Future DVMs- C/O 2021!

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finnickthedog said:
I'm already sweatin' about my eLORs again.
I know I should probably start asking them soon to give them as much time as possible, but I'm also not decided on who to ask.

And so the stress begins. 😉
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I was shadowing one of the vets today that I plan on asking and the stress was real. How do I ask? When do I ask? Will he say yes? Is he too busy? If he says yes, does he really actually want to or does it feel to awkward to say no?!:laugh::laugh:
 
FeenyFee said:
I was shadowing one of the vets today that I plan on asking and the stress was real. How do I ask? When do I ask? Will he say yes? Is he too busy? If he says yes, does he really actually want to or does it feel to awkward to say no?!:laugh::laugh:
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Ugh. Right? I had all of those questions in my head and I dressed up all nice and went to ask him.. Aaaaaaaand he's out of town.


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cdoconn said:
Ugh. Right? I had all of those questions in my head and I dressed up all nice and went to ask him.. Aaaaaaaand he's out of town.

Ugh that sucks! I plan on asking more than 3 people just in case one doesn't meet the deadline (worst fear!) but I was curious if they can see if we choose their letter specifically? Or when the letter is submitted to vmcas is it fair game for schools to see all of them, even if they only require a certain amount?
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I was also contemplating on who to ask.. I thought I had it down. I emailed an admissions committee member at Purdue about asking a pathology resident to write a eLOR, someone who I am getting to know on a personal level. The member replied back saying a path resident could speak to me as a person and my potential in veterinary medicine to a degree, but I should consider getting one from a vet who knows me in a clinical setting as well... I do volunteer at a clinic when I can. I started last summer volunteering a couple times a week. I haven't been able to go much lately bc of school and exams but I'll start up again now that summer is here. The vets at the clinic spend most of the time in their office and are very hard to approach..... should I consider asking one of them since that's what they want in a LOR? I'm also an assistant at the vet school part time in Oncology and come into contact with veterinarians there as well, but still don't feel like I know them well enough to ask. Thoughts?
 
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Maybe cause I'm a newbie to the VMCAS portal, or how things work, but I had a question. So I'm taking physics 1 at my community college over the summer, and once the course is over, sending the transcript to my actual university. Is that enough to just send my university's transcripts in to VMCAS, or do I also have to send in the community college's transcript, even if everything is indicated on the university transcript?


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cdoconn said:
Maybe cause I'm a newbie to the VMCAS portal, or how things work, but I had a question. So I'm taking physics 1 at my community college over the summer, and once the course is over, sending the transcript to my actual university. Is that enough to just send my university's transcripts in to VMCAS, or do I also have to send in the community college's transcript, even if everything is indicated on the university transcript?


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From my understanding you have to send transcripts from all colleges you have taken courses at, so I would send the one from the CC you're taking your course at just to be on the safe side.
 
FeenyFee said:
I was shadowing one of the vets today that I plan on asking and the stress was real. How do I ask? When do I ask? Will he say yes? Is he too busy? If he says yes, does he really actually want to or does it feel to awkward to say no?!:laugh::laugh:
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Don't sweat the small stuff (Or overthink it). Nothing ventured nothing gained!
Granted I was planning to ask two of the vets I shadow about writing letters on Thursday...annnd both were on the phone and I had to leave...so yeah that didn't end up happening. So I'm one to talk from experience of awkwardness. lol
Going to ask next week for sure though. 😉

You can always just introduce the idea that you are applying this summer and how it would mean a lot if they would consider writing you a good letter of recommendation.
 
FeenyFee said:
I was shadowing one of the vets today that I plan on asking and the stress was real. How do I ask? When do I ask? Will he say yes? Is he too busy? If he says yes, does he really actually want to or does it feel to awkward to say no?!:laugh::laugh:
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To be fair, I'm super close with my vet LOR and we'd talked about it in the past, but I still made sure to formally ask her. She appreciated the gesture. For my others (a physiology professor and the PI whose lab I work in), I sent them an email asking when they could spare a minute and then when I met with them, I said something like "Your class/being involved in research has had a huge impact on my undergrad experience. I'm applying to vet school this summer and was hoping/wondering if you would be willing to write me a strong letter of recommendation for my application."

Most vets are pretty enthusiastic about it and remember the process. And professors expect it. It's really not nearly as scary as it seems!🙂
 
cheathac said:
I was also contemplating on who to ask.. I thought I had it down. I emailed an admissions committee member at Purdue about asking a pathology resident to write a eLOR, someone who I am getting to know on a personal level. The member replied back saying a path resident could speak to me as a person and my potential in veterinary medicine to a degree, but I should consider getting one from a vet who knows me in a clinical setting as well... I do volunteer at a clinic when I can. I started last summer volunteering a couple times a week. I haven't been able to go much lately bc of school and exams but I'll start up again now that summer is here. The vets at the clinic spend most of the time in their office and are very hard to approach..... should I consider asking one of them since that's what they want in a LOR? I'm also an assistant at the vet school part time in Oncology and come into contact with veterinarians there as well, but still don't feel like I know them well enough to ask. Thoughts?
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Personally, I want letters from people who know me well. I'm sure adcoms read a lot of generic letters. That being said, if you've been advised to have a letter from a vet you've worked with in a clinical setting, I'd definitely include one.
 
Hi everyone, I'm currently filling out the supp app for TAMU and they have this listed as one of their short answer questions: "Please list and briefly describe any additional animal or veterinary experiences that you did not have room for on the TMDSAS application." (which is the application that TAMU uses instead of VCMAS because they like to be special)

I didn't have any issues with fitting experiences on the primary TMDSAS application - do I leave it blank or write a short sentences saying that I didn't have any issues?
 
Great Butts said:
Hi everyone, I'm currently filling out the supp app for TAMU and they have this listed as one of their short answer questions: "Please list and briefly describe any additional animal or veterinary experiences that you did not have room for on the TMDSAS application." (which is the application that TAMU uses instead of VCMAS because they like to be special)

I didn't have any issues with fitting experiences on the primary TMDSAS application - do I leave it blank or write a short sentences saying that I didn't have any issues?
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Does TAMU list this question as optional? I don't remember.

I know when I filled it out last year I included:
  • things from before college (TMDSAS doesn't allow you to enter stuff from high school etc.)
  • Further clarification about any experiences that were relevant (e.g. this veterinary experience involved work with goats though we predominantly worked on small animals)
  • probably some weird animal stuff I did (like feeding horses)
 
vetmedhead said:
Does TAMU list this question as optional? I don't remember.

I know when I filled it out last year I included:
  • things from before college (TMDSAS doesn't allow you to enter stuff from high school etc.)
  • Further clarification about any experiences that were relevant (e.g. this veterinary experience involved work with goats though we predominantly worked on small animals)
  • probably some weird animal stuff I did (like feeding horses)
Click to expand...

TMDSAS does allow you to enter things from high school now: "Experiences gained in high school may be included. Do NOT include future expected hours of experience."

It doesn't list it as optional OR required, but it does ask you to fill it out. I feel odd leaving it blank, but I'm not sure what I could really put on there?
 
Great Butts said:
TMDSAS does allow you to enter things from high school now: "Experiences gained in high school may be included. Do NOT include future expected hours of experience."

It doesn't list it as optional OR required, but it does ask you to fill it out. I feel odd leaving it blank, but I'm not sure what I could really put on there?
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You can always contact TAMU and ask! Seems like they've changed a few things since last year.
 
Hi everyone!! I'm applying this cycle and have tons of questions! So glad this thread was started. =)

If you're shadowing a doctor, how many hours should you have with them before you ask for a letter of recommendation? I have a shadowing experience coming up this June and was wondering if I could ask them at the end of 2 weeks and then give them a month or two to write one?
 
alpaperart said:
Hi everyone!! I'm applying this cycle and have tons of questions! So glad this thread was started. =)

If you're shadowing a doctor, how many hours should you have with them before you ask for a letter of recommendation? I have a shadowing experience coming up this June and was wondering if I could ask them at the end of 2 weeks and then give them a month or two to write one?
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You can but I wouldn't recommend asking someone you've only known for a couple of months (or weeks) unless you don't have other options. They might write a perfectly fine letter but in all likelihood they won't know you well enough to write you a good letter which is what you want. Plus, I've heard of certain schools definitely preferring someone who has known you longer.

I also wouldn't plan on it because there's always the chance that person could turn you down if they don't feel they know you well enough to write one at all.
 
Yeah I felt like it was a long shot!

I've worked with an ER doctor at the specialty practice I'm employed at and I'd definitely like to ask her. Usually I only work with her one day a week since she does per diem in ER but I've helped her on a lot of Saturdays and she agreed to be a reference for an internship I applied for. She also help me get a per diem job at a general practice in the city.

How do you know whether or not to ask your supervisor? I switched departments so she's only been my supervisor for a month but she's also the hospital manager.

I'd like to have four letters of recommendation lined up if I can.
 
I think I've finalized my school choices:
UGA (IS)
UF
Mizzou
UTK
Washington State
NCSU (maybe)

I'm already having to retake physics, so I don't want to add tons of extra classes. I have not taken animal nutrition, animal science, public speaking, a & p, or animal phys. I know UF requires animal science + animal nutrition but on the off chance I get in there, I'll take them next summer like most everyone else does.
 
lhmhtd said:
I think I've finalized my school choices:
UGA (IS)
UF
Mizzou
UTK
Washington State
NCSU (maybe)

I'm already having to retake physics, so I don't want to add tons of extra classes. I have not taken animal nutrition, animal science, public speaking, a & p, or animal phys. I know UF requires animal science + animal nutrition but on the off chance I get in there, I'll take them next summer like most everyone else does.
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I'm still deciding on my 5th! I have Okstate, NCSU, VAMD, Purdue, and somewhere. Maybe Texas (my IS) but I'm hesitant. I originally had Illinois, but I don't know if I would want a class size of 180..


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Thinking of similar schools as well!
Purdue (IS) DREAM school!
Ok State
Ohio State
Virginia-Maryland
Missouri
Iowa State
Wisconsin
Kinda feels like this is a lot.. mainly based my decision on tuition costs. 🙂
 
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cdoconn said:
I'm still deciding on my 5th! I have Okstate, NCSU, VAMD, Purdue, and somewhere. Maybe Texas (my IS) but I'm hesitant. I originally had Illinois, but I don't know if I would want a class size of 180..


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Most definitely apply to your IS
 
cdoconn said:
Yeaaaahhhhh.... But.... I'm not sure... I've had personal issues with A&M before.. I'm really not sure..


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Apply to your in-state or make somewhere else your in-state. I can't think of any personal issues worth $100,000+ that wouldn't also motivate you to establish residency elsewhere.
 
I will be reapplying to 3/4 of the same schools I did last cycle (WSU, CSU, and Ohio St). For the 4th replacement, possibly Wisconsin because on a cursory look at the prereqs I am only missing Physics II there (which I was planning on taking anyway). I'll need to look over everything again though!

Only reason I haven't applied to A&M is that I am missing too many prereqs there. I think they require both Biochem II and Ochem II, which I am...not really psyched to take when none of the other schools I'm applying to need those. I think WSU and Ohio both let you become IS after a year if I'm remembering right?
 
Devastating said:
I will be reapplying to 3/4 of the same schools I did last cycle (WSU, CSU, and Ohio St). For the 4th replacement, possibly Wisconsin because on a cursory look at the prereqs I am only missing Physics II there (which I was planning on taking anyway). I'll need to look over everything again though!

Only reason I haven't applied to A&M is that I am missing too many prereqs there. I think they require both Biochem II and Ochem II, which I am...not really psyched to take when none of the other schools I'm applying to need those. I think WSU and Ohio both let you become IS after a year if I'm remembering right?
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Yes I believe both Ohio and Washington let you get IS after a year.
 
After thinking about it for months I've decided that I'm only applying to three:

Ohio State (*the dream*)
VMRCVM
Mississippi State

I really thought about adding a fourth, but ultimately I've decided that the three should be good (the latter two are contracts).
 
THE TIME IS MEOW. I can't believe the portal is already open!

Hey everyone! First time applicant. I'm applying to a poop-ton of schools during my gap year from college.

Urbana-Champagne
Ohio State
Oklahoma State
Davis
UPenn
Cornell
St. Matthews
Mizzou

Undecided about Tufts, Tuskegee, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Need to make up my mind quickly!
 
Chimikins said:
THE TIME IS MEOW. I can't believe the portal is already open!

Hey everyone! First time applicant. I'm applying to a poop-ton of schools during my gap year from college.

Urbana-Champagne
Ohio State
Oklahoma State
Davis
UPenn
Cornell
St. Matthews
Mizzou

Undecided about Tufts, Tuskegee, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Need to make up my mind quickly!
Click to expand...
Haha. You don't have to make it up that quickly. You can continue to add schools even after submission. I submitted my VMCAS by mid-August and decided on... September 14th?... to apply to Midwestern. Added it on; no issues at all. You've still got a long time to mull things over.

Just keep in mind the costs. $200 for the first school with $100 per school afterwards. It can get expensive fast, especially when you factor in travel costs should you recieve interviews. I personally only applied to four schools and was stretched super thin (but I also work a minimum wage job). 🙂
 
I'm going to try to apply for 6 to 8 schools. Will probably be able to narrow it down soon! Hopefully--since applications are so expensive.

Tufts--Def
Cornell (IS)--Def
UPenn--Def
Ohio State--Maybe
North Carolina---Read their website and looks like they'll be a reach since I only have real valuable vet experience and not research or agribusiness so...Maybe.
Purdue--Another Maybe
Virginia Maryland--Def

Still need to look into some more schools!
 
SandstormDVM said:
Just keep in mind the costs.
Click to expand...

Hence the reason for my gap year. I'm working full time to be able to afford to apply to graduate school. And the reason I'm applying to so many is because I honestly have no idea where I'll get accepted. Like... I don't know how to gauge how strong of an applicant I am. It's not like I'm shooting blindly either. I've done my homework and each of these schools has something that I want/ need.
 
It is copying my previous application data. Yay.

Hope it doesn't take forever and hope it doesn't have any issues. I'm a little leery when it says I can't edit colleges attended or transcript entry. It did say I would be able to edit in progress degrees/coursework and if it lets me do that then no problem... but I don't quite trust VMCAS to work as promised. Have any reapplicants gone through this data copying yet and checked it out?
 
Devastating said:
I will be reapplying to 3/4 of the same schools I did last cycle (WSU, CSU, and Ohio St). For the 4th replacement, possibly Wisconsin because on a cursory look at the prereqs I am only missing Physics II there (which I was planning on taking anyway). I'll need to look over everything again though!

Only reason I haven't applied to A&M is that I am missing too many prereqs there. I think they require both Biochem II and Ochem II, which I am...not really psyched to take when none of the other schools I'm applying to need those. I think WSU and Ohio both let you become IS after a year if I'm remembering right?
Click to expand...
A&M only requires Biochem 1, not sure about ochem 2. They changed A LOT this cycle so be sure to check the website or call Yolanda if you have any questions.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Hey, don't complain. 😛 You remember how bad VMCAS was last cycle. I really hope they've worked out some of the kinks for you guys. 😉
Click to expand...

Hey, I'm not complaining I think it's funny.

I am however complaining about the fact that I can't edit my "colleges attended" so my college is marked "still attending" when this is no longer accurate. Sent an email but if it's like last year they'll send me copy/pasted information from the FAQ (like I can't read) and tell me to call them.

The coursework edits just fine though.
 
FeenyFee said:
I was curious if they can see if we choose their letter specifically? Or when the letter is submitted to vmcas is it fair game for schools to see all of them, even if they only require a certain amount?
Click to expand...

I saw your question buried in the quote. :heckyeah:
When you submit your application, you can't really prioritize which letters the schools look at. I tried to do that by putting them in the order of "importance", but I'm not sure it makes much of a difference.
I know that if they don't require as many letters as you submit, how the schools look at the letters vary by school. Some schools will glance at all of them, some will pick and choose, some schools will pick randomly from what you submitted and look only at those. (I know Western does the random-selection LORS.)
 
Hi, I'm new on here. I just looked at the application now that it is open. The first step is to choose which programs you want to apply to. It says you can always add more on later, but does anyone know if I can delete a program too early on? I am still unsure on where I am applying to, and did not realize how expensive the VMCAS application fees are so now I realize I may not be able to apply to some that I wanted to. I just wanted to get it started asap so I could enter in the information for my letters of recommendation. Thanks and good luck to everyone!
 
mirs2396 said:
Hi, I'm new on here. I just looked at the application now that it is open. The first step is to choose which programs you want to apply to. It says you can always add more on later, but does anyone know if I can delete a program too early on? I am still unsure on where I am applying to, and did not realize how expensive the VMCAS application fees are so now I realize I may not be able to apply to some that I wanted to. I just wanted to get it started asap so I could enter in the information for my letters of recommendation. Thanks and good luck to everyone!
Click to expand...

You can work on an application on VMCAS and delete it later no problem 🙂 I had like four schools on mine in various stages of completence before I decided to only apply to my IS last year, it wasn't a problem!

The schools supplemental app (if they have one), may require you to pay first before working on them (WSU is like that), so that's the only think that could be an issue if you also wanted to start on those.
 
You all seem so calm. How?! I'm just applying to UF and NCSU this year, and will add more next time around if I don't get in. Just can't afford to apply to so many or go to interviews, but that's okay.

I have a ton of questions though, and I'm sure they'll come up as I'm working through the app. What I can think of right now: I'll be working full-time getting both animal and vet experience from now until next year, but it's somewhere I've worked before and already have a ton of hours. When submitting experiences, can I submit what I already have from this place then go back at the end of the summer to change the number of hours? I know you can add experiences, but since it's not a separate experience I didn't want to do that. If I can't edit the number of hours, could I just delete the entry and re-enter it with updated amounts? Or should I just wait until the end of summer to enter the experience at all?

Good luck to everyone!
 
floridajl said:
You all seem so calm. How?! I'm just applying to UF and NCSU this year, and will add more next time around if I don't get in. Just can't afford to apply to so many or go to interviews, but that's okay.

I have a ton of questions though, and I'm sure they'll come up as I'm working through the app. What I can think of right now: I'll be working full-time getting both animal and vet experience from now until next year, but it's somewhere I've worked before and already have a ton of hours. When submitting experiences, can I submit what I already have from this place then go back at the end of the summer to change the number of hours? I know you can add experiences, but since it's not a separate experience I didn't want to do that. If I can't edit the number of hours, could I just delete the entry and re-enter it with updated amounts? Or should I just wait until the end of summer to enter the experience at all?

Good luck to everyone!
Click to expand...
If it's like last year, you should be able to go back in and edit in the increased hours later. No worries.
 
floridajl said:
You all seem so calm. How?! I'm just applying to UF and NCSU this year, and will add more next time around if I don't get in. Just can't afford to apply to so many or go to interviews, but that's okay.

I have a ton of questions though, and I'm sure they'll come up as I'm working through the app. What I can think of right now: I'll be working full-time getting both animal and vet experience from now until next year, but it's somewhere I've worked before and already have a ton of hours. When submitting experiences, can I submit what I already have from this place then go back at the end of the summer to change the number of hours? I know you can add experiences, but since it's not a separate experience I didn't want to do that. If I can't edit the number of hours, could I just delete the entry and re-enter it with updated amounts? Or should I just wait until the end of summer to enter the experience at all?

Good luck to everyone!
Click to expand...

Well, this is not my first time so I'm a little more relaxed than I was last year--though still stressed. It's totally okay that you're not applying to a bunch of schools. I only applied to one last year and I'm only applying to one again this year. Next year I'm going to branch out to a few more if I don't get accepted. It is pretty costly and I'm young so another year is not the end of the world.

You can go back in and edit the hours or any other information on your experiences so you can go ahead and enter them now.
You can also delete experiences if for some reason you ever need to. 😉
 
I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!

to start:

1.I also work full-time and have been getting vet shadowing hours at random times through the least 3 years (some months i'll go once a week. other times, like during vacation I'll shadow the entire week everday, etc).

When putting in my hours it only lets me put an average per week and # of weeks and then calculates the total hours. How should I deal with this since I dont have an average per week? Should I just make up the average per week + number of weeks so that it gets close to my total number of hours, or is there some other way to put this in?

2. the majority of my hours come from a large animal vet that I've been shadowing for the past 3 years. I've also shadowed ~100 with another vet at the same practice. These two vets ended up moving to another practice last year and I've been shadowing with them at the new practice now. The new practice also does equine work and I've been shadowing with the equine vets some as well. Do I put this all into one experience section? What about them changing practices should I just list the current practice? Do I break it up per vet I worked with or lump it all into one?

3. I've entered in all of my transcripts. I'm currently taking an animal nutrition course through OK state and I put that in as pending. Once I "finalize" my transcripts can i go back in and change them if needed? For example if I finish the okstate course before my application is submitted am I able to go back in there and update it with my grade and send in the transcript or once i move on to "review and finalize" will I not be able to update those?
 
mht2k3 said:
1.I also work full-time and have been getting vet shadowing hours at random times through the least 3 years (some months i'll go once a week. other times, like during vacation I'll shadow the entire week everday, etc).

When putting in my hours it only lets me put an average per week and # of weeks and then calculates the total hours. How should I deal with this since I dont have an average per week? Should I just make up the average per week + number of weeks so that it gets close to my total number of hours, or is there some other way to put this in?

2. the majority of my hours come from a large animal vet that I've been shadowing for the past 3 years. I've also shadowed ~100 with another vet at the same practice. These two vets ended up moving to another practice last year and I've been shadowing with them at the new practice now. The new practice also does equine work and I've been shadowing with the equine vets some as well. Do I put this all into one experience section? What about them changing practices should I just list the current practice? Do I break it up per vet I worked with or lump it all into one?

3. I've entered in all of my transcripts. I'm currently taking an animal nutrition course through OK state and I put that in as pending. Once I "finalize" my transcripts can i go back in and change them if needed? For example if I finish the okstate course before my application is submitted am I able to go back in there and update it with my grade and send in the transcript or once i move on to "review and finalize" will I not be able to update those?
Click to expand...

1. I estimated the number of weeks I was actually shadowing (so it wasn't 3 years worth of weeks because I obviously wasn't working every week).Then I figured out the average using that and my total hours. It doesn't have to be exact, but estimate as well as you can.

2. I'm not sure there is a "right" answer to this one. I'm not sure what to advise you to do. Maybe ask VMCAS or some of the schools you're applying to how they would like it listed?

3. Yes, you can go back and edit them but you'll have to go through the review and finalize process all over again if you edit them after doing that.
 
Another question: I'll be working in Oklahoma for the next year or so, with the understanding that this is a temporary position and that my permanent residence is still in Florida. Will this affect my residency status? All my official documentation - driver's license and license plate, permanent address, etc - will still be for Florida, but I was going to put my current/mailing address as Oklahoma. Is that going to mess anything up for being considered IS for UF?

Also, I've taken both Animal Science and Animal Nutrition through correspondence education at OkSU. Both of them took me about a year to complete - started Animal Science Jan 2014, finished Dec 2014; started Nutrition April 2015, finished April 2016. How do I enter these in the colleges attended section, since they weren't really semesters? And how do I enter these in the classes taken section?
 
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