Well it's been a couple years since I last posted, and to be honest I had forgotten about this blog. But the time has come for me to start writing again and here is why. When I last left you, my boyfriend had gotten into engineering at the U of A and I had not gotten any interviews to vet school. I decided not to apply again because we were essentially tethered to Edmonton for the next 2-3 years. I know that we could've made it work long distance, but I did not want to go there. So what have I been doing? Well, I told you that my plan B was interior design. So I've been working on a certificate to become an interior decorator, I have 4 courses left to go and will be done in May. It is a part time at night so during the days I have bounced around from job to job. Since graduating I have worked in administration for a home builder, as an assistant to a realtor, a gardener and I started my own small business - Jennifer Medos Homes. *Oh ya, and my boyfriend turned into my fiance who turned into my husband so my name has changed as well.* So that was all OK (just OK) but I started to feel very unsettled this September because my husband is almost done! He is finishing his engineering degree in May. And really, next year I can do anything I want - in any city I want... Hmmm
So I called the U of C to check just how far off I was from getting an interview. Turns out pretty far! Out of 176 eligible students that applied, I was number 168 on the list. Right there at the bottom. The top 128 students were granted an interview. (30 of those students are now halfway done vet school). BUT the good news is that the reason I was so low on the totem pole is because they were counting my very worst semester of university to calculate my GPA. You see, U of C bases its academic evaluation on two things: GPA for the last 4 full terms of university and GPA on 10 prerequisite courses. Because I have now graduated, my last term (Winter 2012) will now replace my grades from (Fall 2009) - thank goodness! So if I were to do nothing but apply again, I would bump myself up quite a few spots just from that. In the interest of transparency, that means I would go from a 3.13 to a 3.3. The minimum GPA of students who were successful applicants last year was a 3.2. This puts me in the running. Unfortunately, there is still this pesky business of these 10 required courses. My overall GPA of the 10 courses is a measly 2.8. The minimum GPA for the 10 last year was 1.9. Why is my GPA for the 10 courses so low? One subject - Chemistry. Chemistry and I are not friends. Ironic because my husband has a masters in organic chemistry. Anyways, if I were to retake just Chem 108 (level 2 inorganic chem), I could bump my 2.8 to a 3 if I could scrap off with a B. (My previous mark in this course was a D+).
SO that's interesting... I am not ready to tell friends and family that I am reapplying to vet school or changing my life plan once more. I am not fully committed. But I feel better than I have in months when I think about spending my life working with animals rather than on homes. Which isn't to say I don't love homes, and I still might need my plan B. But it is exciting that the options are opening up to me again. If I were to go on this crazy journey once more, here are some of my ideas, just to get them out on paper....
- pre vet club at U of A (practice MMIs - multiple mini interviews)
- get a part time job at a mixed practice
- redo chem at University of Athabasca (online)
- treat application like an internship, plan it out in terms with each term dedicated to volunteer work in a different part of the vet industry
- sign up for vet journals, answer ethical questions of the month
- have coffee with a new vet every month, come up with a list of questions to ask them
- start reading journal for stories related to animals, vet practice etc.
Well I think that's it for now. All of this has been tumbling around in my brain and it feels great to get it out. I think that confidence has been a big issue for me and today I feel confident and happy. Hope you are having a great weekend.
Sunday 21 September 2014
Friday 5 October 2012
Last Post?
Hey Everyone,
I'm not sure why I randomly visited my blog today, but I thought I should write something to wrap things up on the "applying to vet school" part of my life.
I didn't get in this year. That is not to say I couldn't try again next year or that I wouldn't have been or could be a good vet. However, at least for now, this is the end of the road for me vet school wise. There are many reasons but the biggest one is that my heart is not in it. I gave it a good push, and I'm proud to say I tried so hard, because that last few years of school were probably the hardest of my life so far. Moving forward, I see a family in my near future, and I know there is always time...but for me, it's just not important enough to spend the next at least 5 years of my life pursuing more school.
It is SO important to me to spend my life with animals. Caring for them, improving their lives, just hanging out... and in that regard I'm positive I can fulfill that passion. I am so much more than my profession: I am a guardian, a foster parent, a volunteer, a role model, a leader in the community and a trainer. And I'm pretty proud of that. It is disappointing that I will probably never have the expertise that vet's do, and the knowledge on how to help and be a legitimate expert that people would respect and seek out but it's alright. I can live with that.
As far as a profession. I think I've finally figured out my plan B. And it's interior design. ;) So to all you pre-vets out their who may be reading this? I'll make you a deal - I'll bring Ragamuffin in to see you but you come see me when you are in need of a renovation!
Jammy :)
I'm not sure why I randomly visited my blog today, but I thought I should write something to wrap things up on the "applying to vet school" part of my life.
I didn't get in this year. That is not to say I couldn't try again next year or that I wouldn't have been or could be a good vet. However, at least for now, this is the end of the road for me vet school wise. There are many reasons but the biggest one is that my heart is not in it. I gave it a good push, and I'm proud to say I tried so hard, because that last few years of school were probably the hardest of my life so far. Moving forward, I see a family in my near future, and I know there is always time...but for me, it's just not important enough to spend the next at least 5 years of my life pursuing more school.
It is SO important to me to spend my life with animals. Caring for them, improving their lives, just hanging out... and in that regard I'm positive I can fulfill that passion. I am so much more than my profession: I am a guardian, a foster parent, a volunteer, a role model, a leader in the community and a trainer. And I'm pretty proud of that. It is disappointing that I will probably never have the expertise that vet's do, and the knowledge on how to help and be a legitimate expert that people would respect and seek out but it's alright. I can live with that.
As far as a profession. I think I've finally figured out my plan B. And it's interior design. ;) So to all you pre-vets out their who may be reading this? I'll make you a deal - I'll bring Ragamuffin in to see you but you come see me when you are in need of a renovation!
Jammy :)
Tuesday 6 March 2012
I Owe You This One.
Hey everyone,
Well, I did not get an interview for Calgary. I'm just going to go ahead and assume I won't get one for Saskatoon either. Yes, I cried. However, I cry a lot. Haha, no, I don't really know how to explain how I feel. Rejection sucks no matter how it's packaged. But I'm almost in a good mood right now. There are so many opportunities when I'm not tied to vet school. I think the biggest thing is that I hate sciences and I hate U of A. So thinking about the fact that I will not be going to school in September is kind of nice.
Cons to not going to vet school this year: I will not be a vet by 2016. *Ramifications include potentially delaying how long I have to wait until I have kids, this is stressful. Also, delays when I start my career, aka making any significant amount of money, which also sucks.
Pros to not going to vet school this year: Freedom!I can move with my fiance if he gets into engineering somewhere. I don't have to force myself to be someone I am not (aka what I am doing right now trying to get through this degree). I can relax for a while. I can work and pay for my wedding. I could become a realtor. I could become a zookeeper. I could settle for the year and focus on saving money and thinking about what I want from a career. I don't have to spend every second of my free time volunteering.
As everyone is telling me. I will be OK. I know that, but it is difficult to be motivated right after you are told "NO". How can two more months of a degree be so torturous? It's like life is testing me one last time, "are you SURE you want this?" For a bachelor's degree that everyone says is useless, I'm sure jumping through a lot of hoops.
I wish this post was a little more dramatic for you (M), but I just don't feel it. Sorry folks. I actually feel pretty good.
Well, I did not get an interview for Calgary. I'm just going to go ahead and assume I won't get one for Saskatoon either. Yes, I cried. However, I cry a lot. Haha, no, I don't really know how to explain how I feel. Rejection sucks no matter how it's packaged. But I'm almost in a good mood right now. There are so many opportunities when I'm not tied to vet school. I think the biggest thing is that I hate sciences and I hate U of A. So thinking about the fact that I will not be going to school in September is kind of nice.
Cons to not going to vet school this year: I will not be a vet by 2016. *Ramifications include potentially delaying how long I have to wait until I have kids, this is stressful. Also, delays when I start my career, aka making any significant amount of money, which also sucks.
Pros to not going to vet school this year: Freedom!I can move with my fiance if he gets into engineering somewhere. I don't have to force myself to be someone I am not (aka what I am doing right now trying to get through this degree). I can relax for a while. I can work and pay for my wedding. I could become a realtor. I could become a zookeeper. I could settle for the year and focus on saving money and thinking about what I want from a career. I don't have to spend every second of my free time volunteering.
As everyone is telling me. I will be OK. I know that, but it is difficult to be motivated right after you are told "NO". How can two more months of a degree be so torturous? It's like life is testing me one last time, "are you SURE you want this?" For a bachelor's degree that everyone says is useless, I'm sure jumping through a lot of hoops.
I wish this post was a little more dramatic for you (M), but I just don't feel it. Sorry folks. I actually feel pretty good.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to
climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein
― Albert Einstein
P.S. I probably won't be writing a lot for a while. If there are any prevetters that would like to ask questions or commiserate about how much they hate UofA - you know where to find me. ; )
Sunday 12 February 2012
10 reasons I like U of A
Maybe I should change my blog name to ihateuofa.com?
I have been bitching and whinging about U of A non stop for the last month (oh, ok since day one) and I'm getting tired of it. I want to change. But old habits die hard. Yesterday I had a bit of insight into why I seem to loathe this place a little more than your average (science) student. During a conversation with friends, I realized that by taking my year off before coming to university, and by taking my semester off in fourth year, I really distanced myself from my peers. This may not seem like the end of the world but I missed out on studying with my friends, lunches and general socializing during university. A few friends of mine who are slightly older than me were reminiscing about socializing at university and how much fun they used to have. That is one reason that I would really look forward to vet school; small class sizes allow you to make real friendships. As a very social person, walking around day to day with one friend on campus who I only get to see three times a week, is a kind of purgatory. Thank goodness for smartphones that let me feel connected to people in some small way. I can think of only two real friends than I made at university. Lets think about that, in five years, over 30 classes, and 6200 science students, I made TWO friends. Currently, one lives in California pursuing a professional education, and one is working (for next to nothing) as a biologist. No wonder I'm lonely. I go to school every day with 30,000 other people and I maybe get to see my one friend three times a week.
Now, that sounds pretty self-indulgent, I agree. I now realize that it was up to me to make friends, work on relationships, etc. But with two months to go I'm just not up for it. So with that depressing piece of insight, I will tell you things that I enjoy about U of A:
- Um...
- Kidding! Here they are:
- The fireplace in Sub
- The napping room in Sub
- The cafeteria on 4th floor BioSci (Especially to go study there in the morning, you can see the sunrise over the river valley and downtown)
- The Harry Potter room in Rutherford
- The Faculty of ALES
- The Faculty of Art and Design
- Knowledge common
- The horse portraits in SUB
- People watching in HUB mall, especially seeing what all the cool art kids are wearing
- The exceptional teachers that really care about teaching, I have had a few.
There! That is 10 whole things that I love about U of A. (It felt really weird writing I love U of A - uh...not ready for this)
Anyway, what else did I want to tell you? Oh yea, this will probably be my last post before I know if I have interviews this year. I have very mixed feelings about this. In fact, I'd rather not think of it at all... however, in about two weeks my fate will be decided. In some ways, I don't want to get in this year. If I had a year to work and relax and not have exams, how bad could that be? But in other ways, a whole year to wait and wonder postpone other life goals even longer (I really want a pig), seems like torture. The plan is to look internationally next year if I don't get in this year and that opens up a whole host of of problems and feelings. And the bigger plan is to try for 3 years and then cut my losses. Still no plan B on the horizon though. I have had flitting thoughts of being a hairstylist. Whatever it is, Plan B has to eventually lead to my owning a ranch/bed&breakfast (same as Plan A) and it has to have nothing to do with science.
Sitting, Wishing, Waiting...
Jammy
I have been bitching and whinging about U of A non stop for the last month (oh, ok since day one) and I'm getting tired of it. I want to change. But old habits die hard. Yesterday I had a bit of insight into why I seem to loathe this place a little more than your average (science) student. During a conversation with friends, I realized that by taking my year off before coming to university, and by taking my semester off in fourth year, I really distanced myself from my peers. This may not seem like the end of the world but I missed out on studying with my friends, lunches and general socializing during university. A few friends of mine who are slightly older than me were reminiscing about socializing at university and how much fun they used to have. That is one reason that I would really look forward to vet school; small class sizes allow you to make real friendships. As a very social person, walking around day to day with one friend on campus who I only get to see three times a week, is a kind of purgatory. Thank goodness for smartphones that let me feel connected to people in some small way. I can think of only two real friends than I made at university. Lets think about that, in five years, over 30 classes, and 6200 science students, I made TWO friends. Currently, one lives in California pursuing a professional education, and one is working (for next to nothing) as a biologist. No wonder I'm lonely. I go to school every day with 30,000 other people and I maybe get to see my one friend three times a week.
Now, that sounds pretty self-indulgent, I agree. I now realize that it was up to me to make friends, work on relationships, etc. But with two months to go I'm just not up for it. So with that depressing piece of insight, I will tell you things that I enjoy about U of A:
- Um...
- Kidding! Here they are:
- The fireplace in Sub
- The napping room in Sub
- The cafeteria on 4th floor BioSci (Especially to go study there in the morning, you can see the sunrise over the river valley and downtown)
- The Harry Potter room in Rutherford
- The Faculty of ALES
- The Faculty of Art and Design
- Knowledge common
- The horse portraits in SUB
- People watching in HUB mall, especially seeing what all the cool art kids are wearing
- The exceptional teachers that really care about teaching, I have had a few.
There! That is 10 whole things that I love about U of A. (It felt really weird writing I love U of A - uh...not ready for this)
Anyway, what else did I want to tell you? Oh yea, this will probably be my last post before I know if I have interviews this year. I have very mixed feelings about this. In fact, I'd rather not think of it at all... however, in about two weeks my fate will be decided. In some ways, I don't want to get in this year. If I had a year to work and relax and not have exams, how bad could that be? But in other ways, a whole year to wait and wonder postpone other life goals even longer (I really want a pig), seems like torture. The plan is to look internationally next year if I don't get in this year and that opens up a whole host of of problems and feelings. And the bigger plan is to try for 3 years and then cut my losses. Still no plan B on the horizon though. I have had flitting thoughts of being a hairstylist. Whatever it is, Plan B has to eventually lead to my owning a ranch/bed&breakfast (same as Plan A) and it has to have nothing to do with science.
Sitting, Wishing, Waiting...
Jammy
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