Help with application

[Lab Rat83]

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Well, I'm getting a start on my application for Tufts. Now, as far as I can see (I may very well just not have found it yet) they don't ask for a personal statement. They do however ask a series of short essay topics. It doesn't specify a max or min amount of words. Mine on average, are about 500 words for each short answer topic. Does this sound about right?

One of the essay topics ask you to include any additional information we want with our application. Would this be good spot to put in a personal statement?

Last question. I thought about this and I don't even know where to start a personal statement. What do they usually involve? I know they're personal and no one can really tell me what to write, so I'm just looking for some general ideas where and how to start.

This is kind of getting exciting!

 

[fishbones]

I'm not applying for Tufts, so I can't help you there. I can, however, point you over to some PS resources:

- http://www.studentdoctor.net/2007/06/before-you-write-your-personal-statement-read-this/
- http://www.studentdoctor.net/2008/04/essay-workshop-101-lesson-1-the-audience/
- http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=400784&highlight=personal+statement

There's a lot more information available if you enter "personal statements" into the forum search function. Also, here's the link to the PS readers of 2010:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=737984

Good luck!

 

[Minnerbelle]

I was a bit confused about that last cycle as well... but the "short essays" ARE the personal statements for Tufts. There should be two that are about 500 words or something (i don't remember the actual number but it ends up being shorter than the VMCAS one). Last cycle, there was one that asked why you should be admitted even if there were much fewer spots than there are now. The other one was a choice between dinner with a historical figure, what art medium you prefer, and what position on a sports team you would be. I remember the "why do you want to go to Tufts" one being very very short...

The "extra information" section is kind of like your explanation statement, and you can put whatever info you feel like didn't make it in the rest of your application that you'd like them to see. Some people last cycle did indeed copy and paste their VMCAS PS on there. I think I left mine blank.

As for what to write in your PS, you should probably do a search on that because there's a ton of info on SDN about it. But this is what Laura Fuller from Tufts admission told me: That the most successful PS's are the ones that really take the reader into a pivotal moment and allows them to actively see who you are, why you would make a good vet, etc... She said that there was absolutely no need to fit every one of your experiences in there. That it's much better to go deeper into one than be shallow in a bunch.

Just don't make it boring, and don't say anything ignorant. Show your personality and you're golden! haha, much easier said than done right?

 

[Lab Rat83]

Thanks guys! This forum is going to be so helpful with the application process!

Some of the essay topics are the same again this year. I have a few people to help me edit my essays, so hopefully I end up with something really good.

 

[RunTheWorld]

Yay! Another Tufts applicant! I pretty much just shortened my VMCAS statement and used it for one of my Tufts essays, and then I talked about running in the other one. I actually did talk about at least 4 different experiences in my essay and not just one 😕 But I think I'm a pretty decent writer, so I guess that made up for it. It's so hard to know what they're looking for and sometimes I don't know why they accepted me haha! I'd love to help if you want! Once you have a first draft I can definitely read it and give advice 🙂

 

[Minnerbelle]

I actually did talk about at least 4 different experiences in my essay and not just one 😕

oh yeah, sorry i made it seem like you should only put one experience in there. i definitely fit 4 experiences in there with like 4-5 anecdotes.

what she meant was that she would rather see one really good story (or a whole PS surrounding one unified theme) over something like this:

i've always wanted to be a vet since I was 4 and my pet hermit crab died. i started going to animal camp when I was 5. I got to handle dogs and cats and rabbits. I joined 4H and showed sheep and cows from elementary school all the way through high school. I used to go to a farm every friday and I love pigs. I started working at petsmart when I was 16. I took care of the pocket pets they sold. My favorites were the ferrets, and I would play with them on my breaks. I was a good advocate for them, and made sure they saw the vet when they were sick. I was always there when the vet examined them, and that was cool. That was when I first really truly learned what vet care was like. I started working for a clinic as a receptionist as a senior in high school. I learned that people skills were just as important for vets as science and animal skills. I was promoted to a technician a year later. I cleaned cages as needed, restrained animals, did fecal floats, talked to the clients, and even pulled blood on occasion. I shadowed the vet and watched surgery on my days off. That was my favorite part, and the excitement and adrenaline rush of surgery confirmed that vet med was for me. I didn't do very well in my biochem class, but I excelled in many of my upper level biology classes. Immunology was my favorite. I wrote a research paper on the H1N1 vaccine. And over the summer, I had the opportunity to work with my immunology professor in her research lab. yadda yadda yadda.

any format works as long as it's engaging and purposeful, i guess was the point!

 

[RunTheWorld]

okay I see! I hope this wasn't someone's actual PS!