Mar 19, 2009
A year of applying to veterinary school....
I have mentioned that I applied to veterinary school, but I never actually explained the application process. I never actually explained what this past year of planning my next four years has entailed. For all of you who plan on earning another degree after college, get ready.
My vet school plans did not begin this year. Unsurprisingly, they began when I was a kid and naturally guided my way through college. The very first day of my freshman animal science class, my professors wanted to know how many of us planned on attending vet school following graduation.
Nearly the whole class's hands shot up because this had been our dream since we knew what an animal was. They told us that by senior year, that number would reduce by more than half because going to vet school required a lot more than "loving animals," that a rigorous undergraduate curriculum would cause a lot of us to start working towards Plan B. Their skepticism frightened me to the point that I'd walk past the vet school and shudder, fearing that I'd never make it there. I remember earning an 88 on my first freshman biology exam and running to my advisor with tears in my eyes, asking him for advice on which major to switch to. He told me to stick with it.
I did and I used this fear as drive. As I watched general chemistry and organic chemistry and biochemistry weed out my classmates, I soon realized that the study habits I formed freshman year were enough to make me a candidate for vet school. I soon realized that the veterinary students were in fact human, that the veterinary school professors were in fact human, and that my undergraduate education at UT had more than prepared me for four more years of school. My love for learning would be enough to carry me through.
May 2008:
I took the GRE and earned a decent score, but not one that I'd be proud to send to my future university. I bought a book and planned to study over the summer.
June 2008:
There are only 28 schools in the United States and as much as I had wished I could apply to all of them, I had to be realistic. Applying to even one was in NO way inexpensive, so I had to narrow down my list. Eight of the schools offered dual degree programs in which I could earn my Masters of Public Health in the same four-year time frame as my DVM. The other twenty were out. Three of the schools required classes I hadn't taken and wouldn't have time to take in my senior year. I was down to five.
July 2008:
I began writing my personal statement and asking people for letters of recommendation. I also started making lists of my experiences, activities, honors, and classes.
August 2008:
I did not open the GRE book once during the summer, but retook the GRE and scored 190 points higher than the first time! I created an account with the veterinary school online application and began filling out the tediousness that I had been warned about. They weren't lying when they told me to START EARLY.
September 2008:
In between updating drafts of my personal statement and tweaking the online information, I was not making enough money to send applications to five schools. I knew that applying to my future alma mater was a given, so UT was in. I e-mailed admissions representatives from the other four until I found an out-of-state school that not only had the programs I was looking for, but the spirit and energy I could easily see myself a part of. That was it.
Those few weeks in September consisted of application crunch time until my deadline had finally come. The day before I left for Haiti, I sat in the library reading and rereading my application to ensure that everything was perfect. I had read a little blurb on the application website that day about a school in Ireland recently becoming accredited with the American Veterinary Medical Association and thought, "An international school? Ehh why not?" The final total was three. I navigated to the send page and after about seven minutes of biting my nails and frantically texting Erin about how nervous I was to send the document that would decide my future, I clicked SEND. The confirmation box popped up and my jaw dropped: I just sent my veterinary school application. WOAH. I breathed a sigh of relief and went home to pack for Haiti. All I could do now was wait.
October 2008:
October 2nd is the national due date for the application, so I calmly carried on my October 1st as I watched my classmates frantically finish their applications. I was so thankful for sending mine two weeks earlier.
November 2008:
The week before Thanksgiving, the out-of-state school had sent me an e-mail inviting me to interview with them in the end of January. I hadn't expected to hear anything so early, so I was excited! My dream was actually on its way to becoming reality.
December 2008:
...impatiently waiting...
January 2009:
The day after returning home from the inauguration, I sat in my favorite off-campus coffee shop studying reproductive physiology when I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. I walked outside to take it. "Am I speaking to Lauren?" the voice asked in an Irish accent. I confirmed that it was. "Lauren, this is ____ from ____. You'll be receiving a letter later this week, but I just wanted to call you with some good news. We would like to offer you an invitation to join next year's veterinary class. How does that sound?"
At 12:30 that afternoon, my 21-year-old dream came true. I was going to veterinary school.
On January 30, I traveled out of state for my first interview. I had taken a career seminar class through animal science last year where we participated in mock interviews. I went into it as prepared as I could possibly be and actually had a blast! My interview committee consisted of three school affiliates who wanted to know about me and about my knowledge of current public health events. If an interview could be fun, this one was.
February 2009:
While at work over Valentine's Day weekend, Erin texted me to inform me that a letter from that out-of-state school had come. "Big or small envelope?" I asked. "Big," she wrote, "Do you want me to open it?" I thought about it for a while, but couldn't resist the temptation. I asked her to open it.
"You got in."
Wow. I couldn't believe that I was fortunate enough to have a CHOICE as to which veterinary school I wanted to attend. I didn't know how I could be so lucky.
Right before my birthday weekend, another letter had come. This time it was from the University of Tennessee and again, Erin read the good news before I did. UT had invited me to interview with them!!!
March 2009:
E-mails and telephone calls generally tell me nothing about a school. I decided to take two days off from classes and fly over to my ancestors' homeland to visit that Irish veterinary school and get some face time with professors, students, and admissions. I learned that a degree here will allow me to practice in the United States, the United Kingdom, and any British Commonwealth country. Not a bad idea for someone who wants to work internationally.
Continuing the Irish theme, my UT interview was on St. Patrick's Day. The day that I had prepared for since that first animal science class had finally come and it was so surreal. I think the interview went well and I'll find out about acceptances in the next few weeks!
April 2009:
I will have to make a decision by April 17th.
May 2009:
I graduate on May 6th and begin a summer of emptying my brain for the onslaught of information that I will receive come August!
It's been fun and if I could change anything about these close to four years, I wouldn't. Everything happens for a reason, especially regarding changing passions. Don't be afraid to go with it.
-Lauren-
My vet school plans did not begin this year. Unsurprisingly, they began when I was a kid and naturally guided my way through college. The very first day of my freshman animal science class, my professors wanted to know how many of us planned on attending vet school following graduation.
Nearly the whole class's hands shot up because this had been our dream since we knew what an animal was. They told us that by senior year, that number would reduce by more than half because going to vet school required a lot more than "loving animals," that a rigorous undergraduate curriculum would cause a lot of us to start working towards Plan B. Their skepticism frightened me to the point that I'd walk past the vet school and shudder, fearing that I'd never make it there. I remember earning an 88 on my first freshman biology exam and running to my advisor with tears in my eyes, asking him for advice on which major to switch to. He told me to stick with it.I did and I used this fear as drive. As I watched general chemistry and organic chemistry and biochemistry weed out my classmates, I soon realized that the study habits I formed freshman year were enough to make me a candidate for vet school. I soon realized that the veterinary students were in fact human, that the veterinary school professors were in fact human, and that my undergraduate education at UT had more than prepared me for four more years of school. My love for learning would be enough to carry me through.
May 2008:
I took the GRE and earned a decent score, but not one that I'd be proud to send to my future university. I bought a book and planned to study over the summer.
June 2008:
There are only 28 schools in the United States and as much as I had wished I could apply to all of them, I had to be realistic. Applying to even one was in NO way inexpensive, so I had to narrow down my list. Eight of the schools offered dual degree programs in which I could earn my Masters of Public Health in the same four-year time frame as my DVM. The other twenty were out. Three of the schools required classes I hadn't taken and wouldn't have time to take in my senior year. I was down to five.
July 2008:
I began writing my personal statement and asking people for letters of recommendation. I also started making lists of my experiences, activities, honors, and classes.
August 2008:
I did not open the GRE book once during the summer, but retook the GRE and scored 190 points higher than the first time! I created an account with the veterinary school online application and began filling out the tediousness that I had been warned about. They weren't lying when they told me to START EARLY.
September 2008:
In between updating drafts of my personal statement and tweaking the online information, I was not making enough money to send applications to five schools. I knew that applying to my future alma mater was a given, so UT was in. I e-mailed admissions representatives from the other four until I found an out-of-state school that not only had the programs I was looking for, but the spirit and energy I could easily see myself a part of. That was it.
Those few weeks in September consisted of application crunch time until my deadline had finally come. The day before I left for Haiti, I sat in the library reading and rereading my application to ensure that everything was perfect. I had read a little blurb on the application website that day about a school in Ireland recently becoming accredited with the American Veterinary Medical Association and thought, "An international school? Ehh why not?" The final total was three. I navigated to the send page and after about seven minutes of biting my nails and frantically texting Erin about how nervous I was to send the document that would decide my future, I clicked SEND. The confirmation box popped up and my jaw dropped: I just sent my veterinary school application. WOAH. I breathed a sigh of relief and went home to pack for Haiti. All I could do now was wait.
October 2008:
October 2nd is the national due date for the application, so I calmly carried on my October 1st as I watched my classmates frantically finish their applications. I was so thankful for sending mine two weeks earlier.
November 2008:
The week before Thanksgiving, the out-of-state school had sent me an e-mail inviting me to interview with them in the end of January. I hadn't expected to hear anything so early, so I was excited! My dream was actually on its way to becoming reality.
December 2008:
...impatiently waiting...
January 2009:
The day after returning home from the inauguration, I sat in my favorite off-campus coffee shop studying reproductive physiology when I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. I walked outside to take it. "Am I speaking to Lauren?" the voice asked in an Irish accent. I confirmed that it was. "Lauren, this is ____ from ____. You'll be receiving a letter later this week, but I just wanted to call you with some good news. We would like to offer you an invitation to join next year's veterinary class. How does that sound?"
At 12:30 that afternoon, my 21-year-old dream came true. I was going to veterinary school.
On January 30, I traveled out of state for my first interview. I had taken a career seminar class through animal science last year where we participated in mock interviews. I went into it as prepared as I could possibly be and actually had a blast! My interview committee consisted of three school affiliates who wanted to know about me and about my knowledge of current public health events. If an interview could be fun, this one was.
February 2009:
While at work over Valentine's Day weekend, Erin texted me to inform me that a letter from that out-of-state school had come. "Big or small envelope?" I asked. "Big," she wrote, "Do you want me to open it?" I thought about it for a while, but couldn't resist the temptation. I asked her to open it.
"You got in."
Wow. I couldn't believe that I was fortunate enough to have a CHOICE as to which veterinary school I wanted to attend. I didn't know how I could be so lucky.
Right before my birthday weekend, another letter had come. This time it was from the University of Tennessee and again, Erin read the good news before I did. UT had invited me to interview with them!!!
March 2009:
E-mails and telephone calls generally tell me nothing about a school. I decided to take two days off from classes and fly over to my ancestors' homeland to visit that Irish veterinary school and get some face time with professors, students, and admissions. I learned that a degree here will allow me to practice in the United States, the United Kingdom, and any British Commonwealth country. Not a bad idea for someone who wants to work internationally.
Continuing the Irish theme, my UT interview was on St. Patrick's Day. The day that I had prepared for since that first animal science class had finally come and it was so surreal. I think the interview went well and I'll find out about acceptances in the next few weeks!
April 2009:I will have to make a decision by April 17th.
May 2009:
I graduate on May 6th and begin a summer of emptying my brain for the onslaught of information that I will receive come August!
It's been fun and if I could change anything about these close to four years, I wouldn't. Everything happens for a reason, especially regarding changing passions. Don't be afraid to go with it.
-Lauren-
• • •
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