Personal Statement/VMCAS application

[Perfbird]

Hi all,

I am brand spanking new here, I've been lurking for a while and finally joined.🙂

I will be applying this Fall (I graduate undergrad Spring 2010) and had a few questions that I haven't been able to find an answer for on the net.

As far as VMCAS, what is the prompt for the personal statement? Does it ask a question, or tell you to describe an experience that led you to want to be a vet, or does it just say "insert personal statement here". (You get the jist!). As well, do supplemental applications require additional statements and essays?

I guess this question also goes along with the personal statement question, but what sorts of things are you supposed to plug in your PS? I realize that it is your chance to tell the committee why you'd be a vet school applicant, but how do you convey both all your selling points and your emotional side while at the same time not simply restating your resume?

I guess its been a while since I did college apps that I'm not in that thinking mode, but I'd like to get into gear before I'm pressed for time.

Thanks all!

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[meadow36]

Hi,
There's no "prompt" involved; you just paste your PS into a box. There is a character limit. It should tell a story about you, your life and your relationship with vet med. The best PS's are entertaining as well as insightful into your life and desires to become a vet. Do not restate anything that would be in your resume. The PS truly is personal. It's a story all about you.

The VMCAS has other areas where you are going to list all of your job experience, vet experience, etc.

Supplemental apps vary by school and they usually ask specific questions that you will have to answer. Some are notoriously tedious (i.e. Western) and others are not bad at all. Some schools don't have a supplemental (i.e. Purdue).

 

[primatevetjess]

Hi! First, welcome! You'll find tons of really great info here.

The prompt on VMCAS for the personal statement is literally, "Personal Statement:" In the instructions section, this is what is says for the personal statement:

"Personal Statement (MANDATORY)
Your personal statement should be written clearly and succinctly – 5000 characters (including spaces) have been allotted for your statement.

Discuss briefly the development of your interest in veterinary medicine. Discuss those activities and unique experiences that have contributed to your preparation for a professional program. Discuss your understanding of the veterinary medical profession, and discuss your career goals and objectives."

I basically talked about my life and how I got to where I am today, highlighting the things that I think make me stand out. If you'd like, I can send it to you, just send me a PM. Make sure the first paragraph has a really good hook, you want them interested in reading the rest of it immediately.

As for the supplementals, none of them require another personal statement, per se. But from my experience, they almost all require additional essay answers to specific questions. Some may have only 2-4 (I think there were 4 for Ohio), while others have many more (I think Western's has somewhere around 10, and Michigan had like 12 optional ones).

Also, there are varying length requirements. I remember my Ohio ones being pretty long, but the Michigan essays were hard to trim down to their character requirement.

 

[Perfbird]

Wow, thanks guys! I'm so glad I decided to come out of the woodwork.

I've lived in CA my whole life so Davis is my #1 choice. I was born and raised in Davis, absolutely love the place and have dreamed for years about going to Vet school there since my mom works on campus and she was always getting me in with vets at the VMTH.

I have seriously considered Western but they have so many funky requirements that my university does not offer that it seems more worthwhile to apply to other OOS schools that I satisfy the reqs for and would be paying the same price for in the end.

That's good to hear, I like simple questions. My next train of thought (as is the goal of everyone else) is how I go about making my PS stand out, because with as many amazing applicants that apply, it makes my experiences seem run of the mill. What did you all think made yours a stand out?

jjohnson, I would love to take you up on that. Seeing how others worked theirs would surely help me start in the right direction. How has Davis panned out for you? I went to Picnic Day and spent all day at VMTH and pretty much wanted to beg them to let me sneak in to classes the next day.

 

[sumstorm]

Check on Davis's (and any other school you intend to apply to) website as they sometimes have suggestions of what they want to find out in a PS. NCSU and Cornell both had suggestions for PS.

From reading other's PS's...and my own, it seems like a lot of people used a narrative to start the PS as a hook. What I have read are unique stories (macaques screaming in the trees outside a field camp), first encounters (when we took the family pet to the vet because I thought she had diabetes), clarifying moment (stressful critical care with urgent vet), routine moment that stood out (surgery prep becomine second nature), and humor (the amputated leg fell to the floor, spinning like a bottle, till the foot pointed at me.)

Somewhere on here is a 'first line/paragraph' thread about PS. Twelvetigers might be able to find it with her amazing link skills.

From talking to adcoms/attending info sessions, the top gripes I heard were resume like, gushing love of animals, lack of indications that applicant understands the field, lack of insights to the individuals motivations and goals, and steril statements.

 

[Pomona2006]

I thought I'd chime in here too...

Davis does not have a mandatory supplemental app or fee (which is nice!) with the exception being if you plan to work in an area of vet med that is not so common you can fill out a diversity app (not sure if that's what it's called since I didn't use it, but you get the idea).

With that being said, keep in mind the only thing Davis gets to read about you is potentially your PS! That was a scary thought for me since Western got to read so much more about me!

As other posters have noted - tell a story - your story! Be original and DO NOT list items on your resume. I also believe it's better to show than tell - as in don't tell the committee that you're a good leader - show them by telling a story or describing an experience that was demonstrative of that quality. And, of course, the first sentence / intro paragraph is the key! You MUST grab the audience's attention and make them want to continue reading! Just remember how many of these essays get read by committee members every year. You need to make yourself stand out!

And I know there are plenty of people that come on here and ask people to proofread their PS - - that has the potential to be a source of valuable input.

In the meantime, if you wanted to take a look at my PS, just PM me and I'd be happy to share it with you.

Much luck!

 

[StealYourWords]

I agree with the above advice. Definitely avoid the generic 'I love animals' and general statements (I am creative, a good leader, responsible, etc). Instead try and show those things through your experiences. Avoid having the statement sound like an expanded version of your resume. I also used a narrative format for my opener - I think allows for a good 'attention grabber' opening to start your statement.

 

[incendium04]

I also had a lot of difficulty with my PS. My academic advisor was incredibly helpful -- he had helped read through PS's at Davis on one of their entrance committees so he definitely knew what a good PS was. Maybe one of your english teachers or advisors at your college would be willing to proofread for you.

Something that helped me was talking about a turning point in my life or a funny story or something amazing that makes you stand out. I began my PS with a funny story about working a long emergency shift and having to deal with three large basset hounds that had gotten into an elderly lady's heart meds. Needless to say, there was a lot of induced vomiting and catheters.... only to find out the dog's had NOT eaten the heart meds. There was an ambulance called for the elderly lady too somewhere in that night. Not the most AMAZING story, but hey, I got in!

I would agree with avoiding generic statements... unless you can really back it up with an experience or something that makes it more than words on a paper. For instance, I talked about some traits vets ideally have (independence, cooperation, determination, and communication) but backed it up with how I learned/utilized these traits through 6 years of learning martial arts and getting my black belt.

I would also be willing to send you my PS, though I warn you I am not a literary genius 😳

 

[absvet]

Hey guys - I would really appreciate it if anyone would PM me their PS as well - I'm just getting started and really worried about it! I've never really done this before. My undergrad school asked these really weird questions (the UNCommon app, very strange) for their essay and it made writing so much easier. I've always hated the open ended "tell us about yourself" or "describe someone who has influenced you" essays. I downloaded all the essays available on the "Successful Applicants" thread but would love more. Thanks!!!

 

[GeeQued]

For those in here applying this year, I did put together an application booklet that has 2 separate personal statements in it (mine and another girls from my school) as well as a guide to writing personal statements that was put out by a vet school and other helpful info on the app process. If your interested you can either PM me with your email or email me directly. StacyLPotter@gmail.com and I will be more than willing to send it over.

 

[Perfbird]

Sounds like the narrative is the way to go, and makes sense since you're supposed to be telling them a story of what/why will make you a good vet.

I have never had a true "turning point" or "moment of clarity" that led me to want to be a vet, instead its been an accumulation of all my experiences; I cannot honestly say there was one stand out moment. I think if I can find other ways to share the experiences that have been unique to me I can use those just fine.

Is it ok to use non-veterinary related experiences to show what makes you a good candidate? For example I was on the crew team for 8 years, which taught me so many things and was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Is that a nono?

Sumstorm--I wonder if that really happened with the leg? I would have kissed the dog for sure.

 

[sumstorm]

I am a non trad..couldn't afford college let alone grad. However, as I look back over my experience, it is like a moth drawn to flame. I can't stay away from the medical aspect of work. I pointed that out.... otherwise my choices may seem like animal experience pinball, but in each experience, I worked increasingly with the vet.

I think, if I had one of those lives always aimed at vet med, I would want to bring in some information that I had reflected on that...really thought about other possabiities and made a conscious decision. I don't know if that makes sense, how I said it.

I think it is wise to use non-vet experience to illustrate characteristics. I think bringing other information in makes an applicant seem more well-rounded, and it indicates that they have a life beyond vet med, which I honsetly think vets need to handle the stress of the work.

 

[rachroo]

Everyone has given you some really great advice so far!

Is it ok to use non-veterinary related experiences to show what makes you a good candidate?

Sure! I remember hearing from someone who read PS's that one guy wrote about his job at Mc Donald's and everything it taught him. He then related that job to how it prepared him for vet med. It must have been pretty good to stick out in someone's mind after reading hundreds of essays!

Some preoofreading advice: When I had a solid first draft I let family, co-workers, vets, english profs I'd had, and a few current vet students to read it since it allowed people from different areas to help me make it the best that it could be. I'd be happy to look over anyone's PS; haha, it's kind of like paying it forward. 🙂