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Writing a personal statement for vet school

Written by: vet times jobs
Published on: 8 Nov 2016

Writing personal statement

Image © berc/Fotolia.

Writing a personal statement is an important part of the application process for veterinary school.

It's in place to check you can meet the minimum requirements for a school or college and completion is generally expected alongside an exam, work experience questionnaire and attendance at an interview.

So, what do you need to include in your statement for a successful application to veterinary school?

Make it personal

A generic personal statement that reads similar to those of other applicants will not help your application stand out from the crowd. It should be personal to you and highlight things such as:

  • your motivation for studying at veterinary school
  • experience
  • academic interests
  • details of extra-curricular activities

You should also explain why you are applying to that particular veterinary school.

Motivation

Demonstrating your motivation to work in the veterinary field should be central to your personal statement.

Talk about why you want to be a vet and what you have done so far to progress towards this aim. Talk specifically about your career aspirations and the particular fields you would like to specialise in.

Simply writing you have wanted to be a vet since you were five years old is not going to make an impression.

Keep it simple

You may be tempted to fill your personal statement with technical jargon and academic detail. This isn’t really what a personal statement is for.

Write in plain English and, although you can make reference to some aspects of medicine or technology, try to talk about yourself and your suitability for a place at the school.

Proofreading

While you are not applying for a job as an English teacher, good spelling and grammar indicates you are professional and have good communication skills. If you use medical terms, it’s particularly important you spell them correctly.

Use the spell-checker on the software you use to type your statement, but also ask somebody to cast an eye over it.

One spelling mistake will not be crucial to the success of your application, but a statement littered with errors is likely to cast doubts as to your suitability.