VMCAS questions

[squirrelsrule]

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I think all of your other questions have been addressed and I agree with others that ultimately you should get answers from the folks who run VMCAS to protect yourself. Nevertheless, I do happen to know the answer to how to go about e-submitting properly. I believe if you read the application instructions as I did, it will confirm what I'm stating exactly, which is as follows: Once you hit e-submit your application is submitted! No changes or alterations are possible to the content of the application from that point forward and if you've left sections incomplete or not up to the standard you want, you CANNOT correct them. So, you should wait until after you completely finish your app before you e-submit to ANY school. As for the second part of your question, once you have e-submitted you can go back later and add schools, but you must pay the additional fees before your application will be mailed to them. That, and your contact information (I believe), should be the only things you can change after e-submission.

In regards to how to classify your mammalian physiology course, again I would advise you read those instructions. The purpose of the designation is to determine whether or not a course qualifies as general coursework or if it meets the SPECIFIC criteria of the various schools. You should only list it as "Physiology" if it meets the prerequisite requirement for physiology at any or all of the schools to which you are applying. Otherwise, it is listed using one of the other designations. Keep this in mind if you are planning on adding schools to the application later.

Thank you! I did find out that you are correct about the e-submit thing, do NOT hit that til you are totally done. I was thinking since it was under college designation section that it was just an e-submit to submit those as your colleges to apply to but it is to e-submit the whole application 😱. Glad I looked into it more before just clicking it!

 

[Dye It Purple]

No problem. Glad to help.

 

[ponio]

This is my second application cycle, but my first time dealing with VMCAS... I am definitely remembering why I only applied to Tufts last time. I am a little confused about the Previous Professional & Undergraduate Enrollments section of the application. When it asks you to "list information on all post-secondary institutions to which you applied and were admitted to, even the schools you did not attend" does this mean I should be listing all of the schools I applied to and was accepted to for undergrad? That seems crazy. I feel like I must not be understanding what they are asking me to do.

 

[LetItSnow]

When it asks you to "list information on all post-secondary institutions to which you applied and were admitted to, even the schools you did not attend" does this mean I should be listing all of the schools I applied to and was accepted to for undergrad? That seems crazy. I feel like I must not be understanding what they are asking me to do.

I think you understand it correct. I interpreted it the same way you are, and I had one or two schools on there that I didn't attend.

 

[ponio]

Thanks!

Ok, and now another related question. What about summer classes where I didn't have to "apply" to take them? Do I still give an admitted date?

 

[LetItSnow]

Thanks!

Ok, and now another related question. What about summer classes where I didn't have to "apply" to take them? Do I still give an admitted date?

I'm flying on memory here, but I seem to recall that when you get into the section where you actually put your classes in, it will only allow you to select from schools to which you indicated you had been admitted.

So if you don't put the schools in there, you won't be able to put in those summer classes in the actual 'class' section. And if those classes were show up on transcripts that you send the vet schools, you'll need them in your application.

So the short answer is yes, I think you ought to put them in there. That said, I haven't looked at how the application may have changed this year.

Make sense? It is a bit of a messy task getting it all in correctly.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Question! Do I need to include all classes on my transcript for a school...even if it's PE 😀? I feel silly putting aerobic swimming and water polo on my application since it's hardly relevent. That is unless they're trying to measure my aquatic skills....

 

[heylodeb]

Question! Do I need to include all classes on my transcript for a school...even if it's PE 😀? I feel silly putting aerobic swimming and water polo on my application since it's hardly relevent. That is unless they're trying to measure my aquatic skills....

every single class is entered. If it's on your transcript - it goes in VMCAS. 🙂 Those classes being included are not a bad thing, though. They give you a little bit of an opportunity to show that you are a well-rounded individual.

 

[Niri]

even if it's PE 😀? I feel silly putting aerobic swimming and water polo on my application since it's hardly relevent. That is unless they're trying to measure my aquatic skills....

Ballroom dance for the win.

 

[LetItSnow]

Ballroom dance for the win.

My wife and I did ballroom dancing for a number of years. I'm a founding member of the ScandiLatin club, designed specifically for white guys with no Latin motion.

 

[HappyCowsfromCA]

I know that this has likely been discussed, but I am so confused about credits. My school is on the quarter system, and VMCAS tells me that I need to convert my units to semester units, but allows me to input "quarter" as a term type. I've gotten conflicting answers from a number of people, both for convert and don't. Any help?

 

[heylodeb]

I know that this has likely been discussed, but I am so confused about credits. My school is on the quarter system, and VMCAS tells me that I need to convert my units to semester units, but allows me to input "quarter" as a term type. I've gotten conflicting answers from a number of people, both for convert and don't. Any help?

I don't know the answer to your question but since you've already gotten conflicting answers, I would go straight to the VMCAS people.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

I know that this has likely been discussed, but I am so confused about credits. My school is on the quarter system, and VMCAS tells me that I need to convert my units to semester units, but allows me to input "quarter" as a term type. I've gotten conflicting answers from a number of people, both for convert and don't. Any help?

As VMCAS says, it looks like you have to call your school's registrar office. It looks like I have to do this too....

 

[Vetaspirant]

I took the GRE twice, so do I need to enter details of both the GRE's on the VMCAS or only the one with highest score? I am applying to LSU only. I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks!

 

[LetItSnow]

I took the GRE twice, so do I need to enter details of both the GRE's on the VMCAS or only the one with highest score? I am applying to LSU only. I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks!

You enter both sets of scores. The school will (is supposed to, anyway, assuming ETS does it correctly) receive copies of all your scores, as well.

The reason for this is that some schools handle multiple GREs differently.

 

[Vetaspirant]

You enter both sets of scores. The school will (is supposed to, anyway, assuming ETS does it correctly) receive copies of all your scores, as well.

The reason for this is that some schools handle multiple GREs differently.

Thanks for the suggestion Letitsnow!

 

[sooprnova]

Any non-trads out there care to share how they entered employment experience?

I worked for 7 years for the same company, but held 5 different positions during that time, all with increasing responsibility and different duties. The basic idea was the same, since it was the same company, but my day-to-day duties were different. Should I enter this as one job and really pare down a summary of my duties or should I list each position with the company separately and explain my duties?

I'm leaning toward the latter, as that's how I list it on my resume, but I wasn't sure how much detail regarding my "past life" as a worker bee adcoms would want.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Any non-trads out there care to share how they entered employment experience?

I worked for 7 years for the same company, but held 5 different positions during that time, all with increasing responsibility and different duties. The basic idea was the same, since it was the same company, but my day-to-day duties were different. Should I enter this as one job and really pare down a summary of my duties or should I list each position with the company separately and explain my duties?

I'm leaning toward the latter, as that's how I list it on my resume, but I wasn't sure how much detail regarding my "past life" as a worker bee adcoms would want.

I had same situation and listed it as one job with various duties. Especially if it is non-vet related, they really don't need the details of the progression as you would list it on a resume.

 

[LetItSnow]

Should I enter this as one job and really pare down a summary of my duties or should I list each position with the company separately and explain my duties?

I approached it the same way SOV did. But I don't think which way you go on this one is going to influence the outcome at all, so whichever you feel best presents your case is probably fine.

 

[VMCAS001]

yeah seriously, what happened to that? They said that was going to happen 2 years ago... and last year no one's was saved. And they never said anything about that ever again.

Yeah, it does kind of suck that we've been trying to get re-applicant data to roll over for a few years now. Clearly, we learned our lesson about making promises about enhancements too early. Sorry about that.

The fact is, it's still on our "to-do" list. We recognize the importance of making the application easier. However, from a programming point of view, the VMCAS system as it is just can't handle this enhancement yet. We're seeking ways to make it happen...um... in the near future.. though. 🙂

 

[VMCAS001]

I think all of your other questions have been addressed and I agree with others that ultimately you should get answers from the folks who run VMCAS to protect yourself. Nevertheless, I do happen to know the answer to how to go about e-submitting properly. I believe if you read the application instructions as I did, it will confirm what I'm stating exactly, which is as follows: Once you hit e-submit your application is submitted! No changes or alterations are possible to the content of the application from that point forward and if you've left sections incomplete or not up to the standard you want, you CANNOT correct them. So, you should wait until after you completely finish your app before you e-submit to ANY school. As for the second part of your question, once you have e-submitted you can go back later and add schools, but you must pay the additional fees before your application will be mailed to them. That, and your contact information (I believe), should be the only things you can change after e-submission.

In regards to how to classify your mammalian physiology course, again I would advise you read those instructions. The purpose of the designation is to determine whether or not a course qualifies as general coursework or if it meets the SPECIFIC criteria of the various schools. You should only list it as "Physiology" if it meets the prerequisite requirement for physiology at any or all of the schools to which you are applying. Otherwise, it is listed using one of the other designations. Keep this in mind if you are planning on adding schools to the application later.

Hey Dye,

Thanks for a very complete and correct response.

I should add, however, that once an application is submitted, the ONLY change that can be made to the application is to add designations. You can no longer made demographic changes to the application after submitting.

This is because, in the past, when a address was changed, the system would generate a completely new application and send to your schools as "revised". The Veterinary Schools didn't like that, so they decided not to allow these changes any more.

However, *IF* you change your address, name, etc.. after you submit your application, you should contact your schools directly *AND* contact VMCAS.

Hope that helps.....

 

[drwildlife]

I know the type and number of recommendations varies from school to school but, is there such a thing as putting too many recommendations on your application?

 

[NStarz]

I know the type and number of recommendations varies from school to school but, is there such a thing as putting too many recommendations on your application?

The maximum you can have is 6 for VMCAS, but some schools will only accept 3.

 

[petdrhpful2015]

I know the type and number of recommendations varies from school to school but, is there such a thing as putting too many recommendations on your application?

I did 4 letters because they were all from a variety of places. If you have all three from the same type of person, i.e. small animal veterinarians from same clinic, the letters could get a little repetitive. I had 2 from SA veterinarians, one from a zoo keeper and one from an equine vet. Just having a bunch of letters doesn't really show the committee anything special...quality vs. quantity.

 

[drwildlife]

Thanks, petdrhpful2015. I understand the value of quality over quantity. I just feel like having multiple recommendations will better how the diversity of my experience and all of my attributes - if that makes sense. Hopefully I can decide on a good number of eLORs 🙂

Also, Explanation Statement Question.

Without writing a novel on here, I'd just like to say I had some very tramatic events happen to me my freshman year. I lost ten relatives within just a few short years - my closest ones being diagnosed and dying from cancer during my freshman year. I would be trying to study for my biology and chemistry tests while sitting in an ICU room. Of course, I did not do well in Chemistry. Since this was general chemistry, I have always struggled with it ever since.

How should I go about that in the explanation statement? I don't want to give the admissions people a feeling of "oh poor me" but, I don't want to give them an inadequate explanation either.

And, how much should I go into how it's made me a better person? I'm having trouble drawing the line between personal statement/explanation statement material.

 

[LetItSnow]

And, how much should I go into how it's made me a better person? I'm having trouble drawing the line between personal statement/explanation statement material.

To the degree that you can show that it HAS made you a better person.

Otherwise, you're just making unsubstantiated claims. I suppose not all unsubstantiated claims are lacking in value, but I think you're best served by making assertions about yourself that you can back up somehow (in an LOR, with a concrete example, etc.).

 

[squirrelsrule]

Questions about honors and awards section:

Not sure if I should include that I was in Who's Who Among American High School Students for 3 years in high school. I was going to put it and was trying to look up a good description for it online and 😱. All I could find was how it's worthless and a scam. Definitely don't want to add it if it is considered a scam.

Also, not sure how much info. to put in the description. Some are pretty self explanatory, like Valedictorian. I just have High School valedictorian awarded for achieving a 4.0 all four years of High School. What else is there to say? And for Summa Cum Laude for graduation from College, not sure what else to put other than awarded that for 3.99 GPA in college. Is there something more I should be putting for these?

What do you guys think about listing Who's Who? Probably won't help anything, but will it hurt me if I list it?

 

[sunnex3]

Questions about honors and awards section:

Not sure if I should include that I was in Who's Who Among American High School Students for 3 years in high school. I was going to put it and was trying to look up a good description for it online and 😱. All I could find was how it's worthless and a scam. Definitely don't want to add it if it is considered a scam.

Also, not sure how much info. to put in the description. Some are pretty self explanatory, like Valedictorian. I just have High School valedictorian awarded for achieving a 4.0 all four years of High School. What else is there to say? And for Summa Cum Laude for graduation from College, not sure what else to put other than awarded that for 3.99 GPA in college. Is there something more I should be putting for these?

What do you guys think about listing Who's Who? Probably won't help anything, but will it hurt me if I list it?

from what i've been told, on this board and elsewhere, it's best to include EVERYTHING from high school -- literally. i'm planning on listing ALL of my awards from high school, including any music competition awards, awards at school, etc.

as for summa cum laude or valedictorian (i'm in the same boat as you, i was both valedictorian in HS and graduated summa cum laude), i put osmething along the lines of "Awarded to those with a final GPA of 4.0 or higher" or similar for the Latin honors...i don't think there's much else you can say.

 

[bluesails]

What exactly do they ask for in experience hours in terms of information that I need to collect from each practice while shadowing (phone number? practice name? address? etc.)? I already know stuff like checking off which species and describing duties but I'm just asking in terms of filing I need to do for the future (I'm only an entering college sophomore!) 🙂

 

[LetItSnow]

What exactly do they ask for in experience hours in terms of information that I need to collect from each practice while shadowing (phone number? practice name? address? etc.)? I already know stuff like checking off which species and describing duties but I'm just asking in terms of filing I need to do for the future (I'm only an entering college sophomore!) 🙂

Veterinarian, Clinic/Hospital, City, State, Contact Phone, Paid (Yes/No), Start Date, Total Hours and/or Weekly Average Hours, Animal Types, Description of Duties.

They want basically the same information for animal experiences, as well. I don't know if VMCAS frowns on this or not, but anyone can create a VMCAS account; even if you don't truly mean to submit an application this year. So if you wanted to see what sorts of data you will need to gather, you could just create an account there and take a look; it doesn't cost anything. Except sanity.

 

[bluesails]

Veterinarian, Clinic/Hospital, City, State, Contact Phone, Paid (Yes/No), Start Date, Total Hours and/or Weekly Average Hours, Animal Types, Description of Duties.

They want basically the same information for animal experiences, as well. I don't know if VMCAS frowns on this or not, but anyone can create a VMCAS account; even if you don't truly mean to submit an application this year. So if you wanted to see what sorts of data you will need to gather, you could just create an account there and take a look; it doesn't cost anything. Except sanity.

Thanks for the info - what about research that's science-related but not veterinary-related?

And what if you work at a clinic with more than one vet - do you create an entry for each vet? :/

 

[LetItSnow]

Thanks for the info - what about research that's science-related but not veterinary-related?

And what if you work at a clinic with more than one vet - do you create an entry for each vet? :/

I didn't have research; I'm sure someone else will answer that. But in general the whole experiences section just looks for all of that same type of info that I listed for vet stuff. A contact name, contact information, how many hours, and what you did. That's the basic drill.

To the second question, you'd just put in one entry with one vet's name to cover all your hours at that clinic. You'd pick the vet that is the best contact who can verify your experience.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Do you include scholarships in the Award/Honors section if they were earned by academic merit rather than financial need?

 

[LetItSnow]

Do you include scholarships in the Award/Honors section if they were earned by academic merit rather than financial need?

I certainly would. And did, if I remember correctly.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Thanks for the info - what about research that's science-related but not veterinary-related?

Same type of info, but assuming you're putting it down as "employment" experience, it's Company, Location, Paid?, Start/end dates, total hours and description of duties (unless something's changed recently). That's followed by a description of duties.

No one way to do this, but I gave a 1 sentence summary of what the research was about, followed by a list of techniques and concrete things I did. In the end, said how many publications I had (the actual title of article and journal went in the awards and honors section).

 

[Minnerbelle]

Do you include scholarships in the Award/Honors section if they were earned by academic merit rather than financial need?

hellz yeah! I even included the summer volunteer stipend I got from my college, as well as a scholarship I got in high school (that Gov. Davis gave to anyone in the top 5% of CA or 10% of a CA high school for std testing... though being the ******* that he is, the state ran out of funding for that after 2 years).

 

[LetItSnow]

for std testing...

Wayyyyyy TMI there, Minn.....

😉

 

[Minnerbelle]

Wayyyyyy TMI there, Minn.....

😉

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahaha

Top 5% as in the cleanest of course...

lol, I wouldn't be surprised as what I was taught in sex ed was: "girl's should go get depo shots, cause then you don't have to think about it for a while,but make sure you jog some more because it makes you gain weight"

far from abstinence only ed

 

[CohenMeow]

I recently got a job for the shelter I have been volunteering at. How should I put this on my VMCAS?

It is currently listed under animal experience as volunteer work, should i also list this in employment?? But I know you aren't supposed to repeat experiences. I will be doing different things as a employee then when I was a volunteer.

Thanks for you help!

 

[LetItSnow]

I recently got a job for the shelter I have been volunteering at. How should I put this on my VMCAS?

It is currently listed under animal experience as volunteer work, should i also list this in employment?? But I know you aren't supposed to repeat experiences. I will be doing different things as a employee then when I was a volunteer.

If it were me, that would end up as two separate entries (one under employment, one under animal experience). You aren't repeating (duplicating) entries, because the hours you'll put into the two entries are distinct.

 

[squirrelsrule]

I think this was already asked (possibly even by me 🙁 ) but I can't find it and it doesn't look right to me now, so I just want to make sure... if you have an experience section that is ongoing, you leave the end date blank right? Or do you fill it in with the expected end date?

 

[HelloNello]

squirrelsrule: I left it blank. Since I see no endpoint as of now I didn't feel like I could put on down


For the SDN world: When inputing your class information it asks about credits. I am confused because I am on a semester system and we are given units. So my bio course with lab was 5 units, but most classes are 3. I'm not really sure how to convert it. Has anyone experienced this yet?

 

[katsmiaow]

Hi All,

Another newbie here looking for some advice. Does anyone know how the various types of experience rank on the page when the application is submitted to VMCAS? When I try to print my application, it looks as though entries are ordered under various categories (Veterinary, Animal etc), so all Veterinary experience comes first, all animal experience comes second, etc. However, within each category, the order of various entries seems random.

I've tried re-entering the information to make sure I enter it chronologically, but that doesn't seem to help. Perhaps it's not a big deal, but I'm a non-traditional applicant with a lot of entries in a couple of categories, and I didn't want it to look disorganized.

Any ideas or advice?

While I'm posting, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for all the advice and encouragement on this site. I felt that I was alone until I came across this forum. I quickly realized that this isn't the case. Good luck to everyone, and thanks, guys!

 

[squirrelsrule]

The entries should appear chronologically within the fields, but they are separated out so the totals for Vet and animal can be easily tallied up. When listing your experiences, Vet experience is the highest ranking, so if you had a job that counted as vet experience, you would list it under veterinary experience and not employment. The rankings are as listed, Vet experience is highest, animal experience second most important, and employment third.

 

[LetItSnow]

Does anyone know how the various types of experience rank on the page when the application is submitted to VMCAS? When I try to print my application, it looks as though entries are ordered under various categories (Veterinary, Animal etc), so all Veterinary experience comes first, all animal experience comes second, etc. However, within each category, the order of various entries seems random.

When I did it, it organized them chronologically by Start Date. So even if I had an experience that was currently ongoing, it ended up listed behind one that had been Started and Completed more recently.

I wouldn't worry about it; it's not really in your control.

 

[katsmiaow]

Hmm, strangely, it seems to be ranking them in semi-chronological order but with several totally out of sequence.


I wouldn't worry about it; it's not really in your control.[/QUOTE]

True enough. I just didn't want to miss something that should be obvious. Thanks for the help -- much appreciated.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Hmm, strangely, it seems to be ranking them in semi-chronological order but with several totally out of sequence.

Yeah, I was kind of wondering about this too. Last time I applied, I printed out my app for my records and the experiences were all jumbled from how they were on the website. I was wondering if that was why they instruct you to start with your most recent experience and go chronologically from there.

 

[Minnerbelle]

granted, this was a few years ago so I don't know if things have changed, but when I applied I'm pretty sure it said that when you print/view for your own records it's jumbled up but it'll come out the way it's supposed to when adcoms get it

 

[CGH1989]

Ok so the contact phone number is not required on the vet and community service areas. Is it frowned upon to not put one? I just don't have one for some community service stuff... Do you guys think it matters?

 

[sunnex3]

i'm entering stuff in now for "animal experience" and i have a question...
i committed a significant of my time in middle school and high school to horseback riding, not just lessons but in the actual care of horses (leased horses throughout high school)...would this be under "animal" experience or "community activities"?

also, in middle school, high school, and a little bit in a college i did a lot of pet sitting for family and friends and co-workers, would this go under "animal experience" or "community activities"?

i'm leaning towards putting both of these in animal experience since it wasn't with my own animals but i'm just not sure.

thanks!