VMCAS Questions and Rants c/o 2030

[vampyrica]

VMCAS will unfortunately calculate all attempts into a final GPA. The only thing it won’t count is withdrawals.

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[SkiOtter]

Replacements will also vary based on what schools you apply to. Some schools will take the higher grade, some the most recent attempt (whether it’s higher or not), and some schools will average the two grades together. Schools should say on their sites what their policy is and if not, I would recommend emailing individual schools you're interested in to see what their policies are.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

There is also an Excel file where you can calculate your VMCAS GPAs, but the application service will not do grade replacements. As mentioned, individual schools can make their own calculations where grade replacement is possible.

Calculating Your VMCAS GPAs

help.liaisonedu.com

 

[futurefishdr]

I'm planning the programs I'm applying to this cycle within my budget (I can only swing 4) and I'm getting pretty anxious bc of the current state of everything. I started to heavily consider applying to an international school but the logistics of getting my reactive 85lb rottweiler to another country sounds stressful and expensive af. On top of that, she's addisonian so I don't want her to undergo unnecessary stress. But god, the tuition is so much cheaper internationally and it seems more stable over there lol
Otherwise my other 3 options are my in-state (Davis), Washington, and Oregon. I'm trying to stay on the west coast since it's closer to home and only blue states so my 4th option is up in the air
Maybe Canada? But I hear it's extremely competitive for international students and the prerequisite requirements are unnecessarily confusing

 

[SkiOtter]

logistics of getting my reactive 85lb rottweiler to another country sounds stressful and expensive af.

There’s also the unfortunate portion that some places have breed specific laws. Like in Ireland she would have to be leashed and muzzled at all times in public. Not sure what other countries have in terms of BSL towards rotties (I know a lot are more towards pitties vs rotties)

 

[Koffeekat]

Is there any advantage in having your VMCAS application turned in before September 15th?

 

[_rae_]

Is there any advantage in having your VMCAS application turned in before September 15th?

Unless your school has rolling admissions/interviews, or you need a cost waiver, no. I would not wait until the last second as they’ve had server overload issues in the past, but otherwise no.

 

[Koffeekat]

Unless your school has rolling admissions/interviews, or you need a cost waiver, no. I would not wait until the last second as they’ve had server overload issues in the past, but otherwise no.

A day or two beforehand would be okay?

 

[vampyrica]

A day or two beforehand would be okay?

I would say weeks before that. The first time I applied the payment system was down and I was unable to pay for 3 schools the night apps closed. It also takes a while for your application to be verified. In order for schools to review your app, it needs to be verified. If you have something wrong, VMCAS will bounce the application back to you. Don't risk the stress and just apply a minimum of 2 weeks early if you can.

 

[Koffeekat]

I would say weeks before that. The first time I applied the payment system was down and I was unable to pay for 3 schools the night apps closed. It also takes a while for your application to be verified. In order for schools to review your app, it needs to be verified. If you have something wrong, VMCAS will bounce the application back to you. Don't risk the stress and just apply a minimum of 2 weeks early if you can.

Okay, thanks! I'm trying to wait it out a little bit, because I'm hoping to be accepted to LMU's spring semester (and to hear before the September 15th deadline for other apps). But I definitely prefer not to wait until the last minute for things for reasons like this.

 

[indysadventures]

I would say weeks before that. The first time I applied the payment system was down and I was unable to pay for 3 schools the night apps closed. It also takes a while for your application to be verified. In order for schools to review your app, it needs to be verified. If you have something wrong, VMCAS will bounce the application back to you. Don't risk the stress and just apply a minimum of 2 weeks early if you can.

Agreed. With verification of transcripts, etc, I felt nervous even with submitting two weeks ahead of time, so I’d suggest applicants submit 2-3 weeks before the deadline to allow for correction of errors if need be.

 

[futurefishdr]

There’s also the unfortunate portion that some places have breed specific laws. Like in Ireland she would have to be leashed and muzzled at all times in public. Not sure what other countries have in terms of BSL towards rotties (I know a lot are more towards pitties vs rotties)

Ugh yeah. They aren’t restricted in Scotland which is where University of Edinburgh is and I was considering but still, getting her over there would be a pain.
The other part is affordability bc I don’t want to put her in a flat with no yard and rent prices are insane across the world (looking at you London)

 

[blacklabrador2025]

Hi everyone! This might be a silly thing to ask about, but what can I write about in my explanation statement? I feel like I've been pretty blessed in my upbringing and in my undergrad, and I don't think there are any substantial setbacks I could write about. It seems wrong to leave it blank, but writing about having a hard time finding large animal experience or struggling in organic chemistry seems predictable & unimportant compared to the hurdles than so many other applicants have overcome.

 

[SkiOtter]

It seems wrong to leave it blank

Leave it blank. If there is nothing glaring you need to use it for, do not use it. The VAST majority of applicants will not need that section and keep it blank. They don’t want to hear excuses for a poor grade or low hours. If there was a *reason* for a lower grade, like personal issues while taking that class, you use it for explaining that and telling adcoms how you learned from that and what you are doing differently to avoid that situation in the future and show that you have moved past that episode and that they don’t need to be concerned about a repeat of that in vet school.

 

[breezywonton]

Hi everyone! This might be a silly thing to ask about, but what can I write about in my explanation statement? I feel like I've been pretty blessed in my upbringing and in my undergrad, and I don't think there are any substantial setbacks I could write about. It seems wrong to leave it blank, but writing about having a hard time finding large animal experience or struggling in organic chemistry seems predictable & unimportant compared to the hurdles than so many other applicants have overcome.

I left mine blank! And was accepted to many schools

 

[battie]

Hi everyone! This might be a silly thing to ask about, but what can I write about in my explanation statement? I feel like I've been pretty blessed in my upbringing and in my undergrad, and I don't think there are any substantial setbacks I could write about. It seems wrong to leave it blank, but writing about having a hard time finding large animal experience or struggling in organic chemistry seems predictable & unimportant compared to the hurdles than so many other applicants have overcome.

Don't overthink it! Don't give yourself extra work that won't help you.

 

[supershorty]

Leave it blank. If there is nothing glaring you need to use it for, do not use it. The VAST majority of applicants will not need that section and keep it blank. They don’t want to hear excuses for a poor grade or low hours. If there was a *reason* for a lower grade, like personal issues while taking that class, you use it for explaining that and telling adcoms how you learned from that and what you are doing differently to avoid that situation in the future and show that you have moved past that episode and that they don’t need to be concerned about a repeat of that in vet school.

Just going to reiterate this.

I would internally question the judgment of an applicant if they used that section to try and excuse away something that was NOT a major life circumstance affecting their performance. I am not an adcom member, so my opinion does not matter (I have done interviews in previous years for my program, but never reviewed applications). But I would side-eye someone if they used the explanation statement for something trivial.

 

[pp9]

Just going to reiterate this.

I would internally question the judgment of an applicant if they used that section to try and excuse away something that was NOT a major life circumstance affecting their performance. I am not an adcom member, so my opinion does not matter (I have done interviews in previous years for my program, but never reviewed applications). But I would side-eye someone if they used the explanation statement for something trivial.

Leave it blank. If there is nothing glaring you need to use it for, do not use it. The VAST majority of applicants will not need that section and keep it blank. They don’t want to hear excuses for a poor grade or low hours. If there was a *reason* for a lower grade, like personal issues while taking that class, you use it for explaining that and telling adcoms how you learned from that and what you are doing differently to avoid that situation in the future and show that you have moved past that episode and that they don’t need to be concerned about a repeat of that in vet school.

Agreed here. I've seen more than a few people want to use the explanation statement for things along the lines of 'I had to work part time/full time while in school, so that's why I don't have a 4.0' or 'There were no vet clinics near campus that would take me, so that's why I don't have a lot of experience hours' or, my personal favorite 'I was rushing sororities that semester so didn't have much time for class/studying' lol (true story).

Hi everyone! This might be a silly thing to ask about, but what can I write about in my explanation statement? I feel like I've been pretty blessed in my upbringing and in my undergrad, and I don't think there are any substantial setbacks I could write about. It seems wrong to leave it blank, but writing about having a hard time finding large animal experience or struggling in organic chemistry seems predictable & unimportant compared to the hurdles than so many other applicants have overcome.

It does feel weird to leave things blank but I appreciate that you are aware that you are fortunate enough to not have a strong reason to fill it out.

 

[beans2020]

Hi everyone! This might be a silly thing to ask about, but what can I write about in my explanation statement? I feel like I've been pretty blessed in my upbringing and in my undergrad, and I don't think there are any substantial setbacks I could write about. It seems wrong to leave it blank, but writing about having a hard time finding large animal experience or struggling in organic chemistry seems predictable & unimportant compared to the hurdles than so many other applicants have overcome.

Kind of devil's advocate here - I completely agree that you shouldn't use the explanation statement for something trivial. However, when I was applying to vet school, my advisor strongly recommended not leaving it blank. He said that the explanation statement was your opportunity to tell the admissions committees something about yourself that isn't listed anywhere else. So you don't have to feel limited to using it to explain why a grade wasn't the best or about a hardship you had - you could use it to explain something about yourself/why you pursued the experiences you did/why you'd be a good vet, etc. If you have an advisor/mentor, especially someone who is more familiar with your application, I would suggest potentially going to them and talking to them about what might be a good topic for your explanation statement.

I was in a similar place to you when I applied, and I wrote my explanation statement about how I used my time to purposefully explore different aspects of the veterinary field, what that taught me, and why that would make me a good vet.

(All of that being said, people do get into vet school without writing an explanation statement! I'm just passing on what I was told because I know that advise has helped multiple people get in 🙂