The Vet in Training: Amanda Taylor Gray

Since interviewing with our Her Campus Team, Amanda has been accepted to University College Dublin, Ireland. 
Name: Amanda Gray
Year: 2012
Major: Biology B.S., Pre-Vet

What are your plans after graduation? I plan to attend veterinary school for four years and then complete a residence and become board certified in reproductive medicine.
 
What inspired you to become a veterinarian? I started riding when I was 10, I had several horses that went lame or had other veterinary problems. I realized I wanted to be a vet when I stepped back and saw that I did not care about the riding half as much as I enjoyed being there and just taking care of my animal.
 
What Veterinary schools have you applied to? University of California at Davis (Interviewing in March), Virginia Tech-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (have not heard), Mississippi State University (interviewed), Western University of Health Sciences (which is in Los Angeles, CA – interviewed)and University College Dublin, Ireland (have not heard yet).
 
How has your interview process for veterinary school been going? It’s good! It definitely gets easier the more you do it I think. Although, every school will throw something different at you, so you are never 100 percent prepared. Still, I think believing in yourself and knowing that you deserve to be there goes a long way. You try not to over think things and take things personally, but this is your dream, so of course it’s easier said than done, haha!!!
 
What do you do to cope with the stresses of balancing school and vet school interviews? By the time anyone reaches this point, they have dealt with stress in a lot of different areas. In all honesty, I just time manage. You take your homework on the road with you. You do group projects via email.  I know that I miss classes, but that those absences are for well respected reasons. I’m grateful I go to a small school, with professors that understand that.
 
Do you feel that you have faced obstacles coming from a smaller school rather than somewhere larger? I was told when applying to veterinary schools that some veterinary schools would not look at me as highly for attending a smaller, less known university. Schools release statistics, of which schools they have taken students from. I tried to stay away from the schools that did not accept from smaller schools that often. However, UC Davis does not accept from small schools that often, and I still got that interview.
 
What advice would you give someone following in your career path? Keep following your career path. Any interview orientation will always include a dean telling you that being a veterinarian is the greatest profession in the world. It’s a very noble path, and you don’t have a desire to follow it without reason. It’s a hard path; it is not for the faint of heart; but I firmly believe it will be worth every step of the way. And also, when applying, really try to make yourself unique. I know that word is thrown around a lot, but in all honesty, I still wonder how I landed any interviews my first time around, and I think a large part of that is that I worked on my personal statement like mad. It is hard to get a committee to get a sense of you on paper, but you have time to try as hard as you can on that. And I would recommend doing just that. Also, make valuable connections. Recommendation letters go a long way. That goes for any field.  And as a wise veterinarian once told me:  Smile. It makes everything better.