Just Saying "Hi"

[yann]

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So I've been lurking around here for a week now, and thought of introducing myself because everyone here seems super nice and really helpful to each other. All in all, amazing vibes! And so rare online these days..

I'm currently living in Tokyo, doing a job that has nothing to do with veterinary medicine (think Ugly Betty). Vet had been my dream job for as long as my memory would go, but I was also interested in journalism and basically couldn't make up my mind how I wanted to live my life. I gave up becoming a vet a couple times: once in high school because I couldn't bring myself to care about grades and science classes (I was a major under achiever and a notorious slacker) and another time in college (my rep went up as well as my GPA...thank god), when I entered a Liberal Arts college here and found out they had no science courses taught in English. So I ended up majoring in Social Anthropology. I'm a Japanese-English bilingual, but can't study science in Japanese cuz I grew up in an international school, taught entirely in English. I decided to pursue Journalism and landed my current job where I'm an editorial assistant at a popular English-language magazine here, but ever since I joined the real world, I've been constantly feeling like I've totally compromised my life, and couldn't get over the fact that I gave up on something that means so much to me, without even trying. Thus, here I am, gathering info, studying for the gre, and researching the application procedures and admission into vet school for the past year. Final thought before making this life changing decision was: I don't want to end up in my death bed thinking about the "what ifs" in life.

Phew. Thanks for reading this, I know this probably sounds super-boring to many. But as a an aspiring pre-vet applicant, may I just say that you all are a tremendous inspiration and am really happy to have found this site.

While I'm at it with this post, I have one question that's been bugging me for a while: I plan to move to Northen VA in the end of this year (it's where my Dad lives), and need to find a part-time job. I have enough savings to live without working for a while, but don't want to spend too much of it because it's more for tuition and living expenses once I get in (IF I get in😛). And I want to find a position that gives me some animal experience to boost my experience hours, and was hoping for a job as a veterinary assistant. Heard you don't need any prior vet experience for that, but I also read in one of the vet clinic employment website that you do need general knowledge in medicine (which I don't have). Is this true for most cases? If it is, what kind of part-time jobs are out there that would pay the minimal bills and give me some hands-on experience with animals? (SA if possible, but not limited). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks, and a pleasure to "meet" you all.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Congrats on finally taking a plunge for it! but I gotta say, it sounds like you've got quite the work cut out for you.

A couple of questions/considerations that may be important:

• Are you a US citizen? Unless you are a US citizen or US permanent resident, your life will be infinitely harder. Not all schools take international students, and being able to finance vet school will be super difficult (unless you or your parents can foot $150-300k in cash, in which case it will be super easy for the financing part). I'm a Japanese citizen, US permanent resident, so that wasn't a problem for me. I also know someone who got in this year who also went to Int'l school in Japan, but went to college in the US and is a US citizen.
• How old are you? If you're 23 or younger, is your father a US citizen/permenent resident with established residency in VA? If the answer is yes yes, you're golden (right???). That should mean that you can apply as an IS applicant to VMRCVM unless VA-MD has weird stipulations for residency. If no to either, you will have to make sure that you personally fulfill the requirements for residency in VA. Both of my parents live in Japan, so I had to take 2 years off after college and wait until I was 24 so I could establish my own residency in MA.
• Have you taken any of the pre-requisite courses other than English/humanity courses? From your post it sounds like you haven't. In which case, you probably have to spend a good 1-2 yrs taking courses at a university once you get here.
• Make sure you find out what the requirements are for your language competency. Some schools require a TOEFL unless you graduate from a 4 yr US college. I believe some of these schools will waive that if you have above a certain GRE verbal score. Even if your program was taught in English, you may still need it.

 

[Minnerbelle]

oops I should have read a bit more carefully. You say that you're looking to get a part-time job in VA, so obviously you would either be a citizen or perm resident! Anyhoos, as for finding a vet assistant job, I'd dig around this forum a bit since that gets talked about fairly often. But it seems like the best way to go about it is to look for any and all jobs that are open in a clinic (kennel assistant, receptionist, vet assistant). Will you be living with your dad? If not, be warned though... a part time job in a clinic will most likely not pay the bills - esp if you're paying tuition to take a lot of pre-req courses!

 

[jtom]

I would think of a veterinary assistant position as primarily experience. It is paid but you wont be getting enough to really pay a whole lot of bills.

Funny thing: I was also born in Japan!

 

[BlacKAT33]

welcome!!

Without repeating things, i think minnerbelle sets a good "start" list.

It is true that being a vet tech won't make it easy to pay all the bills if you are living on your own. If you cannot live with your dad while you work, i would suggest looking into a broader area of work (maybe biotech because it pays better and has a normal 9-5 schedule) But...i guess that would be hard because you don't have any science courses under your belt yet, right?

I think the best place to start is getting your pre-reqs done. (hopefully you can live with your dad while you do this?) As you can see above, you're really limited on what type of jobs you can get that are related to vet med if you have no sci background. Also, it would be faster to have a full schedule of classes and get everything bumped out in 2 years or less if you take summer courses also. If you do the vet tech part time and classes part time at night, it could take you 4 yrs+. Also, a lot of vet techs that i know who take classes...the vet has started to ask them to work more hours so now instead of taking 2 classes they are taking 1 a semester. That will take sooo long to finish the prereqs. Now, it is still possible to work while taking a full schedule of classes. But i'd recommend:

1) night time vet tech at an emergency clinic. this way you can get the vet tech experience but you are not limited with your class selection. Taking classes during the day is a lot better, you can make your own schedule instead of only having 1 choice for a night class
2) lab job...probably you'd start in a "low" position, but by the time you finish classes you'd be more involved and maybe they'd let you in on the research too! (thats what happened to me)

 

[der2002]

I agree with all the advice I've read in the previous posts here and I'd like to add a few points and address some concerns:

1) If you think you're going to be applying as an in-state student to VMRCVM, you should immediately check their specific pre-req requirements and make sure they are fulfilled as soon as possible. Most vet schools have the same general pre-reqs, but you'll find many with additional required courses that you might not be able to take at a local community college.

2) Is there a pre-vet club at any school nearby? If yes, then find one and join! It will be so much easier to work with a group of people with shared goals than to figure out how to schedule all your pre-req classes by yourself (like I did).

3) Have you ever owned pets? Handled animals? I recommend shadowing a vet before you start registering for classes to give you a realistic portrayal of vet medicine (talk to jtom!). Not to discourage you, but you might find that you like working with animals, but that you don't actually enjoy the medical aspect. It's certainly not for everyone.

4) Background: I was a humanities undergrad, applied to law school, realized that I really didn't like it and then did a 180 and spent 3 years taking all the science pre-reqs, working part-time, and getting animal experience in a variety of fields. I'm lucky that I had the full emotional support of my family. I lived at home and while I didn't have to pay rent, basically any money I made working went towards tuition, supplies and basic necessities/expenses. It can be done!

That said, I would ask that after the enthusiasm dies down a bit, spend some time carefully reflecting on this new chosen path. Read some of the other threads on this website. Speak to veterinarians. Explore the AAVMC website. You will have to explain the shift in career goals on your application anyway, so it's a good time to examine your thoughts and motives to pursue vet med now.

Good luck!

 

[yann]

Thank you guys so much for the replies!!

To answer some of the questions: Yep, I'm a US citizen and technically a Montana resident (according to my DL). I'm 23 going 24 next month, and my father is a VA resident/US citizen. Minnerbelle, would that mean I'm a year too late to acquire residency? If that's the case, I'll just have to do it the traditional way. Also, like a lot of you guys have said, I have a long way to go before applying to vet schools. At this point, my plan was to complete all the science courses required of me from VMRCVM and NCSU (attracted by their program and their tuition) and a few others, which leaves me with 1.5-2 years before applying. I'm not yet sure how I'll be managing time, but summer courses are definitely being considered. I haven't been able to take any science courses in college, so basically I'll be taking about 39 credits (including a few courses required only by VMRCVM and NCSU).
I completely assumed that TOEFL wasn't necessary, but I'll contact some of the schools I'm considering and ask about it. I'm planning to take the GRE this fall and get it out of the way, so until then I wouldn't know whether my GRE verbal would be high enough. Fingers crossed!

Jtom, Minnerbelle: Nice to hear there's people from Japan! Are you guys Japanese? (don't have to answer to this if you feel I'm invading your privacy)

BlacKAT33, Thank you so much for letting me know about the night-time clinic and lab job! I'll definitely look into those two...and I agree, getting pre-req out of the way is at the top of my list, right after acing the GRE😀 I don't plan to live with my Dad though...long story short, he's remarried and I haven't lived with him since I was 5 (or 4? hazy memory), so it would be super awkward and stressful for me busting in on his and his wife's life. I'd rather share a place with some friendly strangers and pay a $500 or so rent.

der2002, thank you for sharing your background with me. I've read other non-trad's stories here on SDN and have really helped me realize I'm not alone in making such a drastic change. It must have taken a lot of courage to quit law school, and you seem to have a really supportive family.
Joining the pre-vet club sounds like a great idea. I don't know if any are around the area where I plan to move to, but I'll look into that too. Hopefully something should come up. And yes, I was born in a house full of ruffs and meows so I'm used to having animals around. What I'm not used to is not having any critters around to snuggle...so moving in to a fur-less place is gonna take some getting used to. I'm also volunteering at the local animal rescue organization here, so I do have some hours stocked up. There's no volunteering opportunities in vet clinics here in Japan though (I'm not sure why, but it's against some law), so that will have to wait until next year.
And thanks for keeping my head on the ground (or foot on the ground? Living here messes up my list of proverbs). There's probably a lot of people who becomes discouraged after shadowing vets and experiencing the real deal, so I'll try and keep myself cool and level-headed.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Thank you guys so much for the replies!!

To answer some of the questions: Yep, I'm a US citizen and technically a Montana resident (according to my DL). I'm 23 going 24 next month, and my father is a VA resident/US citizen. Minnerbelle, would that mean I'm a year too late to acquire residency? If that's the case, I'll just have to do it the traditional way.

Yep, I'm pretty sure that at this point you'll have to establish your own residency. I'm almost positive that just having a DL from one state does NOT qualify you for residency for tuition purposes. Every state's different so don't quote me on it, but I'm fairly certain. Is there a reason why you'll have to move to VA if you're not going to be living with your father? If you have a choice, I would think about which school you'd like to gain IS residency for, look up the residency requirements for that school (look up the school's requirements, not the state's because usually they'll differ), and then move there. It might also be good to think about job prospects as well as places where it would be convenient for you to finish your pre-reqs as cheaply as possible.

Jtom, Minnerbelle: Nice to hear there's people from Japan! Are you guys Japanese? (don't have to answer to this if you feel I'm invading your privacy)

Yep, though I'm pretty much the opposite of you. I haven't lived in Japan since I was 6, and I've had all my schooling here. My parents are both in Japan now though (my dad's been back there since I was in high school).

I don't plan to live with my Dad though...long story short, he's remarried and I haven't lived with him since I was 5 (or 4? hazy memory), so it would be super awkward and stressful for me busting in on his and his wife's life. I'd rather share a place with some friendly strangers and pay a $500 or so rent.

Good luck figuring out the financial aspect of it out! Having been on my own the last couple of years, it's been pretty rough even with a science degree and plenty of animal/vet experience. I get paid much better in my research job (Full time to boot) than I would if I were working in a clinic... but even then, I would definitely not be able to afford taking classes. Could you find a better paying part-time job (esp with your bilingual abilities and work experience in Japan plus the HUGE benefit of not needing a company to sponsor your visa) that may/may not be related to your current line of work? Keep in mind that if you're only working part-time, health insurance is very difficult to come by... and if you get one through a university, it's pretty expensive for little coverage. Unlike in Japan, healthcare here is SUPER expensive. One day in the ER outpatient for me cost $10,000 out of pocket even with college insurance. $500/month for rent doesn't sound like much... but once you include utilities, health insurance, car + gas (?) or at least public transportation, and tuition... you're looking at a lot of $$$ to be made from a part-time entry level clinic job. I hope you have other sources of cash, be it your parents, your savings, or a money tree... It's rather just thinking about it! But hey, if this is your dream and you don't want to die with any regrets right? 🙂 It's not impossible to do. Just very difficult - especially considering the amount you'll have to pay for vet school once you're through with this part!

One thing that might help that others have talked about in terms of affording your pre-reqs is that it might be worth it for you to enroll for a second Bachelor's degree rather than just post-bac. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I had the impression that Federal loans and a lot of scholarships require that you're degree seeking.

 

[yann]

This might make me sound pretty childish, but my mind has been set to move in to va because my mom told me so...

OK, let me elaborate a bit more before you roll your eyes lol

She would rather have me move close to where my father lives (as well as a few friends from high school and college), because if something were to happen to me, I'll have a family member close by to help me sort through. She also believes that I'll feel more emotionally stable in VA than in another state where I have no friends or family, and I kinda agree. Originally I thought I'd move to Cali because I was really intent on applying to Davis (dream school), but she basically persuaded me otherwise. And in the end, I really don't mind where I get accepted to as long as I become a vet. That, and I'll also be financially dependent on her once I get in so I feel she has a say in how I work this out...and since VMRCVM has a pretty low IS tuition, it seems like the most rational and safest thing to do is to move in to VA. I am at the moment confirming with the school administrator that their residency requirements are attainable.

Financially, I'll start off great since I have a small fortune of savings from my job and from some money I inherited from my grandfather. But like you say, there will be a lot of daily-expenses not to mention insurance payment. I haven't figured that part out yet, to be honest.
I DID consider a better paying part-time job related to my ability and current work, but I feel like it'll be a waste of time when I could otherwise be stocking up vet experience for my application. Really quick calculation, I considered that as long as my part-time will pay the rent and most of the comm. college tuition, I should be okay. Oh yeah, speaking of which, you guys sounded like I was going to take courses at a university, but I really prefer comm. college. It's so much cheaper, and it seems from reading people's threads here that a lot of pre-vets take courses at a comm. college. I'm aware that a few courses (like systemic physiology) are only offered in a 4-year college, but for the general pre-req sciences, comm. college should be fine, right?

I wonder if my Dad has a family insurance package that I could join....hmm.

how long does it take to acquire a second bachelor's degree btw? (sorry if this is a really dumb question)

 

[der2002]

Yann, you have some savings, which is a good starting point 🙂

You mentioned earlier that you had 1.5-2 years before the application cycle and that you didn't take ANY science classes undergrad, right?
You should be aware of the fact that if: a) you are working part-time (to just cover basic expenses and incidentals) and b) you are simultaneously taking maximum 3 classes per semester/quarter...it is probably going to take you ~3 years to fulfill the pre-reqs (which is basically the amount of time needed to obtain another bachelor's degree if you're starting from square one (and you work your ass off!). If you decide not to work and take a full-load of classes, summer's included, you can probably finish in 2-2.5 years, but you might be very burnt-out by the end of the process. I don't know about VMRCVM specifically, but I do know that many vet schools prefer that you have finished nearly all of your pre-reqs at the time of application (to calculate your GPA). One or two classes left for the fall or spring semesters after the application date are typically fine.

Do keep in mind that a number of the courses you will need are sequential (ie: you need a year of general chemistry before you can take organic chem etc.), many courses will only be offered during particular times of the year, and most of those intro courses will contain incredibly time-consuming labs. Also, if you haven't taken any math/sciences courses in a while, you might want to take a few "refresher" courses before you start the hard-core curriculum.

My advice? Plan out your course schedules very carefully! And be realistic of the time-frame you'll actually need 🙂

 

[Minnerbelle]

This might make me sound pretty childish, but my mind has been set to move in to va because my mom told me so...

OK, let me elaborate a bit more before you roll your eyes lol

No not childish at all. If your mom is going to help you foot your vet school bills, then by all means take her opinions into consideration, and the other reasons you've listed sound completely legit to me.

Financially, I'll start off great since I have a small fortune of savings from my job and from some money I inherited from my grandfather. But like you say, there will be a lot of daily-expenses not to mention insurance payment. I haven't figured that part out yet, to be honest.
I DID consider a better paying part-time job related to my ability and current work, but I feel like it'll be a waste of time when I could otherwise be stocking up vet experience for my application. Really quick calculation, I considered that as long as my part-time will pay the rent and most of the comm. college tuition, I should be okay.

Savings and inheritance is always a big plus! But do poke around the forum and see how people are going about getting clinic jobs. It can be very difficult with no experience, especially if you're moving in an area saturated with pre-vets. It might be worthwhile to start a thread about clinic jobs in VA, and ask people in the area how easy/difficult it was for them to find a job, how much experience they had, AND how much they are getting paid just to get an idea.

Another thing to consider is which type of job would be useful to you. Keep in mind that at this point, getting vet experience is probably much more useful to you than getting animal experience. So don't take a job at any place just because it has animals. If you're going to be making close to minimum wage at the doggy day care at petsmart, it might be a lot more worthwhile to get that higher paying job that doesn't involve animals at all, and use the extra time that you have from not needing to work as many hours to shadow a vet or volunteer at a spay and neuter clinic or something. Just be flexible with your options because things might not go as planned (especially with this job market).

Oh yeah, speaking of which, you guys sounded like I was going to take courses at a university, but I really prefer comm. college. It's so much cheaper, and it seems from reading people's threads here that a lot of pre-vets take courses at a comm. college. I'm aware that a few courses (like systemic physiology) are only offered in a 4-year college, but for the general pre-req sciences, comm. college should be fine, right?

VMRCVM says that you can take courses at any college, so technically that should be fine. But do keep in mind that a lot of other vet schools will not allow you to take upper level courses (organic chem, biochem, or any of the other courses like genetics, microbiology, physiology, immunology, etc...) at a community college. By all means, take your intro classes at a community college. Like you say, it's MUCH cheaper.

Another thing to think about too is that research experience is much easier to come by at a 4-year as well if you're looking for part-time employment. A lot of schools also have research fellowships you can apply to for the summer, that pays something like $3,000 (hey that's 6 months of rent right?) And if you're a full time student for at least half the year, and you're not making a lot... you don't have to pay much income tax, if at all. I'm not entirely sure, but I think there are some that you can apply to even if you're not enrolled at a 4-year, as long as you're a full time student.

how long does it take to acquire a second bachelor's degree btw? (sorry if this is a really dumb question)

You don't have to complete it if you don't want to/don't need to (and this is for 4 year universities only). The problem with taking courses at universities as a post-bac is that you are usually the very last person to be able to register for classes and it can be very difficult to get into the classes you need. If you're degree seeking though, then you get bumped up.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Just a heads up, vmrcvm puts a lot of weight on GPA. make sure you really give 100% in all sci courses. i know people who did not get interviews because of low GPA (not even that low, but 3.2-3.4) and also people who have no experience but high GPA and they got interviewed. Now that you know it ahead of time, it should help you 😉 I personally met 2 people this year with VERY little experience, almost none, but had 3.8+ GPA and were both accepted.

 

[yann]

Thank you guys!! I'm bet I saved A LOT of headaches and mistakes in the coming year by posting a thread here.

So taking into account everything you guys have told me, I'll consider looking in to that second bachelor's degree. From what you guys told me on this thread, it seems like a smart and cheaper move rather than doing a post bac. Is it possible to take some general science classes in comm. college and then transfer those credits to the university? For example, if I take one sem. of general bio, can I take a second semester of general bio in a 4-year university?

Minnerbelle, that's a great idea! I'll probably be asking VA res. about clinic jobs around September, when I REALLY need to get those info in. Right now I'm trying not to obsess over next year too much, and enjoy the time I have left with my friends and family here. And focus on the current job, since I'm kinda slacking off by poking my head in here 😛

der2002, thanks for the rational tip. You're probably right about considering a 'refresher' course before tackling the hard-core stuff.

BlacKAT33, My gpa is a 3.45 so it's just a tiny bit below the average 3.5, so considering there's gonna be tons of amazing 4.0 applicants, I'm gonna aim high with the science courses next year, and go for an all-A mindset....it's better than having a mental state of "oh well, a few B's are good enough" which will probably bring down my overall gpa. One good thing about being away from studies and working full-time in the real world is that you start to miss the studying. Or maybe that's just me?

 

[BlacKAT33]

BlacKAT33, My gpa is a 3.45 so it's just a tiny bit below the average 3.5, so considering there's gonna be tons of amazing 4.0 applicants, I'm gonna aim high with the science courses next year, and go for an all-A mindset....it's better than having a mental state of "oh well, a few B's are good enough" which will probably bring down my overall gpa. One good thing about being away from studies and working full-time in the real world is that you start to miss the studying. Or maybe that's just me?

i agree!! ive been working for 2 yrs and now i cant wait to go back to school!!😀😀 im hoping this will help me become motivated to study more. ive always been a slacking who does the minimum to get the best grade lol

your GPA is good, and honestly...since you still have to take all your sci courses that may be the only thing they care about. I feel like you have a great advantage and almost have a "clean slate" . hopefully you can get mostly As lol good luck!!!

you can take CC classes and then transfer them. Most people recommend only taking CC classes for the lower level courses like gen chem, gen bio, etc. then transfer into a 4 yr school and finish your upper levels. If money is an issue it is fine to take this path. If money isn't an issue (i forgot if you said your parents would help or not, and dont feel like rereading lol) then i would start at a 4 yr college. Also, make sure you check the prices!! i know some CC's around here are upping their prices, its only maybe 1-200$ difference between classes!! if your CC is expensive, just start with the 4 yr college, IMO.

 

[yann]

thank you!!!😍

 

[eventualeventer]

It might not be as much of an issue for you because of the money/financial support that you have (although much of that may be going to tuition and vet school!), but be forewarned that living in NoVA around D.C. is EXPENSIVE and a lot of tech jobs don't pay well enough to compensate for the high cost of living. Also, in order to work as a vet technician in Virginia, you must be licensed to do a lot of things that pre-vets do in other states. There are positions as vet. assistants, but your opportunities for hands-on tech stuff may be more limited and pay possibly less than as a vet tech.

To add to what BlacKAT said, there were at least 2 awesome applicants with TONS of experience in fields other than SA who got in to out of state schools but were waitlisted at VMRCVM due to slightly below average GPA's, 😉 so VMRCVM seems to weight GPA extremely highly.

$3000/6 months, or $500/month, is a fairly conservative estimate for rent around here, at least in decent areas where you won't be stuck in commuter hell. Possible if you have room mates and find a good deal, but if you want to live on your own expect to pay $800-$1000+, depending on area/quality. Also, I don't know how things are in Tokyo, but when you're considering proximity of housing, school, and work, realize that being 10 miles from somewhere does not mean that you will be able to get there in less than 45 minutes during peak rush hour, which may go from 7:30-10:30 AM and 3:30-7 PM. Do not plan on going with traffic on I-95 in VA on weekdays unless you want to spend large portions of your life sitting in traffic (I'm serious, every time I turn on the traffic they are saying "delays on I-95 SB/NB", unless it is late at night). Ditto for going on I-66 for any distance towards D.C. in the AM/away in the P.M., or either direction inside the Beltway during rush "hour". Believe it or not, I like the area in many respects, but I've always lived with my parents, in a dorm at UM, or out in the middle of nowhere 25 miles from the Beltway, and even commuting against traffic sucks at times (I live in MD near College Park, have worked in Loudoun County and Frederick County MD).

Now that I've sounded like a Debbie Downer, welcome back to the crazy D.C. area and good luck!

 

[Nechochwen]

If you do go the CC route, make sure the credits will transfer. I'd recommend talking with someone at both the CC and the 4-year. I've seen a lot a people messed up by credits that don't transfer right.

As for "my mom told me so", it's not childish. Plenty of people are not mature enough to understand, that the person giving financial help has some say in what should be done. Besides that, it's not bad advice.

 

[BlacKAT33]

$3000/6 months, or $500/month, is a fairly conservative estimate for rent around here, at least in decent areas where you won't be stuck in commuter hell. Possible if you have room mates and find a good deal, but if you want to live on your own expect to pay $800-$1000+, depending on area/quality. Also, I don't know how things are in Tokyo, but when you're considering proximity of housing, school, and work, realize that being 10 miles from somewhere does not mean that you will be able to get there in less than 45 minutes during peak rush hour, which may go from 7:30-10:30 AM and 3:30-7 PM. Do not plan on going with traffic on I-95 in VA on weekdays unless you want to spend large portions of your life sitting in traffic (I'm serious, every time I turn on the traffic they are saying "delays on I-95 SB/NB", unless it is late at night). Ditto for going on I-66 for any distance towards D.C. in the AM/away in the P.M., or either direction inside the Beltway during rush "hour". Believe it or not, I like the area in many respects, but I've always lived with my parents, in a dorm at UM, or out in the middle of nowhere 25 miles from the Beltway, and even commuting against traffic sucks at times (I live in MD near College Park, have worked in Loudoun County and Frederick County MD).

Now that I've sounded like a Debbie Downer, welcome back to the crazy D.C. area and good luck!

So true. I forgot about this lol i'm so used to it now. The good thing is though, when looking at rent outside of DC it seemed SOOO cheap!!! i was jumping for joy. I try not to say it out loud though because people get offended and think i'm a spoiled brat 😡 . I live in the suburbs of DC and for my 1 bedroom it was $1300. My sig fig and I split the rent, with me paying slightly less than him because my fellowship pays nothing. I also take the metro to avoid traffic 😀 but some days i really hate the metro sighhh at least i get a free paper in the morning and catch up on the current events!!

 

[gilch]

Some more info on VMRCVM--
25% of admissions based on each

• GPA
• GRE
• Other
• Interview

It's not too complicated, but they mean very specific things in these categories--

• GPA--they mean cumulative GPA, pre-req science GPA, and last 45 hour GPA. I believe they count last 45 hours a bit more than cGPA. Class of 2013 average for Virginia cGPA was 3.66, and science was a bit lower, and recent was a bit higher. This is somewhat high compared w/other schools.
• GRE--they take the highest overall score, with each catergory--quantatative, verbal, and analytical writing getting equal weight. They convert the AW score from a 6 point scale to a 800 point scale--the conversion is .5 to 66.6 points-- the VA average for 2013 was ~1850--that's ~616 per section
• Other--this is what trips a lot of people up, I think. They want broad experiences. Get experience with multiple vets in multiple catergories--Small Animal, Equine, Food Animal, Exotics, Emergency, ect. Food Animal might be a problem around DC--Manassas might have some vets that see some cows; it depends where you are in NOVA. They max out at 500 hours of vet experience, I think. VMRCVM is unusual in that in the animal experience catergory, they include personal animal experience--I've always had pets and counted from the point I was somewhat responsible and rounded down--way down. I also have some personal large animals that I did far more with than feed and take care of and I used an older age for that (also from somewhat responsible to primary responsiblity) and also rounded down. One thing that Va-Md really looks for is biomedical experience, esp research--so paramedic, CPR, lab assistant, research assistant ect. Getting published is great, but not nessecary. They also count personal statement, eLORs, ect in this catergory.
• Interview--they recently switched to an new interview format--Multiple Mini Interviews and are really looking for interpersonal skills and ethics--this year was their first year and they had some hiccups in the process. Some people really liked this format, to me, it wasn't esp better or worse.

Of course, with all admission processes, you have some "what were they thinking?" aspect... and Va-Md did waitlist/reject several awesome SDNers this year 😱, so there is always the 'drunk adcoms and a dart board' theory of admissions!


Good luck! try reading the "Have you heard from VMRCVM?" thread in here, you'll get a good idea of some of this. Joyce Massie is great about answering questions and can be really helpful, esp at your stage in the process. Hope this was helpful! 🙂

 

[yann]

oh yeah I've heard about those crazy DC high-ways!! I remember my Dad taking me out for a drive to DC from Fair Fax, and we were stuck in there for about an hour....remember thinking to myself I could never deal with this everyday😀

eventualeventer, thanks for the useful tip! It's nice hearing from a local. I've read on wiki that they have one of the country's highest median living expenses (not the exact word), so I am a little apprehensive about that. But it seems like there's low crime rate compared to the average U.S. cities, and the place I'm looking into right now (Arlington) seems like the states top "walkable" city, which really caught my attention. I'm used to walking to everywhere or using the train in Tokyo, and I rarely ever drive, so living in a town where I could pretty much walk around or bike around is perfect. I will buy a car of course, but I'm hoping not to use it as much, at least while commuting to CC. As for rent, I've been checking out craigslist and have found more than a few places that I can share a place with for $500 or so. I have a friend who goes to American U. and we did talk briefly about living together, but she doesn't want to deal with the high-way commute every single morning, and I don't want to live in DC (can't apply for VA residency).

BlacKat, yeah the DC rents were expensive compared to NoVa! And that's something coming from someone like me who lives in the world's most expensive city (or so they say).

gilch: that bullet point is probably gonna come in very handy. thank you for taking your time to put that up!! I've actually contacted Joyce a few times, and so far she's been nothing but helpful and supportive. Really makes the school seem even more attractive🙂

 

[yann]

Nechochwen, thanks for the prewarning. I've had my share of dealing with credit transfers in undergrad, so I'll make sure not to make the same mistakes!

 

[baby girl]

Nechochwen, thanks for the prewarning. I've had my share of dealing with credit transfers in undergrad, so I'll make sure not to make the same mistakes!

Hey yann,its really nice that your following your dream,I read your story,it wasnt boring at all,i hope you get what u want,by the way,l use to have a huge crush on asien guys,like korean and japaneez..!! I dont khow if u mentioned your sex,i cant say by the name yann,!well i hope your a guy,cause i dont wanne be hitting on a girl,that would be WIERD..!!maybe i should check your profile....

 

[yann]

Sorry to disappoint you but I'm a girl..lol and not really Japanese either since I'm part-white. (being Japanese is a very exclusive club where you gotta be wholly Japanese and lived in that country for your entire life, or else your just a "foreigner")

trivia of the day 🙂

 

[yann]

Hey guys🙂
I don't think this questions deserves a new thread, so I'm just posting it here (assuming I technically have the right to post new question/topic as an OP! lol) but...is an experience in lab research absolutely necessary to be a strong applicant? As suggested before, I will definitely look into a possible research fellowship during the summer next year (or next next year, more likely), but if lab experience isn't all that important as long as I have a wide variety of animal experience and vet experience, I'd rather not worry about it. But, then again, I sure am curious as to what kind of research I might be able to take part in, so I'm not gonna totally dismiss the idea either...just that I'm alil anxious about the time it takes to take all science pre-reqs, work and/or shelter at various vets, take part in related animal experiences, AND look for a possible place to participate in lab research. At the same time making minimum amount to live by (I'll have the cushion of savings, but still would like to pretend they don't exist or else I'll be using them up before I even get admitted!) Ideally I would like to get everything out of the way by the end of 2012, and apply in the summer 2013 for a spot in the year 2014. Esp if I'm assuming it'll take me a couple tries before I actually get admitted. it would be nice to get in while I'm in mid-20s and graduate by early 30's, so I would be able to support my mom when she retires.

Ack this got longer than I originally planned!! Sorry for being so wordy all the time. Also I apologize if this question has already been answered in the past. I couldn't find anything that explicitly stated "no lab research necessary/lab research exp. def. necessary".

 

[sirbuckie]

In my opinion, research experience isn't absolutely necessary to get into vet school. However, vet school admins like to see a variety of experiences and having research experience will definitely make you stand out. My friend (who's a vet) told me that I have done more research than most people in vet school (and I only have 10 months of research experience) and that alot of people in vet school have never done things like PCR's. I think research is great and that it will open the door to many opportunities for you, but you should only get involved in the research if you are actually interested in the project! (I had to learn that the hard way).

 

[gilch]

Hey guys🙂
I don't think this questions deserves a new thread, so I'm just posting it here (assuming I technically have the right to post new question/topic as an OP! lol) but...is an experience in lab research absolutely necessary to be a strong applicant? As suggested before, I will definitely look into a possible research fellowship during the summer next year (or next next year, more likely), but if lab experience isn't all that important as long as I have a wide variety of animal experience and vet experience, I'd rather not worry about it. But, then again, I sure am curious as to what kind of research I might be able to take part in, so I'm not gonna totally dismiss the idea either...just that I'm alil anxious about the time it takes to take all science pre-reqs, work and/or shelter at various vets, take part in related animal experiences, AND look for a possible place to participate in lab research. At the same time making minimum amount to live by (I'll have the cushion of savings, but still would like to pretend they don't exist or else I'll be using them up before I even get admitted!) Ideally I would like to get everything out of the way by the end of 2012, and apply in the summer 2013 for a spot in the year 2014. Esp if I'm assuming it'll take me a couple tries before I actually get admitted. it would be nice to get in while I'm in mid-20s and graduate by early 30's, so I would be able to support my mom when she retires.

Ack this got longer than I originally planned!! Sorry for being so wordy all the time. Also I apologize if this question has already been answered in the past. I couldn't find anything that explicitly stated "no lab research necessary/lab research exp. def. necessary".

It's not required, exactly, but the majority of students that get in (at VMRCVM) have some type of research experience. From what I understand (based on a Q&A with an admin--nothing in writing, based on my memory, sadly failing in my senior status , take this for what it is worth!), they give 'Others' a 500 pt max and research (or maybe biomedical too?) counts for 100 pts of that. So if you have a thesis based phd or masters, chances are that you'll get somewhere close to 100 points for that. I don't know how they assign points beyond that. So I don't really think you should have this catergory empty--research (and maybe biomedical?) would be about 5% of overall points. But I don't think that you necessarily need to be published or even a huge part of any one study. I would look up some professors at George Mason (or another close university) and find some research that you are interested in and ask if you can help in anyway. However, I don't think this needs to be your top priority just now. You might want to get settled first.

Pigsrock might be able to verify or clarify some of this, I think she was probably there that day too.

 

[BlacKAT33]

No type of experience is absolutely necessary, not even SA! But like others have said, research will make you stand out. Not as many people apply with research as they do with SA. It also opens doors to other things such as lab animal medicine, pathology, writing sci papers and publications (possibly). My first research was with wild life so I also gained wildlife animal experience!

 

[yann]

that's really informative guys, thanks!! and sorry for the late reply..

wild life research actually sounds really interesting...as of now I can't imagine myself being in a lab (although I may enjoy it, who knows) but researching outside, observing animal behavior...now THAT'S something worth checking into!