Saying "I don't know what I want to go into"?

[Leanne]

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Hi everyone! I've been lurking on SDN for a while now and finally decided to make an account. 🙂

I'm currently applying for the class of 2017 and, naturally, am getting stuck with my personal statement. I was wondering if it's better to state a specific area of interest/ specialization or whether it's okay to say "I don't know exactly which path I'd like to take after vet school"?
I've been a horse person all my life, most of my experience is with horses, yada yada. I could realistically see myself going into equine orthopedics/ sports medicine or reproduction, both of which I really enjoy and find fascinating. However, after shadowing both SA and mixed-practice vets and getting LA experience, I think I would really enjoy working in a mixed practice setting (and we all know equine work comes with lower pay, worse hours, etc etc). The point is, do adcoms frown on people wavering between areas of interest or is it okay to say you aren't sure what you want to do? Thanks in advance!

 

[Trilt]

95% of it is in the wording. Lots of schools want you to have enough experience to have some idea of what you want to do, but with an open mind for other paths. However, saying "I have no clue what I want" is very different from "I have an interest in multiple fields, and primarily in X, but am more than willing to experience all that vet school has to offer to make my final decision." In a less awkward, wordy way haha.

 

[hopefulinva]

Definitely an okay thing to do. =)

I think I wound up my personal statement by saying that I was totally in love with the field because of how much it had to offer, and I was eager to further explore its facets to discover my niche in veterinary medicine.

 

[Leanne]

Thank you both for the advice!

 

[StartingoverVet]

If you looked 1/2 down the page of threads in this forum.... this issue was pretty much just discussed.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=937854

 

[Leanne]

If you looked 1/2 down the page of threads in this forum.... this issue was pretty much just discussed.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=937854

Oops, clearly I need to pay more attention! Thank you! 🙂

 

[SnowyRox]

Yes.

You just need a strong explanation for why you are pursuing your DVM or VMD and you will be set.

I didn't feel the pressure to decide during my application/interview, but I get all sorts of weird replies as I tell my classmates that I'm undecided. Thinking about picking something and pretending I'm 100% sure just to make the conversations less awkward.