Listing your own animals as experience?

[anjabryn]

Do we list all of the care we have give to our own animals under "animal experience"?
I am thinking no, but not sure.

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[Tiktaalik]

Nope. If you show/breed your animals, that might be animal experience, but pet ownership doesn't count.

 

[twelvetigers]

No, unless you're only applying to OKSU. Then, yes. 🙄

 

[hunterjumper12]

I think Virginia - Maryland wants you to list pet ownership too....I think. Don't take my word on that (especially since I'm not applying there), but I think I've read on here that they want you to include pet ownership.

 

[EllieGirl89]

I've owned animals my whole life and currently have two dogs, three horses, and three cats. They take up a significant enough portion of my life that I listed them. I mean, I wouldn't be nearly as proficient in handling horses had I only taken lessons once a week as I am for having owned multiple horses since I was 11. I'm only applying to Ohio State and it doesn't say anywhere on their website, as far as I know, about listing animal experience.

My take on it is, if they don't specifically say "don't list it," then why not list it? They can either take it into consideration or they can not. I asked my friend who is the president of our pre-vet club and is also applying this cycle if she included her own animals (which includes dogs, cats, horses, and pocket pets), and her resoponse? "I sure did, and if they have any questions about it, they're welcome to invite me to an interview!"

 

[Maddiegirl]

I'm not ready to apply yet, but I fully intend to include all of my animals as animal experience. I currently have dogs, two horses, a cat and I've learned enough caring for these animals to fill up a book.

I think one of the most important skills a vet can have is to recognize abnormal animal behavior which often presents with illness and injury. What better way to hone that skill than to spend a lot of time with animals behaving normally, which is what we as pet owners do everyday.

I certainly would not count the animals I had as a child, but the pets I've cared for as an adult have taught me invaluable animal handling, behavior recognition, and triage skills.

I would not be the person I am today without my animals. 😛

 

[smilin1590]

I kind of agree with elliegirl on this. I too have 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 3 horses. That kind of animal ownership does take up a significant amount of time especially if all of them live at your house as mine do. Also I show all 3 of my horses too. Also I've worked in many stables and dealt with many horses dogs and cats, and Ellie is so right you know a boatload more than just going to the barn once a week. So what I'm saying is when I apply I'll probably list my particular animal ownership as part of my animal experience and I agree if they have questions then please feel free to invite me to an interview (I won't mind) LOL! So anyhow you make the best judgement of your particular animal ownership situation. P.S. I agree with Tiktaalik though, showing or breeding even if it's just one dog cat or whatever should count as animal experience. Hope this helps.

 

[bunnity]

Do a search, there have been a million threads about this.

I think listing pet ownership makes it look like you are padding your hours. Like if you were applying to med school and you listed taking your own medication or putting band aids on yourself or something.

 

[goldielocks137]

Do a search, there have been a million threads about this.

I think listing pet ownership makes it look like you are padding your hours. Like if you were applying to med school and you listed taking your own medication or putting band aids on yourself or something.

Agreed. I thought the VMCAS explicitly states not to count pet ownership unless it's showing, 4H, breeding, or something of that sort

 

[EllieGirl89]

Do a search, there have been a million threads about this.

I think listing pet ownership makes it look like you are padding your hours. Like if you were applying to med school and you listed taking your own medication or putting band aids on yourself or something.

Except that my hours don't need padding. I have 17,000 hours of animal experience. 11,000 of those (and that's a very conservative estimate) are from my own animals. If they choose to not include caring for my own pets in my animal experience, there will still be 6,000 hours, which is FAR above the average for the school I'm applying to. So they can take or leave my experience with my personal animals. Either way I will still have substantial experience. I didn't do it for "padding" I did it because my own personal animals have enriched and enhanced my experience and have definitely improved my proficiency with and knowledge of animals. I believe that owning and caring for animals, especially multiple ones of various species, is significant animal experience, and unless the school I'm applying to says otherwise, I'm going to list it. If they don't want to consider it, that's fine, but I'm going to put it there in case they do.

 

[EllieGirl89]

Agreed. I thought the VMCAS explicitly states not to count pet ownership unless it's showing, 4H, breeding, or something of that sort

Not sure where you got that. Here's the instructions for the Animal Experience Section:

"The experiences you report in this section should be different from those entered for Veterinary and Employment experience. They should include farm and ranch experiences, 4-H membership, animal training, or other similar activities, and should not have occurred under the supervision of a health professional.

Include all relevant experiences, whether they are voluntary, paid, or academic experiences, beginning with the most recent. If you are unsure of the dates or number of hours worked, please estimate. If your current experience will continue beyond when you submit your application, list the expected ending date. However, the total hours should reflect completed hours (total hours-to-date), and should NOT include future hours.

If your experience was over broken periods of time (for example, summer break), enter the average number of weekly hours and note the periods worked in your description of duties. List average weekly hours and total hours for each experience. You are allowed 480 characters in the Description of Duties section. If you need additional space, use the Explanation Statement.

Check the box “I do not have any animal experience” if you have no relevant experience to report."

It says "include all relevant experiences." I feel that my experience with my personal animals, especially with the horses, is extremely relevant towards the career I am pursuing. If my school explicitly disagreed, I'd leave it out. But it doesn't, so I'm not.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Do a search, there have been a million threads about this.

I think listing pet ownership makes it look like you are padding your hours. Like if you were applying to med school and you listed taking your own medication or putting band aids on yourself or something.

i agree (I've always thought of it as analogous to someone who wants to become a plumber putting down "toilet and bathtub owner" on their resume). but it's your application and if you really think pet ownership adds to why you should be admitted to vet school, then go for it! Hell, if I were a crazy animal hoarder, I'd definitely list that on my apps to show how awesomely dedicated I am and how I'm destined to become a vet 🙄. If anyone thought having a bunch of pets made them unique though, I'd rethink that one as I think pre-vets without pets are much rarer.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Things might have changed this year, or my memory might be failing, but I also recall that they said simply having a family pet should not be listed, but if you did more than feeding and walking them etc it could be listed. Maybe it was in a FAQ section or something.

So I included time training for agility, or for animal therapy, but training them to sit should probably have been excluded.

I think they want to exclude people who grew up with Fido, but had no special involvement.

 

[breenie]

Wisconsin specifically says include pets. Both of the admissions counselors have told me this in person. *shrug*

I did 4H with my horse AND my cat, so I'm listing them. 😉

 

[bunnity]

To me, the difference is the type of learning curve.

If you're doing horse showing, or agility training, or something of that nature, you are probably continually learning new things about animal health and behavior.

Likewise if you are working for a vet, or working on a farm, or volunteering at different places, you are likely to be learning new things on a regular basis as you advance at work or gain responsibilities as a volunteer. Or you are having conversations with people in the field and gaining insights into their thought process, challenges, ways of dealing with clients, etc.

However, while there is an initial learning curve with pet ownership, I think adding up all the hours of feeding, grooming, and walking is redundant because the litter box pretty much gets cleaned the same every time. So after time #5 it's not really teaching you anything.

Now if you are doing things like cat 4H (awesome, how does that work?) where you and your animal are actively learning and growing in an activity, I think that is appropriate.

Obviously, do what you want. I have no personal stake in it; just saying that if I were on an adcom I might raise an eyebrow if thousands of hours of pet ownership showed up on an application.

 

[DVMDream]

I did not include pet ownership even though I have been responible for taking care of my pets ever since I was 10. This includes giving them meds. I just feel it is really adding a lot of BS in there. I am going to include in my PS experiences with my personal pets that have made me realize possible specialties I want to go into but not I have owned dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, and fish since I was 10 years old. I know how to take care of all of these types of animals and more. I know how to give them food and water (but any five year old can pour food and water into a dog or cat bowl). Even an 8 year old can be capable of giving meds if you explain it well enough. It just seems ridiculous to add a few thousand hours of feeding, watering, grooming, scooping poo, and basic training (I taught my cat how to sit and meow on command and I taught my guinea pig how to play dead (that could make a good PS opener 😉)). But I just feel my pet ownership is really measely in comparison to my other animal experiences (over a couple thousand) and my vet experiences. But that is just my 0.02 cents. I would obviously add 4H, agility, showing, or breeding if that is anything you were involved in, but to me basic pet ownership should not really be included. I know a few schools want you to include it but there are also schools that ask you to not include it. Ok I am done. That is my opinion.

 

[breenie]

Now if you are doing things like cat 4H (awesome, how does that work?) where you and your animal are actively learning and growing in an activity, I think that is appropriate.

For our county fair, the cats were organized by hair length and gender into classes. Then they had long tables, and we all had to place our cats on the tables, and the judge would walk down the line and inspect the kitties. Since they were all barn mutts, they were judged on how well they were groomed, presented, and behaved.

My cat threw an absolute **** fit and almost flew off the table, and one of the nice girls next to me left her huge fluffy barn cat (who sat very nicely) and had to come unhook my cat's claws from under the table. I didn't win, but it was hilarious to watch for my family.

 

[rugbychick16]

If anyone thought having a bunch of pets made them unique though, I'd rethink that one as I think pre-vets without pets are much rarer.

👍


I've probably spent at least a couple hundred hours cleaning my cats' litterboxes in my lifetime...But that's pretty amazing, I'm sure no other cat owners have done that. Maybe VMCAS needs to make a special section for applicants to list their litterbox cleaning experience throughout their life

 

[smilin1590]

To me, the difference is the type of learning curve.

If you're doing horse showing, or agility training, or something of that nature, you are probably continually learning new things about animal health and behavior.

Likewise if you are working for a vet, or working on a farm, or volunteering at different places, you are likely to be learning new things on a regular basis as you advance at work or gain responsibilities as a volunteer. Or you are having conversations with people in the field and gaining insights into their thought process, challenges, ways of dealing with clients, etc.

However, while there is an initial learning curve with pet ownership, I think adding up all the hours of feeding, grooming, and walking is redundant because the litter box pretty much gets cleaned the same every time. So after time #5 it's not really teaching you anything.

Now if you are doing things like cat 4H (awesome, how does that work?) where you and your animal are actively learning and growing in an activity, I think that is appropriate.

Obviously, do what you want. I have no personal stake in it; just saying that if I were on an adcom I might raise an eyebrow if thousands of hours of pet ownership showed up on an application.

I agree with this all the way. You worded it perfectly... and it makes sense 👍

 

[EllieGirl89]

👍


I've probably spent at least a couple hundred hours cleaning my cats' litterboxes in my lifetime...But that's pretty amazing, I'm sure no other cat owners have done that. Maybe VMCAS needs to make a special section for applicants to list their litterbox cleaning experience throughout their life

And I'm sure no other applicants have learned how to give injections or draw blood or monitor anesthesia or any of the other million things we learn to do while working with vets, so surely we shouldn't list those things as veterinary experience.

The instructions do not say to list those animal experiences that you think are unique to you, that you think none of the other applicants has ever done in their life. It says list animal experience. Period. If your school doesn't say not to list pet ownership, then why not?

I guess the final verdict would be, when in doubt, ask. Shoot an email to the schools you're applying to and get the answer straight from the horse's mouth.

 

[Tiktaalik]

And I'm sure no other applicants have learned how to give injections or draw blood or monitor anesthesia or any of the other million things we learn to do while working with vets, so surely we shouldn't list those things as veterinary experience.

The instructions do not say to list those animal experiences that you think are unique to you, that you think none of the other applicants has ever done in their life. It says list animal experience. Period. If your school doesn't say not to list pet ownership, then why not?

I guess the final verdict would be, when in doubt, ask. Shoot an email to the schools you're applying to and get the answer straight from the horse's mouth.

Look, I know you think that your pet hours should count, but it will look like you're just padding. 11,000 hours? Sheesh. It doesn't matter if there's 6,000 other hours, all adding an extra 11k will do is make adcoms think you weren't confident enough in the quality of your 6k hours.

I have plenty of hours with pets, too - I grew up caring for never less than 4 dogs at a time, and a constantly shifting menagerie of snapping turtles, snakes, lizards, hamsters &c. &c. I left all this off my application. The reason is that the application isn't designed to see how much you know about animals - the school doesn't care how much you know before you get in, because they plan to teach it all to you whether you know it or not. Instead, the application serves to tell the school what kind of experience you've had with the profession so that they know you're sufficiently familiar with vet met that you won't flip out and drop after year one.

So list it if you want, but I'd like to point out that everyone who's saying 'don't list unless the school explicitly says they want it' is currently a vet student.

 

[StartingoverVet]

I have plenty of hours with pets, too - I grew up caring for never less than 4 dogs at a time, and a constantly shifting menagerie of snapping turtles, snakes, lizards, hamsters &c. &c. I left all this off my application. The reason is that the application isn't designed to see how much you know about animals - the school doesn't care how much you know before you get in, because they plan to teach it all to you whether you know it or not. Instead, the application serves to tell the school what kind of experience you've had with the profession so that they know you're sufficiently familiar with vet met that you won't flip out and drop after year one.

Uh, that is why there is vet experience section and an animal experience section. Clearly the animal experience section is there to show familiarity with animals in general, not just the profession. How much schools care about the animal experience section is open to debate but it is there for a reason.

So list it if you want, but I'd like to point out that everyone who's saying 'don't list unless the school explicitly says they want it' is currently a vet student.

And that proves what exactly? That vet students are closed-minded? That pre-vet students think differently? And you have a sample size of what? 6 students (1 of whom disagrees). I don't see any reason that is relevant unless some of those vet students have served on an admissions committee.

 

[that redhead]

Except that my hours don't need padding. I have 17,000 hours of animal experience. 11,000 of those (and that's a very conservative estimate) are from my own animals.

Out of polite curiosity, how did you calculate the number of hours you have taken care of these various pets? I remember this being discussed in another thread, which is why I'm asking, because some people counted every hour of every day they'd owned a pet as "animal experience" and while technically you'd see your pet every day, or nearly every day, you aren't constantly caring for them. Not meant as a personal attack, just curious!

 

[Tiktaalik]

And that proves what exactly? That vet students are closed-minded? That pre-vet students think differently? And you have a sample size of what? 6 students (1 of whom disagrees). I don't see any reason that is relevant unless some of those vet students have served on an admissions committee.

Closed-minded? Really?

Being in vet school proves that you can get in the way we did it. Please don't "small sample size" me - I'm not submitting a paper for publication on the topic, I'm just pointing out that the people who figured out how to get in for the most part did so without listing pet hours.

Uh, that is why there is vet experience section and an animal experience section. Clearly the animal experience section is there to show familiarity with animals in general, not just the profession. How much schools care about the animal experience section is open to debate but it is there for a reason.

Animal Experience is for things like 4H and agility (as it says right there on VMCAS) because these experiences showcase familiarity with production, shows and other sectors that veterinarians may become involved with when caring for animals. It shows that you understand where clients are coming from when they say "We can't give the shot in the rump because it'll ruin the meat," or "Can't we just give painkillers and operate later? There's a big competition coming up" and are cool with taking their needs into consideration. It all comes back to the profession.

The majority of schools will not care about pet experience, and many will look at an extra several thousand hours and say "sheesh, this person is so insecure about their qualifications that they padded out their hours with 5,000 hours of litterbox changing." Schools assume that most of us have had pets, just like they assume that most of us love animals, and so it really isn't worth mentioning. They only want to hear about the things that make applicants unique and demonstrate familiarity with vet med.

Is that fair, since pet ownership was probably one of the factors that pushed you towards vet med, and probably led to your first contact with the profession? Of course not. It's totally silly and owning a pet is real experience. However, it's not something you list in this section.

In conclusion, people can list it if they want. It is not necessary, and it's hardly innovative. I don't care either way; I was just trying to warn people that that information isn't really what vet schools want.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Hey Tik, that's your opinion and that it is what this forum is for, to provide advice and opinion.

Sorry, but to me, you are still crossing a line and stating as fact, what is clearly your personal observations. Not ALL vet students got in by not listing pet experience. In fact, you have no idea what % listed it. Because a couple of people said so here is hardly an indicator. It's not about publishing it is about generalizing from anecdotal evidence. It is dangerous.

Omitting the information could be worse than including the evidence. Again, unless you are an adcom member then you really don't know.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Hey Tik, that's your opinion and that it is what this forum is for, to provide advice and opinion.

Sorry, but to me, you are still crossing a line and stating as fact, what is clearly your personal observations. Not ALL vet students got in by not listing pet experience. In fact, you have no idea what % listed it. Because a couple of people said so here is hardly an indicator. It's not about publishing it is about generalizing from anecdotal evidence. It is dangerous.

Omitting the information could be worse than including the evidence. Again, unless you are an adcom member then you really don't know.

I don't think I'm saying what you think I'm saying.
I'm not trying to generalize and say that no person who's gotten into vet school has ever listed pet experience. I am pointing out that several people are in vet school without listing pet experience, which does actually prove that you don't need to list it to get in.

It's like this: if I claim that cats aren't real animals, all it takes to prove me wrong is one person showing me a cat. I'm not supporting a hypothesis, I'm falsifying one.

I apologize if my wording made that unclear.

And yes, you're right, some of what I said is opinion, but it's based on the wording of the VMCAS prompt and what I've learned in school so far. Either way, a person with 6k hours does not need to list any more hours to be competitive.

 

[EllieGirl89]

Out of polite curiosity, how did you calculate the number of hours you have taken care of these various pets? I remember this being discussed in another thread, which is why I'm asking, because some people counted every hour of every day they'd owned a pet as "animal experience" and while technically you'd see your pet every day, or nearly every day, you aren't constantly caring for them. Not meant as a personal attack, just curious!

Nope, not every hour of every day, 15 hours a week. Which is a low estimate based on averaging out time before I had horses, because in high school during the summers I would sometimes spend 8 hours a day working with my horses along, and about 3 or 4 hours during the school year. That includes feeding, grooming, training, showing, cleaning, etc etc etc. My family has a lot of pets. I have two dogs, my mother has 2 dogs, and my dad has 1. We've got three cats inside and several barn cats, and I have three horses that live on my parents' property, meaning all their care and maintenance as well as the upkeep of facilities is my responsibility. Not so much now that I'm away at college (was at home for the first 2 years of college). We've had this many pets since I was in middle school, so caring for pets has not just been a couple minutes a day sort of thing. With so many animals it's a significant portion of our lives to feed and care for them and make sure they all have what they need. My parents were never able to have more kids after me so my mom said God gave them critters instead 😉

I have emailed Ohio State though, and am waiting on a definitive answer that will probably come after the weekend.

 

[GellaBella]

Personally, I'm on the "don't list it unless specifically asked to" band wagon. I certainly think breeding/showing/4H/agility training etc should be included but I know I did not add pet experiences to my animal experience section.

In my personal statement I mentioned that I owned and cared for many different types of animals as pets in my lifetime (potbellied pigs, pygmy goats, chickens, ducks, reptiles, dogs, cats, rabbits etc etc) but in my animal experience section I put..... 0 hours.

haha. actually I left it completely blank. Even though my step mother does breed and show dogs and I have experience with that too.

I guess in the end I was confident about my veterinary experience and figured that was the most important experience to list.

But who knows, maybe if I had included pet ownership I would have gotten into more of the schools I applied to! It's just kind of impossible to say.

I feel like if I were on an adcom I might view it as padding hours (ok, I'm secretly a b*tch so I'd probably definitely view it as padding hours) but hey, if it works it works and can we really fault anyone for trying to make their application as outstanding as possible?.

I don't think any of us can knowingly say whether it will help or hinder you but that's the whole application process in general.

So, yes, contact the schools and see if they mind seeing pet ownership on there. If they don't then awesome and you're golden. If not, then don't put them. Easy Peasy.

ok. now back to studying anatomy.

 

[EllieGirl89]

I don't think any of us can knowingly say whether it will help or hinder you but that's the whole application process in general.

So, yes, contact the schools and see if they mind seeing pet ownership on there. If they don't then awesome and you're golden. If not, then don't put them. Easy Peasy.

👍

 

[EllieGirl89]

*Stands corrected*

😉

I heard back from Ohio State, and the response from the head of Student Recruitment (the email they give you if you have questions) was "I would not." So I'll be adjusting my application before I submit tonight.

Though it would be nice to have a "yes, do this" or "no, don't do this." "I would not" seems a bit unclear as it comes off as one person's opinion, but I'm definitely not going to risk it if that's what she said.

So yes, contact your school-because even if they don't specifically say either way, they probably have a preference.

 

[heylodeb]

For interest sake - when I was a WSU this summer, the director of admissions advised me to put ANYTHING else I wanted the adcom to know about me in the "community service" section. She said that it is a sort of catch-all section. SO, I put my time riding/owning/showing horses into that section. It doesn't ask for amount of time but still gave me the opportunity to show them another part of my life.

 

[DVMDream]

For interest sake - when I was a WSU this summer, the director of admissions advised me to put ANYTHING else I wanted the adcom to know about me in the "community service" section. She said that it is a sort of catch-all section. SO, I put my time riding/owning/showing horses into that section. It doesn't ask for amount of time but still gave me the opportunity to show them another part of my life.

When I had my file review with WSU she really emphasized putting in "anything about you". She said it doesn't necessarily have to be with an organization, club, etc. She says if like to play the guitar on the weekends then add it, or if you like to rock climb then put that there, or hiking, biking, etc, etc. It does not have to be an organized thing just tell them what you like to do that is different.

 

[EllieGirl89]

Ooh ooh ohh! So I can include the fact that I enjoy doing approximately three Sudoku puzzles per night because it helps me fall asleep? 😀

Kidding, of course, but I did include the fact that I enjoy running and have recently completed the Couch to 5K program and have run 2 5Ks!

 

[turnandburn]

Here's a vet student who included it 🙂 Part of the reason I wanted to be a vet growing up was in part due to my experiences as an animal owner so I put that spin on it in my application. I certainly didn't need the padding and any adcom could see that.

Clearly there is no correct answer to this question. If you feel it adds something, go ahead and add it.

 

[Kat0303]

When I applied the VMCAS said not to list it. They must have deleted that out because it was definitely there before.

I also would advise against putting your own pets down as experience (even though it actually is something that has contributed to many of our animal experiences). I don't think it would necessarily hurt, but I'm on the side of thinking it seems like padding hours (even if it isn't or you think it seems obvious since you have a lot of hours already...the adcoms don't know you and don't know your intentions).

It seems to me that the Animal Experience section was created to let you show the unique experiences you set out to participate in, like 4-H, shelter volunteer, working on a farm, etc. I listed my experience working at a dairy. There wasn't a vet there, so it didn't fit under veterinary experience.

Like mentioned already, it also seems pointless to put your own pets since most applicants had pets growing up and it doesn't set you apart from the rest at all (unless you have a unique experience with your pet like training, volunteering with your animal, breeding, etc). I think information about how your personal pet has affected your decision to pursue vet med is better suited in the PS.


This of course is just my opinion, so it really is up to the applicant to decide what they think is appropriate there. There are people who have gotten into vet school doing it both ways.

 

[turnandburn]

^ Most applicants aren't unique. Most people applying have animal experience at various jobs, and most applicants have worked, shadowed, or volunteered at multiple clinics doing typical things like drawing up vaccines, restraining animals, and folding towels, so by your logic, no one would be adding anything at all to their application unless they'd done something truly unique like a physical exam on an Emperor Penguin in Antarctica.

And just FYI, it was included in my personal statement as well. I chose to sell myself at every possible opportunity in my third application and it must have worked because I was finally a direct admit. 😎

 

[DVMDream]

^ Most applicants aren't unique. Most people applying have animal experience at various jobs, and most applicants have worked, shadowed, or volunteered at multiple clinics doing typical things like drawing up vaccines, restraining animals, and folding towels, so by your logic, no one would be adding anything at all to their application unless they'd done something truly unique like a physical exam on an Emperor Penguin in Antarctica.

And just FYI, it was included in my personal statement as well. I chose to sell myself at every possible opportunity in my third application and it must have worked because I was finally a direct admit. 😎

I like it! Anytime someone asks me what makes you unique I get so frustrated. I am just like every other applicant who really wants to be a veterinarian, has done a ****load of work in a vet clinic and volunteered with multiple species of animals.

If I have to apply again I am going going to say. I am the ONLY applicant who is 5' 3" tall, has brown hair, brown eyes, prefers to keep hair in a ponytail, has over 6 years of veterinary experience. Likes bowling, hiking and learning about airplanes. Wants to travel the world and say that I have visited every continent. Has grown up with dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, fish, guinea pigs and rabbits. Has seen a guinea pig attempt to mate with a rabbit and severely fail. Has grown up with 3 sisters; no brothers. Has worked with monkeys, alligators, crocodiles, bats, and many other reptiles and small mammals at a zoo (and absolutely is not interested in zoo med). So, in the end, I bet you will never find another applicant that is 5' 3" with brown hair and brown eyes who has 6 years of veterinary experience; enjoys bowling, hiking, airplanes and has a massive interest in travel, has seen a guinea pig fail at mating with a rabbit, has worked with multiple species at a zoo (and is NOT interested in zoo med) and has 3 sisters and no brothers. SO HA! 😛

 

[twelvetigers]

My essay on being unique:

I have pink hair and I live in Oklahoma.

 

[Kat0303]

^ Most applicants aren't unique. Most people applying have animal experience at various jobs, and most applicants have worked, shadowed, or volunteered at multiple clinics doing typical things like drawing up vaccines, restraining animals, and folding towels, so by your logic, no one would be adding anything at all to their application unless they'd done something truly unique like a physical exam on an Emperor Penguin in Antarctica.

And just FYI, it was included in my personal statement as well. I chose to sell myself at every possible opportunity in my third application and it must have worked because I was finally a direct admit. 😎

I see what you're saying...the thing is that the OP asked what we think about listing it, and my personal opinion is that I wouldn't list it because I think it can misconstrued as padding hours whether that is fair or not, and if I were an adcom seeing 10,000 hours of pet owndership wouldn't add anything for me. They can take my advice or leave it. Hence the disclaimer at the bottom of my post.

 

[168135]

I think there should be thread where we brag about our uniqueness 😛

I'm so happy I don't have to answer that question for my app. They're going to take one look at my supplemental and go "BUH?? How can one person possibly be a star bowler, yearbook editor, representative of the biology society, cake decorator, ice cream server, smoothie maker, actress, PCR pro, animal welfare activist and a Girl Guide leader who doesn't like to see really old buildings be torn down and replaced by a useless office building? I smell something fishy 😕"

 

[StartingoverVet]

I like it! Anytime someone asks me what makes you unique I get so frustrated. I am just like every other applicant who really wants to be a veterinarian, has done a ****load of work in a vet clinic and volunteered with multiple species of animals.

If I have to apply again I am going going to say. I am the ONLY applicant who is 5' 3" tall, has brown hair, brown eyes, prefers to keep hair in a ponytail, has over 6 years of veterinary experience. Likes bowling, hiking and learning about airplanes. Wants to travel the world and say that I have visited every continent. Has grown up with dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, fish, guinea pigs and rabbits. Has seen a guinea pig attempt to mate with a rabbit and severely fail. Has grown up with 3 sisters; no brothers. Has worked with monkeys, alligators, crocodiles, bats, and many other reptiles and small mammals at a zoo (and absolutely is not interested in zoo med). So, in the end, I bet you will never find another applicant that is 5' 3" with brown hair and brown eyes who has 6 years of veterinary experience; enjoys bowling, hiking, airplanes and has a massive interest in travel, has seen a guinea pig fail at mating with a rabbit, has worked with multiple species at a zoo (and is NOT interested in zoo med) and has 3 sisters and no brothers. SO HA! 😛

Just relate it all to vet stuff and u are uniquely qualified.

"ponytail": likes ponies.
learn about airplanes: Interested in how things work like physiology.
Bowling: strong fingers, a perfect candidate for orthopedics.
Hiking: can stand on your feet all day without getting tired.
guinea pig vs rabbit: interested in reproduction.
massive interest in travel: will be great in an intl vet med program
no brothers: used to being in an environment w/o men.
3 sisters: used to hanging around with lots of women.

etc etc.

 

[goldielocks137]

Just relate it all to vet stuff and u are uniquely qualified.

"ponytail": likes ponies.
learn about airplanes: Interested in how things work like physiology.
Bowling: strong fingers, a perfect candidate for orthopedics.
Hiking: can stand on your feet all day without getting tired.
guinea pig vs rabbit: interested in reproduction.
massive interest in travel: will be great in an intl vet med program
no brothers: used to being in an environment w/o men.
3 sisters: used to hanging around with lots of women.

etc etc.

Hahaha. With the ability to spin things like that, no wonder you were able to get into Penn! Brilliant