VMCAS c/o 2022

[MixedAnimals77]

Does anyone know where to add certifications? For example, I am now a registered lab animal technician through AALAS.

You would add it under the achievement section. *computer didn't update to show Elkharts response. Sorry!*

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[pig]

I'm having a hard time with the third personal statement question. I have an introduction naming attributes I believe are essential, but after that I'm stuck. I'm not sure how to answer "which of these attributes do you possess," because I didn't list any attributes that I don't possess. Should I state this or just imply it in the rest of the essay? Also, for "how have you demonstrated these in the past," I don't know how to answer without basically reciting my resume. Should I try to come up with a specific anecdote that demonstrates each attribute that I listed?

 

[MixedAnimals77]

@pig
Support the attributes with demonstration or "active" evidence of your possession of the named attributed. You could say ex: in working at the animal shelter on abused animals required dedicated consistent care to nourish them back to health.
This helps support dedication as an attribute. So pick specific examples and stories from your resume essentially. Hope this helps.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

@ziggyandjazzy most schools do ask for your fall transcript and usually have a deadline for them prior to decisions being released (not all schools, but many). I believe it probably varies greatly on how much impact they have on the decision. For example, UGA's deadline for fall transcripts is usually right around the time decisions are released, it's unlikely they consider those transcripts too heavily because they have already made most of their cuts at that point. They may use them more for those applicants who are borderline in order to make a final decision. Also, schools who do interviews have mostly made those offers well before fall grades are out, so they at least will not be considered for interview invite decisions in most cases.

As far as research you did for a class - what type of research? Was something from it published or presented at a conference or scientific meeting outside of the school? This is just my opinion, but basic research is included in a lot of coursework, so unless it was atypical of a class (practical research to contribute to a larger project or that was accepted/utilized in the scientific community) then I would not list it as research.

I went to WSU and she said to definitely include class research on the app

 

[MixedAnimals77]

I went to WSU and she said to definitely include class research on the app

WSU is big on include everything (went there in June). Other schools not so much. I think what Awapi was getting at is don't include your 3 page research paper on Lupus from your immunology class last fall. I would tend to agree with that based on think of how many things you would have to try and remember and add. This also creates clutter of irrelevant experiences I would say. But I think it depends on how big a role that research was. If you worked on this giant research project for a class like almost publishing a paper then perhaps include it.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

WSU is big on include everything (went there in June). Other schools not so much. I think what Awapi was getting at is don't include your 3 page research paper on Lupus from your immunology class last fall. I would tend to agree with that based on think of how many things you would have to try and remember and add. This also creates clutter of irrelevant experiences I would say. But I think it depends on how big a role that research was. If you worked on this giant research project for a class like almost publishing a paper then perhaps include it.

I have done a number of large independent research projects for classes. Because I go to a small liberal arts school, I think our lab involvement for classes is quite a bit bigger than other schools but I could be wrong.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

I have done a number of large independent research projects for classes. Because I go to a small liberal arts school, I think our lab involvement for classes is quite a bit bigger than other schools but I could be wrong.

I think if the lady from WSU said to include it you should.

 

[Meemo23]

I thought I had this all straight but now I am having last minute confusion and questioning myself lol
Trying to get some guidance on separating animal / vet / research exp hours
I have the VMCAS chart also

But ....

I have 500 hours of necropsy experience ( supervised by vet) so that would be vet exp right ?

If I had a job working with animals ( pet store ) that's still animal experience right ?

Do I still list the job at the pet store under employment

 

[tbirdd123]

For experiences, how often do schools contact organizations? If they do, I'd like to reach out and let people know, but also hate to bother certain people/organizations (ie old pet sitting jobs) to let them know I entered their contact info.

 

[SkiOtter]

I thought I had this all straight but now I am having last minute confusion and questioning myself lol
Trying to get some guidance on separating animal / vet / research exp hours
I have the VMCAS chart also

But ....

I have 500 hours of necropsy experience ( supervised by vet) so that would be vet exp right ?

If I had a job working with animals ( pet store ) that's still animal experience right ?

Do I still list the job at the pet store under employment

Under the supervision of a vet = vet experience
Working with animals = animal experience
Don't double list experiences. They go in one category and one only.
Here's a handy-dandy infographic from VMCAS about classifying experiences:

 

[SkiOtter]

For experiences, how often do schools contact organizations? If they do, I'd like to reach out and let people know, but also hate to bother certain people/organizations (ie old pet sitting jobs) to let them know I entered their contact info.

I'm preeeeeeettyyyyyy sure most schools aren't going to contact most or possibly any of your experiences. If you had something that seemed questionable, they might contact them, but they get so many applicants that it's not entirely feasible to contact every experience for every applicant. I feel like UGA might be the only one that will actually contact (some? all???) experiences, but don't quote me on that. I'm just pretty sure I read somewhere that they do, but I don't have a source so could actually be false, I can't remember where I had seen that.

 

[Meemo23]

Under the supervision of a vet = vet experience
Working with animals = animal experience
Don't double list experiences. They go in one category and one only.
Here's a handy-dandy infographic from VMCAS about classifying experiences:
View attachment 222505

Thanks @SkiOtter.
I have 500+ hours doing necropsies with the state veterinarian.
That's vet experience right ? They wouldn't consider that as research would they ?

 

[ChoopLoops]

Does anyone know where to add certifications? For example, I am now a registered lab animal technician through AALAS.

I'm putting that sort of stuff under "achievements"

 

[SkiOtter]

Thanks @SkiOtter.
I have 500+ hours doing necropsies with the state veterinarian.
That's vet experience right ? They wouldn't consider that as research would they ?

I would think vet experience since its under the supervision of a veterinarian. If you really are unsure and want an official answer, you can call your instate school if you have one or one of the schools you're applying to.

 

[Meemo23]

I would think vet experience since its under the supervision of a veterinarian. If you really are unsure and want an official answer, you can call your instate school if you have one or one of the schools you're applying to.

Ok good idea

 

[tbirdd123]

I'm preeeeeeettyyyyyy sure most schools aren't going to contact most or possibly any of your experiences. If you had something that seemed questionable, they might contact them, but they get so many applicants that it's not entirely feasible to contact every experience for every applicant. I feel like UGA might be the only one that will actually contact (some? all???) experiences, but don't quote me on that. I'm just pretty sure I read somewhere that they do, but I don't have a source so could actually be false, I can't remember where I had seen that.

Thanks!! I just needed reassurance that they probably won't contact someone for 20 hours of cat sitting from 2012. I let the references for my major experiences know I entered their names/emails, but not so much for the mini ones.

 

[mirs2396]

What are examples of what you put in the explanation statement? I know that's where to explain any breaks inbetween school or jobs or explain life events that would affect your grades. But would it be okay to explain some of the animal experience I had in my college classes? I feel like the course titles themselves don't explain how I worked with live animals and the skills I gained, and I know we are not supposed to list classes in our experience section. I just feel like that helps contribute to my animal experiences and don't know where else to put it, since the VMCAS essays have to be so short. I also don't want schools to look down upon me for including that in my explanation statement since its not normally what seems to go there, so I was just looking for some opinions from you guys.

 

[bombai]

What are examples of what you put in the explanation statement? I know that's where to explain any breaks inbetween school or jobs or explain life events that would affect your grades. But would it be okay to explain some of the animal experience I had in my college classes? I feel like the course titles themselves don't explain how I worked with live animals and the skills I gained, and I know we are not supposed to list classes in our experience section. I just feel like that helps contribute to my animal experiences and don't know where else to put it, since the VMCAS essays have to be so short. I also don't want schools to look down upon me for including that in my explanation statement since its not normally what seems to go there, so I was just looking for some opinions from you guys.

I might include some of the animal experience in your experiences section, just low-ball the hours. I did that for some of my experiences and that was fine (and I noted that in the explanation). I actually got compliments for doing it this way. For my explanation statement, I included things that absolutely could not be included anywhere else and that were important to know to understand my application as a whole (such as schools that lost my record, name issues, and one significant issue with contacting one of my references, among others).

 

[Awapi]

@ziggyandjazzy - what @MixedAnimals77 said for additional clarification of my point .

I also went to a small liberal arts school - Ex. I was in an environmental chem course where there were only 3 of us - because of this we were able to work on a boat-lab one day a week with Army Corp of Engineers doing data collection in a local lake for a few months. I did not include this as research though, but that was just the way I did it. I agree that if WSU said to add it, then you should go for it. Everyone approaches this a little different and I don't think there is a perfect way to do the application and it's also dependent on the schools you are going for. You know your experiences best and are the best judge of what is relevant/appropriate to report out as individual experiences!

I feel like UGA might be the only one that will actually contact (some? all???) experiences, but don't quote me on that. I'm just pretty sure I read somewhere that they do, but I don't have a source so could actually be false, I can't remember where I had seen that.

I also read this during the application process - you definitely saw it on SDN, haha. UGA does not do interviews - instead, they call 1-3 of your LOR writers and interview them. I think this was probably a mix-up on SDN that happened a while back and started getting reported as them calling your experiences. I completely understand the confusion though, but having gone through the application process with them I don't think they call experiences routinely unless that person also happened to have written you an LOR. (They did not call to confirm any of my experiences, but did call one of my LOR writers for an interview).

 

[SkiOtter]

I also read this during the application process - you definitely saw it on SDN, haha. UGA does not do interviews - instead, they call 1-3 of your LOR writers and interview them. I think this was probably a mix-up on SDN that happened a while back and started getting reported as them calling your experiences. I completely understand the confusion though, but having gone through the application process with them I don't think they call experiences routinely unless that person also happened to have written you an LOR. (They did not call to confirm any of my experiences, but did call one of my LOR writers for an interview).

That deeeeeefinitely makes a lot more sense haha
I was hoping someone from uga would come and clarify that, so thank you!

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

Would it look bad to include a scholarship that I received on the basis of both GPA and financial need in the achievements section? I didn't list any that I received strictly for financial need (because I'm pretty sure being poor is not an achievement ) but I dunno about this one.

I should really just hit the submit button and stop thinking about it but it's much more fun to agonize over each and every miserable detail.

 

[LyraGardenia]

Would it look bad to include a scholarship that I received on the basis of both GPA and financial need in the achievements section? I didn't list any that I received strictly for financial need (because I'm pretty sure being poor is not an achievement ) but I dunno about this one.

I should really just hit the submit button and stop thinking about it but it's much more fun to agonize over each and every miserable detail.

I would include it!

 

[mirs2396]

I might include some of the animal experience in your experiences section, just low-ball the hours. I did that for some of my experiences and that was fine (and I noted that in the explanation). I actually got compliments for doing it this way. For my explanation statement, I included things that absolutely could not be included anywhere else and that were important to know to understand my application as a whole (such as schools that lost my record, name issues, and one significant issue with contacting one of my references, among others).

Okay, thank you for the advice and for explaining what you did. I wasn't sure if I could include it in the experience section. This is my second time applying and last year I briefly mentioned the class experiences in my personal statement, but this year there isn't much of a chance to with the change of the essay. I just feel like those experiences help make me stand out and allowed me to work with some animals I haven't had the chance to outside of my classes.

 

[tbirdd123]

If you submit your applications on VMCAS with an evaluator that has accepted but not submitted, once they submit the evaluation the schools will receive the evaluation, correct?

 

[ChoopLoops]

I should really just hit the submit button and stop thinking about it but it's much more fun to agonize over each and every miserable detail.

OMG right?! I hit submit last night and I'm STILL wanting to agonize...I'm refraining from going back to VMCAS to find typos now that its too late to change them

 

[MixedAnimals77]

OMG right?! I hit submit last night and I'm STILL wanting to agonize...I'm refraining from going back to VMCAS to find typos now that its too late to change them

I submitted mine on July 26 and I'm still going nuts. At least now I can't change it, but all that anticipation just moves to wishing the schools would hurry up and make interview decisions so I can either have a mini celebration or plan a thorough pity party.

 

[bombai]

Okay, thank you for the advice and for explaining what you did. I wasn't sure if I could include it in the experience section. This is my second time applying and last year I briefly mentioned the class experiences in my personal statement, but this year there isn't much of a chance to with the change of the essay. I just feel like those experiences help make me stand out and allowed me to work with some animals I haven't had the chance to outside of my classes.

I don't know your story, but for me, clearly stating what I did in the experiences section and combining what I could really helped. You can try to put what you are mentioning in the explanation statement if you want to but I think it would be much better if you were a little creative and included it somehow in the experiences section (I'd undershoot the hours). At the same time, I had such complicated extenuating circumstances that I could not include it in the explanation statement. Make your best judgement in how you want to present yourself in a professional fashion .

 

[johnsmith123]

Well, I might be screwed. One of my evaluators was having tons of problems with the vmcas website and couldn't figure out how to submit the letter. I talked to him again today and he said after calling vmcas support twice he was able to get it to work and he said that he submitted it. I just checked and it still shows up as only being accepted but not submitted. Does it take some time for it to register in their system? Or do I need to give them a call and see what went wrong? It's making me nervous since I wanted to submit a month before the deadline and I only see this evaluator once a week, so we're pushing pretty close at this point. Any ideas?

Edit: it's also important to mention that I only registered 3 evaluators so I'm counting on this big time.

 

[LyraGardenia]

Well, I might be screwed. One of my evaluators was having tons of problems with the vmcas website and couldn't figure out how to submit the letter. I talked to him again today and he said after calling vmcas support twice he was able to get it to work and he said that he submitted it. I just checked and it still shows up as only being accepted but not submitted. Does it take some time for it to register in their system? Or do I need to give them a call and see what went wrong? It's making me nervous since I wanted to submit a month before the deadline and I only see this evaluator once a week, so we're pushing pretty close at this point. Any ideas?

Edit: it's also important to mention that I only registered 3 evaluators so I'm counting on this big time.

I think it should change over to submitted right away, if it hasn't by Monday I would contact VMCAS. You can go ahead and submit your application if you've got everything else done, and as long as all your letters are in by the deadline you're good! I wouldn't start freaking out yet.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Well, I might be screwed. One of my evaluators was having tons of problems with the vmcas website and couldn't figure out how to submit the letter. I talked to him again today and he said after calling vmcas support twice he was able to get it to work and he said that he submitted it. I just checked and it still shows up as only being accepted but not submitted. Does it take some time for it to register in their system? Or do I need to give them a call and see what went wrong? It's making me nervous since I wanted to submit a month before the deadline and I only see this evaluator once a week, so we're pushing pretty close at this point. Any ideas?

Edit: it's also important to mention that I only registered 3 evaluators so I'm counting on this big time.

It should change right away. You might also talk to your evaluator to see if you can help them submit it then if still weird you could tell vmcas what is going on. If worse comes to worse if you wait to submit you can delete their request and recreate it. They would have to redo their info and the questionnaire but they should have their letter saved so maybe resetting the request would help if nothing else works.

 

[canyonman]

How should I input this experience:

I have been at the same horse facility since 8th grade. I started out as a student, then was a student volunteer, and eventually became a paid assistant instructor. Should I enter these all as one or as three different experiences or as two (employment as one, student as the other)? Thanks!

 

[LyraGardenia]

How should I input this experience:

I have been at the same horse facility since 8th grade. I started out as a student, then was a student volunteer, and eventually became a paid assistant instructor. Should I enter these all as one or as three different experiences or as two (employment as one, student as the other)? Thanks!

I'd probably separate the two so you can adequately describe your increased responsibilities as an instructor, but I think either way is fine.

 

[Vet_Squared80]

VMCAS question: Just submitted my app - yay! VMCAS says that in order to get into the que for verification, my app must be complete. It says "received" so I looked that up and it says that received means something is missing. Nothing is missing, but all my transcripts say "received" as well, not complete. Is that normal?? Or is it in this status because I just submitted it? Any help would be great!

 

[SkiOtter]

VMCAS question: Just submitted my app - yay! VMCAS says that in order to get into the que for verification, my app must be complete. It says "received" so I looked that up and it says that received means something is missing. Nothing is missing, but all my transcripts say "received" as well, not complete. Is that normal?? Or is it in this status because I just submitted it? Any help would be great!

Received is normal, will say verified as they're verified.

 

[OwlSee2907]

For the experiences section is there an average amount of entries that schools like to see? I have over 50 entries varying in all of the categories. Still feel inadequate for submission. Also, in regards to certifications do y'all put it in achievements or extracurriculars?

 

[tbirdd123]

If I have a course in progress, and its my only course from that school, I don't have to submit any confirmation that the course is in progress right? I won't have a transcript until after sept 15, so I don't have anything to submit, but I did enter that its in progress

 

[finnickthedog]

For the experiences section is there an average amount of entries that schools like to see? I have over 50 entries varying in all of the categories. Still feel inadequate for submission. Also, in regards to certifications do y'all put it in achievements or extracurriculars?

I had around 20 entries and honestly, I condensed them wherever possible. I don't think the number of experiences matters because it's not like they're just looking at how many you have and then moving on. They're looking at the number of hours you spent, how many years you spent involved in it, the quality of the experience, etc.

 

[Liquid_Phoenix]

If I have a course in progress, and its my only course from that school, I don't have to submit any confirmation that the course is in progress right? I won't have a transcript until after sept 15, so I don't have anything to submit, but I did enter that its in progress

No, you don't have to submit any additional info. Saying it's in progress is enough info for your app. When your course is over just send an updated official transcript from that school to any of the schools you applied to. If you have pending courses for the spring semester as well, wait until the end of spring semester to send your updated transcript unless any of the schools you are applying to specifically say you have to do it after each semester.

 

[canyonman]

VMCAS question: Just submitted my app - yay! VMCAS says that in order to get into the que for verification, my app must be complete. It says "received" so I looked that up and it says that received means something is missing. Nothing is missing, but all my transcripts say "received" as well, not complete. Is that normal?? Or is it in this status because I just submitted it? Any help would be great!

Hmmm, I might call VMCAS and see if they can tell you what is "missing". You are right, according to the VMCAS website, is should say "complete" if you aren't missing anything, and it must be in that status before being verified. I just submitted a week ago, and mine said "complete" immediately and then "verified" 4 days after. I'm not sure if LORs have to be submitted in order to be complete, but maybe that's the problem??

 

[Vet_Squared80]

Hmmm, I might call VMCAS and see if they can tell you what is "missing". You are right, according to the VMCAS website, is should say "complete" if you aren't missing anything, and it must be in that status before being verified. I just submitted a week ago, and mine said "complete" immediately and then "verified" 4 days after. I'm not sure if LORs have to be submitted in order to be complete, but maybe that's the problem??

Thanks! My eLORS show complete, but my transcripts all say received. I'll try and call them and see what's up.

 

[Vet_Squared80]

Disregard - I just logged in and the application now says complete, with verifying under each transcript! Woohoo!

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Has anyone has VMCAS calculate their science GPA higher than they thought it would be? It seems like they must have included a couple of courses like human geography in their calculation. I had no idea this counted as a science since the website says only biology, chemistry, and physics is included in the science GPA. I feel like some of the classes they considered science classes weren't so idk what to do.

 

[SkiOtter]

Has anyone has VMCAS calculate their science GPA higher than they thought it would be? It seems like they must have included a couple of courses like human geography in their calculation. I had no idea this counted as a science since the website says only biology, chemistry, and physics is included in the science GPA. I feel like some of the classes they considered science classes weren't so idk what to do.

You should be fine. Some schools use the GPA calculations VMCAS calculates and some calculate their own using only the classes they want counted in it. So some schools will have different calculated GPAs compared to what another school uses. If your schools do use the VMCAS calculations, yay for you because you'll get the higher GPA used.

 

[canyonman]

Has anyone has VMCAS calculate their science GPA higher than they thought it would be? It seems like they must have included a couple of courses like human geography in their calculation. I had no idea this counted as a science since the website says only biology, chemistry, and physics is included in the science GPA. I feel like some of the classes they considered science classes weren't so idk what to do.

Where can we find our calculated GPAs? ***never mind, I found it

 

[Meemo23]

Has anybody had problems with their evaluators being able to submit the eLORs ?

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

You should be fine. Some schools use the GPA calculations VMCAS calculates and some calculate their own using only the classes they want counted in it. So some schools will have different calculated GPAs compared to what another school uses. If your schools do use the VMCAS calculations, yay for you because you'll get the higher GPA used.

I just feel bad because they must have used some humanities courses in my science GPA calculation. But also I figure since almost all schools are asking you to input your pre-req courses that they re-calculate.

 

[SkiOtter]

I just feel bad because they must have used some humanities courses in my science GPA calculation. But also I figure since almost all schools are asking you to input your pre-req courses that they re-calculate.

You can always contact VMCAS and ask them about it

 

[Vet_Squared80]

But also I figure since almost all schools are asking you to input your pre-req courses that they re-calculate.

The admissions person at Michigan State told me to disregard all GPAs that VMCAS calculates because they don't use them. She said they calculate their own, so don't worry about what shows up on VMCAS. I would imagine they aren't the only school that does this.

 

[LyraGardenia]

Has anybody had problems with their evaluators being able to submit the eLORs ?

At least a couple other people have had issues this year. Definitely have them contact VMCAS if the problem persists.

 

[Aqua_girl87]

Has anybody had problems with their evaluators being able to submit the eLORs ?

Yes. One of the DVM's that I work for and asked for a eLOR submitted it last week, but it still shows up as accepted and not completed. I contacted VMCAS about it and they said to have him submit it again.