Class of 2022 Hopefuls

[cdo96]

Last year was also Sept 15 you goon

Was it really? Oops.

@cdoconn is my twlover and saltmate

so true. So true.

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[SkiOtter]

Was it really? Oops.
so true. So true.

Hahahahaha it definitely was

And yes

 

[LyraGardenia]

Last year was also Sept 15 you goon

And it was the year before that too. Prior to the c/o 2020 application cycle the due date was October 2nd.

 

[love2hunt]

No it's not too late! I'd ask your eLORs ASAP though so they can have as much time possible to write it! Vmcas is due... September 15 (?) (Or October 15 never can remember which- unless they changed it.) which is more than enough time to write the 3 PS's and VA-MD's (4?) supplemental essays.

Will you be a little busy? Sure. But you definitely have time.

Agreed! Even better, there's only 2 supplemental essays for VA-MD (at least last year there were).

 

[cdo96]

Agreed! Even better, there's only 2 supplemental essays for VA-MD (at least last year there were).

okay then I'm losing my mind. I think the whole process was so traumatizing I just needed to forget it all.

Hey love2hunt, how have you been? Haven't heard from you in a while! (can't think of you without thinking of Willy and his hunting rampage. )

 

[SkiOtter]

okay then I'm losing my mind. I think the whole process was so traumatizing I just needed to forget it all.

You definitely are

 

[love2hunt]

okay then I'm losing my mind. I think the whole process was so traumatizing I just needed to forget it all.

Hey love2hunt, how have you been? Haven't heard from you in a while! (can't think of you without thinking of Willy and his hunting rampage. )

Ha! The only reason I remember is because VA-MD is the only school I applied to. I can't imagine trying to keep track of multiple schools.

I mostly lurk and look for anything to add on here. You guys usually get most of the questions answered before I see them . We are all moved into or new place, all my stuff ordered and forms turned in. Just fishing and waiting for school to start!

I guess old Wilster finally got banned, haven't seen him in a while haha!

 

[cdo96]

Ha! The only reason I remember is because VA-MD is the only school I applied to. I can't imagine trying to keep track of multiple schools.

I mostly lurk and look for anything to add on here. You guys usually get most of the questions answered before I see them . We are all moved into or new place, all my stuff ordered and forms turned in. Just fishing and waiting for school to start! Oh and prepping for a baby due in October, so this semester's gonna be pretty exciting.

I guess old Wilster finally got banned, haven't seen him in a while haha!

I applied to 5 and it was pretty rough. Baby due in October sounds... terrifying, to be honest. Hope it goes well.

Good 'ol Willy finally got the mod hammer. They were swift to justice because c'mon, that dude was the worst.

 

[love2hunt]

I applied to 5 and it was pretty rough. Baby due in October sounds... terrifying, to be honest. Hope it goes well.

Good 'ol Willy finally got the mod hammer. They were swift to justice because c'mon, that dude was the worst.

RIP Willy. May you never return.

 

[ChoopLoops]

Does animal experience only refer to experiences where you're literally handling animals? I helped organize a herptology conference about the chytrid fungus in frogs so I'm wondering how to categorize that?

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Does animal experience only refer to experiences where you're literally handling animals? I helped organize a herptology conference about the chytrid fungus in frogs so I'm wondering how to categorize that?

I don't think I'd classify that as animal, because I'm pretty sure the answer is yes to your question need to be involved with the animals. Was this a research conference? Then I'd classify as research otherwise I'd put it under volunteer because it sounds like you were an event organizer and not actually dealing with animals.

 

[FutureDVMc/o2022]

I'd like to know the opinions of other applicants or those who are in vet school on Zoo Medicine.

I had an internship at Zoo Miami and fell in love with zoo med. I shadowed several procedures and truly became invested in the care of these animals.
As I was assisting in a sun bear necropsy, one of the vets from the zoo mentioned that saying you'd like to "practice zoo med" can actually not be such a great thing to mention in an interview or in an app, something along those lines.
I have varied experiences from ophthalmology, equine, small animal, shelter, and exotic, but I felt the most drawn to zoo med and so my VMCAS essays are mainly about this.
I know Zoo Med/Wildlife is very competitive, the job market is tough, but I am open to working in a practice until an opportunity like that opens up.
Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[LyraGardenia]

I'd like to know the opinions of other applicants or those who are in vet school on Zoo Medicine.

I had an internship at Zoo Miami and fell in love with zoo med. I shadowed several procedures and truly became invested in the care of these animals.
As I was assisting in a sun bear necropsy, one of the vets from the zoo mentioned that saying you'd like to "practice zoo med" can actually not be such a great thing to mention in an interview or in an app, something along those lines.
I have varied experiences from ophthalmology, equine, small animal, shelter, and exotic, but I felt the most drawn to zoo med and so my VMCAS essays are mainly about this.
I know Zoo Med/Wildlife is very competitive, the job market is tough, but I am open to working in a practice until an opportunity like that opens up.
Any thoughts or opinions?

I don't think it would reflect negatively on you to say zoo med is your goal, but I would maybe mention in your career goals essay that you would also be open to working in small animal GP, or whatever, and in interviews be able to explain that you understand how competitive the field is. Of course there will be some people that do end up in zoo med, but I think schools would want to see that you have a realistic, not overly romanticized view of the field, and wouldn't be horribly disappointed if that goal doesn't pan out. @WildZoo or @pinkpuppy9 might have better advice since they're interested in zoo med!

 

[WildZoo]

I'd like to know the opinions of other applicants or those who are in vet school on Zoo Medicine.

I had an internship at Zoo Miami and fell in love with zoo med. I shadowed several procedures and truly became invested in the care of these animals.
As I was assisting in a sun bear necropsy, one of the vets from the zoo mentioned that saying you'd like to "practice zoo med" can actually not be such a great thing to mention in an interview or in an app, something along those lines.
I have varied experiences from ophthalmology, equine, small animal, shelter, and exotic, but I felt the most drawn to zoo med and so my VMCAS essays are mainly about this.
I know Zoo Med/Wildlife is very competitive, the job market is tough, but I am open to working in a practice until an opportunity like that opens up.
Any thoughts or opinions?

I always went more along the lines of saying that I wanted to work with exotics/wildlife, and that zoo was the ultimate dream but I knew how competitive and long of a road it would be. I think what you said there at the end is perfect. You don't want to downplay it too much to where it seems like you're not passionate about it, but you also don't want to come across like you think it's a guaranteed thing and you haven't thought about what you would do if it didn't pan out.

 

[palahala]

I'd like to know the opinions of other applicants or those who are in vet school on Zoo Medicine.

I had an internship at Zoo Miami and fell in love with zoo med. I shadowed several procedures and truly became invested in the care of these animals.
As I was assisting in a sun bear necropsy, one of the vets from the zoo mentioned that saying you'd like to "practice zoo med" can actually not be such a great thing to mention in an interview or in an app, something along those lines.
I have varied experiences from ophthalmology, equine, small animal, shelter, and exotic, but I felt the most drawn to zoo med and so my VMCAS essays are mainly about this.
I know Zoo Med/Wildlife is very competitive, the job market is tough, but I am open to working in a practice until an opportunity like that opens up.
Any thoughts or opinions?

A huge chunk of my experience in both the vet/animal area is from working with zoo animals - if that's what you're passionate about, let everyone know! Your passion for the field should make for much better reading in the essays and you'll have practical experience to talk about in interviews. For what it's worth, I interviewed with two schools in the past cycle and both commented on my interest in zoo med. They said it's common for applicants and first years to declare they want to be zoo vets, but it's rare for students to actually come in with the practical experience to back that statement up, like I did.

 

[FutureDVMc/o2022]

I always went more along the lines of saying that I wanted to work with exotics/wildlife, and that zoo was the ultimate dream but I knew how competitive and long of a road it would be. I think what you said there at the end is perfect. You don't want to downplay it too much to where it seems like you're not passionate about it, but you also don't want to come across like you think it's a guaranteed thing and you haven't thought about what you would do if it didn't pan out.

I've spoken to a couple of wildlife/exotic/zoo arts and those seem to be most common themes when thinking about that path. Thank you for the insight!

 

[FutureDVMc/o2022]

A huge chunk of my experience in both the vet/animal area is from working with zoo animals - if that's what you're passionate about, let everyone know! Your passion for the field should make for much better reading in the essays and you'll have practical experience to talk about in interviews. For what it's worth, I interviewed with two schools in the past cycle and both commented on my interest in zoo med. They said it's common for applicants and first years to declare they want to be zoo vets, but it's rare for students to actually come in with the practical experience to back that statement up, like I did.

I agree! I've met a couple of people and a recent vet school grad and their ultimate goal is to work with exotics or the classic charismatic animals. One exotic vet mentioned how competitive it is etc. and said "you've got to be the best of the best!" So for sure it'll be a challenge, but that's also what makes zoo med so interesting! Thank you for sharing your interview experience!

 

[tbirdd123]

Does animal experience only refer to experiences where you're literally handling animals? I helped organize a herptology conference about the chytrid fungus in frogs so I'm wondering how to categorize that?

I've wondered this too, based on this chart VMCAS defines it as "related to animals"
http://aavmc.org/data/images/vmcas/experiences_chart.png.
Either way, I feel like the experiences are explained well enough in the description to clarify if you did or didn't handle animals. It sounds like it was exposure to the animal field, which would make me think you learned about animals, and therefore animal experience.

 

[Awapi]

@ChoopLoops I've been in zoonotic public health for years, so I was in a similar situation. A lot of my work has to do with animals (rabies consultations, follow up on lepto or brucella-positive animals, etc) but rarely was I actually anywhere near the animal I was doing a consultation about. Like @MixedAnimals77 indicated, I listed it as "research" and kept "animal" or "veterinary" to only the times I was actually in the general vicinity of animals. I'm sure others interpret differently, so however you decide to do it is probably fine as long as you are honest in your description.

 

[Meemo23]

Input please
I am currently working on a research project that may end up getting published. Do I mention it on my app or nah since it hasn't come to fruition?

 

[LyraGardenia]

Input please
I am currently working on a research project that may end up getting published. Do I mention it on my app or nah since it hasn't come to fruition?

Definitely include it! Research experience doesn't mean just published projects.

 

[cdo96]

Input please
I am currently working on a research project that may end up getting published. Do I mention it on my app or nah since it hasn't come to fruition?

Definitely mention it, but don't say it's published if it's not yet! I had a freshman research project that didn't get published yeahright: it was supposed to be but long story) and I added it to my application!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I'd like to know the opinions of other applicants or those who are in vet school on Zoo Medicine.

I had an internship at Zoo Miami and fell in love with zoo med. I shadowed several procedures and truly became invested in the care of these animals.
As I was assisting in a sun bear necropsy, one of the vets from the zoo mentioned that saying you'd like to "practice zoo med" can actually not be such a great thing to mention in an interview or in an app, something along those lines.
I have varied experiences from ophthalmology, equine, small animal, shelter, and exotic, but I felt the most drawn to zoo med and so my VMCAS essays are mainly about this.
I know Zoo Med/Wildlife is very competitive, the job market is tough, but I am open to working in a practice until an opportunity like that opens up.
Any thoughts or opinions?

In my experience, a good number of non-zoo oriented people (aka most/all adcom members) tend to roll their eyes when they hear "I wanna be a zoo vet!" Nowadays it's a very common thing to hear, other specialties are sometimes butthurt about it, etc. Doesn't mean that it would affect your chances by any means, but keep that in mind.

I'd make a point to bring up more than just your zoo experience in your essays. Just my opinion, but I think downplaying how well-rounded you are in favor of mostly talking about your zoo experience in your essays may not be the best decision. Of course, I haven't read your essays or anything, but that's what I'm thinking after reading your post.

 

[sleung906]

Hi guys A few questions on the experience portion

1. I had jobs where I worked part time while school was in session and full time when it was not. Should I list it under full time or part time or does it not matter?

2. How exact do I need to be on calculating my hours? There were some jobs I worked in 2011/2012 and frankly don't remember the exact date I was hired and how many hours I worked. I have a ballpark estimate but how nit-picky are admissions over this?

3. Pet ownership, to list or not to list? I have done some research regarding this matter and it seems like there isn't an exact consensus to it as some people list it and some people don't. For those that did list it, what did you write under duties? Just that you fed and cleaned up after them? I don't want to add something that screams out "duh" when they read it but also don't want to omit anything that could be important.

4. Should I list high school extracurriculars? I graduated in 2009 lol

 

[ChoopLoops]

Hi guys A few questions on the experience portion

1. I had jobs where I worked part time while school was in session and full time when it was not. Should I list it under full time or part time or does it not matter?

2. How exact do I need to be on calculating my hours? There were some jobs I worked in 2011/2012 and frankly don't remember the exact date I was hired and how many hours I worked. I have a ballpark estimate but how nit-picky are admissions over this?

3. Pet ownership, to list or not to list? I have done some research regarding this matter and it seems like there isn't an exact consensus to it as some people list it and some people don't. For those that did list it, what did you write under duties? Just that you fed and cleaned up after them? I don't want to add something that screams out "duh" when they read it but also don't want to omit anything that could be important.

4. Should I list high school extracurriculars? I graduated in 2009 lol

I asked the pet ownership question back on pg 15 - @TrashPanda and @Awapi had some good responses

FWIW I graduated in 2004 and I'm listing some high school stuff
The admissions person I spoke to at WSU said to list everything because its easy enough for the adcoms to just breeze over what they don't care about. *shrug* doesn't hurt right?

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

I have a school visit tomorrow and realized I'm not sure of attire protocol. What should I wear?

 

[LyraGardenia]

I have a school visit tomorrow and realized I'm not sure of attire protocol. What should I wear?

Casual or business casual is fine! You don't need to dress up like you would for an interview, but I wouldn't wear sweatpants and a T-shirt. Slacks or nice jeans and a blouse is fine. If you're meeting with the dean of admissions I'd dress a little nicer as opposed to if you're just getting a tour from a current student.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Casual or business casual is fine! You don't need to dress up like you would for an interview, but I wouldn't wear sweatpants and a T-shirt. Slacks or nice jeans and a blouse is fine. If you're meeting with the dean of admissions I'd dress a little nicer as opposed to if you're just getting a tour from a current student.

It will be 104

 

[SkiOtter]

It will be 104

ew gross no pls

 

[LyraGardenia]

It will be 104

It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize you meant the temperature. In that case I'd say some nice shorts (nothing too short, not athletic shorts or Daisy Dukes) or a nice sundress would be fine!

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize you meant the temperature. In that case I'd say some nice shorts (nothing too short, not athletic shorts or Daisy Dukes) or a nice sundress would be fine!

Yeah I'm from Oregon this shouldn't be happening lol. I will be melting

 

[ChoopLoops]

It will be 104

wait @ziggyandjazzy you have a tour at OSU tomorrow? I'm gonna be there too! Noon tour? I'm meeting with Tess afterwards...

EDIT: dangit just realized you posted that yesterday XD

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

wait @ziggyandjazzy you have a tour at OSU tomorrow? I'm gonna be there too! Noon tour? I'm meeting with Tess afterwards...

EDIT: dangit just realized you posted that yesterday XD

I had a tour this afternoon! Did she give you your tour? It was quite awesome

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

ew gross no pls

Good thing it was basically all indoors. My dad did have to wait with the dog indoors since it is so darn hot and we are on our way to the coast so he obviously couldn't hang out elsewhere

 

[ChoopLoops]

So...how are you guys choosing which schools to apply to? I'm a WA resident, and I'm definitely applying to WSU and Oregon...I was initially planning on applying to Western as well, but after talking to currently students and recent grads I decided the tuition was too high to be tenable. Really I just want to go instate so I'm not in debt forever, but I also feel like I should apply to at least one other school... I'm looking at schools that'll be cheaper OOS, and I can eliminate schools that I don't meet the requirements for (ex - UC Davis won't accept the courses I took for biochem and physiology >_< ) but I'm still like... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[SkiOtter]

So...how are you guys choosing which schools to apply to? I'm a WA resident, and I'm definitely applying to WSU and Oregon...I was initially planning on applying to Western as well, but after talking to currently students and recent grads I decided the tuition was too high to be tenable. Really I just want to go instate so I'm not in debt forever, but I also feel like I should apply to at least one other school... I'm looking at schools that'll be cheaper OOS, and I can eliminate schools that I don't meet the requirements for (ex - UC Davis won't accept the courses I took for biochem and physiology >_< ) but I'm still like... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Not sure if you've seen it, but there's the Factors When Picking A School thread and I know somewhere linked in the last couple pages is a word doc where @batsenecal compiled what people have said about their schools. Could be worth reading through at least that document to try and get an idea of what different schools are like. I think the most recent updates were around December/January? You can also search "posted by member" and click "this thread only" to find all of bats' posts in there to narrow down which posts have the list.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

So...how are you guys choosing which schools to apply to? I'm a WA resident, and I'm definitely applying to WSU and Oregon...I was initially planning on applying to Western as well, but after talking to currently students and recent grads I decided the tuition was too high to be tenable. Really I just want to go instate so I'm not in debt forever, but I also feel like I should apply to at least one other school... I'm looking at schools that'll be cheaper OOS, and I can eliminate schools that I don't meet the requirements for (ex - UC Davis won't accept the courses I took for biochem and physiology >_< ) but I'm still like... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm an Oregon resident and applying to OSU, WSU, NC, and U Missouri. Basically applying to other schools that allow you to get in state after the first year. My GPA and GRE are both substantially above average and if they weren't I would take a different strategy likely.

 

[Vet_Squared80]

I know this was asked and answered somewhere, but I can't find it.

When I'm inputting experiences like extra curriculars where there isn't a person in charge, do I just put myself as the contact person? What about title? Is writing self ok?
Also, how important are dates on these extra curriculars? I have no idea when I started some of them.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Has anyone noticed a difference in the VIN cost of education map? It is now showing that Purdue would be cheaper than U Missouri which is quite odd.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

I know this was asked and answered somewhere, but I can't find it.

When I'm inputting experiences like extra curriculars where there isn't a person in charge, do I just put myself as the contact person? What about title? Is writing self ok?
Also, how important are dates on these extra curriculars? I have no idea when I started some of them.

Leave contact blank say if it's something like photography. So think of a title so photographer or for sports team member or player. Then use your best estimate for the start dates and don't participate your hours take a best guess.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Has anyone noticed a difference in the VIN cost of education map? It is now showing that Purdue would be cheaper than U Missouri which is quite odd.

I noticed a few schools are like that. This is because they go based off of the past 3 year tuition increase percentage. So I know U Missouri's tuition went up for this next year and Purdue may not have increased their tuition over 3 years as much as Missouri has. VIN also explained this on their thread for their new thing as one school they has is more expensive than oss.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

I noticed a few schools are like that. This is because they go based off of the past 3 year tuition increase percentage. So I know U Missouri's tuition went up for this next year and Purdue may not have increased their tuition over 3 years as much as Missouri has. VIN also explained this on their thread for their new thing as one school they has is more expensive than oss.

What thread are you talking about? Could you link me? It's making me question applying to U Missouri
EDIT: Think I found it!

 

[MixedAnimals77]

What thread are you talking about? Could you link me? It's making me question applying to U Missouri
EDIT: Think I found it!

Vet School Bound
This one? Lucky you that their price tag makes you question applying there it's only maybe 10K more than my is

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Vet School Bound
This one? Lucky you that their price tag makes you question applying there it's only maybe 10K more than my is

What is your IS? It would be around 85k more than mine. The other two I'm applying to are 20k or less. I would now like to consider Purdue but I know I can't take 4 more years in Indiana and neither can my partner lol

 

[MixedAnimals77]

What is your IS? It would be around 85k more than mine. The other two I'm applying to are 20k or less. I would now like to consider Purdue but I know I can't take 4 more years in Indiana and neither can my partner lol

Colorado our higher education funding is ranked an F on an A-F scale. Just tuition is around 33K right now and living in Ft Collins is EXPENSIVE! Most rentals are around $1500 a month. Over the 4 years WA and NC are cheaper (don't have the animal nutrition to apply to any school that requires it like NC) but yeah over 4 years MO is only like 10K more in tuition which I could probably make up in living cost difference.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Colorado our higher education funding is ranked an F on an A-F scale. Just tuition is around 33K right now and living in Ft Collins is EXPENSIVE! Most rentals are around $1500 a month. Over the 4 years WA and NC are cheaper (don't have the animal nutrition to apply to any school that requires it like NC) but yeah over 4 years MO is only like 10K more in tuition which I could probably make up in living cost difference.

Yeah I'm glad that OSU is in corvallis with a fairly low cost of living compared to a lot of the state. I imagine getting a place for like half that of CSU would be manageable.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Colorado our higher education funding is ranked an F on an A-F scale. Just tuition is around 33K right now and living in Ft Collins is EXPENSIVE! Most rentals are around $1500 a month. Over the 4 years WA and NC are cheaper (don't have the animal nutrition to apply to any school that requires it like NC) but yeah over 4 years MO is only like 10K more in tuition which I could probably make up in living cost difference.

When I look at VIN for Colorado residents, it has U Missouri as 40k+ more. So you were meaning 10k per year?

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Yeah I'm glad that OSU is in corvallis with a fairly low cost of living compared to a lot of the state. I imagine getting a place for like half that of CSU would be manageable.

Yeah, it's terrible and makes me very sad on a daily basis lol. People are like but CSU is so great and I'm just like but money

 

[MixedAnimals77]

When I look at VIN for Colorado residents, it has U Missouri as 40k+ more. So you were meaning 10k per year?

So I didn't take my numbers directly from vin when I was calculating. I was using the numbers off of Missouri website and then used inflation (so much in CO because of pot) etc and an average interest percent increase between vin estimates oss and is tuition increase (this was also a few months back so I'm sure slight number changes makes a huge difference). I also only took tuition and fees. So the numbers I calculated don't reflect vins numbers. Plus my friend is living in MO now and her living expenses are less than estimated on vin while I think living is slightly under calculated for CO.
*Just got on computer and was looking at VIN. Look directly at tuition prices OSS for MO is only like 10k more than IS in CO. I'm not taking into account living expenses much because SO will be working so it's kind of a mute point because salary should comparable to living.

 

[ChoopLoops]

I know this was asked and answered somewhere, but I can't find it.

When I'm inputting experiences like extra curriculars where there isn't a person in charge, do I just put myself as the contact person? What about title? Is writing self ok?
Also, how important are dates on these extra curriculars? I have no idea when I started some of them.

@BlueGoose there's also this thread, which i found helpful: Hobbies as Extracurricular Activities on VMCAS