Veterinary applications teams will read hundreds of vet personal statements per year, so it goes without saying that making yours unique and interesting to read is essential. People applying to vet school, as a general rule, have much in common - which you would expect given that you are all applying for such a vocational degree - so this makes it particularly important to make your vet school personal statement stand out. We have listed our top tips here on how to write your personal statement for vet school. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list - you will find our full breakdown and detailed instruction in our Vet School Personal Statement Guide.
1) Write a strong introduction
This is the equivalent to making a good first impression in real life - your introduction can make or break the rest of your vet school statement, so make it stand out! This is a good part of your Veterinary Personal Statement to discuss your motivation for studying veterinary medicine, and our advice here is to make it personal to you specifically. Please avoid clichés here such as “making a difference” and the “satisfaction of helping animals” etc - these may well be true, but unfortunately also very commonly seen in Examples of Personal Statements for Veterinary Medicine so doesn’t add much to your application. Think about what has happened to you personally that has led you to want to become a vet. Keep it succinct and clear - the introduction doesn’t need to be long (words are precious with a 4,000 character limit) so just make it relevant and unique.
2) Be reflective
Simply listing what you have done is not only boring to read, but also doesn’t really demonstrate that you have developed knowledge or skills from doing it. When you mention your vet school work experience, discuss what you learned from it and provide examples. Likewise, when discussing your hobbies, demonstrate what you have learned from them that is relevant to a career in Veterinary Medicine - did they help to develop your teamwork skills, for example?
3) Discuss your personal attributes and why they would make you a good vet
It is a ‘Personal’ Statement for a reason - the veterinary applications team will be trying to get a glimpse into your personality beyond simply what you have achieved - much of this, at least academically, will already be evident in your GCSE scores and predicted A Level grades for vet school. When discussing your attributes, back them up wherever possible with examples of when/where you demonstrated this; if you are struggling on this, we highly recommend visiting the Veterinary Personal Statement Examples Section on our website for help on how to write a personal statement for vet school.
4) Show that you appreciate the realities of a career in Veterinary Medicine in Your Personal Statement
It is not uncommon for young applicants to have a ‘rose tinted’ view of what a career in Veterinary Medicine might look like - obviously, you are applying to vet school because this is your dream career - but it is important that you are also aware of the pitfalls and difficulties that vets and veterinary students are likely to encounter. This will show that you have carefully considered the realities of a career as a vet, and thus makes your veterinary application stronger. Often this will be evident through the vet work experience that you have carried out.
5) Conclude your statement clearly
Essentially, this should summarise the key points of your Vet Personal Statement to round it off succinctly and confidently. Using points previously made in your statement, reinforce the final demonstration of your motivation to study Veterinary Medicine.
We also provide a tailored service as part of our Vet Personal Statement Guide, & Ultimate Package where we will individually assess and critique your personal statement, giving feedback and suggestions/corrections to optimise your chance of success - click above to see more. You will be assigned a personal Admissions Specialist who will guide your Vet School Personal Statement until it is perfect - you have unlimited access to them!
Written by Dr Rebecca & the BecomeAVet Team
Click HERE to find out more about how our tutors can help you maximise your chances of gaining an offer to study Veterinary Medicine.