some VMCAS questions.

[spikey]

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hey guys. i have some little questions about the VMCAS apps. i'll call them if you guys dont already know the answers.

some of the things i enter cannot fit in the lines provided. for instance, the name of awards i've gotten do not fit. they just cut me off. i know i can place the entire name in the box underneath, but is there a way i should shorten the name to fit it in that line or what?

if i've done an activity or something during HS, but also prior, can i put the start date that was prior to HS? i know they want things you have recently done, but i wasnt sure.

animal experience - does pet ownership count? if so, how did you estimate your hours?

i think thats it for now, thanks for any help. i visit UPENN tomorrow :]

 

[wishes]

hey guys. i have some little questions about the VMCAS apps. i'll call them if you guys dont already know the answers.

Hey Spikey- I don't necessarily know the "right" answers so it might be worth giving VMCAS a call, but this is what I did/would recommend and it worked for me.

Some of the things i enter cannot fit in the lines provided. for instance, the name of awards i've gotten do not fit. they just cut me off. i know i can place the entire name in the box underneath, but is there a way i should shorten the name to fit it in that line or what?

For the line items I always tried to abbreviate my awards or make them very general (i.e., sportmanship award rather than Alaska State Horsemens Marvin Slaughter Junior Sportmanship Award). If you have enough room you can reitterate the title or describe the award in more detail in the box below.

if i've done an activity or something during HS, but also prior, can i put the start date that was prior to HS? i know they want things you have recently done, but i wasnt sure.

I think it is fine to put a start day prior to HS as long as you continued the activity during HS (I'm pretty sure I did this), but I would try to limit it to especially meaningful/pertinent things (i.e., 4-H). Veterinary schools are most interested in your recent experience and more isn't necessarily better, it can just be more.

animal experience - does pet ownership count? if so, how did you estimate your hours?

I do not think you should count pet ownership. I have owned animals since I was a year old and now I'm 23 so that would be 193,000 hours of animal experience 🙂. I do think you can mention activites that go above and beyond normal pet ownership, but still involved your personal animals (i.e., you did search and rescue with your dog, showed you horse, etc.).

i think thats it for now, thanks for any help. i visit UPENN tomorrow :]

Enjoy your visit- you will love U. Penn!

 

[spikey]

thanks for your help, wishes! i appreciate it. i will definately call and check too. Penn was awesome :]

i'm signing up for a Kaplan course as well >_< darn GRE.

 

[JIKJen124]

Are people putting history courses as Humanities, Social Sciences, or Other?

Amen to the Kaplan GRE class!

thanks for your help, wishes! i appreciate it. i will definately call and check too. Penn was awesome :]

i'm signing up for a Kaplan course as well >_< darn GRE.

 

[chris03333]

Are people putting history courses as Humanities, Social Sciences, or Other?

Amen to the Kaplan GRE class!

I think History is social science (at least that is where I put it when I applied)

 

[JIKJen124]

That's what I'm thinking. I'll certainly have enough humanities with all that useless French, Philosophy, and Theology I had to take back in the day...

I think History is social science (at least that is where I put it when I applied)

 

[spikey]

i have some more questions, if anyone wants to put in their 2 cents.

if i put volunteering at the shelter under my vet experience, since i am assisting with spays and neuters, can i also place that under community activities? i dont see why not, but i was just making sure before i place it there.

if i won an award back in HS, but i really dont have a description of the award or why i won it, do i need to put anything in the explanation box?

thats it for now. i've been working on that personal statement for what seems like an eternity and studying for the GRE is "loads" of fun.

 

[vetgirl2006]

I had a similar situation last year when I was filling out the VMCAS last year and I contacted them to ask the question. They said you cannot list the same experience twice, so you need to pick which category, either vet experience or community activities, to list the volunteering under. Whatever category you pick, you can mention that it was volunteering and you assisted with spays and neuters in the explanation part.

As for the award, I would try to explain what it is. There must be a reason you got the award, so try to explain that. Awards aren't given for no reason, so I'm sure there was something that you did to deserve it. I wouldn't leave it blank as it may look like you forgot to fill it in and the person looking at the application may have questions of what it is. I hope this helps and best of luck!

i have some more questions, if anyone wants to put in their 2 cents.

if i put volunteering at the shelter under my vet experience, since i am assisting with spays and neuters, can i also place that under community activities? i dont see why not, but i was just making sure before i place it there.

if i won an award back in HS, but i really dont have a description of the award or why i won it, do i need to put anything in the explanation box?

thats it for now. i've been working on that personal statement for what seems like an eternity and studying for the GRE is "loads" of fun.

 

[spikey]

I had a similar situation last year when I was filling out the VMCAS last year and I contacted them to ask the question. They said you cannot list the same experience twice, so you need to pick which category, either vet experience or community activities, to list the volunteering under. Whatever category you pick, you can mention that it was volunteering and you assisted with spays and neuters in the explanation part.

As for the award, I would try to explain what it is. There must be a reason you got the award, so try to explain that. Awards aren't given for no reason, so I'm sure there was something that you did to deserve it. I wouldn't leave it blank as it may look like you forgot to fill it in and the person looking at the application may have questions of what it is. I hope this helps and best of luck!

thanks, that definately helps me out. i wasnt too keen on leaving the description blank, but i was just confused on what to put if i did not have a clear answer. i guess i'll do some more research.

can i send my scores and my official transcripts before i send my application?

 

[verbal_kint]

thanks, that definately helps me out. i wasnt too keen on leaving the description blank, but i was just confused on what to put if i did not have a clear answer. i guess i'll do some more research.

can i send my scores and my official transcripts before i send my application?

You can start sending scores and transcripts before you send in your app.

Concerning the awards, if you can't provide a description/explaination then it might not be important enough to list. I think it's important to keep in mind the quality of items you are listing on your application and not to focus on the quantitiy. Sure, it feels better to list a bunch of awards you've won, but if you can't even remember why you won it, then it's probably not important enough to put on your application.

One tip though, just try googling the award. I did that to get more information on the awards I listed. I put info on how many people get the awards, etc

 

[verbal_kint]

oh yeah, another thing to keep in mind is not to be redudant on your application. for instance, deff don't list things twice under different categories. if you mention details of your experiences in terms of what you did on your app, you dont really need to repeat that information on say your personal statement. try to emphasize different aspects, etc.

good luck!

 

[spikey]

thanks verbal_kint! i'll keep all that in mind :]

 

[JIKJen124]

Any thoughts from fellow equestrians and former equestrians on how to quantify 15 years of competative riding in a useful way for animal experience? Most of my motivation for wanting to go to vet school stems from experiences I had dealing with the horses (I would say riding, but really it was their injuries), so I feel like it's too significant not to include. Also, it enabled me to get a job at a LA teaching hospital and pretty much taught me everything I know about handling horses... I know some of you rode quite a bit prior to your application to vet school, so any help you might have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jen

thanks verbal_kint! i'll keep all that in mind :]

 

[UKYWildcat]

Any thoughts from fellow equestrians and former equestrians on how to quantify 15 years of competative riding in a useful way for animal experience? Most of my motivation for wanting to go to vet school stems from experiences I had dealing with the horses (I would say riding, but really it was their injuries), so I feel like it's too significant not to include. Also, it enabled me to get a job at a LA teaching hospital and pretty much taught me everything I know about handling horses... I know some of you rode quite a bit prior to your application to vet school, so any help you might have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jen

I'm sure there's a way to word it somehow. I know I didn't list my riding experience on my VMCAS application (I showed Arabians/Half Arabis in class A, regional and national shows for 10 years) I don't know if I intentionally didn't for some reason or just simply forgot. Sorry that doesn't really help you.

 

[PAThbrd]

I put it under 'extracurriculars' and talked about riding and showing and the disciplines I've worked in in the explanation box. I also listed major awards, i.e. year-end championships, under the 'honors and awards' section. No one questioned it.

 

[JIKJen124]

That sounds like a good plan - thanks for the advice guys!

I put it under 'extracurriculars' and talked about riding and showing and the disciplines I've worked in in the explanation box. I also listed major awards, i.e. year-end championships, under the 'honors and awards' section. No one questioned it.

 

[spikey]

is it okay if i bump this, rather than make a new thread?

i'm writing about my experiences all in resume style, 3rd person type thing. when writing about awards and community activities, what way did you go about it. right now i know what i want to say, just not the best way to say it. third person again, or first? any help appreciated.