The "Experiences" Section of the VMCAS Application: the activities I included

Everyone's involvement journey before veterinary school is unique, so I thought I would share mine to bring hope to those who switched to being pre-vet relatively late in their undergraduate studies. All of the animal related activities on my application I did during my junior year and the summer following it, so it is possible to fit it all in! I just had to do a pretty much complete 180 to animal-related volunteer activities and jobs to fit it all in in one year prior to submitting my application before my senior year.

Let's start off the my extracurricular activities I included in my application. I was involved in club volleyball, an environmental club, a service-oriented fraternity, and many other "side" clubs that I did not include in my application - they were only on my resume that was sent to the schools. Honestly, looking back at my application, I'm surprised I didn't submit some of these "extra" extracurriculars that I did because I probably should have, but I guess it worked out, so it didn't matter. The ones I did include in my application as "Extracurricular Activities" are below. I included the position and description exactly as they were worded on my application. I logged about 1700 hours total between all of the positions.

Position	Description
Orientation Coordinator	Planned orientation for Fall 2025 at Emory University and mentor orientation leaders (OLs). Recruited and selected OLs by tabling, conducting interviews, and analyzing applications. Helped build a curriculum for orientation, worked with student leaders around campus to organize events, and strengthened my leadership and peer mentorship skills. Facilitated the training of a diverse group of 12 orientation leaders. (in-person)
Organic Chemistry Learning Assistant	Hosted weekly meetings with 10-15 students enrolled in Organic Chemistry I & II to help them master the class content. Honed in on my empathy, compassion, and confidence. Learned how to translate my knowledge into teachable material that students taking organic chemistry for the first time could understand. (in-person)
Orientation Leader	Mentored students through their first week of college. Learned to facilitate group discussion amongst sometimes reluctant students, practiced public speaking skills, and learned how to lead diverse groups of people. (in- person)
Sophomore Advisor	Prepared lyrics, a video, a t-shirt design, and choreography for Songfest, an Emory tradition. Organized events for my residents, helped them find community at Emory, assisted the RAs with their duties, and created a welcoming and encouraging environment for incoming freshmen. (in-person)

Now for my "Employment (not animal related)" - lifeguarding + teaching swim lessons. I lifeguarded every summer from 2022-2024 as well as during the school year of 2024-2025. Clocking around 800 hours total between the summers and school year.

Position	Description
Lifeguard	Kept patrons safe in and around the water, held a friendly and welcoming demeanor when interacting with community members, and communicated with coworkers and management about pool maintenance and safety. Honed in on my skills of impeccable concentration and observation. Became proficient in CPR, first aid, and operating an AED (in-person)
Lifeguard and Swim Instructor	Kept patrons safe in and around the water, held a friendly and welcoming demeanor when interacting with community members, and communicated with coworkers and management about pool maintenance and safety. Taught children ages 6 months old to 12 years old all levels of swimming. Developed leadership skills by being in charge of the swim education and safety of large groups of children during summer 2022 and 2023. (in- person)

I did a lot of research during my undergrad and in the summers, totaling around 1100 hours in two different labs. The total synthesis lab is where I spent the majority of those hours. Here is what I included as "Research" in my experiences section.

Position	Description
Undergraduate Researcher - Total Synthesis, Organic Chemistry	Performed research for over 30 hours a week with graduate student Cyrus Gudeman on the Total Synthesis of Neocucurbol A and Palladium Catalyzed Carbonylative Spirolactonization of Hydroxycyclopropanols. Learned laboratory techniques while honing my problem-solving and analytical thinking skills. I am soon to be published in Organic Synthases for the Palladium Catalyzed Carbonylative Spirolactonization of Hydroxycyclopropanols. (in-person)
Undergraduate Researcher - Molecular Modeling	Spent 60 hours working with the Baylor MiniPharma Molecular Modeling team (part of the Hull and Romo labs) to build molecules for the QR Chem website using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) and ChemDraw. Learned computational chemistry, stereochemistry, and to think like a chemist. (in-person)

For my "Animal Experience (no Veterinarian Involved)" I had 35 hours.

Position	Description
Volunteer Bird Rehabber	Feed, nurture, and rehabilitate injured or orphaned birds back to health. Learn about bird conservation, the native birds of Georgia, and how to interact with birds. (in-person)
Volunteer - PAWS Atlanta Animal Shelter	Walked, exercised, and socialized shelter dogs. Fed, socialized, and cleaned up after the shelter cats. Communicated with other volunteers, management, and potential adopters. (in-person)

For my "Veterinary Experience (with a Veterinarian)," I worked 2 different jobs at clinics in the area. One around 20 hours a week during the school year and additional hours during winter break, and both ~25 hours a week over the summer (for a total of 50 a week). Which totaled to around 1300 hours together.

Position	Description
Veterinary Assistant	Monitor anesthesia levels and vitals during surgery, discuss treatment plans with clients, answer phones, run laboratory tests, fill prescriptions, place IV catheters, assist veterinarians with procedures, and manage the hospital's social media. Gained experience working with reptiles, rodents, rabbits, cats, and dogs. (in-person)
Veterinary Assistant	Perform venipuncture and animal restraint, communicate with clients, take vital signs and detailed notes of patient history, wrap surgical instruments, monitor patients under anesthesia, run lab work, and insert IV catheters. Learn hard and soft skills from veterinarians and observe their surgeries. (in-person)

This is what I submitted in my application, but everyones journey is so totally different, with more or less hours in each category. So, don't worry if yours looks a little or a lot different, you can still make it!