VMCAS Questions and Rants c/o 2024

[deleted676737]

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Hey guys, I have experience questions. I worked for a petting zoo throughout high school - I am assuming animal experience. I apprenticed with a farrier and continued to do farrier work - also animal experience? I have had my own equine reproduction business the last 3 years where I ultrasound, AI, collect stallions, prepare cooled and frozen semen, do embryo transfers, foal out mares, uterine cultures/lavage's, give all drugs required, etc - would this be considered vet experience or animal experience? My husband trains horses so I am always there for the vet appointments for our client horses and help the vet with whatever he needs. - Would this count as vet experience? Thank you!

- Yes
- Yes
- Were you actually under the direct supervision of a veterinarian? If so, it's vet experience; otherwise it is animal experience
- No, because you are seeking a veterinarian's services as a client through your business rather than working under the direct supervision as their employee/shadow/volunteer

Experiences

help.liaisonedu.com

 

[deleted676737]

Hello! I am wondering if I need to resubmit GRE scores to schools that I applied to last cycle. I asked one school and she replied the school GRE code so I’m not sure if that was much of an answer. Just trying to save some money where I can. Thanks!

I think you'd be best to contact the schools directly. I'm not sure that there's a one answer for this that applies to all schools, unfortunately. I could be completely wrong, though, as I don't have experience with reapplying.

 

[SkiOtter]

Hello! I am wondering if I need to resubmit GRE scores to schools that I applied to last cycle. I asked one school and she replied the school GRE code so I’m not sure if that was much of an answer. Just trying to save some money where I can. Thanks!

If it’s a VMCAS GRE code (will say vmcas in the school name on the ets site) you shouldn’t have to. Your “check status” page will still say those all have been received. If it’s a code for a school directly, you’ll need to contact each school. Obviously, if you added any schools to your list it’ll need to be sent, regardless of whether it’s a school’s VMCAS GRE code or a direct-to-school code

 

[CWeber7]

Thank you for the responses on my last post! It really helped me understand the experiences. Next question. How does this sound for an explanation statement? Any suggestions?
"During my first 9 courses I was pregnant and experienced complications and preterm labor throughout the whole pregnancy. Although my GPA is not what I am capable of, I am proud of myself for delivering my daughter in April while going to school full time and spending 50 hours a week in the breeding shed."

 

[SkiOtter]

Thank you for the responses on my last post! It really helped me understand the experiences. Next question. How does this sound for an explanation statement? Any suggestions?
"During my first 9 courses I was pregnant and experienced complications and preterm labor throughout the whole pregnancy. Although my GPA is not what I am capable of, I am proud of myself for delivering my daughter in April while going to school full time and spending 50 hours a week in the breeding shed."

I think there’s at least one person in the personal statement readers list who said they wrote an explanation statement so you could look there and ask them too if you don’t have anyone on the general thread with experience with explanation statements!

 

[davidfsing]

Hey all, for the 2nd essay question ( In what ways do veterinarians contribute to society and what do you hope to contribute?) , do you think it's necessary to provide a rounded answer for the ways that vets contribute- summarizing all the ways? Or can I just make it pertinent to my career goals- Im interested in food animal med- can I just talk about the ways in which vets in the ag sector contribute and go from there?

 

[exotic birb]

I just want to say. I would pay good money to have more than 2000 characters for some of these essay prompts!!!!

 

[EngrSC]

Hey all, for the 2nd essay question ( In what ways do veterinarians contribute to society and what do you hope to contribute?) , do you think it's necessary to provide a rounded answer for the ways that vets contribute- summarizing all the ways? Or can I just make it pertinent to my career goals- Im interested in food animal med- can I just talk about the ways in which vets in the ag sector contribute and go from there?

My answer is specific to my goals. I think it makes it more personal that way.

 

[EngrSC]

Thank you for the responses on my last post! It really helped me understand the experiences. Next question. How does this sound for an explanation statement? Any suggestions?
"During my first 9 courses I was pregnant and experienced complications and preterm labor throughout the whole pregnancy. Although my GPA is not what I am capable of, I am proud of myself for delivering my daughter in April while going to school full time and spending 50 hours a week in the breeding shed."

I think I would expand to include how great you did afterward. So like “In subsequent semesters, I took 12, 15, and 14 credits and earned a 3.8 GPA while raising my daughter, which more accurately reflects my academic ability.” Or something like that.

 

[SkiOtter]

I just want to say. I would pay good money to have more than 2000 characters for some of these essay prompts!!!!

damn, you guys get 2000 characters????? We got 500.

 

[ilovebirds]

Hello everyone. I have a few questions about my application:

1. I have done Therapy Dogs for a really long time. I have no idea how many hours I have. Should I estimate and put that I don't know in the description? I'm thinking it's close to 1000 hours but I would have no idea where to even start with the average per week and number of weeks.

2. On the topic of Therapy Dogs, it is all volunteer and animal experience. VMCAS help page says to divide it accordingly, but should I just put it as animal experience and mark that it is a volunteer position? I just don't know how I'm going to divide hours when I'm not sure of the hours at this point.

3. I transferred from a high-ranking in-state university to a lower ranking school in the same state network. I asked every school and they said I should write an explanation. The reason I transferred was due to some pretty horrific trauma from another student, but obviously, I don't want to come across as someone making excuses for not being able to handle stress. I wrote my explanation statement in a style similar to my essays and at the end added how much I have embraced the opportunities at my new school and that I couldn't see something like that happening again, but I'm seeing on SDN that most people are not writing it in an essay style format. Am I wrong? Is a long explanation going to hurt my chances?

Sorry, that was a lot. Thanks everyone!!

 

[battie]

Should I estimate and put that I don't know in the description? I'm thinking it's close to 1000 hours but I would have no idea where to even start with the average per week and number of weeks

I worked in my family's pet stores from the age of 10 to even now (off and on). I had no idea what sort of hours I had. So I just estimated how much time I spent in the stores each year (2002, then 2003, etc), then added them all together. Then I averaged that across the 13 or 14 years or so prior to my application. Think about the time you spend working directly with the dog per day, then go from there. In the description box, be detailed in what was involved. Honestly, even cleaning cages for 5 hours a day, 3 days a week comes out to 750 hours (working 50 weeks a year). So 1000, depending on how long you've been doing it and what your doing, doesn't sound out of line. For the pet stores, I had several thousand hours.

but should I just put it as animal experience and mark that it is a volunteer position?

That's 100% what I would do. lol. The concept of dividing out the hours that has developed over the last couple of hours is weird to me.

The reason I transferred was due to some pretty horrific trauma from another student, but obviously, I don't want to come across as someone making excuses for not being able to handle stress.

So, the question I want to ask is why do the schools/you feel like you need an explanation statement? Did your grades tank because of this incident? Were you involved in a school disciplinary thing that will come up with your transcript? Honestly, if you seamlessly transitioned from one school to the next without a major hiccup/blip, I wouldn't personally bother with an explanation statement for transferring. Not many vet schools consider "rigor" of undergrad, and those that do don't weigh it very heavily. I went to a BFE undergrad smaller than my high school and no admissions batted an eye at that. There are so many legitimate reasons for transferring from cost of attendance to your own situation. One transfer without visible incident (GPA drop, IA, ect) is not a big deal.

If you feel the explanation statement is totally necessary (for any reason!), then I think writing it in the style you did is fine. But you need to be sure it is succinct, describes what happened without embelishment, and you describe how you moved on and improved from the incident. I wrote an explanation statement for an incident that occurred the summer prior to my junior year that affected my junior year. It was maybe 3 sentences long.

 

[ilovebirds]

I worked in my family's pet stores from the age of 10 to even now (off and on). I had no idea what sort of hours I had. So I just estimated how much time I spent in the stores each year (2002, then 2003, etc), then added them all together. Then I averaged that across the 13 or 14 years or so prior to my application. Think about the time you spend working directly with the dog per day, then go from there. In the description box, be detailed in what was involved. Honestly, even cleaning cages for 5 hours a day, 3 days a week comes out to 750 hours (working 50 weeks a year). So 1000, depending on how long you've been doing it and what your doing, doesn't sound out of line. For the pet stores, I had several thousand hours.



That's 100% what I would do. lol. The concept of dividing out the hours that has developed over the last couple of hours is weird to me.



So, the question I want to ask is why do the schools/you feel like you need an explanation statement? Did your grades tank because of this incident? Were you involved in a school disciplinary thing that will come up with your transcript? Honestly, if you seamlessly transitioned from one school to the next without a major hiccup/blip, I wouldn't personally bother with an explanation statement for transferring. Not many vet schools consider "rigor" of undergrad, and those that do don't weigh it very heavily. I went to a BFE undergrad smaller than my high school and no admissions batted an eye at that. There are so many legitimate reasons for transferring from cost of attendance to your own situation. One transfer without visible incident (GPA drop, IA, ect) is not a big deal.

If you feel the explanation statement is totally necessary (for any reason!), then I think writing it in the style you did is fine. But you need to be sure it is succinct, describes what happened without embelishment, and you describe how you moved on and improved from the incident. I wrote an explanation statement for an incident that occurred the summer prior to my junior year that affected my junior year. It was maybe 3 sentences long.

Thank you for your help. For the explanation, they said I should write one since I dropped out midway through the semester. Is there a place someone can read it and give me a better idea of what I should cut out of my current essay? I am at pretty much a full 2000 characters currently so I feel like it is definitely too long and probably embellished.

 

[battie]

Thank you for your help. For the explanation, they said I should write one since I dropped out midway through the semester. Is there a place someone can read it and give me a better idea of what I should cut out of my current essay? I am at pretty much a full 2000 characters currently so I feel like it is definitely too long and probably embellished.

Yeah, if you search for personal statement readers, you'll find this year's thread. You can definitely post there!

 

[SkiOtter]

The concept of dividing out the hours that has developed over the last couple of hours is weird to me.

I think it’s mostly for things like if you were a kennel tech and mostly did kennel stuff and not vet stuff but *occasionally* helped the vet with restraint and stuff? Where you’d want to be able to count those hours, but counting all them as vet hours wouldn’t be right, when most is kennel.

 

[EB73674]

Hey all, couple things as we're getting down to the wire...

1. For those who have attended multiple schools (such as doing post-baccs or others), what did you list as your "primary school GPA"? I'm assuming this refers to the school where I completed my pre-reqs, but those are 4 different ones. Do I combine the 4 and create a "recent" GPA? Or should I go with my undergrad where I got my BA, since it has the most credits? No idea on this one...

2. How far back and in what context are we talking for the achievements section? Like, I was listed as some sort of "distinguished scholar" junior year of high school (nearly 15 years ago) and received some Honorable Mention and Best Delegate awards for Model UN competitions throughout high school & college. Are these relevant? They seem ridiculous to point out in a vet school application (haha)

3. This is more of a poll - who did y'all have reading your application essays? I've got my parents, friends who've gone to grad/medical school, my vets, my advisor, and my university writing center ready to read as needed, but I'm not sure if I should be reaching out to others here.

Thanks all!

 

[SkiOtter]

For those who have attended multiple schools (such as doing post-baccs or others), what did you list as your "primary school GPA"?

1.Wherever you took most classes. Most of the time, it’ll also be the same place as you got your degree.

2.I listed stuff from high school, but mine wasn’t 15 years ago (graduated in 12)

3. There’s a whole list of people on SDN who have said they’ll read your essays! Search personal statement/personal statement readers and you’ll find the 2024 list.

 

[EB73674]

1.Wherever you took most classes. Most of the time, it’ll also be the same place as you got your degree.

2.I listed stuff from high school, but mine wasn’t 15 years ago (graduated in 12)

3. There’s a whole list of people on SDN who have said they’ll read your essays! Search personal statement/personal statement readers and you’ll find the 2024 list.

Awesome thank you! Whoops, totally forgot about that thread, will definitely hit those up! 😀

 

[battie]

I think it’s mostly for things like if you were a kennel tech and mostly did kennel stuff and not vet stuff but *occasionally* helped the vet with restraint and stuff? Where you’d want to be able to count those hours, but counting all them as vet hours wouldn’t be right, when most is kennel.

See, I think that's silly. Being a kennel tech in a vet clinic is different from being a kennel tech for my family's stores (at least in my experience). Unless a kennel tech in a vet clinic has absolutely no exposure to the clinic side of things, I feel it should still be vet experience.

 

[SkiOtter]

See, I think that's silly. Being a kennel tech in a vet clinic is different from being a kennel tech for my family's stores (at least in my experience). Unless a kennel tech in a vet clinic has absolutely no exposure to the clinic side of things, I feel it should still be vet experience.

Lots strictly are kennels and don’t do vet stuff though. Bigger clinics have kennel staff and vet staff and they don’t usually switch jobs.

 

[deleted676737]

Since several people have asked:

2024 Personal Statement Readers!

An applicant expressed interest in seeking out others to read over their personal statements/VMCAS essays, and this thread hadn't been started for the current cycle yet, so I figured that I would go ahead and get the ball rolling. To applicants: You can send a PM regarding your essays to any of...

forums.studentdoctor.net

There’s also a link to the thread in my signature.

 

[battie]

Lots strictly are kennels and don’t do vet stuff though

I did say

Unless a kennel tech in a vet clinic has absolutely no exposure to the clinic side of things,

In that case, yeah, I'd say put it as animal experience. But the average vet clinic has 2.44 vets. Chances are, the kennel tech is a multi purpose employee. For this applicants, I'd throw all the hours in the clinic under vet experience

 

[nicolerenee]

Hi guys! I wrote an explanation statement on the VMCAS application but noticed on Colorado's supplemental there was also an option to write an explanation statement. Do you think it is necessary to write both? I am mainly explaining my average gpa due to not deciding I wanted to be a vet until my senior year of undergrad and also familial trauma I went through during that time. I just don't want to sound repetitive. Let me know what you think!

 

[Okapi]

If I've finished my application but don't have all my eLORs in yet, am I able to/should I submit now? I'm getting anxious about wanting to submit early in order to (hopefully) get verified before the deadline but am also anxious about not having my eLORs in yet and submitting an "incomplete" application. I've reminded my evaluators of the deadline (made my own ~2 weeks before the actual deadline) and plan on bugging them again when I'm back at school, but other than that not really sure what to do. I suppose this is really more of a rant than a question but any advice would be helpful. D:

 

[deleted676737]

If I've finished my application but don't have all my eLORs in yet, am I able to/should I submit now? I'm getting anxious about wanting to submit early in order to (hopefully) get verified before the deadline but am also anxious about not having my eLORs in yet and submitting an "incomplete" application. I've reminded my evaluators of the deadline (made my own ~2 weeks before the actual deadline) and plan on bugging them again when I'm back at school, but other than that not really sure what to do. I suppose this is really more of a rant than a question but any advice would be helpful. D:

You’re fine to submit now if you’re ready to. Your application will automatically be updated once the eLoRs are completed and sent in. As long as your evaluators have them in by the deadline, you’ll be good.

 

[Okapi]

You’re fine to submit now if you’re ready to. Your application will automatically be updated once the eLoRs are completed and sent in. As long as your evaluators have them in by the deadline, you’ll be good.

Okay, thank you!

 

[hobose]

Anyone have their AP credits turn out like this ^ after getting their transcript verified? I'm freaking out rn. Just contacted VMCAS.

 

[lemurking]

hello ,
Newbie here
am writing the Illinois 2 nd supplemental essay, about police dogs' risk of exposure to opioids... looks like I have to put in some research statistics and some facts from others sources... do I have to cite my sources. Do i need a Bibliography ?
Please advise. Thank you

 

[SkiOtter]

hello ,
Newbie here
am writing the Illinois 2 nd supplemental essay, about police dogs' risk of exposure to opioids... looks like I have to put in some research statistics and some facts from others sources... do I have to cite my sources. Do i need a Bibliography ?
Please advise. Thank you

I cited my sources at the end of mine since I used sources and did research. They give you an extremely high character allowance so you don’t have to worry about taking up valuable space for that.

 

[battie]

hello ,
Newbie here
am writing the Illinois 2 nd supplemental essay, about police dogs' risk of exposure to opioids... looks like I have to put in some research statistics and some facts from others sources... do I have to cite my sources. Do i need a Bibliography ?
Please advise. Thank you

I also cited my sources because it was a research essay with information I didn't know (mine was on a swine virus). It won't hurt you to do so.

 

[doctor-who]

Hi guys! I wrote an explanation statement on the VMCAS application but noticed on Colorado's supplemental there was also an option to write an explanation statement. Do you think it is necessary to write both? I am mainly explaining my average gpa due to not deciding I wanted to be a vet until my senior year of undergrad and also familial trauma I went through during that time. I just don't want to sound repetitive. Let me know what you think!

I would also like the answer to this question for several schools that ask for anything extra we wanted to mention.
On another note, I had not seen where people were saying they only wrote a few sentences for their explanation statement. I thought it had to be way longer where you go into how you grew from the experience or overcame it or how it shaped me. If I filled it to the max character count, would it be considered too long? Thanks!

 

[deleted676737]

On another note, I had not seen where people were saying they only wrote a few sentences for their explanation statement. I thought it had to be way longer where you go into how you grew from the experience or overcame it or how it shaped me. If I filled it to the max character count, would it be considered too long? Thanks!

Not necessarily. If I remember correctly, the character count isn’t very large for the Explanation Statement (unless they’ve changed it in recent years, which is totally possible) and I think I got pretty close to the max when I applied. I spent just a sentence or two explaining the rough first few semesters I had but then spent three or four pointing to recent academic and professional successes in spite of recent struggles with mental health as evidence that demonstrated that I was now prepared for the rigors of a DVM program.

...turned out that I actually wasn’t, but that’s beside the point.

Schools that brought up my Explanation Statement during interviews and such generally seemed quite content with my approach.

Don’t worry about it being too short or too long; utilize as much space as you feel you need.

 

[lemurking]

thank u SkiOtter n Batsenecal

 

[exotic birb]

Hi guys! I wrote an explanation statement on the VMCAS application but noticed on Colorado's supplemental there was also an option to write an explanation statement. Do you think it is necessary to write both? I am mainly explaining my average gpa due to not deciding I wanted to be a vet until my senior year of undergrad and also familial trauma I went through during that time. I just don't want to sound repetitive. Let me know what you think!

I think they want explanations directly related to your application with them. For example I sent in a prerequisite substitution form that was approved. They told me to put in the explanation statement that I got that substitution approved, and the reason why I needed it. You don’t need to put in stuff you’ve already explained on VMCAS. If you have nothing related to CSU to add, then I’d leave it blank

 

[exotic birb]

View attachment 276270
Anyone have their AP credits turn out like this ^ after getting their transcript verified? I'm freaking out rn. Just contacted VMCAS.

Yup this caught me last year. This means that on your transcript, the Ap credit is listed as a lump sum rather than subject by subject. Vmcas changed your entries to reflect the transcript. If it affected your prerequisite entry for any of the schools you are applying to, email an explanation and let them know an error happened with your transcript entry because VMCAS changed your inputs. If you’re verified, VMCAS won’t change anything on the application for you. Feel free to message me, sorry it happened to you too.

 

[jac98]

Hi all! I'm new here and am finishing up my application but was hoping to get some advice before submitting.

1. I took part in a HQHV spay/neuter clinic at Chernobyl as simultaneously a volunteer for the program and a research assistant for a professor from my university. I'm having trouble putting this program into my app because it was a mix of animal, vet, and research experience. I spent most of my time under the supervision of technicians and my professor, taking samples and assisting with surgical prep and recovery; I was only ever around/interacting with the vets when I observed in the operating room, but I did get to do this observation frequently enough to mention. I listed my time doing follow-up work in the lab back at school afterwards as research and mentioned that it was related to this program, but what should I do about the mix of animal and vet experience? Right now, I've only listed the animal experience. Should I create a new entry for the surgical observation part?

2. Can documenting pet ownership as animal experience ever hurt your app? From what I've read here, I should do it just in case a school would like to see it. I'm planning on just contacting each program I'm applying to, but I would love to get some more opinions/testimonials about it!

Thanks in advance!

 

[jac98]

Also where VMCAS asks "How many people other than your parent(s) lived in your primary household during the majority of your life from birth to age eighteen?" how should I respond? I am an only child and lived with two parents in one household. I entered each parent as a parent/guardian, and it asks this for each one. Do I count myself? And do I count the other parent each time? I think I'm just tripped up by the way it says, "parent(s)."

 

[finnickthedog]

Also where VMCAS asks "How many people other than your parent(s) lived in your primary household during the majority of your life from birth to age eighteen?" how should I respond? I am an only child and lived with two parents in one household. I entered each parent as a parent/guardian, and it asks this for each one. Do I count myself? And do I count the other parent each time? I think I'm just tripped up by the way it says, "parent(s)."

It sounds to me like you would count yourself and you would not count the other parent. So it would be 1 since it's just you. But I would ask VMCAS to make sure of what they want.

 

[jac98]

It sounds to me like you would count yourself and you would not count the other parent. So it would be 1 since it's just you. But I would ask VMCAS to make sure of what they want.

I just did, and you are completely right! Thanks!

 

[hobose]

Yup this caught me last year. This means that on your transcript, the Ap credit is listed as a lump sum rather than subject by subject. Vmcas changed your entries to reflect the transcript. If it affected your prerequisite entry for any of the schools you are applying to, email an explanation and let them know an error happened with your transcript entry because VMCAS changed your inputs. If you’re verified, VMCAS won’t change anything on the application for you. Feel free to message me, sorry it happened to you too.

Thanks for replying. Did you only send to institutions that asked what the "N/A" course was? Or did you send an explanation without them asking for one anyways? Did you end having to send a transcript to all the institutions that this affected? If so, then this is going to be troublesome. My University requires me to purchase official transcripts. It can get quite pricey. This feels a bit unfair.

 

[blueheeler]

Me: I am going to be done w/ apps by Aug 15th!

Also me: *is not done with apps*

Here's to hoping I will done by Sept 1st lol

 

[exotic birb]

Thanks for replying. Did you only send to institutions that asked what the "N/A" course was? Or did you send an explanation without them asking for one anyways? Did you end having to send a transcript to all the institutions that this affected? If so, then this is going to be troublesome. My University requires me to purchase official transcripts. It can get quite pricey. This feels a bit unfair.

The schools can see it’s test credit, they just don’t know what subjects it satisfied. You only have to inform schools if you were using the test credit you earned to fulfill their prerequisites. You don’t have to send them your transcript or anything. Some occasionally want a verification form from the university, but they’ll ask you for that if they need it. That was free for me to fill out from my university. Just let the programs that are affected by your prerequisites know what happened.

 

[Nmakowsk]

How long does it take (generally) to get verified once submitted?

 

[deleted676737]

How long does it take (generally) to get verified once submitted?

In general, the earlier you submit, the less time it will take. Traditionally many applicants submit on the last day, so there is a higher volume for VMCAS to deal with.

I submitted in early August (2015) and it only took two or three days to get verified.

 

[EngrSC]

Include step-parents in app: yay/nay?

 

[deleted676737]

Include step-parents in app: yay/nay?

I did, for whatever that’s worth. Count me as a yay. I don’t really think it’s used for anything other than demographic purposes.

 

[atticus1957]

Hi all.. I am planing on taking a class at University of New England online for a pre-req, but not until Spring or so. I Have never attended any classes there. I should add the institution and make it a pending class right? I am just worried about VMCAS not verifying it since I don't have any transcripts for it. Thank you

 

[atticus1957]

Also wondering.. I sent my official transcript from one school that I was finishing a summer class at on August 3rd, School said it was sent out August 8th... I'm getting nervous it hasn't been added yet to VMCAS. The other one I sent in I felt like got processed faster. I need to verify the transcripts ASAP. Beginning to regret waiting for the summer class to end to help my science GPA-- not worth the stress

 

[dolphinlady]

Hey guys! I am about to submit my apps, getting nervous because its mid August... anyways, I've been scanning my stuff for any mistakes and I took the Animal Nutrition course online through Purdue. I started the class mid semester and finished it about a year later. They've already received my transcripts for it, but I am worried about how I listed the attended days. I listed Oct 2017 as my start date, and then December 2017 as my finish date, because technically it's listed as Fall 2017 term on the transcript. Does anybody have any experience with inputting this course on your VMCAS? I appreciate any input! Thank you!

 

[EngrSC]

Hey guys! I am about to submit my apps, getting nervous because its mid August... anyways, I've been scanning my stuff for any mistakes and I took the Animal Nutrition course online through Purdue. I started the class mid semester and finished it about a year later. They've already received my transcripts for it, but I am worried about how I listed the attended days. I listed Oct 2017 as my start date, and then December 2017 as my finish date, because technically it's listed as Fall 2017 term on the transcript. Does anybody have any experience with inputting this course on your VMCAS? I appreciate any input! Thank you!

I took OSU’s Animal Nutrition and I listed it as the semester I finished it. No idea if that’s right though.