College Application Tips for Equestrians

to the essay Randi says to keep the horse parts as basic as possible. Most people will have some limited understanding of horses whether its from riding once at summer camp or even watching a movieenough to know that you sit in the saddle and steer with the reins so using those basic terms is fine. But avoid using specialized horse jargon Write about what you learned when you fell off in front of a jump not an oxer.
Randi advises running your essay past a friend or a teacher who isnt a horse person as a test.
Read it out loud and see if they understand the story youre telling she says. Did they understand what you were saying on the horse side of things?
Standing Out
If youre applying to a school that doesnt have a fullfledged equine studies program your equestrian experience can be one thing that makes you stand out from the crowd.
Because of her equine knowledge and experience Aubrey received a scholarship to ride on the eventing team at Transylvania University.
It has also gotten me really great jobs with amazing riders and mentors that I look up to she says.
Prevet student Harley Davis assists Dr. Kaitlin Quinter with a minor equine surgery at Albion College. Photo courtesy Albion College
In addition if youre also applying for scholarships most will have a grade point average requirement so the better your GPA the more scholarship money you will be eligible to apply for.
I like students to know their best bet for scholarships is to come in with the very best grades that they can shares Randi. Academic merit scholarships are where the majority of scholarship dollars come to students every yearregardless of major regardless of school.
Show that academics are also a priority in your application. If you know what you want to study taking the initiative to explore that area is another thing that can set you apart.
For students applying to a college that has an equine program youre applying with a lot of other people also interested in that program who share similar experiences to you says Randi. Its going to be those other opportunities that youve taken to educate yourself that make you stand out.
For example if youre interested in veterinary medicine this would include shadowing a vet or a job helping out at the vet clinic. If youre interested in marketing you might volunteer to help your trainer by
doing some social media for her. If you want to study equine business management to become a horse show manager you could volunteer at local shows or help run the schooling show at your barn. As an added benefit pursuing these areas of interest in the horse industry may reveal opportunities that you werent even aware existed.
Ultimately Randi says students need to be themselves in the application process because doing activities you arent genuinely interested in just to list them on your resume isnt going to serve you well in the long run.