ideas for essays? slightly stumped.

[bird.nerd]

Hi everyone! I think I am going to have to reapply again next year (depending on how far back they go on the ISU list) and the hardest part of the application process was the essays. I am really stumped on what to write, and I was more focused on doing well in school my final year than my application. I truly think that is why I was rejected from a lot of schools, especially my instate school. ***Possible trigger warning ahead***


I was thinking about writing my essay about how I created a deep connection with my first dog after I was sexually assaulted in high school, which led me to a passion of vet med. Long story short, when I was shadowing my dad brought him in and we had to euthanize him because of a slipped disc. I think that this experience really shaped my path towards vet med, but I also don't want to "play the victim card" as some people may see it as. Any advice from previous applicants/ accepted students would help!!

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[genny]

Hi everyone! I think I am going to have to reapply again next year (depending on how far back they go on the ISU list) and the hardest part of the application process was the essays. I am really stumped on what to write, and I was more focused on doing well in school my final year than my application. I truly think that is why I was rejected from a lot of schools, especially my instate school. ***Possible trigger warning ahead***


I was thinking about writing my essay about how I created a deep connection with my first dog after I was sexually assaulted in high school, which led me to a passion of vet med. Long story short, when I was shadowing my dad brought him in and we had to euthanize him because of a slipped disc. I think that this experience really shaped my path towards vet med, but I also don't want to "play the victim card" as some people may see it as. Any advice from previous applicants/ accepted students would help!!

I think you can discuss both compassionate euthanasia and your deep connection with your dog without having to disclose that you are a sexual assault survivor, if you so choose.

I’m pretty sure many applicants have a childhood pet that they had a special connection with for whatever reason, and many people have experienced the loss of a pet very close to them. So whether your essay stands out really depends on how you write it, and how it shaped your decision to pursue vet med.

 

[Lisagk]

I agree with @genny - I think you can definitely talk about how your personal experience shaped your passion for vet med without disclosing your personal details. For example, you can talk about the importance of the role animals play in society and that your personal experiences with your own dog and through shadowing, you want to help strengthen the human-animal relationship through medicine, as well as find ways to bridge the gap between already fractured relationships.

I also had some personal issues that I contemplated talking about in my essays and worded them as learning/growing experience that helped shape me as a human and reassured my decision to pursue the field, rather than a "poor me" kind of thing. Could also be a good way to talk about the importance of empathy and compassionate care particularly since animals cannot tell us directly what is wrong.

Good luck! Happy to talk more in DMs if you want more details about how I framed my essays. Somehow got me into 2 schools and 2 waitlists after an unsuccessful app cycle of all rejections the first time I applied.

 

[that redhead]

Hi everyone! I think I am going to have to reapply again next year (depending on how far back they go on the ISU list) and the hardest part of the application process was the essays. I am really stumped on what to write, and I was more focused on doing well in school my final year than my application. I truly think that is why I was rejected from a lot of schools, especially my instate school. ***Possible trigger warning ahead***


I was thinking about writing my essay about how I created a deep connection with my first dog after I was sexually assaulted in high school, which led me to a passion of vet med. Long story short, when I was shadowing my dad brought him in and we had to euthanize him because of a slipped disc. I think that this experience really shaped my path towards vet med, but I also don't want to "play the victim card" as some people may see it as. Any advice from previous applicants/ accepted students would help!!

To be blunt, I would choose another topic. As someone who reads essays every year, SO many people write about basically the same situation in regards to euthanizing a beloved pet and I just don’t think you will stand out enough that way. Not that it isn’t a valid story line but I would try to find another topic or focus point.

 

[EngrSC]

FWIW, I focused on how and why I love working with people (well, most people ). I strongly emphasized that I am pursuing clinical medicine, specifically general practice or a specialty where continuity of care and client relationship are valued, as this relationship is most important to me. I opened the first essay with a short anecdote about how my dad says I was a “but why?” child and how I can irritate my husband today because I ask too many questions. So I talked about how engineering was a good fit for my curiosity but how unhappy I am spending my days in a cubicle or hidden away in a lab somewhere. I talked about how I fell into an adoptions coordinator role with a dog rescue organization, why I loved it, and how it brought me to vet med.

I did not mention a love of animals since that’s implied, or bring personal pets into any essays because I assumed a lot of people do that. I think it’s ok to talk about a personal struggle if an essay warrants it ... like I talked about having my pelvis surgically broken to correct hip dysplasia to give me more time on my hips before I need hip replacements, and learning how to walk and eventually run again in VMCVM’s resiliency essay. So I think your sexual assault could be used somewhere if the context is appropriate but I don’t know if I would use it as an entire narrative, if that makes sense.

What makes you you and what makes you different from the rest of the applicants? My suggestion would be to pick one of your really strong attributes and talk about how and why vet med is for you. I think it could be fine to say you’ve developed X attribute as a result of your sexual assault but I wouldn’t make it the sole focus of your essay. Hopefully that makes some sort of sense?