Common Questions

Question 1

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Answer 1

-focus on strengths (living on a farm, working at a bet clinic)
*education
*experience
-share some hobbies
-things you are passionate about
*don’t over complicate it
*positive body language and enthusiasm

Question 2

Why do you want to become a vet?

Answer 2

*more specific the better
-agriculture (want to see farmers succeed)
-helping out on the farm
*I believe I have what it takes to succeed in this profession
*dedicated
*compassionate
*love interacting with people and animals
*passionate

Question 3

Can you please tell us more about your working experience with animals?

Answer 3

*narrate in detail what you did
-how it impacted me to decided to go into ved medicine
*talk with enthusiasm
-share about talking with veterinarians

Question 4

Why did you chose this school, and not another one?

Answer 4

-good reputation
-faculty with a range of specialities and clinical disciplines (range of animal species)
-veterinary medical centre
-livestock and forage center of excellence (LFCE)
*ONE HEALTH: only Canadian university with a full complement of health science colleges and schools on one campus.
*opportunity for different clinicals (ex. dog sled reace 2 week rotation)

Question 5

Where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

Answer 5

*clear vision
-working on Vancouver Island at Agwest
-be helping on the dairy farm and being an advocate for the dairy industry
-I realize I have alot of studying, exams, and practice for this dream to come true

Question 6

What is your plan B? What will you do if you do not get into vet school?

Answer 6

-getting into vet school is first priority
-I hope I have protrayed myself in a way that makes me a suitable canadite to study at the university
-live on Vancouver Island, help on the farm and continue to job shadow and work with other veterinarians
*apply again next year

Question 7

Vet school is finanically demanding. How do you plan to finance your studies?

Answer 7

*show you have made plans and calculations
-husband and I have savings
-educational savings that I didn’t need to use for my degree
-scholarships
-husband will be working
-work in the summer

Question 8

It is not easy to study at a vet school. How do you plan to handle the workload, and what do you plan to sacrafice in order to succeed?

Answer 8

-amazing and challenging
-devote most of my time to my studies
-I am commited and excited to learn more and work towards my dream
-had to have great time management with being a student-athlete
-good at having a balance with different areas of my life
-social life will be different as I wont be close to my friends, but look forward to meeting new people at university

Question 9

Except for studying, what do you plan to do while being at the college?

Answer 9

-will continue exercising, great for a variety of reasons (mentally, physically, sleeping)
-involved with the volleyball team (either as a player maybe or at least help coach a couple of times a week)
-also been involved with Athletes in Action and would love to join the group on the UofS campus

Question 10

Does your academic record accuartely reflect your capabilities?

Answer 10

-yes
-shows my motivations, work ethic, and dedication
-I worked hard throughout my degree and graduated with honors

Question 11

What are your hobbies?

Answer 11

-be honest
-they want to get to know you
-be open

Question 12

How do you think veterinary medicine in Canada can be improved? How would you go about helping to influence those changes?

Answer 12

*values and attitude interest the interviewers
-avabilability of vet care
-cost of care (not everyone can pay for the treatment their animals need)
-ethical issues

Question 13

Imagine that an owner brings their healthy pet to you and ask you to euthanize it, because they are moving out of the state (or out of the country). What will you do?

Answer 13

-show understanding
-suggest different options
(shelter, adoption, go fund me page)

Question 14

Tell us about the best/worst experience you’ve had while working/volunteering at [name of the place where you worked before]?

Answer 14

Best: bernes mountain dog eating the tennis balls two days in a row (seeing them on the x-ray and then watching the vet take them out)
*teamwork
Worst: great learning experience, but an angry client
-don’t idealize your future profession

Question 15

In your opinion, what makes a great veterinarian nowadays?

Answer 15

-interpersonal skills
-teamwork
-time management skills
-excellent relationship with the veterinarian staff
-ethical dilemmas
-willingness to learn
-quick thinking and problem solving
-being able to brush off bad days/cases/clients etc

Question 16

Should commerical considerations outweigh the welfare of animals?

Answer 16

-animal welfare always have a prority before commercial consideration
*also important for us
-poorly treated animals=low quality produce
*connection between animal and human welfare

Question 17

What is the difference between animal rights and animal welfare?

Answer 17

Animal welfare: animals have interests but allow these interests to be traded away as long as there are some human benefits that are justifiable

Animal rights: animals have interests that cannot be sacrificed or traded away just because it might benefit others
-animals are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment, or experimentation

*animals shouldn’t be used in clinical trails or experiments unless absolutely necessary, or that if we breed them, we should not follow the cheapest and the most commercially profitable way (intensive agriculture), *opt for more sustainable approach to farming.

Question 18

Would you refuse treatment to a sick or injured animal if the owner could not pay for your services?

Answer 18

-wouldn’t refuse, but would try work out a repayment plan
-maybe start a fund or ask family
*would treat the animal, and try my best to eventually get the payment

Question 19

Tell us about a time you demonstrated leadership.

Answer 19

-show you can connect with people
*volleyball
*4-H
*leadership adventure course
*running for parkinson’s fundraiser
*show that I don’t mind stepping into a leadership role when the situation demands it

Question 20

Tell us about an obstacle you have overcame.

Answer 20

*your attitude to overcoming obstacles is what matters
-can you make a sacrifice?
-can you step out of your comfort zone?
*never give up attitude

Question 21

Describe a conflict you had with someone at work or at school.

Answer 21

*can you admit to making a mistake?
-solve conflicts constructively?
-find compromise and solve the conflict instead of expecting the other person to move towards resolution
*don’t have many conflicts
-recognize that it can happen
-respecting people, always hearing them out, presenting my ideas as opinions instead of an unshakable truth.

Question 22

Tell us about a stressful situation you have experienced.

Answer 22

Ex. exam period
*have remedies (ex. exercise)
-mindset (keeping things into perspective)
*convincing them that you can deal with the pressure, and that it does not have a significant impact on your physical or mental well-being

Question 23

Describe a time you struggled to communicate something to someone. How did you eventually manage to get your message over?

Answer 23

-working on an assignment with classmates or having to explain things to clients
*okay with stepping out of my comfort zone
*adujust my language to the abilities and knowledge of my audience
Ex: answering calls at the clinic, not being able to get people in that fast because of busy schedule, working hard, understand they care for their pet
*patient in communication (okay with repeating)

Question 24

Tell us about a situation when you reached a goal and describe how you achieved it.

Answer 24

-do you set goals for yourself?
*help them understand your methdology and attitude to work
*clearly define the goal and the steps you took to acheive it
Ex. Running for Parkinson’s fundraiser, volleyball

Question 25

Do you have any questions?

Answer 25

*show you are genuinely interested
-Is there anything you need clarification on that I said today?
-What are the next steps of the admission process?
-what opportunities does the lifestock and forage centre of excellence provide for students throughout their years?
-thank you for the talk, I have really enjoyed it. I hope I have responded in a way that made me a strong candidate for your program as I would love to study and grow as a person at U of S