I'm more then positive I'm going to get rejected.

[Raimes]

What should I work on for next year...?

My GPA isn't the best, and I have a fair amount of W's.
I was also in an accident, which forced me to drop out of a school a semester and I had a grade 3 concussion.

I also had/have/was diagnosed and hospitalized.. for anorexia. Which affected my school immensly. And I've been trying to work my butt off to get back on track, but it's hard, because of all the medication I'm taking to be able to study like I was, something still isn't right inside of me.

I thought I did more then enough explaining in my applications, that maybe they could look passed that. I guess not.

I am a horrible standarized test taker. I get nervous, and I can't concentrate, yes i do have and am being treated for ADHD. I paid a fair amount of money for a tutor, and raised my Q by 100 points. I don't know if I could do that again. BTW ~ 1100

As for experiance, I work for a vet who does everything. Cows, horses, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, sheeps. Does that count as well rounded experiance?

I've also shown, volunteered and owned my own horses for over 13 years, all that experiance rounded out to about 10,000 hours.

Breeding dogs- about 100 hours.


I'm making exscuses instead of doing, I honestly don't have time to get more animal experiance, I love my job, and don't want to quit just so I can get some "different" experiance. I am still showing my horses which is my passion, and I can't give that up.

I do want to take the GRE again but honestly I'm sure it's not gonna move a great amount.

My GPA isn't gonna budge unless I take 47 more credits.

I was wondering if re-taking those so-so classes would make a difference? And they are pre-req's. Or should I just skip them and work my butt off in higher level classes?

So I guess the point of my post is what do you guys think I should do realistically?

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[robeezy08]

whoa, how can you be so sure you'll be rejected? How many times have you applied? How many more schools do you have left to hear from?

I'm sorry to hear about all the obstacles/medical hurdles you've had to experience! I'm prob in the same boat as you as far as grades go - my GRE scores and cum GPA isn't that great, compared to the one's I've seen in SDN. I'm a non-trad, lab animal hopeful and thought I was a unique candidate...but was surprised to see how many in SDN are pursuing the same route!
This is my second app cycle and there were many who told me if I were them, they would've quit a long time ago...But this is where my heart is and what I want to do for the rest of my life, soooo I'm trying to stay positive and after already getting rejections from Purdue and Michigan (sigh) am still hopeful and waiting to hear back from 6 more schools.

If things don't work out this cycle, I'd def suggest post-bac/non-thesis master's programs as soon as you can. I graduated from Drexel's Master's in Lab Animal Science Program and was able to raise my last 45 semester GPA! Let me know if you have any questions about the program! And keep your head up, I know your passion and dedication to the field will pay off in the end!

 

[No Imagination]

Without more specifics in terms of GPA and area of study, not sure anyone can give any specific advice. I can tell you, that I feel like I have a very good chance at getting in this semester, and was offered some interviews. I can also *almost* assure you that my undergrad grades are worse than yours.

But without details, I wouldn't trust anyones advice. I would guess that more experience isn't going to put you over the line if you do in fact need to app next cycle. It seems like you have quite a bit, and your time would probably be better spent taking more classes.

"I thought I did more then enough explaining in my applications" may not be the way you want to go about your application. Instead of explaining away your faults, try to accentuate your positives while subtly explaining away your shortcomings.

"I was fortunate enough to work for a vet that allowed me to schedule my work at the hospital around a full course load, thereby enabling me to work full time while maintaining my full time status". I wouldn't word it quite like that, but instead of making excuses, let the adcoms read into your PS.

Also, if it would indeed take 45 more credits to 'budge' your GPA, then I would guess you have a VERY good GPA, otherwise even 20 credits worth of A's should help quite a bit.

Just MHO

 

[DVMorBust]

"I thought I did more then enough explaining in my applications" may not be the way you want to go about your application. Instead of explaining away your faults, try to accentuate your positives while subtly explaining away your shortcomings.

Agreed. I applied with less formal vet experience than a lot of candidates, but tried to show how that wasn't a bad thing. It was either less experience in the areas I was interested in (no vets in the area, had to drive back to my hometown every other week or so) or more experience in areas I didn't really want to pursue heavily (small animal), and driving 3 hours every other week to get that smaller amount of experience showed dedication.

 

[nyanko]

Also, if it would indeed take 45 more credits to 'budge' your GPA, then I would guess you have a VERY good GPA, otherwise even 20 credits worth of A's should help quite a bit.

This isn't necessarily true. I've got a horrid GPA and I'd probably have to get 100 credits of A's to make it move .1 of a point, because I have 2 undergraduate degrees and a TON of credits.

OP: Sorry to hear about your struggles, but please do not beat yourself up yet. The admissions cycle is not even halfway over! That said, I really know how you feel, trust me. Not that I'm saying it'll happen to you, because you still have a lot of time, but honestly being rejected on your first try is not the end of the world. You feel pretty miserable for a little, but it goes away.

I'm medicated for ADHD, as well. From my experiences, however, it would seem like most of the stimulant meds used for it are pretty counterindicated with a history of anorexia. There's a major potential for abuse there because of the anorectic effects, and if you have any anxiety disorder there will be a spotlight placed right on it. I don't have anything terribly serious, but my little nailbed chewing habit has gotten a lot worse since I began taking stimulants. Perhaps you should speak to your psychiatrist/doctors about trying to manage both conditions without doing more harm to yourself.

All that being said, from what I've come to understand about this process a lot of it has to do not only with your raw stats, but also with how you present them and yourself in the application. Instead of just explaining everything like you're apologizing and making excuses, you should try to talk about your struggles in terms of how you've come to understand yourself better, how you've worked with and around your weaknesses in the past and present and how you plan to overcome them in the future. Nobody can give you specific advice here without knowing your situation statswise, but I think that learning how to frame your application is just as important, and that's something that can't be conveyed by the admissions averages and the successful applicants' numbers given here.

Good luck, whatever happens this year!!!

 

[No Imagination]

This isn't necessarily true. I've got a horrid GPA and I'd probably have to get 100 credits of A's to make it move .1 of a point, because I have 2 undergraduate degrees and a TON of credits.

Quite true. I was in a similar situation were I had 180 undergrad credits. I didn't get the vibe that that was the case of the OP.

I am very curious why OP said they needed "47 credits" to budge there GPA. Why 47?

 

[nyanko]

Quite true. I was in a similar situation were I had 180 undergrad credits. I didn't get the vibe that that was the case of the OP.

I am very curious why OP said they needed "47 credits" to budge there GPA. Why 47?

There are calculators online that will allow you to plug in your current GPA and goal GPA and they'll tell you how many credits you need to reach it. Maybe the OP used that? I don't know.

 

[Raimes]

Yup used the calculator.. I have over 100 credits, and I put in getting hmm.... around 3.5 for the next few years. Because I have never gotten straight A's and I highly doubt it is possible, it might be, but have I seen myself do it nope.


Thank you guys so much for the advice.. seriously it helped..

And I only applied to 3 schools, one of them being Ross, and ... I think that was a mistake I do not want to go their and I know I would be terribly unhappy. And the other 2 were Kansas and Iowa, I live in CT so for Iowa I did put myself as a contract hopeful, but I did call Brenda this morning and she said all of the invites were sent out save for a few she said *might* be interviewing the 24th. And I got the standard Kansas.. we will call you if everyone else declines, even after they called me on a saturday morning months back, because my application was incomplete, to make sure it was.

Nyanko: My anorexia has since been "healed" , and my adderall side effects are actually countered with a whole slew of a variety of depression medications... we do have that under control. And I have since to relapse extensively.

 

[237397]

Raimes, don't give up yet. If have to reapply, put some serious work into your personal statement rather than the explanation section. Make the personal problems work for you. It's going to take some imagination and a lot of thought, but I'm sure there's a way to get them to look at you from a different angle.

I'm not sure that makes much sense... so here's an example:
My little brother was a hardcore soccer player when he was a kid. Well, I guess he still is, in a way. When he turned 16 he was diagnosed with this horrible bone disorder that gave him tremendous pain in his knees. I'm not sure about the details, but he had been growing so fast that he sorta grew another bone in his knee and it was putting pressure on everything, so it made it very difficult for him to play soccer. Now, because he loved playing soccer so much, he wasn't just going to quit because he had an extra patella in each knee. So he waited til the off-season to have his surgery and he recovered in time to play again in the fall. He even made it onto a traveling all-star team. I think he emphasized perseverance when he wrote about this for an essay in high school, but it's kind of a story of overcoming adversity to succeed.

I guess what I'm really saying is this: Use your unique difficult situations to emphasize your strengths when you write your application; excusing your weaknesses by explaining your problems only makes them more obvious. Be confident and sure of your goals. And who knows, being ADD may make you a diverse candidate

 

[ylrebmik]

What should I work on for next year...?

My GPA isn't the best, and I have a fair amount of W's.
I was also in an accident, which forced me to drop out of a school a semester and I had a grade 3 concussion.

I also had/have/was diagnosed and hospitalized.. for anorexia. Which affected my school immensly. And I've been trying to work my butt off to get back on track, but it's hard, because of all the medication I'm taking to be able to study like I was, something still isn't right inside of me.

I thought I did more then enough explaining in my applications, that maybe they could look passed that. I guess not.

I am a horrible standarized test taker. I get nervous, and I can't concentrate, yes i do have and am being treated for ADHD. I paid a fair amount of money for a tutor, and raised my Q by 100 points. I don't know if I could do that again. BTW ~ 1100

As for experiance, I work for a vet who does everything. Cows, horses, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, sheeps. Does that count as well rounded experiance?

I've also shown, volunteered and owned my own horses for over 13 years, all that experiance rounded out to about 10,000 hours.

Breeding dogs- about 100 hours.


I'm making exscuses instead of doing, I honestly don't have time to get more animal experiance, I love my job, and don't want to quit just so I can get some "different" experiance. I am still showing my horses which is my passion, and I can't give that up.

I do want to take the GRE again but honestly I'm sure it's not gonna move a great amount.

My GPA isn't gonna budge unless I take 47 more credits.

I was wondering if re-taking those so-so classes would make a difference? And they are pre-req's. Or should I just skip them and work my butt off in higher level classes?

So I guess the point of my post is what do you guys think I should do realistically?

I love that you said that you're making excuses instead of doing because that's what I do... accidentally of course! haha. I am trying sooo hard to get rid of my procrastination.... stupid me, being a SDN addict... note to self: get a life. haha.

but really, don't give up. there's not much you can do now anyways so don't jump the freakout train yet. haha. if you really don't get in, I heard a lot of people talking about some sort of thing where you can exactly find out why... I would go to that and do your best to do that. Plus, think that you get an entire year to keep saving up and continuing a job you love and getting kick butt experience. Keep your chin high either way and shoot for your dreams.... like your signature.

 

[VAgirl]

Ok, bring on the flaming, because I know I'm going to sound like a b!tch saying what I'm about to say...so be it. It's my opinion, so here goes.

First, I agree with what people have said, I don't think it's as much about what you've been through and done as it is about what you've learned and who you are. You need to stop apologizing for shortcomings (perceived or otherwise) and help show them what you've learned from these experiences (the good and the bad ones). That's where they figure out how mature you are and how well you'll handle future problems (because there will always be future problems).

Second, I think you need to take a step back, stop feeling sorry for yourself and start believing in yourself. This is at least the second thread you've started where you've assured the world that you're doomed. If the adcoms got that sense of fatalism from an applicant's package, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't admit that person. Life is hard and you need to believe in yourself and your abilities to get through it rather than just giving up and bemoaning life when hard times strike.

It's as true in everything else as it in in relationships...confidence is attractive. You need to work on building some of that. If you don't think you have the credentials to warrant confidence, either work on getting those credentials (if you really don't have them) or work on seeing yourself for who you truly are (if you already do have the credentials and are just a self-doubter).

And my final point goes with point number two above, which is to work on how you present yourself. The second point was to work on how you present yourself from a confidence standpoint. My third point is to work on how you present yourself from a communication standpoint. Did you proofread your essays (and every other little bit of writing on your application) sufficiently? Did you have other people proofread for you? There are enough misspellings (not typos...misspellings) in your posts that I wonder if some didn't slip into your application. True, they're not grading apps on spelling and grammar, but if those are off, then I can't help but think that an adcom is going to look less favorably at that applicant. It's human nature.

I'm being harsh, I know, and I'm sorry for that. But you are the one who threw your plea out there, and I think this thread needed a little harsh reality. Sorry for being the b!tch. I truly do wish you good luck.

 

[Raimes]

You definatly didn't sound like one of those.. I think you brought out some great points... and I know I moan and whine and it is my second thread... I think it's more kicking myself while I'm down, I'm not trying to get too upset about it, I just need to start working on next year.

And your right about the fatalism... that was one of my biggest concerns, I wanted them to know but now to be scared away, it was/is my first cycle..

I think everyone has given me some great points..


and I promise from this point on.. I won't post another thread whining and complaning... because there is no better day then to start today.

 

[Raimes]

and yes my misspellings and grammer errors have always come out in my posts and such, I actually did have everyone go over everything, because I know that my writing isn't up to par. I think 5 people proofread my PS, and I re-wrote it about 20.

 

[No Imagination]

And your right about the fatalism... that was one of my biggest concerns...

I LoL'ed

OP, I'm happy to hear you used the forums for advice, filtered it, and are taking away from it what you can/need.

Good luck to ya!

 

[Poochlover11]

VAgirl, that is so something my mom would tell me . Good advice though, but I have to sympathize with Raimes. I know what it is like to go through some pretty terrible things. It is true that everyone goes through difficult stuff, but some more than others. Compassion is something important in the field of veterinary medicine, something that all vets need to possess. I would think the people reviewing the applications would need to have some of that in order to be involved in the field of vet med. Things happen in life that make it difficult to focus on school. But I think that if you are able to pick yourself up Raimes you will show the vet schools that you have an incredible skill of overcoming diversity. We believe in you, and trust me I sympathize with you. It's ok that you messed up. Just do the best you can and that is really all you can do. If it is meant to be it will be and you can rest assured in that. Good luck and I hope things start to improve for you .

 

[fargeese]

From the perspective of a current vet student, I think the adcoms might be leery of letting someone in who has not shown definitively that they have overcome their mental and physical health issues, no matter how unfair that judgment might seem to be from your perspective. There is just too much stress to let someone in who seems even a little unstable, because even the most stable students crack a little, and the stress eating, drinking etc. is rampant.

In addition to the pressure, the work itself is overwhelming. It might be in your best interest to take some upper level classes, and do really well, just to show that yes, you can handle the workload even if your past coursework wasn't as stellar, even if the new classes don't budge your GPA.

But I totally agree with what everyone else has said, and you need to re-write your PS next year to accentuate the positive, and talk about the wonderful things you have done in spite of ___ rather than merely justifying ___.

Getting rejected this year isn't the end of the world, and I got into several schools my second try, after failing my first application cycle. You should definitely take advantage of the post-rejection services too if offered, it really helped me figure out what to do to make my application better the next time. The rather weak silver lining of all of this is that you have more time to make improvements rather than if you found out you were rejected in April.

 

[DreamComeTrue09]

Hey Raimes,

I admire you for being so open and honest. You have exposed some very personal items and that is very brave of you.

I think you'd be surprised to learn many of us had a bad semester or year in college due to poor health, family issues, money issues, balancing work etc. I myself have gone through ALOT of horrible, horrible things during undergrad. Every semester SOMETHING bad happened to a family member, my roommate, my apartment, my car etc. My final year in college was the year I received some of my best grades but this was also the year several traumatic events occurred in my life. These events made me stronger. I learned nothing could ever come between me and my dream of becoming a veterinarian. Hard times actually produced some of my best grades in undergrad. I felt as if I were being tested to see if I really want it and boy do I want this! Out of the many traumatic events that occurred during undergrad, I only mentioned 1 briefly in one sentence in my personal statement. I explained how I used the closure of one door to open another. I turned a negative into a positive. I think that's what admissions is looking for, to see how you face/deal with challenges.

GRE: The veterinarian I work for whom just graduated from Ohio State, had the same GRE score as you. In my opinion, I think your GRE score is good. The GRE is not everything. However, I do believe a stellar GRE score can save you when you have a not so good GPA.

On retaking classes- Depends on which schools you plan on applying to next application cycle. Some schools will replace the original grade with the re-take grade. Some schools will average the original grade and the re-take grade. Others prefer you take a different course instead of re-taking the same exact class.

Hope I helped. Keep your head up. Not getting in this cycle is not the end of the world. If you really have a passion for veterinary medicine you'll keep applying until you get in. I know you have it in you.

 

[Shanomong]

Ok, bring on the flaming, because I know I'm going to sound like a b!tch saying what I'm about to say...so be it. It's my opinion, so here goes.

First, I agree with what people have said, I don't think it's as much about what you've been through and done as it is about what you've learned and who you are. You need to stop apologizing for shortcomings (perceived or otherwise) and help show them what you've learned from these experiences (the good and the bad ones). That's where they figure out how mature you are and how well you'll handle future problems (because there will always be future problems).

Second, I think you need to take a step back, stop feeling sorry for yourself and start believing in yourself. This is at least the second thread you've started where you've assured the world that you're doomed. If the adcoms got that sense of fatalism from an applicant's package, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't admit that person. Life is hard and you need to believe in yourself and your abilities to get through it rather than just giving up and bemoaning life when hard times strike.

It's as true in everything else as it in in relationships...confidence is attractive. You need to work on building some of that. If you don't think you have the credentials to warrant confidence, either work on getting those credentials (if you really don't have them) or work on seeing yourself for who you truly are (if you already do have the credentials and are just a self-doubter).

And my final point goes with point number two above, which is to work on how you present yourself. The second point was to work on how you present yourself from a confidence standpoint. My third point is to work on how you present yourself from a communication standpoint. Did you proofread your essays (and every other little bit of writing on your application) sufficiently? Did you have other people proofread for you? There are enough misspellings (not typos...misspellings) in your posts that I wonder if some didn't slip into your application. True, they're not grading apps on spelling and grammar, but if those are off, then I can't help but think that an adcom is going to look less favorably at that applicant. It's human nature.

I'm being harsh, I know, and I'm sorry for that. But you are the one who threw your plea out there, and I think this thread needed a little harsh reality. Sorry for being the b!tch. I truly do wish you good luck.

This is EXACTLY what I thought when I read this post... Just decide if you want this or not and relax about a rejection that hasn't even happened yet. As someone who is applying for the second time, I can tell you it's not the end of the world if you don't get in right away. Many many vet school students apply SEVERAL times before getting in.



Now can someone explain to me what adcom is short for? Obviously it's referring to the admissions personell...but I can't figure out where the word came from

**ETA: Is it admissions committee???!!

 

[fargeese]

Yes to "Admissions Committee"

 

[DreamComeTrue09]

Shanomong: Yes adcom= admissions committee. hehe. I started to write adcom after seeing it on this forum many times. I find it annoying to type out admissions committee....I'm lazy

 

[Shanomong]

Shanomong: Yes adcom= admissions committee. hehe. I started to write adcom after seeing it on this forum many times. I find it annoying to type out admissions committee....I'm lazy

Woohoo!! I've been wondering about that for days lol

 

[Klhughes]

I went through the admissions process twice before I got admitted to Tennessee so here's a few things that I picked out from what you wrote.

My GPA isn't the best, and I have a fair amount of W's.
I was also in an accident, which forced me to drop out of a school a semester and I had a grade 3 concussion.
I also had/have/was diagnosed and hospitalized.. for anorexia. Which affected my school immensly. And I've been trying to work my butt off to get back on track, but it's hard, because of all the medication I'm taking to be able to study like I was, something still isn't right inside of me.
I thought I did more then enough explaining in my applications, that maybe they could look passed that. I guess not.

I would definitely not try to explain away your past. If you want to talk about it tell them how it has made you stronger and a better candidate for admission. Show them how hard you have been working to get yourself back on track after everything you have been through.

As for experiance, I work for a vet who does everything. Cows, horses, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, sheeps. Does that count as well rounded experiance? I've also shown, volunteered and owned my own horses for over 13 years, all that experiance rounded out to about 10,000 hours.
Breeding dogs- about 100 hours.
I'm making exscuses instead of doing, I honestly don't have time to get more animal experiance, I love my job, and don't want to quit just so I can get some "different" experiance. I am still showing my horses which is my passion, and I can't give that up.

They aren't necessarily worried about the number of hours of experience that you have as much as they want to see quality of experience. They want to see what you have done during that experience and that you learned something and this is what you really want to do. When I talked to our dean after my first admission cycle they mentioned that they want to make sure that you are ready for the stresses of school and you know what the veterinary profession truly entails before you subject yourself to those stresses.

I was wondering if re-taking those so-so classes would make a difference? And they are pre-req's. Or should I just skip them and work my butt off in higher level classes?

I helped out when they did interviews last year so I got to listen to Dean Brace's explanation of how TN does their interview selections several times (this is not how all schools do it though). TN assigns point values to everything you do. The selection of candidates for interviews here is based up your academics and then once you get to the interview, the rest of the application is evaluated along with your interview and points are given for that. When Dean Brace does the points for the interview selection the portion that is worth the most is your most recent semesters worth of work (each grade is worth more points than your early semesters) because they want to make sure that you have continued to do your best all through school and they know what sometimes people have a hard time when they first arrive at a new school. If you are going to take more classes I would make sure that your grades for your pre-req classes are decent because they don't want to see you doing poorly in the base level classes. I think many schools require you to at least have a C in the pre-req classes for them to even count.

Keep your head up and keep trying. Show them how important it is to you and that you are willing to keep trying. I actually told Dean Brace that I was going to move to TN and work for awhile so that I could apply as an in-state student because TN is where I really wanted to go. (oh and one quick note they do see all the schools you apply to so beware of applying to a bunch of schools if you aren't interested in them because it will look like you are fishing to get in somewhere... and they want to see that you really want to go to there school... a few schools is one thing but applying to too many looks bad).

 

[Electrophile]

From the perspective of a current vet student, I think the adcoms might be leery of letting someone in who has not shown definitively that they have overcome their mental and physical health issues, no matter how unfair that judgment might seem to be from your perspective. There is just too much stress to let someone in who seems even a little unstable, because even the most stable students crack a little, and the stress eating, drinking etc. is rampant.

In addition to the pressure, the work itself is overwhelming. It might be in your best interest to take some upper level classes, and do really well, just to show that yes, you can handle the workload even if your past coursework wasn't as stellar, even if the new classes don't budge your GPA.

I'm going to agree with this. I think pre-vets tend to go into vet school with a "the hardest part is over, yay!!" approach. I know I did. Unfortunately, that's not true. Whoever said that the hardest part of vet school is getting in is LYING. Just my experience. Vet school sucks. A lot. Quite frequently. The most intense part of grad school is when you write and defend your thesis/dissertation and it lasts about a semester or so, but it's about to the same level of intensity of vet school is almost ALL THE TIME. Maybe not quite 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but by and large, it's immensely stressful and if you're not 110% together, you can definitely crack. We've had several people drop out from our class from being overwhelmed. Some come back the next year, many do not. I wish the best of luck to you getting everything together both in terms of your application and your personal struggles.

 

[jop21]

There is a lot of good advice above. I would only add a few quick suggestions, and I hope I'm not repeating anything stated above.

First, perhaps try applying to other veterinary schools the next time around. Look into what stats other schools show in terms of GPA and tests scores. Perhaps, applying to schools that have lower averages amongst their classes would be a better option.

Also, I agree with the above posts that not getting in is not the end of the world. I know a current vet student that applied three times before being accepted.

Many vet schools allow students that are not accepted talk to them afterwords and determine what parts of their application needs work. Contact the school (s) you applied to and see if this is available. This is probably the best/ easiest way to get accurate and honest feedback about your application.

Lastly, if you decide that vet school is not an option for you at this point, look into becoming a certified vet tech. Work as a tech for a few years, and if your still set on being a vet apply again. This experience/certification would help your application as well.

Best of Luck!

 

[VetMed555]

Maybe be this will sound less than genuine, but...

We all have skeletons in our closets, but there's no reason to bring them all out the first opportunity you get. And vet. school application is certainly not the place. Your stengths need to be brought to their attention, not your weaknesses. If some of the education gaps and lower GPA need explaining, don't concentrate on health and emotional reasons--focus on what you did to correct it. So instead of "what went wrong and why" approach, try more of "things happened, and I came out stronger because of them".

Also, completely agree with fargeese: make sure you can handle 8-9 hour "work" days with long labs and a very full schedule. We had one person who did drop out for health reasons before he/she even finished the first semester. Vet. school does require a good stamina, and you need to make sure your health is in order before you put yourself through sleep deprivation, poor eating, and stress.

Good Luck and it's not over until the fat lady sings.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

.

 

[sumstorm]

I don't know how others feel about this, or what adcoms think about it, but from the business/non-profit world, I know I was incredibly uncomfortable with applicants to positions, including research fellowships, who told me way too much information. Even if it is 'fixed' now, there is the niggling thoughts of 'what caused that? Will the stress of this environment trigger it again? will I or my organization be held liable if it should happen?' Even if that is wrong, it sits there, especially if too many details are shared. What I wanted to know, as an interviewer reviewing applications for those positions, is that the person is competent and capable of performing without damaging themselves or others. I think, becaues it affected your schooling, that you have to mention that major illnesses and hospitalization affected your GPA, but I am not sure you have to talk about the details of that. I am sure you can provide proof of your illnesses, if asked, so I would focus on sharing how your recovered from illness, how you have learned to cope with stress, and how you have learned to manage to function (and hopefully you can point out examples of where you excelled) while recovering.

Just my thoughts

 

[Raimes]

I really do appreciate everyone that responded...

Thank you so so SO much!

 

[flyhi]

I don't know how others feel about this, or what adcoms think about it, but from the business/non-profit world, I know I was incredibly uncomfortable with applicants to positions, including research fellowships, who told me way too much information. Even if it is 'fixed' now, there is the niggling thoughts of 'what caused that? Will the stress of this environment trigger it again? will I or my organization be held liable if it should happen?' Even if that is wrong, it sits there, especially if too many details are shared. What I wanted to know, as an interviewer reviewing applications for those positions, is that the person is competent and capable of performing without damaging themselves or others. I think, becaues it affected your schooling, that you have to mention that major illnesses and hospitalization affected your GPA, but I am not sure you have to talk about the details of that. I am sure you can provide proof of your illnesses, if asked, so I would focus on sharing how your recovered from illness, how you have learned to cope with stress, and how you have learned to manage to function (and hopefully you can point out examples of where you excelled) while recovering.

Just my thoughts

I was so thinking the same thing. With so many over-qualified applicants, why give adcoms an easy out for not selecting you?

Nonetheless, Raimes, you have been through a lot and I think you have gotten really good feedback here.

Best of Luck