personal statement help needed!

[akitavet]

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Okay everyone...here's the deal. I am trying to figure out what direction to take with my personal statement. The truth is that what I really want to do is small animal theriogenology. I work at a small animal repro practice now, and I love it. The problem is that I know some schools are pretty anti-breeder. I am thinking I should just be honest and say what I would like to do and if they dont want me, then I dont want to be there, but I still want to have a good chance at getting in. What do you guys think?

 

[Bill59]

Here's a vote for honesty. Nothing wrong with wanting to do therio. Schools aren't anti-breeder, they're just anti-idiot breeder.

 

[QTkitty]

I actually think you should leave it out. You should mention that you want to get into small animal med and what led you to that decision but schools want to see that you are open minded. If you are saying right off the bat that therio is what you want to do, they may not like it. I would suggest discussing your specific interest in your interview. This is the route I took at least. I want to get into large animal orthopaedics and discussed my experiences and why I'm still driven to LA in my personal statement and talked to my interviewers about orthopaedics at their school in such a way that was like: this is what I'm interested in now but with more experience I'm open to changing my mind. Good luck!!

 

[chris03333]

I actually think you should leave it out. You should mention that you want to get into small animal med and what led you to that decision but schools want to see that you are open minded. If you are saying right off the bat that therio is what you want to do, they may not like it. I would suggest discussing your specific interest in your interview.

Well I was very specific in my application, PS, and interview and had no problems getting in. I even told them that I was pretty sure which field I would go into even if (or when) others tried to change my mind. So knowing what you want to do is not necessarily a bad thing. I was very careful to make sure I showed enthusiasm for other aspects of vet med also though. So I pretty much showed them that although I know what I want to do post grad, I am happy to learn all the rest.🙂

 

[ri23]

I really don't think it is a bad thing to show increased interest in one field - as long as you make it clear that you aren't close-minded to other aspects. In fact, if the school has a strong program in that area mentioning that you are interested in the school because of their research in your area of interest might show that you have done your research on the school and its not just another school on your list to apply to.

 

[iglover]

I am also interested in therio (particularly canine) and I wrote about that goal in my PS (and had a lot of repro experience both large and small to back it up). In my interview I did say that I am open-minded to the fact that I could change my mind about entering that particular field (and I think that this is important because you might not know about EVERY facet of vet med before entering school). I don't feel that being interested in a specific field hindered my chances whatsoever since I was accepted into vet school this year.

 

[Catnapper]

...just spent the last 5 minutes staring at the Word screen...Personal Statement writer's block!!!
How 'bout: I wish to make a repectable career out of my crazy cat lady-dom?

 

[QTkitty]

I really don't think it is a bad thing to show increased interest in one field - as long as you make it clear that you aren't close-minded to other aspects. In fact, if the school has a strong program in that area mentioning that you are interested in the school because of their research in your area of interest might show that you have done your research on the school and its not just another school on your list to apply to.

I agree with this but I think it should be mentioned in the supplemental app. not the personal statement. I did mention in my supp that the equine orthopaedic research center at CSU made me especially interested in attending their school because it fit precisely within my area of interest. When I was in my interview at KSU I asked about where they were on LA orthopaedics. I guess I'll second that if you want to mention your specific area of interest you should, but be careful to maintain an open attitude regarding the possibility of being interested in other fields.

 

[jfitzpatri8]

I think this is a first. I disagree with QTKitty.

If you have worked extensively in a field that truly interests you, you know all the ins-and-outs of the thing, and you are happy looking at your boss and saying "I want to be him/her"... then ABSOLUTELY say that in your statement. Adcoms don't look down on people who are very dedicated to a particular field any more than they look down on people who are bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed about EVERYTHING to do with medicine in "the rest of the species".

That said, don't do that crappy thing where you say you want to go into Food Animal just to get in and go where you always intended (like SA orthopedics). It is not frowned upon (actually it is actively supported and encouraged) to change your mind, but it is frowned upon to be an outright liar.

J

 

[spikey]

If you have worked extensively in a field that truly interests you, you know all the ins-and-outs of the thing, and you are happy looking at your boss and saying "I want to be him/her"... then ABSOLUTELY say that in your statement. Adcoms don't look down on people who are very dedicated to a particular field any more than they look down on people who are bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed about EVERYTHING to do with medicine in "the rest of the species".

That said, don't do that crappy thing where you say you want to go into Food Animal just to get in and go where you always intended (like SA orthopedics). It is not frowned upon (actually it is actively supported and encouraged) to change your mind, but it is frowned upon to be an outright liar.

J

i agree completely.

know what you want, why you want it, and support those points. show your strong suits and why that makes you a good candidate to get into the field that you've chosen. chosen because you want it, not because the world needs more of them.

i was honest, that i did research, and i did not like it. at all. and they were okay with that. apparently, right? :]

good luck!