Sorry for the delay in posting- I was on a family vacation to Disney World the first week of January. We go there every Christmas break for the last 6 years or so, and this was probably the worst trip to date- most of were sick for part or most of the trip.
I got two more letters of rejection while I was on vacay- an email from Minnesota and a letter from Washington :( That leaves just 2 more replies! I have yet to hear anything from Oregon and I won't hear back from Iowa about my interview until mid-Feb. I sent off my Fall transcripts to each of them on Monday. *fingers crossed*
I have begun the second and possibly final semester of my undergrad career. I say possibly because I have no idea what I'm doing... Not just not knowing if I'm going to get into veterinary school this cycle but I am also completely second-guessing my Plan B. I am unsure whether I should continue with my Clinical Laboratory Science degree next year if I don't get accepted this time around to vet school. I am already accepted into the CLS program and will get my clinical site assignment mid-Feb as well. I'm just not sure that's what I want to do anymore. If I go that route I don't graduate yet, I do a summer session at an affiliate university in ND then I do a 9-month clinical training/internship session and then finally graduate from undergrad next spring and would then take my licensing exam.
Originally I figured it would allow me to boost my GPA, show I could do well in a medical/professional program, give me the opportunity to get a decent paying job that would allow me to work just about anywhere, it would max my income for the few hours I will have available to work in vet school and there are shifts available day or night so it would be flexible- and not to mention just give me something to do haha
But now I'm thinking it really won't have that great of an effect on my GPA other than maybe the last 45 calculation, it is difficult to find a job opening for this right now because labs are cutting back to the bare number of staff needed and most of the people in the field are not old enough to be retiring yet so there is not a fast turn-over rate, I would be trained in to work at the clinical site but I wouldn't be staying there so I'd have to get retrained wherever I went, it's not what I want to do- as much as i LOVE the information and the lab work!, and it wouldn't leave me much time to increase my vet experience hours - which is a very weak point of mine that I CAN do something about.
I am beginning to think I might be better off graduating this Spring with just my Art major and spending next year trying to do some internships to expand on the variety of my animal experience and to increase my veterinary experience hours- I think maybe actively trying to improve my credentials it probably the better use of my time in the long run.
I just don't know-- I'm torn. I just wish I knew from Iowa and Oregon already so I knew if I needed to revamp my Plan B or not for sure!! Does anyone have any helpful suggestions/advice?
Showing posts with label CLS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CLS. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
First Interview Recap!
I had my interview with ISU on the 4th at 11:15am. I flew out to Des Moines on Friday with my mom, we spent some time shopping around and relaxing Saturday before heading to Ames that evening.
We had to be at ISU by 7:15am to get registered. It is not fun getting up at 6am to get dressed up!
I got there and the first year vet student there that I know from my graduating class at high school was actually working the interviews and was the one to lead me to the waiting area! It was nice to see a familiar face! At 7:30 there was a presentation (usually done by the Dean who was out of town) about the history and facilities of the college. Then since my interview wasn't until later I was to go on the 8am student-led tour.
I went with a nice young gentleman from Buffalo, NY & his mom on the tour. The facilities were much larger than I had expected! The LA hospital was newly remodeled and the SA hospital was newly expanded and was presently under remodeling which will be done by Fall '12. The clinic was new remodeled, there was a great variety of artwork which was really nice and they had a a little something for everybody.
I attended the Student Panel at 9am which was Q&A time with 4 of the students, a 1st yr, 2 2nd yrs, and a 3rd yr. This wasn't super helpful but it was not to hear some candid remarks on things from their point of view and they did their best to answer questions.
I had a little down time in the waiting area from 10-11am. My mom went to the Financial Aid lecture at 11am and the interviewers got me a few minutes after 11 (about 15 mins early). The Student Doctor Network website had past interview questions available so I was able to prepare answers to those and felt prepared going in.
The interview was closed-file and there were 3 people who took turns asking questions. First I told them a little about myself and then the actual interview began. Nearly every question they asked was on SDN, a couple were specific follow-ups to things I had said in my answers and so I think only 1 or 2 were new to me but they were easy questions. They were all behaviorally-based questions. I think it went as well as it could have, one can't really judge what they will think of my responses but I was relaxed, spoke clearly, presented myself well, was personable, made them all laugh loudly several times-- what more can you really ask for? How they view the responses is entirely in their hands...
The interview lasted about 40minutes (a little quicker than what it usually is, but I was prepared to answer the questions too). I spent a few minutes at the Organization Fair area and then we left.
I was most impressed by the fact that organizations and studying abroad lets you have the opportunity to get as much extra surgical/hands-on practice & diversity of experiences as you want. The fact that you can get more if you want more was a HUGE bonus to me. I heard a lot of the present students say they 1 major reason they chose ISU over their IS schools or over others is that there were so many opportunities for surgical experience. The other major reason was how friendly and welcoming the midwest school was. Now, I'm from the midwest and am used to that level of friendliness, but according to these people, a lot of the other schools have a "consider yourself lucky to even be here" snooty attitude, whereas ISU is more "welcome! Now WHEN you start here..." gracious attitude.
Overall very impressed by ISU and it is still one of my top picks! I will find out Feb 15th whether I'm in or not. They had 1200+ applicants this year (YIKES!) of which 900 some are already out of the running. So I am 1 of 300+ students getting interviewed. The odds are still not in my favor but better than they used to be! *fingers crossed*
Side note--> Should be hearing from my next vet school by the end of the month! : ) Hoping for more good news! And I also got my letter of acceptance from UND for my CLS back-up program- no word yet on where my clinical site will be if I end up doing that.
We had to be at ISU by 7:15am to get registered. It is not fun getting up at 6am to get dressed up!
I got there and the first year vet student there that I know from my graduating class at high school was actually working the interviews and was the one to lead me to the waiting area! It was nice to see a familiar face! At 7:30 there was a presentation (usually done by the Dean who was out of town) about the history and facilities of the college. Then since my interview wasn't until later I was to go on the 8am student-led tour.
I went with a nice young gentleman from Buffalo, NY & his mom on the tour. The facilities were much larger than I had expected! The LA hospital was newly remodeled and the SA hospital was newly expanded and was presently under remodeling which will be done by Fall '12. The clinic was new remodeled, there was a great variety of artwork which was really nice and they had a a little something for everybody.
I attended the Student Panel at 9am which was Q&A time with 4 of the students, a 1st yr, 2 2nd yrs, and a 3rd yr. This wasn't super helpful but it was not to hear some candid remarks on things from their point of view and they did their best to answer questions.
I had a little down time in the waiting area from 10-11am. My mom went to the Financial Aid lecture at 11am and the interviewers got me a few minutes after 11 (about 15 mins early). The Student Doctor Network website had past interview questions available so I was able to prepare answers to those and felt prepared going in.
The interview was closed-file and there were 3 people who took turns asking questions. First I told them a little about myself and then the actual interview began. Nearly every question they asked was on SDN, a couple were specific follow-ups to things I had said in my answers and so I think only 1 or 2 were new to me but they were easy questions. They were all behaviorally-based questions. I think it went as well as it could have, one can't really judge what they will think of my responses but I was relaxed, spoke clearly, presented myself well, was personable, made them all laugh loudly several times-- what more can you really ask for? How they view the responses is entirely in their hands...
The interview lasted about 40minutes (a little quicker than what it usually is, but I was prepared to answer the questions too). I spent a few minutes at the Organization Fair area and then we left.
I was most impressed by the fact that organizations and studying abroad lets you have the opportunity to get as much extra surgical/hands-on practice & diversity of experiences as you want. The fact that you can get more if you want more was a HUGE bonus to me. I heard a lot of the present students say they 1 major reason they chose ISU over their IS schools or over others is that there were so many opportunities for surgical experience. The other major reason was how friendly and welcoming the midwest school was. Now, I'm from the midwest and am used to that level of friendliness, but according to these people, a lot of the other schools have a "consider yourself lucky to even be here" snooty attitude, whereas ISU is more "welcome! Now WHEN you start here..." gracious attitude.
Overall very impressed by ISU and it is still one of my top picks! I will find out Feb 15th whether I'm in or not. They had 1200+ applicants this year (YIKES!) of which 900 some are already out of the running. So I am 1 of 300+ students getting interviewed. The odds are still not in my favor but better than they used to be! *fingers crossed*
Side note--> Should be hearing from my next vet school by the end of the month! : ) Hoping for more good news! And I also got my letter of acceptance from UND for my CLS back-up program- no word yet on where my clinical site will be if I end up doing that.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
BUSY!!!!
Hello my few followers!
I've been meaning to post but I haven't really done anything worthy of posting! Don't get me wrong, I've been super super... busy- but that's the problem. I haven't had any time to hang out at the vet clinic or to do anything else interesting for that matter. I haven't even had time to start in on my online Animal Nutrition course I signed up for in October-- BAD!!!
I did go to the RenFest in MN at the end of September with a friend. And I've taken over as the leader of the belly dance troupe! We did our first performance at the Homecoming Street Fair on campus the middle of October and I did my first improvised solo! (for a surprisingly large crowd)- this was only my 2nd solo ever. It was a little nerve-wracking...
I had a hellish-nightmare of a time getting ETS PPI evaluations filled out for my app to CSU. So.... many technical difficulties! If you ever need to fill one of these out- send requests to your evaluators as SOON AS POSSIBLE and be prepared to contact the customer service line. We managed to get them in less than a day before their deadline (yikes!).
All other vet apps were submitted by Oct 3rd and my back-up Clinical Laboratory Science apps were sent in by Nov 1st. I got my first vet reply on Nov 10th from Iowa State!!! They offered me an interview--- I have my interview on December 4th (Sunday)!!!!! Exciting!!!! According to the sites I should start hearing from my other schools mid-late December. *fingers crossed* the waiting is the WORST!
Here is a map I made up of all the places I applied for Vet & CLS
I am tentatively on the intent to graduate list for this spring- depending on whether I get into a vet school or not. I picked up my cap & gown this week- also scary!
I will be sure to update on how the interview went and as I get further replies from vet schools. Thanks for keeping tabs on me! I will try to be more attentive to my blog in the future!
I've been meaning to post but I haven't really done anything worthy of posting! Don't get me wrong, I've been super super... busy- but that's the problem. I haven't had any time to hang out at the vet clinic or to do anything else interesting for that matter. I haven't even had time to start in on my online Animal Nutrition course I signed up for in October-- BAD!!!
I did go to the RenFest in MN at the end of September with a friend. And I've taken over as the leader of the belly dance troupe! We did our first performance at the Homecoming Street Fair on campus the middle of October and I did my first improvised solo! (for a surprisingly large crowd)- this was only my 2nd solo ever. It was a little nerve-wracking...
I had a hellish-nightmare of a time getting ETS PPI evaluations filled out for my app to CSU. So.... many technical difficulties! If you ever need to fill one of these out- send requests to your evaluators as SOON AS POSSIBLE and be prepared to contact the customer service line. We managed to get them in less than a day before their deadline (yikes!).
All other vet apps were submitted by Oct 3rd and my back-up Clinical Laboratory Science apps were sent in by Nov 1st. I got my first vet reply on Nov 10th from Iowa State!!! They offered me an interview--- I have my interview on December 4th (Sunday)!!!!! Exciting!!!! According to the sites I should start hearing from my other schools mid-late December. *fingers crossed* the waiting is the WORST!
Here is a map I made up of all the places I applied for Vet & CLS
I am tentatively on the intent to graduate list for this spring- depending on whether I get into a vet school or not. I picked up my cap & gown this week- also scary!
I will be sure to update on how the interview went and as I get further replies from vet schools. Thanks for keeping tabs on me! I will try to be more attentive to my blog in the future!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
GRE for me!
In a sudden turn of events- I spur-of-the-moment decided I am going to apply for both my CLS year-long program AND veterinary school for Fall 2012! May the best program win! By that I mean, may I please God get accepted to a vet school and not have to finish with the CLS major! haha But I remain firmly realistic that I will be promptly denied everywhere I apply at this point in time.
I have decided, a little late in the game, to try my hand at applying to veterinary school RIGHT NOW as I will be taking my final pre-reqs this year and will be eligible for Fall 2012. So I should have begun studying for the GRE and prepping applications months ago! I'm really just eager to get my first round of rejections out of the way when I still have other options to follow through on, and hopefully get a little feedback on my applications!
Further complicating my life is the fact that there will be a newly revised GRE that begins August 1st with results not available until November 8th. This is complicating because some of my Vet picks- such as UMN- need the results by October which means I MUST take the old version by July 31st. And yet again, further complicating this is that out of the 3 available test sites in ND-- only 1 had one day and one time available by the time I finished registering! (That site started with 2 days and 3 times--of which I tried to sign up for each of those prior to the one I got stuck with). I am officially registered to take my test in 10 days- July 19th at 9:00am in Bismarck! Assuming my boss will give me the day off haha Didn't really have a chance to ask...
In other news, I have managed to dip my toe back into the world of fitness: I have done Yoga once and Pilates once since my last post. Good start :) Can't jump straight in, still sore from the Yoga a few days ago!
I got mself a new phone as well: the Droid Charge. My first touch screen phone and smart phone! I am enjoying it so far. I managed my first evening to make a flub and email my calendar event of "Work :( " to my boss after she called me in to fill a few hours the next day since I am not actually in Colorado & am available to work. And on the subject of work, our Groomer has been let go due to showing up to work late (I'm talking hours late); they were given a final ultimatum and let go when they came in 4hours late yesterday. Luckily, we had just hired back a previous groomer about a week ago so that shouldn't cause any major scheduling headaches for us.
I also received the last bit of wardrobe for my Maid of Honor ensemble- a white sash to tie around my black dress. As if I didn't have enough to worry about in the next few months I am Maid of Honor for my best friend's wedding on November 19th! That entails rehearsals, throwing showers, bachelorette party, helping make invitations, decorate, etc... And the wedding is set for the 2nd day of my Thanksgiving break which means a week of midterms prior to it! YIKES! I am in for a rough ride this year...
Hopefully my GRE review books will get here by Monday so I can start cramming! It's a good thing only one school needs scores from the Old GRE, which will give me plenty of review time for a retake or 2 that I can send to all of my other picks and feel more comfortable with them.
I have decided, a little late in the game, to try my hand at applying to veterinary school RIGHT NOW as I will be taking my final pre-reqs this year and will be eligible for Fall 2012. So I should have begun studying for the GRE and prepping applications months ago! I'm really just eager to get my first round of rejections out of the way when I still have other options to follow through on, and hopefully get a little feedback on my applications!
Further complicating my life is the fact that there will be a newly revised GRE that begins August 1st with results not available until November 8th. This is complicating because some of my Vet picks- such as UMN- need the results by October which means I MUST take the old version by July 31st. And yet again, further complicating this is that out of the 3 available test sites in ND-- only 1 had one day and one time available by the time I finished registering! (That site started with 2 days and 3 times--of which I tried to sign up for each of those prior to the one I got stuck with). I am officially registered to take my test in 10 days- July 19th at 9:00am in Bismarck! Assuming my boss will give me the day off haha Didn't really have a chance to ask...
In other news, I have managed to dip my toe back into the world of fitness: I have done Yoga once and Pilates once since my last post. Good start :) Can't jump straight in, still sore from the Yoga a few days ago!
I also received the last bit of wardrobe for my Maid of Honor ensemble- a white sash to tie around my black dress. As if I didn't have enough to worry about in the next few months I am Maid of Honor for my best friend's wedding on November 19th! That entails rehearsals, throwing showers, bachelorette party, helping make invitations, decorate, etc... And the wedding is set for the 2nd day of my Thanksgiving break which means a week of midterms prior to it! YIKES! I am in for a rough ride this year...
Hopefully my GRE review books will get here by Monday so I can start cramming! It's a good thing only one school needs scores from the Old GRE, which will give me plenty of review time for a retake or 2 that I can send to all of my other picks and feel more comfortable with them.
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