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Many schools have a supplemental application, so be sure to read the school specific instructions with the VMCAS application. Some schools require you to request the supplemental (like Cornell), but most will send it to you after you apply via VMCAS. Submitting a complete VMCAS application is crucial. If your application is not complete with transcripts and letters of evaluation, your schools may not receive it in a timely manner and you may not be considered. Many schools have a policy that you must submit all documents to VMCAS by October 1 or you may be disqualified from the review process. This year, VMCAS has a state-of-the-art web-based system that allows you to check the status of your application ( http://aavmc.org/question.htm#status ). We recommend that all applicants who have access to the Internet apply on-line. When you apply on-line, you do the data entry for your application. You will be careful about entering your data, perhaps more careful than a clerk who must enter hundreds of applications in a short amount of time. While the number of data entry errors is extremely small, this fact would mean little to you if an error occurs with your application. Please apply on-line for both your sake and ours. Cornell wishes you the best of success in the veterinary application and selection process. Cornell's DVM Application Process and Deadlines Cornell's DVM Program has a VMCAS application deadline of October 1 and a supplemental application deadline of October 5. Applicants must request or download the Cornell supplemental or apply on-line. We will not send it to you automatically as four days between the two deadlines in not enough time to do so. You may access our supplemental on-line at http://www.vet.cornell.edu/admissions/webapp.htm and we prefer that you apply on-line. The Cornell processing fee is $40 if you apply on-line, and $50 if apply on hard-copy. Because many applicants fail to request or access a Cornell supplemental, they miss our October 5 deadline. For this reason, we will allow applicants to apply as late as November 15, but there is a higher ($65) fee. Late applicants should not apply on hard-copy. Late applicants who apply after the preferred October 5 deadline are likely to receive our decision later than the applicants who applied by the preferred deadline. While all applicants will receive full consideration, late applications result in late decisions and this can be frustrating for all involved. Also, late applicants cannot include animal or veterinary experience or other credentials earned after October 5. Please apply to VMCAS on-line by October 1 and to Cornell on-line by October 5 to ensure yourself the most pleasant and efficient application experience. Cornell greatly appreciates the many individuals who apply to our program. We are very blessed to have so many highly qualified and diverse applicants each year. Thank you for considering Cornell's DVM program. Confidentiality of Letters of Evaluation When a student asks an individual to write a letter of evaluation, s/he must sign a statement that s/he either reserves the right to see the letter or forfeits the right to see the letter. This right is guaranteed to students under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 and is commonly referred to as the Buckley Amendment. Most students and evaluators do not realize that FERPA guarantees rights only to enrolled students. If a student never enrolls at (for example) Cornell, Cornell is not required and will not release the evaluation letter to the applicant, even if the applicant retained the right to see it. Since FERPA applies only to enrolled students, and since students who gain admission usually do not care what is written about them after they gain admission, there is not much sense in reserving one's right to see the letter. While Cornell will not take into consideration whether the applicant reserved the right, most evaluators will. Evaluators often write very neutral letters when the student reserves the right to access them. This is self-defeating to the applicant as we do not want to see neutral letters. We recommend to our applicants to waive their rights for the reasons stated above. FAQ: Tests & Evaluations in Our Problem-Based Program by Dr. Kathleen Quinlan Pre-vets often ask: "How will I be evaluated in Cornell's problem based learning curriculum? What are the exams like?" Each of the first four foundation courses has a multi-day final exam taken by each student individually. Students' letter grades for the exam are their grades for the course. Typically, these final exams are administered from early morning through late afternoon over two or three days. Typically, all or part of each comprehensive exam is case-based and focuses on the key principles and mechanisms students have been studying over the length of the course (from 7 weeks to 12 weeks, depending on the course). Students are presented a written summary of part of a clinical case along with a number of short-answer or essay questions. When a student finishes one section, s/he turns it in to a staff member and picks up the next stage of the case with several more questions. Faculty tutors grade the exams against model answers. Student answers that show a depth of understanding, integration of the main points with clear and concise expression, and logical reasoning and problem solving receive high marks. Some courses incorporate additional testing formats such as an oral component or a laboratory-based exam. All exams are "closed book," so students are not permitted to use textbooks, notes, journals or computer modules, or to talk with peers or faculty while the exam is being administered. Students are expected to abide by the College's honor code. Students are encouraged to keep up with their studying throughout the course and to review each week. While the final exam forms the basis of the students' formal letter grade for each course, students have opportunities for ongoing review and feedback during the courses. Copies of exams from previous years are available for self-assessment, and computer-based applications offer feedback to students so they may assess their skills. At the end of each tutorial, students and the faculty tutor offer an assessment of the session, allowing opportunities for ongoing feedback about the process and quality of students' learning. Finally, tutors meet with students at the midterm of most courses to discuss the students' progress and any specific concerns. Attend a DVM Admissions Slide Presentation in a City Near You Would like to learn about veterinary school? Would you like some tips on how to be a competitive applicant? Please attend a pre-vet presentation on veterinary medicine in a city near you. The Director of Admissions, Joseph Piekunka, will give slide presentations in the following cities on or near the corresponding dates. Details of exact times and locations will be announced in a future newsletter. Would you please share this information with your pre-vet club and pre-health advisor? We have not yet lined up presentation sites for each city and we may be able to come to your campus on one of the dates below. Albany September 16 Cornell Now Accepts Chemistry AP Credit At a recent meeting of Cornell's DVM Admissions Committee, the faculty approved a motion to allow students to substitute Advanced Placement Chemistry for our Inorganic Chemistry requirement. We also allow AP credit for Physics. If you have AP credit in other subjects, we would want to see higher level course work in the same discipline. For example, if you have AP credit in Biology, we would want to see you take another biological science, perhaps Anatomy or Physiology, with a laboratory. Cornell's DVM Admissions Web Site Home Page http://www.vet.cornell.edu/admissions/ Past Newsletters & Selected Articles All Newsletters http://www.vet.cornell.edu/admissions/newsletters.htm
March 1999 January 1999 October 1998 August 1998 April 1998 February 1998 December 1997
Your Home State Veterinary College Is Always Your Best Bet September 1997
Is Veterinary Medicine More Difficult to Enter Than Human Medicine? June 1997
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