College Application Tips for Equestrians

the challenges youre going to face as a college student.
Focusing on personal development also helps take wealth and privilege out of the equation.
It doesnt matter how much the horse cost says Randi. What matters is what youre saying you learned from the experience.
Ashley Lounsberry 20 recently graduated with a degree in animal science from Iowa State University and has been accepted to the veterinary school there. She wrote about horses in her personal statement for both undergrad and vet school.
I was able to incorporate it in two ways for my undergrad statement says Ashley. The first was to highlight the traits that I learned from my time spent riding and participating in the Arabian Horse Youth Association and how my time spent in the industry helped me grow as a person.
I also explained that growing up with horses helped me realize that I wanted to become an equine sports medicine veterinarian she continues. For vet school I wrote about my time spent working with horses and equine veterinarians and how those experiences helped me determine that equine sports medicine was the field of medicine in which I was interested. 
Ashley Lounsberry learned confidence and teamwork through showing and improved her communication skills from her time on the Arabian Horse Youth Association Board of Directors. Working with horses helped shape her successful applications to undergrad and vet school programs. Photo by Hannah Draughan Photography
As a youth Ashley showed Arabian horses at the local regional and national levels and was an active member of the AHYA including leadership roles on the board of directors and the executive board. During the summers she also worked as a groom at a training center.
Horses were also a focus for Caroline in her college essays.
I discussed the years of hard work and passion that I put into riding she says. I emphasized that while I experienced many ups and downs as a rider every low point gave me more experience taught me new lessons and made the high points so much sweeter.
Writing for NonHorsey Readers
Equestrian college advisor Randi C. Heathman says the person reading your college application will most likely know nothing about horses. Fortunately she has had a lot of practice helping students figure out the best way to talk about their horse experience and explain how it has prepared them for the future.
Emily Gerlach riding Albion Colleges Romeo. Photo courtesy Emily Gerlach
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