VMCAS Questions C/O 2017 (Post your questions here.)

[Fly Racing]

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I keep hearing from previous applicants that there used to be a section where you list all the undergrad colleges you applied to, along with whether or not you got accepted...did they take that out or am I overlooking it somewhere?

Nope! Not there 🙂

 

[LivestockDoc]

How should I list hobbies on VMCAS? Should I add a separate entry for each hobby or make one entry titled "hobbies" and list them all there? I don't know if I should explain each hobby or just write down something like "ride ATVs"...

Where did you see a question about hobbies? 😕

 

[irrelephant23]

Where did you see a question about hobbies? 😕

If you go to the Instructions for the experiences section and click on the community activities description, this is what it says:

List and describe extracurricular or community activities in which you were engaged, including those during high school
beginning with the most recent first. You may include sports and hobbies.

I only included the named extracurriculars (ie clubs and volunteer activities) and the two hobbies i do on a weekly basis (running and yoga). Lets be real, my hobby is obsessing over my vet schools apps, but I can't put that 😛

 

[VMCAS001]

VMCAS Tip: Another important note about experiences! ALL categories must be completed (Veterinary, Animal, Community Activities, Employment, Honors & Awards). *IF* you do NOT have any information to enter for one of those categories, click on "Does Not Apply" in that category.

This will complete the evaluations section for you! 🙂

 

[Tegan05]

Sorry if this was asked before, but do you think it is okay if I leave the explanation section blank? I feel like I'm missing something by not adding extra information, but I really think everything pertinent was covered in my personal statement, application, and supplementals 🙂

Thanks

 

[zanydogz]

Sorry if this was asked before, but do you think it is okay if I leave the explanation section blank? I feel like I'm missing something by not adding extra information, but I really think everything pertinent was covered in my personal statement, application, and supplementals 🙂

Thanks

As far as I know, its fine. I personally only used it to put in GPAs from the other colleges I attended and that was it. My advisor told me last year that if you don't have anything to put in there, then don't.

 

[irrelephant23]

HELP HELP HELP!

Just pulled up the pdf of my almost completed application and saw that one of my letter writers had taken it upon himself to edit his contact information to clarify his name. Names have been changed for this post, but lets say his name is Mr. John Smith. Upon printing his application, the evaluation now shows to have come from Mr. John John, George is my middle name Smith, Mr.

VMCAS approved my evaluator's request to correct his name! Problem solved!!! 😀 Now if only my last ELOR would submit!

 

[wildcatj]

Sorry if this was asked before, but do you think it is okay if I leave the explanation section blank? I feel like I'm missing something by not adding extra information, but I really think everything pertinent was covered in my personal statement, application, and supplementals 🙂

Thanks

I didn't have anything to put in there, so I didn't. I wouldn't be concerned about it.

 

[dvmdreamer]

I just plugged my PS into the VMCAS application (YAY last step other than waiting for last eLOR!).

How did everyone handle the inability to insert tabs? I don't have enough room in the character limit to insert spaces without revising the essay. I am a proper essay nut and it makes me twitchy to leave it all left aligned though. What did you all do?

 

[irrelephant23]

I just plugged my PS into the VMCAS application (YAY last step other than waiting for last eLOR!).

How did everyone handle the inability to insert tabs? I don't have enough room in the character limit to insert spaces without revising the essay. I am a proper essay nut and it makes me twitchy to leave it all left aligned though. What did you all do?

I separated the paragraphs with an extra line break

like this. No spaces or tabs for me! I couldn't waste the extra characters. I had to remove a couple words just to be able to add in the extra 6 "enter'/"return"s between paragraphs, but it looks much better now. I'm anal about my essays too.

 

[dvmdreamer]

I separated the paragraphs with an extra line break
.

Awesome. That's the solution I had come up with also 😀

 

[equineconstant]

Awesome. That's the solution I had come up with also 😀

Same. 👍

 

[LetItSnow]

I just plugged my PS into the VMCAS application (YAY last step other than waiting for last eLOR!).

How did everyone handle the inability to insert tabs? I don't have enough room in the character limit to insert spaces without revising the essay. I am a proper essay nut and it makes me twitchy to leave it all left aligned though. What did you all do?

Don't the instructions (or the help section on that page) say something about formatting being retained even though it doesn't appear that way on the web page?

I know it bugged the heck out of me, because I wanted it to look like I wanted it to look. It annoyed me that I just had to 'trust' that they'd get the formatting right, so I think I opted for the same solution irrelephant: opted for no tabs or indentation and used an extra space.

But in theory, you shouldn't need to do it.

If you trust VMCAS.

 

[idigapony70]

Hi guys. I was wondering what some of you guys were doing regarding AP test scores. I read someone put them into the coursework and test sections. As far as the coursework section goes, how have you gone of allocating them? In coursework I have labeled them "Interim Unit Non-Matriculation". Does this work? and will I have to send these scores by the deadline? they appear on my university transcript so, no? Please let me know. Thanks!


What have you guys labeled the course pre-fix and number on the VMCAS application?

 

[deleted497320]

Hey guys. I've been lurking on this thread for a few weeks and found all your answers super helpful. I know pet ownership has been discussed previously b/c I searched the thread for it and found a post saying that you all discussed this to death before....but I can't find that post! Just the posts referring to the numerous discussions. 🙁 So, sorry for the redundancy, but are y'all putting down pet ownership hours? The Texas A & M app says only 100 hours of Pet Ownership will be counted, so I put down 100 on the VMCAS app and mentioned in the Explanation Statement that I was following the precedent set by a school-specific app, but I wonder if there's a better/more uniform way to do it. I only want to mention my pets b/c most of my animal/vet experience has been cats, dogs, and mice, but I have additional experience w/so-called exotic pets (snakes, guinea pigs, newts).

Thanks in advance for your help! I'm currently in a PhD program but applying for vet school, so there's no community here for me to turn to for help w/apps so these forums have been super helpful.

 

[wildcatj]

Hey guys. I've been lurking on this thread for a few weeks and found all your answers super helpful. I know pet ownership has been discussed previously b/c I searched the thread for it and found a post saying that you all discussed this to death before....but I can't find that post! Just the posts referring to the numerous discussions. 🙁 So, sorry for the redundancy, but are y'all putting down pet ownership hours? The Texas A & M app says only 100 hours of Pet Ownership will be counted, so I put down 100 on the VMCAS app and mentioned in the Explanation Statement that I was following the precedent set by a school-specific app, but I wonder if there's a better/more uniform way to do it. I only want to mention my pets b/c most of my animal/vet experience has been cats, dogs, and mice, but I have additional experience w/so-called exotic pets (snakes, guinea pigs, newts).

Thanks in advance for your help! I'm currently in a PhD program but applying for vet school, so there's no community here for me to turn to for help w/apps so these forums have been super helpful.

If you are applying to any schools that will take pet ownership hours I'd just list whatever you think you can realistically defend (even if it's more than the 100 hours TAMU accepts). Other schools that don't count pet ownership hours will just disregard it.

 

[Emiloo4]

If you are applying to any schools that will take pet ownership hours I'd just list whatever you think you can realistically defend (even if it's more than the 100 hours TAMU accepts). Other schools that don't count pet ownership hours will just disregard it.

I agree with this. They will only count 100 toward your app, but it doesn't mean you can't put more.

 

[Daydreamer03710]

How long until the VMCAS status says mailed? My last letter was submitted this morning at 6:50 but my status still says Meeting Vmcas requirements...?

 

[dvmdreamer]

How long until the VMCAS status says mailed? My last letter was submitted this morning at 6:50 but my status still says Meeting Vmcas requirements...?

I think it goes snail mail. I submitted mine Sunday morning and it just went to "mailed" this morning.

 

[WhyYeahWhy]

Hello,

Does anyone know where you enter the personal statement? I thought previous applications had a single statement with 5000 characters, I only see 3 separate essays 1000 characters each and an explanation statement 2000 characters. Please help, I spent weeks writing a personal statement under 5000 charaters.

 

[Lupin21]

Hello,

Does anyone know where you enter the personal statement? I thought previous applications had a single statement with 5000 characters, I only see 3 separate essays 1000 characters each and an explanation statement 2000 characters. Please help, I spent weeks writing a personal statement under 5000 charaters.

They went and changed it on you guys this year. No more PS

 

[LetItSnow]

Interesting. What are the three questions to write about?

 

[TrashPanda]

Interesting. What are the three questions to write about?

1. There are many career choices within the veterinary profession. What are your future career goals and why?
2. In what ways do veterinarians contribute to society and what do you hope to contribute?
3. Considering the breadth of society we serve as veterinarians today; what attributes do you believe are essential to be successful within the veterinary profession? Of these attributes, which do you possess and how have you demonstrated these in the past?

1,000 characters each.

Also, @WhyYeahWhy thanks for searching for a thread instead of making a new one 🙂 But you'll probably find more recent info in this one: Class of 2022 Hopefuls

 

[twelvetigers]

Oh man, that's a big change. It completely takes out the opportunity for a narrative. Well, not entirely, but the whole "open with something interesting" and then weave your way through the whys and the hows until you tell what you will contribute to the field... now it's just like the prompts for all the supplemental apps.

It's more straightforward but perhaps a bit harder to answer. And 1000 characters isn't really a lot in the end...

 

[wallydo]

Oh man, that's a big change. It completely takes out the opportunity for a narrative. Well, not entirely, but the whole "open with something interesting" and then weave your way through the whys and the hows until you tell what you will contribute to the field... now it's just like the prompts for all the supplemental apps.

It's more straightforward but perhaps a bit harder to answer. And 1000 characters isn't really a lot in the end...

I happened to read through my PS today. I think I would have struggled telling my story with the current prompts.

 

[LetItSnow]

Oh man, that's a big change. It completely takes out the opportunity for a narrative. Well, not entirely, but the whole "open with something interesting" and then weave your way through the whys and the hows until you tell what you will contribute to the field... now it's just like the prompts for all the supplemental apps.

It's more straightforward but perhaps a bit harder to answer. And 1000 characters isn't really a lot in the end...

Agreed. And a narrative is important.

I partly like the changes, though - they force people to be specific about those questions, as opposed to some random open-ended personal statement that may or may not address anything meaningful. If I were evaluating people, I'd really want to pay attention to their answers for questions 1 and 3. (Personally, I think question 2 is stupid and partly repetitive.)

That character limit is tough.

 

[twelvetigers]

Agreed. And a narrative is important.

I partly like the changes, though - they force people to be specific about those questions, as opposed to some random open-ended personal statement that may or may not address anything meaningful. If I were evaluating people, I'd really want to pay attention to their answers for questions 1 and 3. (Personally, I think question 2 is stupid and partly repetitive.)

That character limit is tough.

Yeah, I think it forces pre-vets (especially those that are not looking at forums like this one) to really think about the field and what it means to be a member of the veterinary profession. The previous PS should have done the same, in theory, but I'm not sure it did since there was a lot more 'freedom' in the prompt.

Buuuut I think it makes it harder to write something that stands out, and the character limit is rough.

 

[UnevenHoodieStrings]

Hey everyone,
I'm filling out experiences and I have a question about what to classify a specific experience I have. It is with dehorning bison, and I'm unsure whether to list it as a Food Animal or Zoo Animal/Wildlife animal type. They were seen in a farm setting in which they were being raised for meat, but it also seems that a lot of people still consider their meat to be "game" and they were still very much wild animals in the behavioral sense. Anyone have some insight into this?

 

[mht2k3]

Hey everyone,
I'm filling out experiences and I have a question about what to classify a specific experience I have. It is with dehorning bison, and I'm unsure whether to list it as a Food Animal or Zoo Animal/Wildlife animal type. They were seen in a farm setting in which they were being raised for meat, but it also seems that a lot of people still consider their meat to be "game" and they were still very much wild animals in the behavioral sense. Anyone have some insight into this?

i'd list that as food animal

 

[greeneyegal92]

Who is in the business of reviewing essays?? Thank God they're guided small questions this year I think my PS partially killed my app last cycle...Anywho. Who wants to be a pal and read over mine Is super appreciate the input

 

[TrashPanda]

Who is in the business of reviewing essays?? Thank God they're guided small questions this year I think my PS partially killed my app last cycle...Anywho. Who wants to be a pal and read over mine Is super appreciate the input

I'd be happy to 🙂