Verifying experiences?

[NoleDevil]

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I guess this question would only matter if you lied on your application (I hope none of us did! 😛), but just out of curiosity, does anyone know if schools check up on the validity of your experiences? I mean, some of us have some pretty awesome and unique experiences that almost seem like, "Wow, did that person really do x, y, and z?" At the same time, however, I think it would be a huge hassle for schools to check up on every single applicant's experiences.

So, do they just take your word for it? Or do they check on only extraordinarily-sounding experiences? Or maybe a random check?

 

[LVT2DVM]

Noledevil, it probably depends on the school. You can check out the UGA thread but I know everone who got accepted this year and last year that I asked(ie responded to me asking), told me they had at least one of their references contacted. Someone else told me they (UGA) only calls if they need something clarified. But clarified is a pretty broad concept.

 

[tealamutt]

they did ask about some of my more random and 'out there' experiences in the interview. I'm pretty sure they could tell in a heartbeat if you fabricated anything...

 

[OSJ]

I really got asked a lot of specific questions related to my experiences. If I hadn't had in depth experience in all the areas I was questioned about I'm sure it would have been very obvious!! Questions from "What are wolf teeth in horses, when are they typically removed?" to "What do you do in your undergrad research to make sure the horses were treated humanely and not stressed?" to "What are your presonal horses vaccinated for each year, why those vaccines...which cover for zoonotic diseases?" to "what would you vaccinate a puppy for?" These were all directly related to my experiences. Lots of compare and contrast between experiences too , ex "Compare a day with a bovine vet with that of a small animal vet" since I have alot of experience with both.

 

[purplebunnie]

I can tell you from my Ohio interview that the majority of the interview was spent talking about my experiences. They asked pretty in depth questions that I probably would have flopped on if I hadn't actually done them.

My Royal Vet interview was basically a grilling of my vet experiences as well. Not sure if that's how everyone's went, but I was pretty freaking glad I didn't make anything up!

 

[NoleDevil]

I had a closed-file interview, so I didn't get any questions like, "Tell me about the aquarium you volunteered at," or whatever. I did get asked something generic like, "Tell me about a vet you worked for..."

LVT2DVM: That makes sense that UGA would verify experiences for accepted students. Why bother doing it for someone who they're not even interested in?

 

[mstweetie]

so I'm starting to fill out the VMCAS application and am on the experiences part... does it matter that the section is listed in "chronological order" since it doesn't seem like it does it automatically (as you do list the start and end dates). I think it may look a little unorganized to admissions (?), but then again I don't have a full list written out in order ..and am adding them as I find/ remember them... should I try to do a "rough draft" on word first and then type in all in..although that would kinda take more time :/

ahh helpp...remembering everything sucks as it is... what do you guys think?

 

[tastrophe]

so I'm starting to fill out the VMCAS application and am on the experiences part... does it matter that the section is listed in "chronological order" since it doesn't seem like it does it automatically (as you do list the start and end dates). I think it may look a little unorganized to admissions (?), but then again I don't have a full list written out in order ..and am adding them as I find/ remember them... should I try to do a "rough draft" on word first and then type in all in..although that would kinda take more time :/

ahh helpp...remembering everything sucks as it is... what do you guys think?

I just put them in as I remembered them. What happens if, after you've made your list and typed everything in, you remember something else? IMO, there are enough things to stress over without adding more 😳

 

[pressmom]

so I'm starting to fill out the VMCAS application and am on the experiences part... does it matter that the section is listed in "chronological order" since it doesn't seem like it does it automatically (as you do list the start and end dates). I think it may look a little unorganized to admissions (?), but then again I don't have a full list written out in order ..and am adding them as I find/ remember them... should I try to do a "rough draft" on word first and then type in all in..although that would kinda take more time :/

ahh helpp...remembering everything sucks as it is... what do you guys think?

I think I did mine from my resume so mine were generally in chronological order. Or maybe I did it from most experience to least experience. Guess I'm not much help.

BUT....

I would definitely make a word document anyway with all the information on it (essays, experience descriptions, etc.) and then back it up to an external hard drive, flash drive, or online email account. Just copy and paste it in there. This way, JUST IN CASE, you'll have it for next year and can just update where appropriate. Plus you'll have a back up computer file so you don't have to worry about losing your printed VMCAS application. And I would also STRONGLY recommend printing more than one copy of your VMCAS and storing them in separate locations (like one at your house and one at your parents' house or some other trusted person), so you have all the vital info stored in two places in case you move and lose a box or something worse happens (natural disaster/robbery/etc.). On most printers you can also "print" it as a .pdf and save that file to your computer and appropriate back up storage location and print it at your convenience. Just a thought...I'm an overly cautious person. (Plus see the thread where my laptop got stolen 🙁)

 

[bern]

Hehe, I went to my admissions interview fretting over a big black spot on my application, and was so nervous about it I blurted it out in the first five minutes. It went over well with my interviewers, fortunately. It wasn't until after I left that I realized none of them had even seen my application--it was a closed-file interview...

 

[jkq202]

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