Personal Statement

[prnoe]

Hello there! I wanted to ask for those who have applied already for veterinary school how was your experience writing your personal statement? Any suggestions or advice?!

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[PetVet23]

Hello there! I wanted to ask for those who have applied already for veterinary school how was your experience writing your personal statement? Any suggestions or advice?!

My biggest piece of advice is to make sure it stays true to you, and really tells your story. It's okay to mention academics, but they'll have all of that information in front of them so you don't want to make that the main focus. Use this as your chance to help them get a feel of who you are as a person, and why you want to do this!

 

[ajs513]

Hello there! I wanted to ask for those who have applied already for veterinary school how was your experience writing your personal statement? Any suggestions or advice?!

If I could say one thing, it would be to just sit down and write one essay at a time, but write the one you’re working on all the way through at once. Let it be one cohesive thought written by one person in one moment. Let it be who YOU are, not anyone else. Don’t be generic, don’t put in hyperboles, don’t put in things like “it’s been my dream since I was a child to be a vet” or “since I was a little [insert gender] I’ve always had a passion for helping animals.” Literally everyone applying has a passion for helping animals. The vast majority have since they were children. Only include things in your personal statement essays that showcase what makes you you, and why you’re different from every other person with a passion for animals.

So sit down and write each question thoughtfully but cohesively. I advise you to have people editing your essays after the fact just so that they can catch errors, but I wouldn’t have others make major changes. Only if it’s someone you know well who reminds of something you done or an aspect of your personality that you forgot to include. But don’t have someone else make big changes to your essays otherwise. Then you lose your voice, and schools won’t know who you are.

Obviously everyone is different and finds their own little thing that helps them. But this is what helped me the most and I think got me noticed. Essays are your one chance before interviews to showcase yourself, and you should take advantage of that.

 

[MSUcvmHOPE]

1. Have at least 2 other people read them and make suggestions.
2. Make sure they answer the question being asked.
3. Make sure they tell the reader about who you are. More than your list of experiences could.
3.5. Use them to show what you learned/gained from your exps, and how that has improved you/will make you a better vet.
4. Tailor them to the values of the schools you are applying to.
5. Probably scrap and rewrite them like 3 times. Lol
6. Triple check for spelling and grammatical errors.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Please don't overdo it and try to make it some sort of heartwrenching theatrical uber-unique novel. We can tell when you're overdoing it, and its embarrassing (for you).

Do not simply list your experiences. That is what your resume is for. Explain what you GAINED from each experience and how these skills (soft skills or technical skills, hopefully both) will help you in veterinary school. Emphasis on the school. You are not applying to be a vet, you are applying to vet SCHOOL. They want to see achievement, resilience, organizational skills, communication skills, teamwork, etc. They want to make sure you can hack it if they admit you to their program (or else they lose tuition money when you drop out). Not just a laundry list of how you helped animals.

 

[vethopeful_2]

Try not to be too emotional about it. As others have stated, they want to actually hear factual information about how you will make a good vet based on your experiences. When I had my spouse read over my statements before I submitted, he mentioned that he thought I was being too passive. So try to use specific examples to back up your statements. Not just "I am a good communicator", but rather "I have acquired good communication skills by being involved in X organization and doing X activities".

 

[ilovedogzzzzz]

All of what has been suggested is great! Just also want to reiterate that don't try to say what you think they want to hear... think about what really sets you apart as a person, not just scholastically. Also, it may help to think over the prompts and write down your ideas over a a few weeks! There's no rush to get your application in, so I'd just brain dump as much as you can then prune back into a stellar statement. Much like @MSUcvmHOPE said, scrap and rewrite like 5 times is a very real and good suggestion! If I would've turned in even my third approach, I think the outcome could have been different! If you don't know which direction you want to take it, there is usually a thread on here of statement readers, so you can get some objective feedback from someone who doesn't know you on there as well! Good luck to you!!!

 

[prnoe]

If I could say one thing, it would be to just sit down and write one essay at a time, but write the one you’re working on all the way through at once. Let it be one cohesive thought written by one person in one moment. Let it be who YOU are, not anyone else. Don’t be generic, don’t put in hyperboles, don’t put in things like “it’s been my dream since I was a child to be a vet” or “since I was a little [insert gender] I’ve always had a passion for helping animals.” Literally everyone applying has a passion for helping animals. The vast majority have since they were children. Only include things in your personal statement essays that showcase what makes you you, and why you’re different from every other person with a passion for animals.

So sit down and write each question thoughtfully but cohesively. I advise you to have people editing your essays after the fact just so that they can catch errors, but I wouldn’t have others make major changes. Only if it’s someone you know well who reminds of something you done or an aspect of your personality that you forgot to include. But don’t have someone else make big changes to your essays otherwise. Then you lose your voice, and schools won’t know who you are.

Obviously everyone is different and finds their own little thing that helps them. But this is what helped me the most and I think got me noticed. Essays are your one chance before interviews to showcase yourself, and you should take advantage of that.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it.

 

[prnoe]

All of what has been suggested is great! Just also want to reiterate that don't try to say what you think they want to hear... think about what really sets you apart as a person, not just scholastically. Also, it may help to think over the prompts and write down your ideas over a a few weeks! There's no rush to get your application in, so I'd just brain dump as much as you can then prune back into a stellar statement. Much like @MSUcvmHOPE said, scrap and rewrite like 5 times is a very real and good suggestion! If I would've turned in even my third approach, I think the outcome could have been different! If you don't know which direction you want to take it, there is usually a thread on here of statement readers, so you can get some objective feedback from someone who doesn't know you on there as well! Good luck to you!!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it.

 

[prnoe]

Try not to be too emotional about it. As others have stated, they want to actually hear factual information about how you will make a good vet based on your experiences. When I had my spouse read over my statements before I submitted, he mentioned that he thought I was being too passive. So try to use specific examples to back up your statements. Not just "I am a good communicator", but rather "I have acquired good communication skills by being involved in X organization and doing X activities".

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it.

 

[prnoe]

1. Have at least 2 other people read them and make suggestions.
2. Make sure they answer the question being asked.
3. Make sure they tell the reader about who you are. More than your list of experiences could.
3.5. Use them to show what you learned/gained from your exps, and how that has improved you/will make you a better vet.
4. Tailor them to the values of the schools you are applying to.
5. Probably scrap and rewrite them like 3 times. Lol
6. Triple check for spelling and grammatical errors.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it.

 

[megatron05]

Another question about the essays, and maybe a silly one, but given the limited space allowed, how did everyone format their answers? Did you answer them like a typical long answer/essay question on an exam? Or did you actually format it properly like a regular essay (intro, thesis, etc.). I was not planning on structuring it the same way as a formal paper, but now that I think about it, maybe I need to? Any input would be very helpful!

 

[ajs513]

Another question about the essays, and maybe a silly one, but given the limited space allowed, how did everyone format their answers? Did you answer them like a typical long answer/essay question on an exam? Or did you actually format it properly like a regular essay (intro, thesis, etc.). I was not planning on structuring it the same way as a formal paper, but now that I think about it, maybe I need to? Any input would be very helpful!

I formatted mine sort of like a hybrid between an essay and a stream of consciousness. I wouldn’t recommend doing a cookie cutter intro, thesis, short paragraph x3, conclusion. I just pretended like I was telling a story about myself to my friend who I still don’t know too well yet.

 

[megatron05]

I formatted mine sort of like a hybrid between an essay and a stream of consciousness. I wouldn’t recommend doing a cookie cutter intro, thesis, short paragraph x3, conclusion. I just pretended like I was telling a story about myself to my friend who I still don’t know too well yet.

Thanks for the input! I like that way of thinking about it!

 

[OVC2023]

Mine were a bit more directed (I had prompts) but I would just say, try to stand out and by that I mean just be yourself because there's only one of you. Admissions committees read hundreds of the same type of essay so if you can throw a bit of creativity in there, do it. Unique experience? do it.