VMCAS 2014 Questions

[VMCASSTAFF]

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When you are entering your course titles on VMCAS does it need to be the FULL title or should it be shortened exactly like it is on the official transcript?
example: 'Organic Chemistry I' vs 'Org Chem I'? I was doing full course titles and then I ran into the problem of one class having a title that was too long to fit.

Excellent question! It's a good idea to list the courses on your application exactly as they are on your transcripts. If they're truncated on the transcripts, list them that way on your application. This will seriously cut down on the possibility of errors during the transcript verification process 🙂

tw

 

[Dal00ch13]

Is there a "correct way" to paraphrase certain items on your application that continue to get cut off by a character limit? For example, in the "Honors/Awards" Section, I am trying to enter "Presidential Transfer Scholarship" but it gets cut off, I guess that is "too long" a title How would you go about shortening items such as this? I don't want the schools to get the impression I am stupid or something.

Or maybe I am just reading into this too much...there's that too...

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

There is no "correct" way. Just make sure it's clear. Don't use "PTS" for instance. 🙂

 

[Minnerbelle]

It's a good idea to check with the schools you're applying to. One of the schools I applied to said that I could submit more than three, but they would randomly select which three to consider and would not read the rest. It doesn't hurt to ask the admissions committees to be sure you know the requirements.

+1

Each school does it differently, so you need to talk to all of them and then decide based on all of their answers how best to put in your elors. Because of the schools that only take 3 elors and would randomly choose 3, I personally decided to put the 3 I wanted EVErYONE to see as elors. Then I had a paper committee/composite letter from my ug sent with like an obnoxious number of letters (I think like 7) listed as a 4th. That way, the schools that like that sort of thing would get it, and the schools that only take elors could just trash it, and I wouldn't be penalized by schools that would randomly select 3.

 

[neocia]

Do you lump your volunteering and paid hours at the *same* facility together or do you separate them? For example, I volunteered about 200 hours at a dog shelter while I was in high school but when I turned 18, they hired me and I worked for them. Should I separate X Dog Shelter volunteering and X Dog Shelter Employment or does that not really matter?

 

[WillowLeaf]

Do you lump your volunteering and paid hours at the *same* facility together or do you separate them? For example, I volunteered about 200 hours at a dog shelter while I was in high school but when I turned 18, they hired me and I worked for them. Should I separate X Dog Shelter volunteering and X Dog Shelter Employment or does that not really matter?

I think you would separate it. It shouldn't be too hard to separate if you went from volunteer to employee like that. It's harder when you work somewhere and also volunteer there at the same time (different days of the week or something).

 

[bam15]

Another question! I took a pet CPR course at VMRCVM- would this count as veterinary experience? Or a community activity? Also, I took a course to become IACUC course to become certified to participate in animal testing- is this research experience? Animal experience?

 

[Swongy]

So, I took an online course at OSU- should I list that as another institution I attended?

 

[WillowLeaf]

So, I took an online course at OSU- should I list that as another institution I attended?

If you took a class there, then yes I think you list it as another institution attended. And I think you'll have to send a transcript from that school too, even though it's only one class.

 

[KathleenHadds31245]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering if I absolutely have to click "yes" for the question on VMCAS asking, "Were you ever the recipient of any action (e.g. dismissal, disqualification, suspension, etc.) by any college or university for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violations?" My first semester freshman year, I was placed on disciplinary probation for only a couple months for failing to cite my sources on an english paper. They expunged it completely from my transcript after those two months. I just had to write a paper explaining the importance of academic integrity and write an apology letter to my teacher. Since it was expunged and no "action" was taken besides the probation, can I just click "no" for this question?


Also, my school (University of Michigan) is technically on the trimester system, but we have regular fall and winter terms in which most students attend, and then we have two half terms for spring and summer. Spring and summer lasts 4 months total, and a VMCAS question asks, "Has there been any interval longer than 3 months during which you were not enrolled as a student or employed?" After freshman year I just volunteered at a vet clinic during the spring/summer (four months). Does this mean I have to click "yes" for this question too? Also, when entering my courses, do I click "trimester" for any spring term classes I took as well as the for the fall and winter courses, even though spring term is only half as long?

 

[pirateslayme]

Hey so I have a few questions for VMCAS or anyone else who may know the answers.
1) I noticed on the transcript request form it says to submit it to any US or Canadian institution attended. Does this mean I don't have to submit it to my Study Abroad school? I studied abroad in New Zealand.
2) Also in terms of the transcript request form this may seem like a silly question but is it acceptable if I fax it over to my schools or do you suggest mailing it since I know we have to sign the form I wasn't sure if faxing would be acceptable.
3) How are you guys inputting the names of the courses you took? I know on the transcript the names are usually abbreviated so I was wondering if you are putting the exact name that appears on the transcript or are you inputting the complete name (Ex: Intro Psych vs. Intro to Psychology)??
4) Does any one know if psych stats goes under math or under psychology? They don't really specify on the course list.

Sorry for all the questions and any help is appreciated!

 

[allykd]

3) How are you guys inputting the names of the courses you took? I know on the transcript the names are usually abbreviated so I was wondering if you are putting the exact name that appears on the transcript or are you inputting the complete name (Ex: Intro Psych vs. Intro to Psychology)??

VMCAS answered #3 earlier in this thread 🙂

Excellent question! It's a good idea to list the courses on your application exactly as they are on your transcripts. If they're truncated on the transcripts, list them that way on your application. This will seriously cut down on the possibility of errors during the transcript verification process 🙂

tw

 

[pirateslayme]

Thanks! Yeah I noticed that a little too late 🙂

 

[WillowLeaf]

2) Also in terms of the transcript request form this may seem like a silly question but is it acceptable if I fax it over to my schools or do you suggest mailing it since I know we have to sign the form I wasn't sure if faxing would be acceptable.

Check with the schools you're requesting transcripts from. I think most will accept a faxed form. Some schools have their own transcript request forms too, so you may want to send both the VMCAS form and the school's own form. They usually have a page on their website with instructions on how to request a transcript and whether there are any fees.

 

[Swongy]

thanks! @WillowLeaf

 

[tori_luvs_dogz]

I had two of my transcripts sent to VMCAS. I noticed too late the VMCAS Transcript Request Form that I was supposed to include. My VMCAS account shows that they have received one transcript. My question is: Should I resend my other transcript, with the request form this time? Or should I wait a little longer to see whether VMCAS has received my second transcript?

 

[haley120892]

I sent all of mine without the form, it was too much of a hassle and I figured it was early enough in the game. Anyhow all of them have been received at this point, so I would just give it a few days.

I had three by the way all from different places.

 

[caroline54]

I have a question about veterinary vs. animal experience:

I volunteered at an equine hospital and helped with the night shift after they closed for the day. I worked with a lot of veterinary interns who had just graduated from vet school, but mostly worked with the vet techs. I'm unsure of whether this would be veterinary experience, since I did occasionally work with veterinarians, or just animal experience since most of the time the interns were not present and I never actually worked with one of the main doctors.

 

[Gwenevre]

Is your supervisor a veterinarian?

 

[haley120892]

I have a question (and this may be dumb). Anyhow can someone explain to me what exactly verification is. I get that they are matching up your classes with your transcripts, but is that all? I am just curious if it is beneficial to turn the whole application in earlier or not(like now rather than September 2). I have one of my eLORs already completed and all my transcripts attached. Really I have everything done, but I am reviewing it all and tying up some loose ends in my personal statement. I am just curious how this all works. Thanks everyone for the help🙂

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

I have a question (and this may be dumb). Anyhow can someone explain to me what exactly verification is. I get that they are matching up your classes with your transcripts, but is that all? I am just curious if it is beneficial to turn the whole application in earlier or not(like now rather than September 2). I have one of my eLORs already completed and all my transcripts attached. Really I have everything done, but I am reviewing it all and tying up some loose ends in my personal statement. I am just curious how this all works. Thanks everyone for the help🙂

Thanks for asking this question! I would recommend that if you have 1 of your three evaluations submitted and all your transcripts you should get your application submitted early. The advantages are that you'll get your application verified quickly and your application will show up on your designated schools' portals early! Most importantly, this gives your application time to get through the process and be delivered early in the process before the possibilities of bottle-necking occurs! While reviewing your application is important, a pitfall of many applicants is "over thinking" their application. 🙂 Hope this helps.

tw

 

[haley120892]

Thank you so much, you guys are beyond helpful with this whole process! I will get right on finising it up and turn it in by the end of the week!

 

[Felixor90]

I submitted my app last week. It's definitely nice to have it out of the way. Now on to supplemental apps. D:

 

[Swongy]

What's the difference between revised and general GRE? And does anyone know where to find where it's listed one's the GRE account?

 

[WillowLeaf]

What's the difference between revised and general GRE? And does anyone know where to find where it's listed one's the GRE account?

I think they only offer the Revised General GRE now, so if you took it recently (within the last couple years, I think) you would have taken the revised one. If you took it a while ago and aren't sure which one you took, the scoring systems are different: https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf. If yours is in the 200-800 range, it's the old GRE format. If it's in the 130-170 range, it's the current format.

 

[allygator13]

What's the difference between revised and general GRE? And does anyone know where to find where it's listed one's the GRE account?

They changed the scoring system a few years back, so the revised test is under the new scoring system where both portions of the test are scored from 130-170. If you've taken the GRE in the last year, you took the revised test. I don't remember exactly when they switched scoring systems.

 

[Swongy]

ahh! that's what I was thinking, but I rather be safe than sorry! thanks @allygator13 @WillowLeaf 🙂

 

[Swongy]

i have a silly question, now. When applying to Ross, do I have to submit the transcripts and LOR straight to them, or do they receive those from VMCAS? It doesn't seem to say clearly on the application page, unless I am so out of my mind that I am just missing it O.O :/

 

[haley120892]

I have a question about entering in animal experience hours. My dad is a game warden and I have spent many years taking care of and handling a variety of wild and exotic animals, probably more than 10 different species of animals. I was just wondering if I should enter each animal individually or if I should just lump them all together as a whole and list the animals in the brief description portion of the entry.

 

[LetItSnow]

I have a question about entering in animal experience hours. My dad is a game warden and I have spent many years taking care of and handling a variety of wild and exotic animals, probably more than 10 different species of animals. I was just wondering if I should enter each animal individually or if I should just lump them all together as a whole and list the animals in the brief description portion of the entry.

If it were me I'd lump.

 

[wildcatj]

I have a question about entering in animal experience hours. My dad is a game warden and I have spent many years taking care of and handling a variety of wild and exotic animals, probably more than 10 different species of animals. I was just wondering if I should enter each animal individually or if I should just lump them all together as a whole and list the animals in the brief description portion of the entry.

I worked in wildlife rehab and in a zoo and I had one entry for wildlife, one for zoo then in the description said my care involved the following species/groups. So for wildlife I said raptors, passerines, etc instead of listing individual species for those but also specified a lot of individual species for mammals. It doesn't really have to be an exhaustive list.

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

Definitely lump them as a single experience

 

[Felixor90]

My app just got verified (woohoo!) and I can no longer see the links next to the designated schools that lead you to a preview of what the schools are actually getting. I've been wanting to double check the calculated GPAs but I don't have access to them anymore for some reason. D:

Edit: Nevermind 🙂

 

[LyraGardenia]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering if I absolutely have to click "yes" for the question on VMCAS asking, "Were you ever the recipient of any action (e.g. dismissal, disqualification, suspension, etc.) by any college or university for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violations?" My first semester freshman year, I was placed on disciplinary probation for only a couple months for failing to cite my sources on an english paper. They expunged it completely from my transcript after those two months. I just had to write a paper explaining the importance of academic integrity and write an apology letter to my teacher. Since it was expunged and no "action" was taken besides the probation, can I just click "no" for this question?


Also, my school (University of Michigan) is technically on the trimester system, but we have regular fall and winter terms in which most students attend, and then we have two half terms for spring and summer. Spring and summer lasts 4 months total, and a VMCAS question asks, "Has there been any interval longer than 3 months during which you were not enrolled as a student or employed?" After freshman year I just volunteered at a vet clinic during the spring/summer (four months). Does this mean I have to click "yes" for this question too? Also, when entering my courses, do I click "trimester" for any spring term classes I took as well as the for the fall and winter courses, even though spring term is only half as long?

For your first question, I would say click "yes" and provide an explanation in the space given. I would say probation for academic dishonesty falls under the "etc." there. I'm sure you don't want that to be a red flag on your application, but I would think owning up to it and explaining how you learned from it would be much less of a red flag than if an admissions committee somehow found out later on and it looked like you were trying to hide it.

As for your second question, if you hover over the help text there it says "This does not apply if you were out of school for summer break," so I think you're fine clicking "no." If I understand you correctly and most students at your school take the spring term off, I'd say that counts as part of summer break even though it's called something else.

 

[LyraGardenia]

Now I've got a question of my own... I work at an SA clinic, and plan on working there throughout the next year. Is it better to wait until August/September to submit my application so that my number of hours from there on VMCAS is as high as possible, or if I submit at any time, will schools see that the experience is ongoing and I'm getting X hours a week, and assume that I've got a lot more hours than what I put down back in July? I know my number of hours will change a lot between when I submit and when interview/admissions decisions are made regardless, and I may not be ready to submit this month anyway, but I'm just trying to weigh the costs and benefits of submitting earlier. 🙂 This may seem like a silly question, but I've seen people before on SDN advise against submitting too early and not being able to include experiences/hours gained throughout the summer.

 

[NStarz]

Now I've got a question of my own... I work at an SA clinic, and plan on working there throughout the next year. Is it better to wait until August/September to submit my application so that my number of hours from there on VMCAS is as high as possible, or if I submit at any time, will schools see that the experience is ongoing and I'm getting X hours a week, and assume that I've got a lot more hours than what I put down back in July? I know my number of hours will change a lot between when I submit and when interview/admissions decisions are made regardless, and I may not be ready to submit this month anyway, but I'm just trying to weigh the costs and benefits of submitting earlier. 🙂 This may seem like a silly question, but I've seen people before on SDN advise against submitting too early and not being able to include experiences/hours gained throughout the summer.

I would wait to submit. There really aren't huge benefits to submitting early, and this way you can include all your summer experience.

 

[WillowLeaf]

Now I've got a question of my own... I work at an SA clinic, and plan on working there throughout the next year. Is it better to wait until August/September to submit my application so that my number of hours from there on VMCAS is as high as possible, or if I submit at any time, will schools see that the experience is ongoing and I'm getting X hours a week, and assume that I've got a lot more hours than what I put down back in July? I know my number of hours will change a lot between when I submit and when interview/admissions decisions are made regardless, and I may not be ready to submit this month anyway, but I'm just trying to weigh the costs and benefits of submitting earlier. 🙂 This may seem like a silly question, but I've seen people before on SDN advise against submitting too early and not being able to include experiences/hours gained throughout the summer.

I think it depends on whether the hours you get this summer really impact your application. If you already have 3000 hours and will only get a few hundred more at the same clinic this summer, it probably doesn't matter too much. If you think your summer hours will benefit your app, then you might as well wait and include them. I waited until late August to submit, because I had some good experiences that summer that I wanted to include.

 

[DVMDream]

I would wait to submit. There really aren't huge benefits to submitting early, and this way you can include all your summer experience.

I agree with this. There aren't really any benefits to submitting early.

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

Respectfully, I disagree. You should submit as early as you can to allow time for transcript verification. If your app is returned due to verification, you may be headed for problems. With the new web admit system, schools are beginning application reviews on verified apps earlier than ever. Just my two cents.

 

[NStarz]

Respectfully, I disagree. You should submit as early as you can to allow time for transcript verification. If your app is returned due to verification, you may be headed for problems. With the new web admit system, schools are beginning application reviews on verified apps earlier than ever. Just my two cents.

Honestly, we haven't heard any good reason from VMCAS or schools why to submit the app early other than that "it's a good idea." Many people still submit the app close to the deadline and have no problems. I think there are 2 schools that do rolling admissions. If you aren't applying to either of those...it doesn't matter as far as I can see.

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

There is a significant percent of apps that are submitted close to deadline that do not have the luxury of correcting errors. 50% of applicants last year submitted within the last two weeks. This places incredible strain on schools and verification. Don't loose sight of the admissions process when considering when to submit.

 

[Gwenevre]

Respectfully, I disagree. You should submit as early as you can to allow time for transcript verification. If your app is returned due to verification, you may be headed for problems. With the new web admit system, schools are beginning application reviews on verified apps earlier than ever. Just my two cents.

I'm going to build off this and what Lyra asked above. I'm planning on gaining some great LA and Exotics experience this coming fall, and I will gain a number of hours before the VMCAS deadline, can I estimate the number of hours I will have by then so I can submit my application early?

 

[WillowLeaf]

There is a significant percent of apps that are submitted close to deadline that do not have the luxury of correcting errors. 50% of applicants last year submitted within the last two weeks. This places incredible strain on schools and verification. Don't loose sight of the admissions process when considering when to submit.

As long as you get it in by the "early September" recommended deadline, is there any reason to submit far earlier, like June instead of August? I thought the early September deadline meant that applicants would have time to correct errors before October.

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

Yes. You can estimate planned experience hours.

 

[DVMDream]

There is a significant percent of apps that are submitted close to deadline that do not have the luxury of correcting errors. 50% of applicants last year submitted within the last two weeks. This places incredible strain on schools and verification. Don't loose sight of the admissions process when considering when to submit.

Which deadline are you meaning?

The person asked if it was ok to submit late August/early September. That is still a month prior to the deadline of October 2nd.

I should have clarified that I don't see an issue with submitting in late August. But again, I did not apply when this new transcript verification process was going on. So maybe now you should be submitting in early August?

Has VMCAS thought to open up the application a month earlier since the submit date with the transcript verification has basically been moved to early September instead of early October? Give applicants back the month they have lost with the new transcript verification process?

ETA: And change the official submission date to September 2nd instead of having the confusion of "transcript verification" vs. "VMCAS October deadline".

 

[LyraGardenia]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I submitted my application on September 28th last year, and had no problem getting verified within a day or two, but I do plan on submitting about a month earlier than that this year just because procrastinating was stressful on my end! I have about 500 veterinary experience hours now, so I think waiting an extra month or so (ETA: as opposed to submitting in late July) to be able to include another ~100 hours is worth it. And like I said, knowing me, I may not have the rest of my application finished until late August/early Sept anyway! 😛

Anyway, I have another question. I seem to recall last year the instructions for the experiences section stating not to include classroom experiences. Am I making this up, was this changed, or is this still the policy and I'm overlooking it now? I'm wondering specifically if I should include my research experience doing a project with crayfish for my comparative physiology class, and some animal experience from a horseback riding class.

ETA again: I now see the dropdown menu for type of experience includes classroom experience, so I guess I answered my own question!

 

[Felixor90]

So I'm the only one that already turned it in and got verified? It's so lonely playing the waiting game by myself. D:

 

[Gwenevre]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I submitted my application on September 28th last year, and had no problem getting verified within a day or two, but I do plan on submitting about a month earlier than that this year just because procrastinating was stressful on my end! I have about 500 veterinary experience hours now, so I think waiting an extra month or so (ETA: as opposed to submitting in late July) to be able to include another ~100 hours is worth it. And like I said, knowing me, I may not have the rest of my application finished until late August/early Sept anyway! 😛

Anyway, I have another question. I seem to recall last year the instructions for the experiences section stating not to include classroom experiences. Am I making this up, was this changed, or is this still the policy and I'm overlooking it now? I'm wondering specifically if I should include my research experience doing a project with crayfish for my comparative physiology class, and some animal experience from a horseback riding class.

ETA again: I now see the dropdown menu for type of experience includes classroom experience, so I guess I answered my own question!

Hold the phone, where on the app is this? I'm under the experiences and it still only has animal, vet, research, employment, honors, community, etc on mine

 

[lhmhtd]

So I'm the only one that already turned it in and got verified? It's so lonely playing the waiting game by myself. D:

Holy cow, you're on it!

 

[VMCASSTAFF]

Classroom experience is coursework not an "experience". Anything you received a grade for goes in coursework.