special circumstances

[thomphea]

I need vmcas app advice. I have supported myself since the age of 16. I would like to show that I am self sufficient and determined but also not sound like a complainer. I have had several hardships (which many people have) and it contributes somewhat to a lower gpa. Advice on how to state the info without sounding pathetic?
Also, on the vmcas app there is a section to fill out family info. Is that required to fill out? My parents are alive but our relationship is less than ideal...and I don't usually put their info on any school stuff.
I just want to put a great app together, which shows the struggles I have overcome.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

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[JumptheMoon]

I need vmcas app advice. I have supported myself since the age of 16. I would like to show that I am self sufficient and determined but also not sound like a complainer. I have had several hardships (which many people have) and it contributes somewhat to a lower gpa. Advice on how to state the info without sounding pathetic?
Also, on the vmcas app there is a section to fill out family info. Is that required to fill out? My parents are alive but our relationship is less than ideal...and I don't usually put their info on any school stuff.
I just want to put a great app together, which shows the struggles I have overcome.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

I think that emphasizing the positive side of things really goes a long way. I don't mean to minimize your struggles at all - quite the opposite actually - be honest and explain your circumstances, but then focus on the good that has come out of them. You specifically say you want your app to show "the struggles I have overcome," so focus on how you've overcome them and how it made you a stronger person, more determined, how it will make you a better vet, etc. And from your post, you certainly do sound determined and focused, already thinking about VMCAS months before it's even available online! As for the parent info, I have no idea, but in my experience VMCAS reps have always been helpful on the phone - the hard part is actually getting somebody on the phone! So start early, before all the procrastinators start having problems and clogging up the phone lines

My advice would be to be genuine and present your experiences as just that: experiences from which you've learned, rather than excuses. Good luck!

 

[kate_g]

Also, on the vmcas app there is a section to fill out family info. Is that required to fill out?

I assumed that this section was for determining residence. Like, if you've been away at college but your parents have maintained residence in your "home" state, you can use that to argue that you should count as in-state there. Or alternatively, if your parents have moved recently to a new state, and you want to be counted as in-state there. If you'd rather ignore the fact that you have parents altogether, I think you *can* leave those fields blank and it will let you submit the page, but you'll probably have to work in a sentence of explanation ("really I meant to leave those fields blank") in the explanation or special circumstances section.

It's also weird with us old folks, because for instance, my parents have resided in NJ since I was born. I have since moved to PA and then CA, paying taxes as a non-dependent resident. I'm well over 24 which is the usual "dependent status" cutoff. Could I still claim NJ residence through my parents to get a contract seat at Penn? Doesn't quite seem right. Similarly, if you've been independent since 16 and are now 28, I don't know whether they'd consider your parents' residence anyway.

For the most part, the vet school admissions process does a pretty good job of treating us like adults. There is some skew toward assuming you're a 22-year-old college senior, but everyone seems pretty used to dealing with a wide age range. There will be a couple sticky points that will make you angry. (Again at Penn, I was told that the vet school uses parental financial info in determining your need for university-based grants and scholarships, no ifs ands or buts. I said "I'm 30!" and the admissions guy said "yeah, and we have some students who are 40, or 50..." Whether you'd be allowed to tell your story and ask for an exception, I don't know.)

 

[KittenKiller]

(Again at Penn, I was told that the vet school uses parental financial info in determining your need for university-based grants and scholarships, no ifs ands or buts. I said "I'm 30!" and the admissions guy said "yeah, and we have some students who are 40, or 50..." Whether you'd be allowed to tell your story and ask for an exception, I don't know.)

Oh, thats only a Penn thing? I got their forms and thought it was completely absurd...most (?) people going to vet school are adults and arent getting help from their parents anyway. My parents are near retirement age and they need to be saving for themselves now, not for their annoying kid's neverending education.

But I thought about it some more and it's not such a big deal. It's not like vet schools are giving out a ton of need-based scholarships anyway. Plus, if they allowed the students to claim they were not financially dependent on their parents, a lot of people would lie to qualify for aid, depleting the aid available to legitimately poor students.

 

[runnerDC]

for institutional aid purposes, tufts also considers parental financial information unless you have been financially independent for at least 5 yrs prior to enrollment and you plan to be financially independent for the duration of vet school. they require a signed, notarized 'affidavit of independence' form stating this, as well as the past 5 yrs of the student's federal tax returns.
their catch is that all of their institutional aid to incoming students is need-based, and, unlike Federal loans, tufts will consider many sources of potential income that the government will not look at, such as a home (will look at the equity that's in your primary home), retirement accts, etc, under the premise that, although they don't expect you to sell off all of your assets, those things are assets that are available to you that another student may not have available to them. i totally agree with their logic, even though it's not going to work in my favor at all.
i'm surprised that other schools, such as penn, don't have some sort of similiar 'affidavit of independence' for those who have been on their own for quite some time and have the documentation to prove it.

 

[kate_g]

I don't know that it's *just* Penn, but Minnesota specifically says it considers vet students financially independent for university aid.

Plus, if they allowed the students to claim they were not financially dependent on their parents, a lot of people would lie to qualify for aid, depleting the aid available to legitimately poor students.

Yeah, I understand the logic in general... Pretty much all students look poor on paper. But if you come from a rich family, even if your parents aren't writing the checks while you're in school you probably stand to inherit something when they die, which would *not* be true for someone from a poor family. So in the grand scheme of things, you're better off and somebody else should get the aid...

Understanding the logic doesn't make me less annoyed though. I guess the problem is that I've always been in that huge middle band of people that are not poor enough to qualify for need-based aid but not rich enough to be able to just pay out of pocket.

 

[kate_g]

I have supported myself since the age of 16. I would like to show that I am self sufficient and determined but also not sound like a complainer.

I think the key for this would be to try to keep the emotion out of it. Don't make your parents sound like bad people or talk about how you hated your best friend when got a car for his 16th birthday... For all you know, all the adcom members got cars for their 16th birthdays and you don't want to inadvertently insult them. You should also make sure you get a lot of people to read your statement, and ask them to tell you honestly if anything sounds like whining - different people will be sensitive to different things, so variety is important (a vet, a professor, a friend, a boss...).

Also if I remember correctly, VMCAS has a separate section specifically for "disadvantages." You could consider leaving the hardship stuff entirely out of your main personal statement, focusing instead on what a great person you are, how you discovered your passion for vet med, etc., and just give a simple, direct statement of facts in the disadvantages section. Unless it's *really* bad I'm not sure I would address the GPA directly in any essay. Bottom line is the PS is going to define who you are to the adcom, and you probably don't want to be defined as "that person with all the hardships and the bad GPA."

 

[rosemma]

Downloading a sample vmcas app will tell you what is and what is not mandatory.

Here you go:

http://www.aavmc.org/vmcas/documents/VMCASAppLicationQuestions2007.pdf

I hope that helps!

 

[thomphea]

I appreciate everyone's advice. I agree with leaving out the "hardships" part until the disadvantages section. I am proud of my accomplishments and I would like that to show.
The whole parent thing...is complicated. I moved out at 16 for a reason. I just want to show that I have paid for everything on my own. However, as someone else said, I'm not "poor enough" to qualify for many things....but I also do not have a trust-fund or anything. My parents have enough issues of their own to worry about, I really don't want to bring them into the situation. I don't think they even know I'm applying to vet school.
blah blah blah... Thanks to everyone for the advice!

 

[kate_g]

My parents have enough issues of their own to worry about, I really don't want to bring them into the situation. I don't think they even know I'm applying to vet school.

FWIW my parents don't know I've applied (and been accepted) yet either, and we actually have a good relationship. I filled out the family info on VMCAS - it just wanted a lot of residence stuff like when did they move to their current state of residence, when and in what county did they last register to vote, etc... They've lived in NJ since before they were married, and have lived in their current house since I was 6 months old. So it's not like I'm stretching to prove they come in over a 5-year or 1-year period or whatever a school might have. Plus NJ doesn't have a vet school so the best I could get is a contract spot at Penn. So I just fudged some dates back in the early 70's and figured nobody would fault me if the truth later comes out - what's the chance my parents remember the exact day they registered to vote over 30 years ago?

I'm struggling more with the financial info thing and whether I want to ask them about that. My mom's usually really on top of that stuff and could probably get me the numbers with no problem, but... Well anyway, I certainly understand your hesitation there.