I just wanted to let everyone know that the first veterinary school information section on my website has been completed for North Carolina State University! You may wonder why this was the first one to go up. North Carolina State University is one of my top veterinary school picks from those that I applied to and I should hopefully be hearing back from them in January about my application status. It is a fantastic school and the information page is jammed packed with everything you need to know about this school.
Some of the things you can find there are:
- Admissions Contact Information
- Background Information
- Required Coursework
- Veterinary Program Details
- Admissions Statistics
- The Selective Review Process
- Tuition and Fees
- Funding Opportunities
- Important Links
The above information will be laid out for every single college in the United States over the coming months. The next school that I will be doing in my own home state's veterinary school, Michigan State University. I just wanted to take a moment to thank my amazing Writing for Graduate School professor at GVSU, who helped me compile all the information on veterinary schools throughout the class.
Keep posted for more school informational sections because these will help you get a good overview of each school. Instead of sifting through the sometimes complicated websites of veterinary schools, you can look through my website and use the easy links to get direct access to important information.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
The Waiting Game
In about two to four months you are going to get the news that is going to dramatically shape the way you live your life in the coming years. Did you get into veterinary school? Which school do you choose? Are you staying in-state or going out-of-state? How will you pay for it?...........and the list of questions, worries, and excitement goes on.
Stop, relax, breath and enjoy the in-between time that so many of us dread. Take your mind off the inevitable because at this point there is nothing that you can change. Everything is submitted and you did your best. So have some fun with your friends, pick up a new hobby, or focus on your last semesters in undergrad.
As far as the questions you have running through your head. The best advice I have for you is to talk them out with your friends, family, advisers, professors, and even strangers. This is a big transition period in your life and the more help you get the better.
- Did you get into veterinary school? This is the big question looming over your head. Just remember that if you don't get in the first time that the world isn't over. There are so many great secondary options and you can always try again next year. Yes, it is a disappointment and a set-back, but remember that there are so many other people in your shoes. Getting into veterinary school is very hard and if it truly your passion than you just need to keep working hard at it.
- Which school do you choose? If you are lucky enough to get into more than one school than you have a big decision to make about which school to go to. All the veterinary school in the US are fantastic, but which is the best for you is what matters. Hopefully at this point you have an idea of where you would like to go, but always make sure to look at all your options. The big things to look at are location, tuition, the school's emphasis, the school's ranking, and will it work for you. A great place to start is looking at the school informational sheets that I have on my website.
- Are you staying in-state or going out-of-state? The big dilemma here is money. Out-of-state tuition is almost always going to be more expensive. There are a few rare exceptions like North Carolina State University that give in-state tuition to second year out-of-state students, but for the most part veterinary schools don't do that. When going out of state you can expect to pay at least double the tuition. The other thing to think about is can you handle being far away from your family and friends?
- How will you pay for it? You have all heard it before. Student loans!!!! When you get out of veterinary school you are going to have lots of loans. 44% of veterinary students in 2012 had debt greater than $200,000. This may be very shocking, so you need to start thinking and preparing now. Hopefully you have been saving up a little bit already and realizing that when you get into veterinary school you might need to live like a hermit. Most students do end up with this much debt, but it doesn't have to be that. I plan to be out of veterinary school with less than $75,000 in debt because of the choices that I have made. I will talk more about that another time though. So prepare now, understand what you are getting into financially, and do everything you can to get that debt down fast after you graduate.
If you have any questions more broad or specific that I didn't talk about here in this general overview, feel free to send me it through the comments section of my website! I would love to talk more about this and help you out in any way that I can.
Stop, relax, breath and enjoy the in-between time that so many of us dread. Take your mind off the inevitable because at this point there is nothing that you can change. Everything is submitted and you did your best. So have some fun with your friends, pick up a new hobby, or focus on your last semesters in undergrad.
As far as the questions you have running through your head. The best advice I have for you is to talk them out with your friends, family, advisers, professors, and even strangers. This is a big transition period in your life and the more help you get the better.
- Did you get into veterinary school? This is the big question looming over your head. Just remember that if you don't get in the first time that the world isn't over. There are so many great secondary options and you can always try again next year. Yes, it is a disappointment and a set-back, but remember that there are so many other people in your shoes. Getting into veterinary school is very hard and if it truly your passion than you just need to keep working hard at it.
- Which school do you choose? If you are lucky enough to get into more than one school than you have a big decision to make about which school to go to. All the veterinary school in the US are fantastic, but which is the best for you is what matters. Hopefully at this point you have an idea of where you would like to go, but always make sure to look at all your options. The big things to look at are location, tuition, the school's emphasis, the school's ranking, and will it work for you. A great place to start is looking at the school informational sheets that I have on my website.
- Are you staying in-state or going out-of-state? The big dilemma here is money. Out-of-state tuition is almost always going to be more expensive. There are a few rare exceptions like North Carolina State University that give in-state tuition to second year out-of-state students, but for the most part veterinary schools don't do that. When going out of state you can expect to pay at least double the tuition. The other thing to think about is can you handle being far away from your family and friends?
- How will you pay for it? You have all heard it before. Student loans!!!! When you get out of veterinary school you are going to have lots of loans. 44% of veterinary students in 2012 had debt greater than $200,000. This may be very shocking, so you need to start thinking and preparing now. Hopefully you have been saving up a little bit already and realizing that when you get into veterinary school you might need to live like a hermit. Most students do end up with this much debt, but it doesn't have to be that. I plan to be out of veterinary school with less than $75,000 in debt because of the choices that I have made. I will talk more about that another time though. So prepare now, understand what you are getting into financially, and do everything you can to get that debt down fast after you graduate.
If you have any questions more broad or specific that I didn't talk about here in this general overview, feel free to send me it through the comments section of my website! I would love to talk more about this and help you out in any way that I can.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
VMCAS Deadline!
Celebration! The October 2nd VMCAS deadline for submission has passed and veterinary schools are officially looking through all of the applications. Congrats and good-luck to all of you pre-veterinary students that got your VMCAS application, transcripts, letters of recommendations, GRE scores and fees in on time. Kick back and relax for a little bit because we all deserve it after going through such a rigorous process. But the stress of the application may be over, but now comes the supplementary applications, interviews, and the waiting game. Just remember to breath, always ask for help or advice when you need it, and be confident.
For you younger students, here are a few tips for the general application process!
- Start it early!! The VMCAS opens up in early June and isn't due until October 1st. This may seem like a long time, but it goes by very quickly. So the day it opens, make your account and start getting familiar with what you need to do.
- Submit early!! The VMCAS suggests getting your application in by September 1st, but I suggesting doing it even earlier. I submitting my application in mid July and it took them three weeks to verify that my application was correct and sent to my schools. Not only is it piece of mind that your application is all set, it makes it easier to get things corrected before the final deadline.
- Start planning now. The VMCAS application is extremely comprehensive. They want to know everything that you have every done since high school. Hopefully you have been keeping a list, but if not starting thinking back to what you have been doing these past years.
- Give yourself time to retake the GRE and still submit those scores in time for the application. Hopefully you will meet your goal scores the first time, but just in case make sure to give yourself some leeway time.
- Ask your references early and make sure they know you. The more time that you give you references to write the letters, the better they will be and the less stressed you will be. You can ask your references even before the VMCAS opens up. But more than anything make sure that your references know you as a person, know your work ethic, and have some real-word experiences with you whether it is in the classroom, workforce, research lab, or in a veterinary clinic.
- Know the deadlines by heart (but hopefully you turn everything in early anyways). They do not make exceptions for people who turn the application and its materials in late. If the October 2nd deadline passes, then you have to wait a whole year to apply again.
Good luck! Keep posted for more advice blogs and more content to be added to the website.
For you younger students, here are a few tips for the general application process!
- Start it early!! The VMCAS opens up in early June and isn't due until October 1st. This may seem like a long time, but it goes by very quickly. So the day it opens, make your account and start getting familiar with what you need to do.
- Submit early!! The VMCAS suggests getting your application in by September 1st, but I suggesting doing it even earlier. I submitting my application in mid July and it took them three weeks to verify that my application was correct and sent to my schools. Not only is it piece of mind that your application is all set, it makes it easier to get things corrected before the final deadline.
- Start planning now. The VMCAS application is extremely comprehensive. They want to know everything that you have every done since high school. Hopefully you have been keeping a list, but if not starting thinking back to what you have been doing these past years.
- Give yourself time to retake the GRE and still submit those scores in time for the application. Hopefully you will meet your goal scores the first time, but just in case make sure to give yourself some leeway time.
- Ask your references early and make sure they know you. The more time that you give you references to write the letters, the better they will be and the less stressed you will be. You can ask your references even before the VMCAS opens up. But more than anything make sure that your references know you as a person, know your work ethic, and have some real-word experiences with you whether it is in the classroom, workforce, research lab, or in a veterinary clinic.
- Know the deadlines by heart (but hopefully you turn everything in early anyways). They do not make exceptions for people who turn the application and its materials in late. If the October 2nd deadline passes, then you have to wait a whole year to apply again.
Good luck! Keep posted for more advice blogs and more content to be added to the website.
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