This is the essay from my second vet school application, and it is much more focused and personal than my first effort. There’s more heart in this one, and less brain. It also helps that I started early and I had every single writer I know read over it. Read the rest of this entry »
Jun 19, 2010 | 2 | Getting In, How I Got Here, Non-Traditional StudentsWhen I was applying for vet school, I wasn’t able to find many good examples of personal statements. It would have been really helpful to read someone else’s personal statement, which is one reason I am including these on my blog. I hope those of you who are in the throes of the application process find these helpful. The other reason I’m including these is they help explain how I became a non-traditional vet student.
Below is the personal statement from my first application. It’s good, but not great. I didn’t get admitted with this application, but it was the lack of coursework that did me in more than anything. I got the idea for this essay when I heard an admissions committee member say that the most memorable essay she’d ever read compared being a veterinarian to climbing a mountain. See this post for the essay from my second application.
Jun 19, 2010 | 0 | Getting In, How I Got Here, Non-Traditional Students
I recently got into a slight verbal kerfluffle with a future classmate. Apparently he didn’t like my badmouthing Hill’s, makers of Science Diet.
I have very very very mixed feelings about Hill’s. On the one hand, they pour a lot of money into things that genuinely benefit vet students…not to mention the goodies they offer, like the sportin’ Hill’s backpacks and the student lunches and the pens. I love pens.
On the other hand, I don’t like the unholy alliance they seem to have with the nation’s vet schools–teaching nutrition classes, providing free nutrition textbooks authored by Hill’s scientists, etc.
Take this excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article** (note that Hill’s is owned by Colgate-Palmolive): Read the rest of this entry »
May 18, 2010 | 3 | MiscellanyAlternate title: Clindamycin all around!
As you may remember from this post, I was not looking forward to dragging Mr. Tabby out of his comfortable closet to the vet for a dental cleaning, but I suspected it needed to be done. Turns out I had good reason to be wary, and good reason to suspect his teeth were really bad…
When I went to scoop him up, Mr. T. went ballistic. As in, I have never in my life seen a cat that freaked out. He raced around the room, bounced off the walls (literally!), and attempted to sink his teeth into whatever part of my body was closest. He got my hand and my calf pretty well–my finger was gushing blood and I felt like someone had whacked the back of my leg with a hammer. $(%*!!
Mar 14, 2010 | 0 | Animal TalesMy current commute to school is exactly one hour. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep that up during vet school, so I’ve been weighing my options.
The sensible thing to do would be to sell my house and move to an apartment near school. But… maybe that’s not so sensible considering:
1) my house, in a tourist town, is a REALLY good investment
2) I love my peaceful little cabin in the woods because
3) I think I would go insane if I lived in a city. Plus
4) my other half lives in the tourist town, and I would like to see him more than once a week.
So, with all those factors in mind, I’ve been looking at living halfway in between. In an ideal world, I would rent my current house and buy a house at the bottom of the canyon I drive each day. I’d be half an hour from school and half an hour from my other half, plus I’d still be in a rural, wooded area.
Read the rest of this entry »
Right after Thanksgiving, I adopted a cat who’d been in a shelter for ten years. Needless to say, it has taken some adjusting to get him used to being in a home.
Essentially, he’s been hiding in the closet for two months. He lets me pet him, but only if he’s in the safety zone of the closet. Just this past week or so, he has been brave enough to hang out in the open when I’ve been nearby, but he dashes for the closet if I get too close.
I knew when I adopted him that he needed a dental cleaning–something that could have been done before I took him home, but, long story, I elected to take him “as is.” Last night as I was petting him, I realized the towel underneath his mouth was sopping wet. Argh! Drool! Sure, maybe it’s the kind of drool that some cats ooze while being petted, but, given the fact that he could knock you over with his breath, and the fact that the towel was soaked and I’d only just begun to pet him, I figure it’s something to do with his dental disease (and pray it isn’t something worse).
They told me when I adopted him that I could probably put off his teeth cleaning for three to six months. It’s been just over two and I think I’m gonna have to suck it up, like NOW. So, yay! All the trust I have built up with him will be thrown out the window as soon as I grab him and drag him to the vet. *sigh*
My only hope is that his teeth are making him feel so crappy that it’s affecting his behavior, and once he gets some sparkly whites and some antibiotics, he’ll feel better and become a whole new cat. Knock on wood.
Feb 14, 2010 | 0 | Animal Tales