TIGERS, LIONS, AND LEOPARDS! OH MY!

So this has nothing to do with Vet School stuff except for the fact that I REALLY LOVE EXOTICS!!!! I surprised Brian to a visit to a Big Cat Sanctuary in Wisconsin! It was truly amazing!! The website is here: www.wisconsinbigcats.org   and if you want to check it out and donate feel free!! They have at least 22 large cats - bengal tigers, african lions, siberian tigers, black leopards (aka panthers), spotted leopards, and one serval! They saved a bunch from a backyard breeder who had 20+ cats in two tiny cages built with the space for only one or two cats! They also got a couple from zoo's in wisconsin and illinois that shut down or didn't have room for them. They let people walk along the cages (not to close of course) and read about the cats' lives on a self-guided tour. Brian and I stayed about 2 hours and did two really slow laps! Kahn, a siberian tiger, was just like our cat Dood at home. We were the only ones there for a bit and he was rubbing up on the cage about 3 feet from us and making their funny snorts and we were snorting back! He enjoyed my talking attempts and when Brian and I decided to go on to the next cage he flipped over on his back all playful like he wanted bellyrubs!! The whole time I was there my heart was overjoyed at these people who have saved these animals lives and made it their lives work to care and protect them! I want to do as good of things as these people and I know being a veterinarian is the only career path that would suit me and allow me to do those things!

IT WAS A TRULY GREAT DAY!!!

 Tiger striped Mickey Mouse with half of the cages in the background.

 Kahn being all playful

 Kahn showing us how handsome he could be

 I believe this was parker, but he was pacing back and forth snorting at me and trying to get our pheremones, hence why his tongue is out at us! He liked talking to Brian and I!

 3 of 4 leopards (one had his own cage). Boy on the top level, two females on the bottom level all came to the sanctuary together.

 Two males which rarely live together but have been together since they were very little so they don't know that they are different species!

 Two sisters!! <3

 Avalanche the BIG male (literally twice her size) and Snowflake the small female!!!

I'M BACK!

So I know it has been awhile, but I've finally got a lot to tell everyone! It has been a busy few months for me and I hope to update more regularly until I leave for Australia! Updating was painfully non-existent because my boyfriend, our 3 cats, and I moved from our cute college town back to our parents' home town to save money for the move and see everyone we can! We are finally getting settled after bouncing between two houses and multiple bedrooms. My oldest brother also got married on Oct. 20 and my other brother and I were both in the wedding party so there was LOTS to help with lately. Then my brother who was in the wedding party just bought a house that I have been helping fix up! Taking off wallpaper and painting while my dad and uncle put in a gas furnace! Such an exciting time for all members of my family!! 

I think this post will mainly be the application process I have been through so far. So Murdoch suggests that people apply online, but I found a way to print the application (if you wanna know I will walk you through how to find it) and it was only two pages.I then submit it along with all of my other materials. The other materials needed to apply are: a very detailed curriculum vitae/ resume highlighting education classes and work/practical experience that pertains to Veterinary Medicine, 2-4 references preferably from Veterinarians and Professors, and the highly important personal statement. The personal statement is always the hardest addition to the application and I suggest with whatever school you pick, you tell them in your statement why their school will be a good fit for you! Along with how your education, work, and volunteer experiences have shaped you as a person and how it has prepared you for a career in Veterinary Medicine. Do NOT claim that you know everything there is to know about Veterinary Medicine, that is SURE to turn off any admissions person reading through your application. Highlight what you have learned and how you hope to expand on it or how it has guided you to what you want to specialize in/focus on in Vet School. THAT IS IT!! That is all I had to submit to Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. It was only $30 to send in the application and I got accepted. That saved me from paying for and taking the GRE (required exam for US and some European vet schools). Also I did NOT have to have a bachelors before I applied which just saved me two more years of undergraduate study just to get my Bachelors in Animal Science and Vet tech certification.

OK! Once I got the acceptance email, I was given 30 days to accept. Accepting my spot meant that I had to send in $1000 Aussie dollars (AUD) just as a deposit to save my seat, and I had to send in $2,500AUD for all 5 years of Overseas Student Health Cover up front (but this was through the school suggested insurance provider). Since Australia recognizes partnerships, I am allowed to have B, my boyfriend, apply for a Defacto Partner Visa underneath my student visa. This meant I had to have insurance for BOTH of us for ALL 5 years upfront! The provider that the school suggested wanted $6,000AUD for a family package! CRAZY. So I did my research and found a different provider that offered single, couple, or family insurance and was only $3,843AUD for the BOTH of us for all 5 years! So much cheaper than the school's provider. Thanks to B working two jobs and my parents giving me their tax return I was able to make all my payments within the month timeframe!

That is all I am going to discuss in this post! Next post will be financial aid and visa information!! I will definitely posting more regularly!!

Getting Started

Hello family, friends, and animal lovers everywhere!

This is my first blog ever and just a warning: updating is going to be slow to start! A little background about me: I am from Wisconsin, USA born and raised. I went to UW-Eau Claire to start my undergraduate career as a Biology Major with a pre-vet emphasis. Not knowing what I would do with biology if I didn't get accepted to Vet school, I decided to transfer to UW - River Falls in order to obtain my Bachelors in Animal Science - Vet tech emphasis. After completing most of my bachelors and all of the pre-reqs for Vet school I decided to apply to Murdoch University in Perth, Australia on a whim (I will explain application process in another post). My plan was to send that application out, take the GRE, and start applying to US and European schools for the 2012 application cycle just to see how it all worked before getting my bachelors (because if I was missing something I still had time to fix it during my undergrad without graduating, applying, and then realizing you missed something and have to pay Graduate level fees to fix it). However, to my surprise I was offered admission to Murdoch without a bachelors and I ACCEPTED! In 5 years I will be a veterinarian! WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE!

I have started this blog in order for my family to keep up with what I am doing abroad because I just won't have the time to email everyone individually, in order to help others who are considering going abroad for vet school, and for anyone else who cares to read about the whim's of a soon-to-be sleep-deprived American vet student in Australia!

ENJOY!