What is "great experience"

[akitavet]

If you were an admissions person, give an example of what you would define as "great experience". Make up a hypothetical candidate if you will.

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[wildfocus]

not sure about "great," but i've been told by adcoms that my is experience is "rich" and "varied," and it is my experiences that everyone wants to talk about in my interviews... and, b/c i am average (as a prevet student) in terms of grades and gres, i think this is what stands out on my application

animal - 8 years as a vet asst in a small animal hospital; 1 quarter wildlife trapping techniques; 200 hours banding birds; 2 summers trapping mosquitoes for west nile virus studies

life - tons of volunteer experience in human world; leadership experience in the wildlife society and environmental groups; worked at leprosy colony and home for the dying in india, humanity work throughout latin america, stint as a nun; worked in infectious diseases for major university as project manager (grant/manuscript/protocol guru) for 7 years; west nile virus research on the side

hope this helps - not that you should go out and try to become a nun before next year, but i think varied and well-rounded is what they are really looking for - a dedication to both animals AND humans (which in my book are animals too)!!

 

[Capella]

not sure about "great," but i've been told by adcoms that my is experience is "rich" and "varied," and it is my experiences that everyone wants to talk about in my interviews... and, b/c i am average (as a prevet student) in terms of grades and gres, i think this is what stands out on my application

animal - 8 years as a vet asst in a small animal hospital; 1 quarter wildlife trapping techniques; 200 hours banding birds; 2 summers trapping mosquitoes for west nile virus studies

life - tons of volunteer experience in human world; leadership experience in the wildlife society and environmental groups; worked at leprosy colony and home for the dying in india, humanity work throughout latin america, stint as a nun; worked in infectious diseases for major university as project manager (grant/manuscript/protocol guru) for 7 years; west nile virus research on the side

hope this helps - not that you should go out and try to become a nun before next year, but i think varied and well-rounded is what they are really looking for - a dedication to both animals AND humans (which in my book are animals too)!!

I think it's insane that CSU did not accept you. Of course I don't know the particulars of your application, but by your experience you clearly show dedication to humans/animals and willingness to work hard. CSU = Snobs. (Please don't attack me CSU fans! I say it half jokingly!) I sure hope you get into davis wildfocus.

 

[cyrille104]

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[ShelterGirl]

Try to get a variety of experiences - large animal, small animal, wildlife, research, clinical, you get the idea. The VMCAS application has check boxes for the types of animals you worked with in each experience, and many schools look to see that you've got a variety.

 

[Aninha]

Try to get a variety of experiences - large animal, small animal, wildlife, research, clinical, you get the idea. The VMCAS application has check boxes for the types of animals you worked with in each experience, and many schools look to see that you've got a variety.

Definitely!! The broader the better! All schools I talked to told me that the applicant should try to get a broad experience: small, large, FOOD ANIMAL (they have a shortage of vets interested in that...so if you have experience with that and say you're interested in that area it will help you...and after you get in you can always change your mind),wildlife, marine, etc. I'm not saying that spending just a couple of weekends in a farm will do it...Try to get some "depth" in every experiece...
I was rejected at Cornell and called them to know where I could improve...and the lady told me that probably their rejection was based on the fact that I only have equine vet experience...that I lost A LOT of points b/c of that. She told me ppl who get accepted have usually worked with an average of 4 "species" (small, large, zoo, etc). So...open your mind and good luck!

 

[cyrille104]

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[ri23]

I don't really want to judge here and say that this is the wrong thing to do, and another tactic is right, but be careful that they don't see through this. All schools are aware that any student with food animal experience could potentially say they want to pursue it, but unless your story is convincing they may suspect you of lying to get in.

Wow, cyrille104 and I actually agree on something here . I wouldn't recommend saying that you want to be a food animal vet to get in, because as cyrille said they'll see the quality and quantity of your food animal experience and can probably correlate that with your true desires. Also, its probably best not to lie just to boost your chances.

 

[kate_g]

I wouldn't recommend saying that you want to be a food animal vet to get in, because as cyrille said they'll see the quality and quantity of your food animal experience and can probably correlate that with your true desires. Also, its probably best not to lie just to boost your chances.

Relatedly, although I agree with cyrille that doing research is a great experience to have and will definitely broaden your perspective of science and vet med, don't do research or say you want to be a lab animal vet just to get in (like food animal, there is a shortage of people in that field and stating that interest *could* give you an edge). Loads of people do undergrad research projects, but few actually want to make a career of it - hence the shortage. Get the experience, be proud of it, be able to talk about it, but be honest if it's not what you ultimately want to do ("I'm thankful to have had that experience and seen that side of veterinary medicine, and it's made me really respect the people who work to discover and develop the technology I'll use in my career as a private practice vet...").

 

[Aninha]

I don't really want to judge here and say that this is the wrong thing to do, and another tactic is right, but be careful that they don't see through this. All schools are aware that any student with food animal experience could potentially say they want to pursue it, but unless your story is convincing they may suspect you of lying to get in.

I didn't mean you should pretend you're someone that you're not or lie about your interestes....but if you took the time to get the experience and knowledge about the field you are probably at least a little bit interested in it anyway...since you could have chosen any other field to get experience in...So why not use that in your advantage...That's what applicants do...they sell themselves. What I meant by "you can change your mind afterwards" is just to make clear that no one from the adcom will obligate you to follow the track that you showed interest in during your interview...because I've had some pre-vet people at my school ask me about that...afraid that they wouldn't be able to change their minds later on (regardless of the field they mentioned)...

 

[Habibti]

I totally agree with getting a variety of experience. Although I had a great deal of experience working with laboratory animals (albeit a decent number of species) and some horse experience, my boss recommended getting other types of experience, especially in a clinical setting.

Varying your experiences serves a different purpose as well: It gives you a realistic perspective of the career. It shows you those aspects that are not at all glamorous or even enjoyable. I feel like this is the entire point of experience. If you can honestly say that you have looked at all aspects of the career and still find that you want to be a veterinarian, you are covered in the experience department.

 

[InfiniVet]

Ya know, its all subjective though, thats the problem. I've had lots of small animal/equine experience, then took a meat science class and repro class. Literally thousands and thousands of hours doing all sorts of things.

The only thing my interviewers wanted to hear about, and every single one was SO excited and interested to talk to me about was: The 40 hours I volunteered at the local SPCA during Hurricane Katrina when we had a large influx of animals from Louisiana come in. Thats it. I mean, really it wasn't a big deal - a lot of veterinarians and vet techs volunteered for a week, organizing cages/cage tags/vaccinating/deworming/feeding/walking, occasionally treating animals that had chemical burns from wading in the polluted water, and reuniting them with their owners. It was all over in about a week. But it was typically 20-30 mins of conversation of my interviews since "I responded during a time of national crisis...blah blah blah." But my position is, hey said they needed help and I could help for a few days - thats all.
I was totally expecting to be asked why I hadn't had more diverse experience, or why I had chosen small animal and equine experience, or something like that. Maybe asked about the 10 years I managed a horse boarding facility that I opened up when I was 16? Nope. 3 years assisting small animal surgeries as a vet tech? Not interested.

So, maybe "great" experience could be broadened from "diverse" to "diverse and/or flashy."
Maybe seek out a German Shepard that was used in Search and Rescue during 9/11, give him a milk-bone, then put it on your application.
Man, I've gotten cynical!

 

[mom2jnc]

The only thing my interviewers wanted to hear about, and every single one was SO excited and interested to talk to me about was: The 40 hours I volunteered at the local SPCA during Hurricane Katrina when we had a large influx of animals from Louisiana come in.

That is so FABULOUS!!! I would have *loved* to have been there, helping out, and I'm so envious that you were!! It means so much that you came through for a national crisis while the rest of us were only watching it on TV. While it may have been a tremendous boost on the "experience" portion of your application, it was also a great thing you did and I'm glad your interviewers recognized that!!

Congratulations, again, and I really hope to work side-by-side with you at future disaster sites as full-fledged veterinarians!!

 

[InfiniVet]

Yes, and thankyou, but I think my point was more along the lines of: I didn't do s___ .

But its flashy and hyped and was on TV for 24-7 for 6 months straight, and THAT's what piqued my interviewer's interest. That's probably not the most objective way to evaluate an applicant, IMO.

Like if we were all applying to a Physics program, and at the interview you said "Well, I met Stephen Hawkings at a Starbucks once" and they excitedly reply "Oh well then you're TOTALLY qualified for our program!!"

 

[Bill59]

I was totally expecting to be asked why I hadn't had more diverse experience, or why I had chosen small animal and equine experience, or something like that. Maybe asked about the 10 years I managed a horse boarding facility that I opened up when I was 16? Nope. 3 years assisting small animal surgeries as a vet tech? Not interested.

Just because they didn't ask doesn't mean they weren't interested. Maybe they felt they had all the need to know about that based on your application.

It's the same with grades, LORs and other things, they may not bring it up in an interview but don't think they don't care about them.

 

[peco]

Just because they didn't ask doesn't mean they weren't interested. Maybe they felt they had all the need to know about that based on your application.

It's the same with grades, LORs and other things, they may not bring it up in an interview but don't think they don't care about them.

i agree with what bill59 said. maybe if you described some of your awesome experiences really well -- that they are very self explanatory, the interviewers were satisfied with that and chose to learn more about things that you didn't explain much, b/c you didn't have much time in the interview, only like half an hour or less. my SA experience was very minimal compared to all other experiences i had. and during my interviews, everyone asked me about my SA exp, and some of them didn't touch much on my other 'awesome' exp.

 

[Pennymare]

Just because they didn't ask doesn't mean they weren't interested. Maybe they felt they had all the need to know about that based on your application.

It's the same with grades, LORs and other things, they may not bring it up in an interview but don't think they don't care about them.

I agree with Bill about what you get asked about----at my interview, there were practically no questions about my equine experience (I am interested in a primarily equine focus) or about horses in general. At Ohio at least, I think they were more interested in observing people skills and trying to get an idea of your personality and working knowledge of the profession....not how many accomplishments or medical facts you could list.

Ditto to varied experience! I want to add the importance of working with a VET at some point......even if you have to volunteer and shadow whenever you can....or drive an hour to get to the clinic...

No only should you try to get different species experience, but try to work with different people or different professionals (ex. single SA practice vet vs. zoo staff vs. multi-vet LA practice vs. horse trainer vs. researchers). It can give you a better idea if you want to work in certain situations and also help you understand the people you might run into.

 

[spikey]

Definitely!! The broader the better! All schools I talked to told me that the applicant should try to get a broad experience

really? UPENN told me that quality mattered more than quanity. I had mainly small animal and shelter experience. the only large animal experience i had was horseback riding.

 

[texlaevis]

I think it depends on the school. UPenn definitely said "quality over quantity," but everywhere else I applied said "we want to make you a generalist so quantity is better."

I agree also with what people said about interviewers picking weird things to focus on... I wanted to talk about my research/publications during my interviews, but NOT ONE QUESTION about it in any interview! Interestingly, they only wanted to hear about my teaching experience, which some would argue does not have anything to do with veterinary medicine (although i would disagree). I was shocked by what I was asked vs. what I expected to be asked... so yeah. My teaching experience stood out (few vet school candidates teach on the Mexican border) more than my research experience (many vet candidates have research projects), and I think it really helped me get in.

 

[cyrille104]

sorry, wrong thread

 

[twelvetigers]

Whaaaaaat? Cyrille? Hasn't it been nearly two years since your last post? And what's this business?

 

[Jakesmom]

The only thing my interviewers wanted to hear about, and every single one was SO excited and interested to talk to me about was: The 40 hours I volunteered at the local SPCA during Hurricane Katrina when we had a large influx of animals from Louisiana come in. Thats it.

My teaching experience stood out (few vet school candidates teach on the Mexican border) more than my research experience (many vet candidates have research projects), and I think it really helped me get in.

I think this thread has made me that happiest I've been in quite awhile!! It wasn't animal-related, but I went to NYC after 9/11 and volunteered with the Red Cross. In addition, I was a teacher for 5 years. According to this, I'm a shoo-in!

 

[schrodingerr]

so basically my SA, equine, and food animal experience are pennies.....awesome. *facepalm*

 

[alliecat44]

Whaaaaaat? Cyrille? Hasn't it been nearly two years since your last post? And what's this business?

Ditto ditto ditto!! Cyrille, how's it going??

 

[psilovethomas]

so basically my SA, equine, and food animal experience are pennies.....awesome. *facepalm*

? It depends. What did you during these experiences? Did you actually care for the animal? Or were you a mere observer? Were you able to perform any procedures- handling, nail trims, blood collection, cytologies? If you cared for an animal, performed procedures, and had quality one on one time with a veterinarian, I would call that a quality experience

 

[NStarz]

I'm going to say that I don't think it's absolutely necessary to be doing procedures on an animal to be gaining quality experience. I have only shadowed but have asked questions and have learned a lot about the profession just by observation of the vets, techs, and their interactions with the public. I think great experience is what you make of it.

 

[that redhead]

so basically my SA, equine, and food animal experience are pennies.....awesome. *facepalm*

Not pennies, necessarily, but maybe not quite the oomph that someone else might have with a lot more experiences. While SA experience is valuable, it's probably the one experience that just about everyone can get. Depending on location, not everyone has a herd of cows or a laboratory facility or a wildlife rehab center or a zoo, for example. People have cats and dogs everywhere, and the vet clinics for them (while maybe a distance to travel to) will exist in some sort of proximity versus food animal or exotics or something else. That doesn't take away from the quality of the experience/what you learned/how it helped to influence you, but out of every 100 applications I have to assume that at least 90 have SA experience, you know?

(Just wanted to reiterate that I'm not bashing SA! )

 

[schrodingerr]

Yea it may just be the post-submission anxiety setting in. Thanks guys I love prevetters but its like big-fish-jumps-into-a-big-pond-with-a-bunch-of-other-big-fish syndrome. Not saying im any kind of big fish but you feel like your experience is valuable when you have it but bc we all want this so bad everyones got a lot of diversity = hard to stand out.