Match applicant for 2026 VIRMP looking for application suggestions/tips

[olivia0330]

Hello everyone! I’m a current 3rd year DVM student (c/o 2026) who is now more seriously considering applying for the VIRMP Match next year for 2026. I would be planning to do a small animal rotating internship, with a current specialty interest in medical oncology. I will add that the interest in oncology is fairly new, so I am just starting to expose myself to it more, but I don’t think doing an internship would be a disservice to me even if I decide not to pursue specialty and after completing the internship, go into shelter/community medicine which was the area of medicine I have been planning on going into for the past year or so. It is obviously very early to be planning my match application, but at this point I am just looking for general advice regarding applying. I’m curious if anyone has advice about the personal statement, and how it should differ from my initial one for vet school applications. I would guess it should be about how we’ve grown during our four years of schooling and potentially include thoughts regarding interests/valuable experiences but I really can’t seem to think of any big moments in my educational career that seem worth writing about. So if any current interns/residents/recent applicants/seasoned professionals have any input on that aspect I appreciate any and all insight. Additionally, should most of our recommendation letters be from specialists? I’ve occasionally shadowed specialists but have not formed close connections with any as of yet. I will be starting clinical rotations this May, but is a 2-4 week block usually enough to make that kind of relationship with a preceptor? I think I would apply to a mix of academic and private internships. My vet school follows a distributive model for clinics as we do not have a teaching hospital, so I do wonder if some long-time established academic institutions may see that as potential red flag in an applicant. Additional general information regarding my application would be that I currently have a 3.62 GPA (decent, but not the most competitive) and have some leadership roles during vet school including president of the Feline Medicine club, VP of Shelter Medicine club, and a Physiology I and II teaching assistant. Any thoughts on anything mentioned above as well as how I can continue to improve upon myself during my final year and a half are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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[pp9]

Hello everyone! I’m a current 3rd year DVM student (c/o 2026) who is now more seriously considering applying for the VIRMP Match next year for 2026. I would be planning to do a small animal rotating internship, with a current specialty interest in medical oncology. I will add that the interest in oncology is fairly new, so I am just starting to expose myself to it more, but I don’t think doing an internship would be a disservice to me even if I decide not to pursue specialty and after completing the internship, go into shelter/community medicine which was the area of medicine I have been planning on going into for the past year or so. It is obviously very early to be planning my match application, but at this point I am just looking for general advice regarding applying. I’m curious if anyone has advice about the personal statement, and how it should differ from my initial one for vet school applications. I would guess it should be about how we’ve grown during our four years of schooling and potentially include thoughts regarding interests/valuable experiences but I really can’t seem to think of any big moments in my educational career that seem worth writing about. So if any current interns/residents/recent applicants/seasoned professionals have any input on that aspect I appreciate any and all insight. Additionally, should most of our recommendation letters be from specialists? I’ve occasionally shadowed specialists but have not formed close connections with any as of yet. I will be starting clinical rotations this May, but is a 2-4 week block usually enough to make that kind of relationship with a preceptor? I think I would apply to a mix of academic and private internships. My vet school follows a distributive model for clinics as we do not have a teaching hospital, so I do wonder if some long-time established academic institutions may see that as potential red flag in an applicant. Additional general information regarding my application would be that I currently have a 3.62 GPA (decent, but not the most competitive) and have some leadership roles during vet school including president of the Feline Medicine club, VP of Shelter Medicine club, and a Physiology I and II teaching assistant. Any thoughts on anything mentioned above as well as how I can continue to improve upon myself during my final year and a half are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Think of the VIRMP personal statement as more of a letter of intent. You're explaining to the reader your career goals, and how this step (whether it be a rotating or specialty internship, or residency) is going to help get you there. For a rotating, mentioning your interest in the specialty/career goals is important, but definitely talk about what you hope to get out of a rotating and what you can bring to the program. The letter is sent to all programs you apply to, so don't address it to specific programs.

For your rotating application, imo your letters do not need to be from specialists. You should have at least one letter (if not all) from a clinician from your clinical year. I don't think a letter from a vet you worked with as a pre-vet is wrong, but keep in mind that they may not have worked with you for up to 4 years now, and you're a completely different person at this point in your career...they won't be able to accurately speak toward a lot of the things the VIRMP questionnaire will ask them. Approach clinics knowing you'll need to be asking for letters. 2-4 weeks is never ideal, but that's what vet students get Hit the ground running for each rotation - show up on time with cases prepped, help your rotation-mates, do what is asked of you, ask questions when appropriate and show sincere interest in learning. You don't need to be an all-star knowledge wise (it does help if you are), you just need to be a good clinical year vet student to get a decent letter from someone. You may not get to know someone very well in 2-4 weeks, but you can certainly leave a great impression in that time.

I don't think lacking a teaching hospital is going to hold you back. You're still doing clinical rotations, just in a different way. Also, a 3.62 is pretty competitive in my book.

Another recommendation is to consider an externship at whatever hospitals you might want to rotate at. I think getting externships at schools is a bit more challenging, but shouldn't be a problem for a private practice.

 

[cml156]

As someone who is also part of a distributive model school and is going through the match right now, I will echo @pp9 by saying lacking a teaching hospital definitely shouldn't hold you back! I had all the same pressure and anxiety you might be feeling as I was going through clinics, wondering if my 2 weeks in each department would be long enough to make a lasting impression for a LOR. It is 100% possible. There are several people I know at distributive schools going through the match right now. Additionally, don't discount 3rd year junior surgery and patient care you had to do. There will be several clinicians that got to monitor your ability to be a baby clinician who would be more than happy to be a reference for you. As walking proof of a distributive school, I had several interviews for rotating internships this cycle and have high hopes about match day next month! If you have any questions about going through the process as a distributive student you are more than welcome to ask me specific questions as well.

 

[BigCats]

Take this with several grains of salt, as I’m a fourth year at a traditional teaching hospital and haven’t yet found out my match success, but I was also really worried about being able to get strong letters from specialists since rotations at my school are only 2 weeks at a time. I ended up getting two of my letters from specialists I’d only worked with for 1 week during their rotation (and I am not someone who is super chatty and charming right off the bat!), and I’ve heard in multiple SA rotating internship interviews that my letters were strong, so they can’t have been that bad despite only having worked with them for a short time. I definitely made it a point to ask if they’d be willing to write me a *strong* LOR, and also just had to realize that even though it feels like an insane ask for someone to write a recommendation for you after a couple of weeks, they’re totally used to it if they’ve been working with students. They know students need letters to specialize, they know clinical rotations are only so many weeks long, and it’s just how it is. Just try your best to hit the ground running on each rotation!

 

[olivia0330]

As someone who is also part of a distributive model school and is going through the match right now, I will echo @pp9 by saying lacking a teaching hospital definitely shouldn't hold you back! I had all the same pressure and anxiety you might be feeling as I was going through clinics, wondering if my 2 weeks in each department would be long enough to make a lasting impression for a LOR. It is 100% possible. There are several people I know at distributive schools going through the match right now. Additionally, don't discount 3rd year junior surgery and patient care you had to do. There will be several clinicians that got to monitor your ability to be a baby clinician who would be more than happy to be a reference for you. As walking proof of a distributive school, I had several interviews for rotating internships this cycle and have high hopes about match day next month! If you have any questions about going through the process as a distributive student you are more than welcome to ask me specific questions as well.

Thank you very much and congratulations that is so exciting for you!!

 

[olivia0330]

Take this with several grains of salt, as I’m a fourth year at a traditional teaching hospital and haven’t yet found out my match success, but I was also really worried about being able to get strong letters from specialists since rotations at my school are only 2 weeks at a time. I ended up getting two of my letters from specialists I’d only worked with for 1 week during their rotation (and I am not someone who is super chatty and charming right off the bat!), and I’ve heard in multiple SA rotating internship interviews that my letters were strong, so they can’t have been that bad despite only having worked with them for a short time. I definitely made it a point to ask if they’d be willing to write me a *strong* LOR, and also just had to realize that even though it feels like an insane ask for someone to write a recommendation for you after a couple of weeks, they’re totally used to it if they’ve been working with students. They know students need letters to specialize, they know clinical rotations are only so many weeks long, and it’s just how it is. Just try your best to hit the ground running on each rotation!

Thank you very much and good luck to you!!

 

[olivia0330]

Think of the VIRMP personal statement as more of a letter of intent. You're explaining to the reader your career goals, and how this step (whether it be a rotating or specialty internship, or residency) is going to help get you there. For a rotating, mentioning your interest in the specialty/career goals is important, but definitely talk about what you hope to get out of a rotating and what you can bring to the program. The letter is sent to all programs you apply to, so don't address it to specific programs.

For your rotating application, imo your letters do not need to be from specialists. You should have at least one letter (if not all) from a clinician from your clinical year. I don't think a letter from a vet you worked with as a pre-vet is wrong, but keep in mind that they may not have worked with you for up to 4 years now, and you're a completely different person at this point in your career...they won't be able to accurately speak toward a lot of the things the VIRMP questionnaire will ask them. Approach clinics knowing you'll need to be asking for letters. 2-4 weeks is never ideal, but that's what vet students get Hit the ground running for each rotation - show up on time with cases prepped, help your rotation-mates, do what is asked of you, ask questions when appropriate and show sincere interest in learning. You don't need to be an all-star knowledge wise (it does help if you are), you just need to be a good clinical year vet student to get a decent letter from someone. You may not get to know someone very well in 2-4 weeks, but you can certainly leave a great impression in that time.

I don't think lacking a teaching hospital is going to hold you back. You're still doing clinical rotations, just in a different way. Also, a 3.62 is pretty competitive in my book.

Another recommendation is to consider an externship at whatever hospitals you might want to rotate at. I think getting externships at schools is a bit more challenging, but shouldn't be a problem for a private practice.

Thank you very much this is valuable insight!!