I am struggling with how to open it... cliche hook? Lol. It's so hard to write about ourselves but I am trying to find one main topic for the essay - basically what experience or event was the driving force for me to apply and want to be a vet. You can talk about what you want to specialize in and why, etc. Good luck!
Don't worry about style too much in your first draft, just get the ideas down and you can figure out how to present them later. Once you're well into the editing process you'll be so desperate to cut characters that I doubt you'll have room for a hook, anyway - a concise thesis statement is probably the best opening for all your personal statements.
I would combine them
I was also vp and pres of PVC. I listed them all under the same experience
You can do either as long as you are consistent
Thank you, do you mind explaining the essay part of the application? Do you write essays separately for each school, or does it all go through the vmcas application to all the schools? I plan applying to 6 or 7 schools.
every school looks at the vmcas essay, but then in the supplemental application they usually have 3-5 mini essays that you need to write for each school you apply to
Thank you, I am a little nervous mostly because I feel like I haven't got enough on my resume to get in especially due to the pandemic and I also had a brain injury during the summer 2020.
Great! thank you for telling me. I am a little behind on my information of the vmcas, so this helps me a lot.
I also had people read over my essays at least 2x so that might be why it took me so long to complete it. But it was worth it I needed the extra help!
Do you think I have a chance this coming cycle? My family owns a cattle ranch and I have competed in rodeos and gymkhanas since I was kid so I have lots of animal experience horses, cows, dogs, cats, chickens, and pigs. I also have been working at a large/ small animal clinic for a year and did an internship there as well. I am in one club(1yr) and was in a sorority (2yr). My gpa does need some work. I have a 3.1 gpa, but I am also taking a few courses at a community college while at a university because of the pandemic.
Maybe! i got into 1 with a 3.36 cumulative gpa
If my gpa changes by the time I graduate (I'm a junior) do I send my new transcripts to the schools I applied to? Sorry, I know I am asking a lot of questions its been hard to get answers until now.
you send all of your transcripts with your vmcas application so it should have your grades from up to this spring quarter/semester
You can get a more detailed analysis of your application if you start a thread in the "What Are My Chances" subforum!
You get so few characters to describe your position, I didn't waste any describing how hours worked or anything like that. They see your total hours and that's honestly what matters, not that you worked 20 one week and then 40 a year later.
Thank you for the advice! Did you list your title as veterinary assistant/receptionist then? Or just vet assistant?
I listed it as vet assistant I believe.
galined.com
I would use equine and bovine in those examples. I feel like either way won't make a huge different but it just sounds slightly more formal.
Is there another supervisor who you can contact to be a reference? I don't think you can do it without a reference but I could be wrong
I put down quite a few things without listing a reference (ex. clubs that had closed, online education, volunteering at places forever ago that had changed staff, shadowing a vet for a single day like 8 years ago) and didn’t have a problem
Same^. I put down all the information I had. Sometimes just my supervisor’s name, sometimes all contact info. It wasn’t a problem for me either.I put down quite a few things without listing a reference (ex. clubs that had closed, online education, volunteering at places forever ago that had changed staff, shadowing a vet for a single day like 8 years ago) and didn’t have a problem
thoughts are generally you can add it and schools will ignore it if they don't consider ownership hours.
Research is always a plus. But vet hours are important as well, making sure that quality over quantity can help with low hours. Especially when they are diverse and show you can understand the profession.
I’m thoroughly convinced that the entire spreadsheet is wonky 🤣 I just calculated my GPA last night, it was .1 points lower than what VMCAS calculated on my application! I triple checked to make sure my entries matched up.
I’m pretty sure last year my self-report GPA was tucked into the personal info section, but it could’ve changed. Yes, you should only have a personal statement right now. They switched from the three essays back to one big essay. Your supplemental essays (for each school) won’t show up until you select schools to apply to, but you can’t do that until May. Those essays will be under program materials and will vary by school.
So, I actually got into contact with someone from the VMCAS Help Center and she said that they did remove the GPA calculations for this application cycle! And woohoo! I'm glad I do not have to do a gazillion essays on top of what I have to do for individual schools. Thank you so much for your help
The other thing with supplementals that you have to be super careful about (unless this has changed, it's been a few years) is that schools might have supplemental applications that you have to actually go through their website to get to rather than being on VMCAS. This might not be the case anymore, but VMCVM used to be on their website (it was on VMCAS my last cycle) and LMU had one that was only through their website. I cannot stress enough how important it is to double check on this, even email admissions if you can't find a solid answer - one of my friends/coworkers completely missed that LMU had a supplemental on their website separate from VMCAS and she was immediately declined.
I really don't think it's about sophistication, and you don't have to write up a life story not yours. Try to treat it as an opportunity to explore yourself, why you want to do this, what makes you a good candidate, etc. I absolutely hated the essays (and I applied to way too many schools - way too many essays), but I think I learnt a lot about my passion and strength through the writing and rewriting of them.anyone else on the struggle bus trying to figure out how to word your personal statement in a sophisticated manner?
I literally compared myself to a platypus in one supplemental essay and most of my application was quite light-hearted. Sophistication is potentially overrated.anyone else on the struggle bus trying to figure out how to word your personal statement in a sophisticated manner?
I love this!! I will add that in my first couple application cycles I spent so much time editing and rewriting essays to sound "professional" and to be what I thought schools would want to see. My last application cycle I spent time editing them to be more relaxed and sound like me rather than trying to change to fit a mold (that doesn't even really exist)I literally compared myself to a platypus in one supplemental essay and most of my application was quite light-hearted. Sophistication is potentially overrated.
I literally compared myself to a platypus in one supplemental essay and most of my application was quite light-hearted. Sophistication is potentially overrated.
I tried to have fun with my essays as well! I started one essay with "my dad likes to say that I was a 'but why' child..." and compared myself to a mosquito in another essay
hahaha this is great I love it 😆 definitely would catch my eye if I evaluated essaysI tried to have fun with my essays as well! I started one essay with "my dad likes to say that I was a 'but why' child..." and compared myself to a mosquito in another essay
In aother I described how, as a kid, my career aspirations were to "keep animals in cages" (aka zookeeper), haha.I tried to have fun with my essays as well! I started one essay with "my dad likes to say that I was a 'but why' child..." and compared myself to a mosquito in another essay
