VMCAS Questions and Rants c/o 2024

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I applied to VMCVM with several outstanding prerequisites because I was cramming my degree into 3 years. Didn’t hurt me and I got in. Don’t stress.

Oh gosh that is so reassuring. I'm cramming all my pre-reqs into four semesters (hopefully can get some summer courses too) and was worried about leaving too many incomplete pre-reqs.

 

[Manders221]

I have a question about transcript entry - I'm feeling super paranoid that I will have done something tiny wrong and then my whole application will be thrown out. I took a class many years ago that had the full title "Teen Studio Intensive: Digital Photograph and Filmmaking." On my transcript from that college, there wasn't enough space for the whole title so they listed it as "Teen Studio Intensive: Dig." Should I write the abbreviated or the full version on my transcript entry or does that not matter? Thanks!

 

[love2hunt]

Oh gosh that is so reassuring. I'm cramming all my pre-reqs into four semesters (hopefully can get some summer courses too) and was worried about leaving too many incomplete pre-reqs.

I am a current student at Va-Md and got in with 16 credits of prerequisites incomplete. You’re fine.

 

[battie]

Can I count these hours toward animal experience?

Experiences that deal with animals is animal experience.

Should I write the abbreviated or the full version on my transcript entry or does that not matter?

You fill out transcript stuff in VMCAS exactly as it appears on your transcript.

 

[Lavaniel]

Hey, I submitted my application last Saturday (31 August) and was curious if anyone else around that date is already verified. I have seen some 22 and 23 August people (congrats!).

 

[scs589]

Hey, I submitted my application last Saturday (31 August) and was curious if anyone else around that date is already verified. I have seen some 22 and 23 August people (congrats!).

I submitted sep. 1, and was verified sep. 4th!

 

[amwildlife]

I submitted sep. 1, and was verified sep. 4th!

I submitted September 3rd and got verified September 6th

 

[EngrSC]

Hey, I submitted my application last Saturday (31 August) and was curious if anyone else around that date is already verified. I have seen some 22 and 23 August people (congrats!).

Don’t stress if it takes a little longer to get verified. Mine took longer than someone else that submitted the same day but I had 6 transcripts and 240 credits!

 

[californiaginger]

I had a question about the achievements section. Should I include my degrees in there under Awards since they all say "Awarded the degree of..."??

 

[Lavaniel]

I submitted sep. 1, and was verified sep. 4th!

Have you applied before? This is my first time applying. One of my friends applied last cycle and was verified that quick. I don't have a crazy huge transcript as I am a traditional student.

 

[battie]

I had a question about the achievements section. Should I include my degrees in there under Awards since they all say "Awarded the degree of..."??

As in a bachelor's degree?

 

[californiaginger]

As in a bachelor's degree?

Yes, I have a bachelor's and a master's. I've keep going back and forth about whether or not to.

 

[SkiOtter]

Yes, I have a bachelor's and a master's. I've keep going back and forth about whether or not to.

No.

 

[battie]

Yes, I have a bachelor's and a master's. I've keep going back and forth about whether or not to.

Agreed on the no. I didn't put my bachelor's as an award since it was counted as part of the transcript and demographic info.

 

[californiaginger]

Thank you I didn't think so but of course I'm overthinking every decision right now lol

 

[scs589]

Have you applied before? This is my first time applying. One of my friends applied last cycle and was verified that quick. I don't have a crazy huge transcript as I am a traditional student.

This is my first time applying! I had three different transcripts, so I was pretty surprised!

 

[c0smopolitan]

Officially a veterinary student applicant for this cycle!

 

[Cheesedreams]

I'm submitting my UPenn app tonight...my other two were submitted yesterday. Guys, this feels so real right now. Also, my bank account is crying...

 

[justwannabeavet]

So I have to show up for Jury duty during December and I am worried about interviews... Are they always on weekends? And if not, would they work with me on this? I legally don't have a choice.

 

[EngrSC]

So I have to show up for Jury duty during December and I am worried about interviews... Are they always on weekends? And if not, would they work with me on this? I legally don't have a choice.

You can postpone your jury duty date for school. There should be a form on the backside of your summons that you fill out and send back.

My SGU and LMU interviews are on weekdays. Not sure about other schools though since it’s so early on in the cycle still.

 

[gianna1018]

You can postpone your jury duty date for school. There should be a form on the backside of your summons that you fill out and send back.

My SGU and LMU interviews are on weekdays. Not sure about other schools though since it’s so early on in the cycle still.

When did you submit that you got interviews already? I’m already so impatient! congrats!!

 

[EngrSC]

When did you submit that you got interviews already? I’m already so impatient! congrats!!

I submitted August 19th! SGU has rolling admissions and LMU has 5 or 6 interview days through January/February so if you applied to either school and haven’t heard, don’t be worried!

 

[gianna1018]

I submitted August 19th! SGU has rolling admissions and LMU has 5 or 6 interview days through January/February so if you applied to either school and haven’t heard, don’t be worried!

Yes I applied to both actually! I submitted August 29th so I’m hoping to hear something soon from schools that have rolling admissions at least. Waiting is by far the worst part of the application process.

 

[EngrSC]

Yes I applied to both actually! I submitted August 29th so I’m hoping to hear something soon from schools that have rolling admissions at least. Waiting is by far the worst part of the application process.

I agree! The summer flew by but since I hit submit I feel like time has stopped.

 

[justwannabeavet]

You can postpone your jury duty date for school. There should be a form on the backside of your summons that you fill out and send back.

My SGU and LMU interviews are on weekdays. Not sure about other schools though since it’s so early on in the cycle still.

Unfortunately I am already postponing for school! I was supposed to have it in October! I have 3 weeks of break before the next quarter so I have to do it in December. Ohio interviews start in December so I am a bit worried, not that I will get an interview. I am already potentially losing the chance to go home for break over this (parents live across the country) so I am really trying to prevent anything else from going wrong.

 

[SkiOtter]

Unfortunately I am already postponing for school! I was supposed to have it in October! I have 3 weeks of break before the next quarter so I have to do it in December. Ohio interviews start in December so I am a bit worried, not that I will get an interview. I am already potentially losing the chance to go home for break over this (parents live across the country) so I am really trying to prevent anything else from going wrong.

If you do get an interview that conflicts with your jury duty, contact the school the day you get it and see if you can switch days for jury duty. I would think they would be understanding about it since it’s not like you’re switching to attend another interview.

 

[atticus1957]

Has anyone applied to Ohio State University and done the supplemental section? I submitted mine, but I realized their requirement for needing clarification on which 3 LOR they want you to review. I thought maybe there would be a separate email and I didn't see it in the supplemental so I submitted and am now feeling like I messed up. The supplemental app was hard to navigate and confusing. Anyone here have experience with OSU? thanks

 

[battie]

I am going to call after my tests this week but I feel like I will be annoying them, so I was hoping someone here might know!

Before you call, how much of a difference is this? When you say it's off by 0.1, is that a 3.3 to a 3.2, or a 3.9 to a 3.8? Once you get up to those higher marks, the difference of 0.1 isn't going to make or break your application from my experience.

 

[littlemotel]

Hi! First time applicant/posting on this forum and I have a pretty foolish question. I apologize if this has been asked already.

My transcript has arrived at VMCAS and has been listed as "Arrived" in the status section. That doesn't mean it has been "verified" yet, correct? I just read the transcript verification info page more closely and now I'm very worried since I wasn't planning on submitting my application until 2-3 days before the 9/17 deadline (weird preference/mental block I have about submitting things even if I have everything done already). Can anyone advise me on whether this is okay, or have I dug my own grave? Would submitting as late as I had intended to be impossible? Haha sorry for the dramatics I'm just really kicking myself for not being more attentive to this 😵

 

[PreciousMoments2024]

Hi! First time applicant/posting on this forum and I have a pretty foolish question and I apologize if this has been asked already.

My transcript has arrived at VMCAS and has been listed as "Arrived" in the status section. That doesn't mean it has been "verified" yet, correct? I just read the transcript verification info page more closely and now I'm very worried since I wasn't planning on submitting my application until 2-3 days before the 9/17 deadline (weird preference/mental block I have about submitting things even I have everything done already). Can anyone advise me on whether this is okay, or have I dug my own grave? Would submitting as late as I had intended to be impossible? Haha sorry for the dramatics I'm just really kicking myself for not being more attentive to this 😵

VMCAS will verify your transcript(s) after you have submitted your application(s), no need to worry as long as they have received your transcript!

 

[littlemotel]

VMCAS will verify your transcript(s) after you have submitted your application(s), no need to worry as long as they have received your transcript!

I see, thanks so much! Phew!

 

[DVM2024]

Hi! First time applicant/posting on this forum and I have a pretty foolish question and I apologize if this has been asked already.

My transcript has arrived at VMCAS and has been listed as "Arrived" in the status section. That doesn't mean it has been "verified" yet, correct? I just read the transcript verification info page more closely and now I'm very worried since I wasn't planning on submitting my application until 2-3 days before the 9/17 deadline (weird preference/mental block I have about submitting things even if I have everything done already). Can anyone advise me on whether this is okay, or have I dug my own grave? Would submitting as late as I had intended to be impossible? Haha sorry for the dramatics I'm just really kicking myself for not being more attentive to this 😵

Verification only took about 2-3 days for myself and most people I know. Also, most schools don't care if it's not verified by the deadline, they just want it submitted 🙂

 

[Hp48g]

After I submitted I got an email stating in part " Before your application can be placed in line for verification, your application must have a status of ”Complete” and be assigned a Complete Date."

Where on the VMCAS site can I see if my status is "Complete" or not? All I see is a "Application Status" under each of the programs I applied to that all say "Complete", does this mean I am now in line for verification?

 

[SkiOtter]

After I submitted I got an email stating in part " Before your application can be placed in line for verification, your application must have a status of ”Complete” and be assigned a Complete Date."

Where on the VMCAS site can I see if my status is "Complete" or not? All I see is a "Application Status" under each of the programs I applied to that all say "Complete", does this mean I am now in line for verification?

If you have paid money to vmcas for at least one application, you are in the verification line. But they will not start verification until you pay.

 

[Hp48g]

How will I know that I am verified?

 

[DVM2024]

How will I know that I am verified?

VMCAS will send you an email... you can also go under "check status" and look at the list of schools you applied to. Before you submit, it will say "in progress." After submitting, it will say "completed," then "verified" once the verification is complete. Hope that help! 🙂

 

[sheltermed]

Just submitted my applications. Only 2 schools this time. 3rd times the charm, right.....................?

(to be honest I don't really count my first time; I applied to 4 virtually impossible schools [for me] with <3.0 gpa "as practice," [don't do this]. last year my app was way more competitive & I was interviewed at a few schools)

 

[Hp48g]

VMCAS will send you an email... you can also go under "check status" and look at the list of schools you applied to. Before you submit, it will say "in progress." After submitting, it will say "completed," then "verified" once the verification is complete. Hope that help! 🙂

Thanks for the answer.

 

[XRB]

Hi! Please help me. I was going to submit the application but I just found out that I need to enter my test credit/ transfer credit appeared on my transcript as well. I took some A-levels (like AP classes) during my high school years and transferred those credits to my primary college UCSD. However, I don't know where to enter those classes as my test credit. If anyone has similar experience please help!

 

[meelc]

Hi! Please help me. I was going to submit the application but I just found out that I need to enter my test credit/ transfer credit appeared on my transcript as well. I took some A-levels (like AP classes) during my high school years and transferred those credits to my primary college UCSD. However, I don't know where to enter those classes as my test credit. If anyone has similar experience please help!

It should state on your official transcript where those credits were applied. I know my AP credits were placed under my first quarter of undergrad as "Test Credits" with the subject being "Test Credits", so I inputed it under that quarter on my application.

 

[XRB]

It should state on your official transcript where those credits were applied. I know my AP credits were placed under my first quarter of undergrad as "Test Credits" with the subject being "Test Credits", so I inputed it under that quarter on my application.

Mine was weird. It has its own classification and it didn't not say anything about the letter grade or which quarter.

 

[c0smopolitan]

I just saw my VMCAS calculations and there was a big difference in what they calculated vs what I calculated, making it so I didn't even meet the minimum for overall GPA for Midwestern and was automatically rejected. The GPA's that VMCAS calculated for overall for two of my major schools were SIGNIFICANTLY lower then what my transcript says, and I'm incredibly concerned/confused about this. I sent an email but freaking out. Any thoughts?

 

[EngrSC]

I just saw my VMCAS calculations and there was a big difference in what they calculated vs what I calculated, making it so I didn't even meet the minimum for overall GPA for Midwestern and was automatically rejected. The GPA's that VMCAS calculated for overall for two of my major schools were SIGNIFICANTLY lower then what my transcript says, and I'm incredibly concerned/confused about this. I sent an email but freaking out. Any thoughts?

VMCAS uses every class you’ve ever taken for the overall GPA, including repeats. A similar-ish thing happened to me though ... they included all of my engineering courses in my science GPA, which I wasn’t expecting!

 

[finnickthedog]

I just saw my VMCAS calculations and there was a big difference in what they calculated vs what I calculated, making it so I didn't even meet the minimum for overall GPA for Midwestern and was automatically rejected. The GPA's that VMCAS calculated for overall for two of my major schools were SIGNIFICANTLY lower then what my transcript says, and I'm incredibly concerned/confused about this. I sent an email but freaking out. Any thoughts?

Do you have retakes? Many schools will factor ALL attempts into your cumulative GPA and if you have retakes that will result in something lower than what your transcript says. This is the most common reason I hear of people having a discrepancy.

VMCAS uses all attempts so many people find their VMCAS GPAs to be lower than transcript GPA but how a school handles your application is not really about what VMCAS does as much as it is what the schools do.

 

[c0smopolitan]

VMCAS uses every class you’ve ever taken for the overall GPA, including repeats. A similar-ish thing happened to me though ... they included all of my engineering courses in my science GPA, which I wasn’t expecting!

Do you have retakes? Many schools will factor ALL attempts into your cumulative GPA and if you have retakes that will result in something lower than what your transcript says. This is the most common reason I hear of people having a discrepancy.

VMCAS uses all attempts so many people find their VMCAS GPAs to be lower than transcript GPA but how a school handles your application is not really about what VMCAS does as much as it is what the schools do.

You guys were right about why there was a discrepancy, I had a few course redos (one of which was a gen ed, the other was trig, a class that midwestern doesn’t require) so those two things alone brought my overall GPA down low enough so I didn’t meet the 2.75 minimum. I got rejected automatically from midwestern due to this, which sucks because my required science GPA for them even with grade averaging was ~3.43. (The email also said I didn’t meet the minimum science GPA but my VMCAS calculations were above 2.75?) I emailed them asking if they would reconsider and take these factors into consideration, which is doubtful but I figured it was worth a try. Sucks.
I believe this was the only school I applied (Iowa, Kansas, Michigan state) to that looks at cumulative, I just hope that the other schools do their own calculations so they can see that my science GPA for their required courses is so much higher (3.6-3.7 based on what school) and my VMCAS calculations do not accurately reflect my capabilities. I’m really concerned now that their calculations are going to be an issue.

 

[EngrSC]

You guys were right about why there was a discrepancy, I had a few course redos (one of which was a gen ed, the other was trig, a class that midwestern doesn’t require) so those two things alone brought my overall GPA down low enough so I didn’t meet the 2.75 minimum. I got rejected automatically from midwestern due to this, which sucks because my required science GPA for them even with grade averaging was ~3.43. (The email also said I didn’t meet the minimum science GPA but my VMCAS calculations were above 2.75?) I emailed them asking if they would reconsider and take these factors into consideration, which is doubtful but I figured it was worth a try. Sucks.
I believe this was the only school I applied (Iowa, Kansas, Michigan state) to that looks at cumulative, I just hope that the other schools do their own calculations so they can see that my science GPA for their required courses is so much higher (3.6-3.7 based on what school) and my VMCAS calculations do not accurately reflect my capabilities. I’m really concerned now that their calculations are going to be an issue.

Have you considered applying to SGU or Ross? I don’t think they have a minimum GPA requirement but double check me on that. And I believe their tuition is cheaper than Midwestern’s.

 

[c0smopolitan]

Have you considered applying to SGU or Ross? I don’t think they have a minimum GPA requirement but double check me on that. And I believe their tuition is cheaper than Midwestern’s.

My actual science GPA is pretty competitive, it’s my overall that was low due to a few bad years in undergrad, and I have so many credits now that any movement on that is marginal. My overall science GPA is low because they factored everything in, but for the schools that do grade replacement (which is what I focused on) my science GPA for those required courses like I said is a 3.6-3.7. I believe in my notes it says that Michigan state doesn’t look at cumulative GPA, Iowa has a minimum of a 2.5, and I don’t have any notes about Kansas so maybe they don’t look at it. I’m not really interested in the island schools unfortunately.

 

[EngrSC]

My actual science GPA is pretty competitive, it’s my overall that was low due to a few bad years in undergrad, and I have so many credits now that any movement on that is marginal. My overall science GPA is low because they factored everything in, but for the schools that do grade replacement (which is what I focused on) my science GPA for those required courses like I said is a 3.6-3.7. I believe in my notes it says that Michigan state doesn’t look at cumulative GPA, Iowa has a minimum of a 2.5, and I don’t have any notes about Kansas so maybe they don’t look at it. I’m not really interested in the island schools unfortunately.

In that case, what about UC Davis? 2.5 minimum and they only use science and last 45 GPAs.

 

[c0smopolitan]

In that case, what about UC Davis? 2.5 minimum and they only use science and last 45 GPAs.

They weigh quant GRE pretty heavily right? Also, do you know if they do replacement or averaging for their grades? (Totally fine if you don’t know!)

 

[EngrSC]

They weigh quant GRE pretty heavily right? Also, do you know if they do replacement or averaging for their grades? (Totally fine if you don’t know!)

According to the Davis portal thing they’re using my VMCAS science GPA. And yes, I believe they use the GRE quant score.