on some of the supplementals. Start digging through your brain to remember your past experiences/when you did them (I never realized how hard it was to remember exactly when I volunteered at XYZ or exactly how long I did it for). Here is the prompt from VMCAS this year for the personal statement:

"Discuss briefly the development of your interest in veterinary medicine. Discuss those activities and unique experiences that have contributed to your preparation for a professional program. Discuss your understanding of the veterinary medical profession, and discuss your career goals and objectives."

Good Luck!!

 

[david594]

Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Veterinary-Medical-School-Admission-Requirements/dp/1557535329 It helps you decide where to apply based on what they require.

Since this is updated yearly in the Spring I'd probably wait a few more months and get the updated version.

Start working on your GRE's. You will need the regular one for all schools and I think Georgia was one of the few that required the Bio GRE also, so you will have both of those to prepare for.

I'd also start thinking about the people you are going to want to get letters of recommendation from. I feel like the DVM reqs were the easiest to come by especially if you are working with them on a regular basis. Just give them a heads up that when you apply this summer you would like it if they could write on for you. Just so its in the back of their mind. The professor one is the harder one, especially if you dont have a great relationship with a professor currently. In which case I would make sure you spend some time this semester finding and getting to know what that could write you a LOR. You really want it to be someone who can speak well and confidently of you.

And beyond that I would look really critically at your applications. With 8 months and 2 semesters left you still have a fair amount of time to make some changes if their are big areas you could improve. Either through additional class work or increased diversity and/or depth of experience.

 

[twelvetigers]

If you take the bio GRE for Georgia, apply to Oklahoma State! Might as well. Plus, we're awesome.

 

[Hopeful2014]

I haven't taken the GRE's yet but I think I got plenty of time.

The best piece of advice that I have is to take the GRE as early as possible. I took my first test in mid-January (studied a lot over winter break) and am very glad that I did! I took it again in July and did better, but I already knew what to expect by then without the thought of the test looming over my head all summer. It was nice to go into the test in July knowing exactly what kinds of questions there are, what the atmosphere is like, and how long it took to get scores. Good luck on the application next fall!