Help please

[k9 <3er]

Hey everyone! I have been visiting this forum religiously for two months now so I finally decided to sign up!

I am applying to vet school this summer and I had a few questions.

1. I am not sure what to write for my explanation statement. I don't really have anything more to talk about. Is it absolutely mandatory to write something?

2. I am having a lot of trouble with my personal statement. At the moment, it sucks... I was hoping I could exchange emails with someone who has applied or is applying because I am in desperate need of help.

Any kind of help would be awesome!

Hope to hear from you guys soon!

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[kate_g]

I am thinking about applying to many schools but am very low on funds. Do I have a "good chance" of getting in or should I just apply to a few schools to not waste money and just build my experience for the next round of apps?

It's a lot of work, but the best thing you can do is probably this: Figure out what schools would be on your "apply widely" list. Check web sites, the lists of average stats might let you rule out a couple from the start. Then call up admissions offices and make a phone appointment with the director of admissions, a dean of some kind, admissions counselors if they have them. (Beware, though... On the one hand, it's in the school's interest to get as many applicants as possible so they may give you false hope. Conversely, it's already been mentioned that some seem to make a habit of not encouraging anyone at all.) Make sure to ask about your chances as an out-of-state student. After all that you'll have a better idea where you've got a chance (and where you're likely to enjoy being a student).

The VMCAS website has a table of application fees based on how many schools you apply to. You can also check individual schools' requirements (http://aavmc.org/vmcas/college_requirement.htm) and see if they have additional application fees (up to $75!).

I think what I would do at that point, between having more information about the various programs and your chances of getting in, and knowing whether they charge a hefty additional application fee, is rank your list based on how worthwhile you think it is to apply there, and decide on a cutoff based on what you want to spend...

 

[eaglemeag]

kate_g's advice is great, and I second her opinion on choosing schools to apply to. However, I wanted to add another consideration. Don't forget that you might have interviews at all the schools to which you apply, which adds to the money you're going to spend on the entire process. This is something I didn't think about (and therefore didn't set aside money for), so February was pretty tight for me!

Just to give you an idea... I spent about $300 on three applications (one was VMCAS and two were not; and of course the VMCAS one--the most expensive one--also charged for a supplemental app). I spent $200 on a plane ticket to one of my interviews (SC to MA), roughly $200 for a rental car, $100 for a hotel room, plus food for the day (luckily my mom covered everything but the plane ticket!). I also spent roughly $80 on gas to drive to my other two interviews (SC to VA and SC to NC). Granted my MA trip was not as economical as it could have been because my mom just had to go with me, and she'd rather pay for convenience than save money. At any rate, you may want to start setting aside some cash now to help pay for all this stuff, and this might also help limit the schools to which you apply.

 

[are_jay]

I do agree with what has been said, but I'll offer one other point. If you end up applying two or more years because you didn't get in the first time, that's double your costs right there. I am still kicking myself for only applying to one school the first year, and to all the wrong schools the second year. And since I have two bachelors degrees from two universities and had taken courses at community colleges, I had four transcripts plus GRE scores to send to each school. So yes, choose your schools carefully but if you are going to take the trouble to fill out VMCAS, apply to enough carefully-chosen schools to make it worth it. I see from your profile you are in CA, and I wouldn't consider UC Davis easy to get into--if nothing else, there are 40+ million people in CA for 100-or-so in-state spots. I really don't know the Western U situation but because of the price tag it is out-of-state tuition for all (as far as I know.) Anyway, I wish I had done a better job at choosing schools to apply to. And, have a good backup plan--even the "best-qualified" students aren't always the ones chosen, but don't get me started on that!

As far as your written statements, if your school has workshops or you know others who are applying, that is where I got inspiration. I had to tell my story because I did a lot of nontraditional things. I didn't use the explanation statement other than to explain my GPA figures (the multiple school thing) and clarify vague course titles like "group study".

 

[lillytwig]

I do agree with what has been said, but I'll offer one other point. If you end up applying two or more years because you didn't get in the first time, that's double your costs right there. I am still kicking myself for only applying to one school the first year, and to all the wrong schools the second year. And since I have two bachelors degrees from two universities and had taken courses at community colleges, I had four transcripts plus GRE scores to send to each school. So yes, choose your schools carefully but if you are going to take the trouble to fill out VMCAS, apply to enough carefully-chosen schools to make it worth it. I see from your profile you are in CA, and I wouldn't consider UC Davis easy to get into--if nothing else, there are 40+ million people in CA for 100-or-so in-state spots. I really don't know the Western U situation but because of the price tag it is out-of-state tuition for all (as far as I know.) Anyway, I wish I had done a better job at choosing schools to apply to. And, have a good backup plan--even the "best-qualified" students aren't always the ones chosen, but don't get me started on that!

As far as your written statements, if your school has workshops or you know others who are applying, that is where I got inspiration. I had to tell my story because I did a lot of nontraditional things. I didn't use the explanation statement other than to explain my GPA figures (the multiple school thing) and clarify vague course titles like "group study".