Texas AM Evals

[sunnyshine]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I need a little bit of help in deciding who to ask for recommendations from for my Texas AM application. I have already picked the first two evaluators (neither is a vet) and here are my other options:

A: I can ask the veterinarian who taught me animal anatomy & physiology during my undergrad. I feel bad asking him though because he already filled out an eval for me last year and I would hate to keep bugging him.

B: I can ask my old physics professor who taught me physics I & II. I did very well in her classes and think she would be able to write a good eval.

I am leaning towards my physics professor but if I pick her then I do not have a veterinarian's recommendation for me Texas AM application. Does it look bad not to have a veterinarian? As far as I know (and I am about 99.99% sure) Texas AM does not require a veterinarian's recommendation. Anyone have any advice? Thanks.

 

[ATX00]

On the selection procedure page on the A&M website it says:

Evaluations are an important part of the selections process and should be completed by individuals other than family members who have known the applicant for an extended period of time. The applicants are strongly encouraged to read the questions that are asked on the evaluation form and select as evaluators those individuals who can provide the most thorough answers to the questions. One evaluation must be completed by a veterinarian. If they are completed by a veterinarian, they should address what the applicant did while working for him or her. They should also honestly evaluate the applicant's strengths and weaknesses.

That should help you narrow it down. 😉

 

[HopefulAg]

Also I think it should really be one of the vets you've worked with in a clinical or research setting.

 

[sunnyshine]

The majority of my veterinary experience is in a veterinary hospital working with just vet techs (my supervisor was a tech as well) so I don't really have a vet that I have worked for extensively. I am working for a vet right now but I literally just started work with her last week, so I don't have the balls to ask her for a recommendation this early in. I do however agree that I really should have a vet that I worked for. ATX - thanks for finding me that section on their website - I don't know how in the heck I missed it. Needless to say I will be picking my anat & phys vet. He contacted me today and said that he would have no problem completing the recommendation. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[VeganSoprano]

It would be extremely helpful for you if a veterinarian with whom you have worked writes your LOR. Having your prof write it is technically within the rules but could put you at a significant disadvantage compared with those whose evaluators know them as prospective veterinarians and not just as undergrad students. Unless you know your prof well outside of an academic context, I'd worry that he would only be able to evaluate you well as a professor and not as a veterinarian. I do think your prof should write a letter for you, but I also think that you need to ask a veterinarian you work with for a LOR. Without that, you may be at a very serious disadvantage. Of course, this is free advice and worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

[sunnyshine]

Here is my problem: I was looking for a job with a veterinarian for like a year. I recently found one as a veterinary technician at a small animal hospital in NJ. The hospital manager whom hired me never asked me if I was applying to veterinary school - so I never mentioned it. Yet, seeing as how I am still in my 90 day probationary period I wouldn't want to ask the vet I work under for a recommendation because I am afraid that if my manager finds out that I might be leaving him in less than a year then he might yank my position. The only other vets who really know me are my veterinary professors. I do realize that it would look much better to have a veterinarian I have worked under evaluate me, but I don't really have that option at this moment.

 

[HopefulAg]

It would be extremely helpful for you if a veterinarian with whom you have worked writes your LOR.

I think it's pretty much a must for A&M.

Have you seen the form that the vets have to fill out for the A&M recommendation? It's not your traditional recommendation letter thing. In fact, IIRC, the traditional letter of "this is why X is awesome and I like her because of Y and I've known her in Z capacity" is discouraged. They go with this form instead:

All applicants will be required to submit three evaluations directly to TMDSAS: TMDSAS,702 Colorado, Suite 6.400, Austin, TX 78701. The evaluations must be sealed in an envelope with the evaluators signature across the seal if done by paper format. Download Evaluation Form Here

I think a LOR ('Letter of Support') can be used as well but I seem to recall them only wanting the above form. Might want to call Yolanda and double check.

 

[sunnyshine]

I did see the form. While my other two evaluators will be ok with the format of this recommendation, my vet recommendation (who hasn't supervised my work with animals) will definitely place me at a disadvantage. I still think the recommendation will be good though and I feel that my other qualifications (3.5+ GPA, 3.75+ last 45 hour, varied animal experiences, and etc...) will be enough to at least get me an interview. Texas AM seems like a really good school and I think I should at least give it a shot. Do you think that maybe I should volunteer on my days off at another animal hospital just so that I can get a "working vet" recommendation?

P.S. - Yolanda is so awesome. She helped me out a ton with figuring out my prereqs for the program.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Texas AM seems like a really good school and I think I should at least give it a shot.

👍😍

 

[HopefulAg]

Do you think that maybe I should volunteer on my days off at another animal hospital just so that I can get a "working vet" recommendation?

Well I really don't see what's wrong with your current work. You're still working with that vet? I understand the 90 day probationary period concern but I'd schedule a meeting with the vet, let him/her know you're applying to vet school (hell, they may even go "why didn't you tell me sooner?! We need to get you ready!" or some such) and tell them you'll probably be asking for a LOR/form-fill-out.

I mean you've still got, essentially, two months. Surely they can make some kind of opinion based on a few months of work? With a 40 hour work week that'd be...some 320 hours. 160 with a 20 hour week. That's a pretty good bit. I think people here have, successfully, asked for LORs with even less time spent with the vet.

Remember that I doubt very many of us worked solely with the vet. For the most part 'working with a vet' is watching them in rooms and then when they say "we'll start them on cephalexin" you're out the door waiting on the drug label to be printed so you can fill the script. Or "yah, we can clip the toe nails for you" and you're off with the dog, grabbing another tech to restrain for you while the vet goes over the medications and what not with the client. In my experience, even when I was scheduled as the vet's tech, I was working with the other techs far more than the vet herself.


But yah if you can slip in more volunteer work with another vet (or the same vet. Tell them you'd like to come in on your days off for more experience) that might work too.