App & BIF ?'s

[cbarne01]

If I don't start now, it will be 2 weeks before the due date and I'll just be figuring things out... so I started to fill in app & the '12 BIF and ran into some problems.

1) Does anyone know if the admissions committee looks at the internal app or not? If they do, I'll fill in some of the extra curriculars, but I'm hoping that the BIF takes care of that and they don't bother...?

2) Is there a "how to fill in the BIF" seminar or who should I contact about specific questions?
-How on earth do I indicate that my last 2 semesters are W2004 and W2012? Indicating that I went to the same school for 12 years seems inappropriate but there are only 2 school spaces and I need 3 to do it right since I did a second degree and then went back to UoG as a non-degree student in 2012?

3) Would time spent with an animal chiropractor count as veterinary experience since they must either be a DVM or DC + the certification course?

Tks.

[Krista]

Hi,

I personally did fill out the activities, took me less than 5 minutes because the app doesn't give you any extra space (but from what I've heard I don't think OVC admissions really looks at it?). It's not very time-consuming by any means so I figured I would fill it out.

I also had a question about the internal transfer form. I'm not sure what date I should put when adding U of G as an institution. I'm currently in 3rd year, so would I put my expected graduation date (ie. April 2014), or the end of this year (April 2013)?

Thanks to anyone who can help me out!

[dreizehn]

tl; dr (I can be succinct if I want to be ):

cbarne01:
1.) Probably doesn't matter either way. They probably just use the BIF.
2.) So long as you are reasonable and prudent in your approach, use text boxes or a PDF editor to adjust the form's spaces to meet your needs.
3.) It has to be with a veterinarian to count as "Veterinary Experience".

Krista:
I'd say use your expected grad date.

[/blockquote]
cbarne01:

---

1.) I didn't go to Guelph, so unfortunately I can't speak from direct experience with the UofG internal transfer form, but the OUAC application/transfer form was a similar process, so I'll go from that:

I honestly doubt the folks at OVC actually use the activities/extracurriculars info directly from the OUAC or UofG forms, as anything you might enter there I'm assuming you would also put in the OVC's own BIF, which covers all your activities in more detail and in the format OVC wants. I think the OUAC/UofG forms have these sections just because they are part of a very generalized application process, but since OVC has a specialized BIF for this type information, they get it from the BIF itself.

With that said, I'm in the same boat as Krista in that I also filled out this section since I already had the info gathered for eventually filling out my BIF (or, more accurately, gathered the info to fill out the OUAC form, then used it when filling out the BIF), and it takes almost no time, so I did it anyways. But you''d most probably be safe either way.

2.) I don't actually know if there's any type of group session at UofG for help in filling out the BIF. I know of at least one other school that had a session through their respective FVC-type club; maybe one of the actual FVC club people would know or be interested in organizing one if you contacted them? ([e-mail], www.uoguelph.ca/~fvc/)

If you want to go the official route, questions would go to Deanna Lundmark, as indicated on admissions' BIF page (last sentence at the bottom: www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/admission/index.cfm?dvmbif). You may have to be patient though, as she is often very busy and responses can take a while.

Now, I get where you're coming from with this, as I also had a more complicated pre-OVC university path than the BIF seems to understand (4 different universities, multiple programs in science/engineering/arts/non-degree, spanning from 2002-2011, with my "Last Two Acceptable Semesters" being W2003 and W2010... 0_o hey, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life ). So:

• If you have a PDF editor, you can just modify the form's given spaces to accommodate what you actually need to write.
  
  OR
• Probably a simpler option is to just insert a text box over the formatted spaces in the form and write in your information in a format more appropriate for your situation (when you eventually print the document, just make sure you specify the option to print "Document and Markups" to have the text boxes print as well).
  
  In either case, just be reasonable and prudent in your modifications (i.e., don't write an essay if you've been given a single line). So long as the information is there in an easily understood manner, I'm sure they'll be satisfied.
  
  For example:
  • In the "LAST FULL-TIME ACADEMIC YEAR OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES" section I semi-ignored the headings and entered my information in the following format:

    McGill University | University of Waterloo
    Bachelor of Science, Honours
    January 2003 to April 2003 (McGill) and January 2010 to April 2010 (Waterloo)

    So you could probably just do something similar like:

    University of Guelph
    Bachelor of Whatever and Non-degree term
    January 2004 to April 2004 and January 2012 to April 2012
    
    

  • For the "B. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND - College and University (baccalaureate and graduate degrees)" section I would just list UofG once, and then use an editor/text boxes to have two lines for the "From" and "To" fields. The second university space can then be used for the other university you went to.
    

    i.e.)
    University of Guelph_____________From 2013______To 2017
    _________________________________2021________2022
    
    University of Wherever else_______From 2017______To 2021
    
    (excuse the underscores; this board strips "excess" spaces)
    

3.) To my knowledge, the "Veterinary Experience" must be with a veterinarian (DVM for Canada, or the equivalent degree for other countries):

• The BIF asks for the "Name of Veterinarian and Clinic"
  
  
• Furthermore, the OVC admissions page (www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/future/dvm/admissions/non-academic/#Veterinaryexp) states the following regarding veterinary experience -
  

• "...must be done with a supervising veterinarian..."
  
• "...veterinary industry where a veterinarian is employed."
  (all emphasis mine)

[/blockquote][/li][/ul]So:

• If the animal chiropractor is a DVM (or equivalent degree from another country), you should be able to count it as veterinary experience.
  
• If the animal chiropractor is a DC, then they are not a veterinarian, so it would not count as "Veterinary Experience" (but I would definitely include it in the "Animal Experience" section).

Krista (if you're still reading way down here...):

---

Again, since I didn't go to UofG, I can't speak from direct experience with the UofG form, so I'm not exactly sure what you're seeing. If when entering UofG you have to enter "From/To" dates, I'd see if you can just get away with only entering a "From" date and leaving the "To" field blank (since you're still attending UofG at present). Otherwise, if it's necessary to enter a "To" date, I'd just use your expected graduation date (e.g., April 2014), since that's probably the most applicable potential date.


Random giraffe time:

[cbarne01]

Tks dreizenh, nice jiraffe!

I was under the impression that we should use the forms as provided and not edit them, but as long as Ms. Lowenger doesn't say "NO!" I'll try it. I'm glad you figured out what you want to do too.

There aren't enough animal experience spaces to fit the different things I've done so I was wondering if I could use a "vet" space to get more in. Chiro is a bit special since it is considered a veterinary activity but a Dr of Chiropractic can legally perform animal chiro as long as they are certified - vets with chiro training or chiropractors with animal training... I hate big murkey grey areas.

[dreizehn]

Yeah, I'm definitely NOT encouraging everyone to go out and edit the forms willy-nilly. Indeed, for most applicants, the forms as provided should work just fine (since most applicants have a more straightforward academic history). However, there are some cases (e.g., by the sounds of it yours, and I know mine for sure) that I consider minor exceptions where there is no effective means of filling out the form as provided in a manner to convey all the required information. It is for these limited cases that I personally consider making minor modifications (and only to the formatting) for clarity necessary. That's also why I included the caveat that any modifications should be reasonable and prudent: don't go changing or including anything more than you must to provide the information they are requesting.

(This is also where it's important to remember that I'm not providing any form of "official" advice; I'm just some guy in vet school who already went through the admissions process and am trying to use my experience to hopefully provide information that is helpful in some manner)

I agree chiropractic work sometimes does fall into somewhat of a grey area. However, the OVC admissions pages regarding "veterinary experience" for their purposes very specifically state it must be a "veterinarian" multiple times, so that's what I would go with. Also keep in mind that "vets with chiro training" and "chiropractors with animal training" are two different things: they may do the same job and I wouldn't necessarily consider one better than the other, but they do have different academic backgrounds, work experiences, and training. If you really want to include your chiropractic experience though, you can always check for an official opinion from Ms. Lundmark as to whether or not it would be suitable for the "veterinary experience" section.

Also bear in mind that if you've already filled your "animal experience" section with diverse, quality experiences, and hopefully also have a number of diverse, quality entries for "veterinary experience," you're probably in good shape. Remember that these sections are essentially used as flags (i.e., it's more that very minimal animal/vet experience or a lack of variety and/or quality might be enough to flag applications for further review or rejection. What they're looking for is a balance of quality experiences in multiple areas).

[Krista]

Thanks so much for taking the time to give such detailed replies! I can't imagine that as a vet student you have a lot of spare time, so your responses are much appreciated!

[lowenger]

Hi

The FVC does do a "How to get into vet school" info session usually one in each semester and part of it is a review of the BIF. Email the group at [e-mail] and they'll let you know when the next one is planned.

[Julie]

Hello!
when are the reference application forms, as well as the BIF available? By reading this it seems they are open now..

if so, where can i access these?

thanks!

[Krista]

They're at the side of the page on this link:

www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/admission/index.cfm?dvmbif

The reference form is updated for 2013 entry but the BIF still says September 2012, so use that one as a guide.

[dreizehn]

When I applied, the updated BIF was posted in mid-late January (originally on the 21st, then fixed and re-posted on the 27th), and admissions sent out an e-mail to notify the DVM applicants when it was posted. So, I'm going to say by the end of January would be a safe bet. However, things can change from year to year and there is no set date.

In the meantime, as Krista wrote, you can use the 2012 BIF as a guide to collect and organize all the information you will need, as generally very little changes with the BIF from year to year.