First Year of College Not Great... Too Late?

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NewPreVet

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So my first year of college went poorly. End GPA of 2.9. Retook my lowest class and have a 3.1. Grades were: Speech/Writing: A, Italian: A- and B+ (kicking myself for that one, I'm fluent), Chem I & II: B- & C, Bio I: B, Arts Elective: A, and Calc: D (retook for a high B).

My main hope here is that I have a legitimate reason for poor grades. A) I came out as queer to my parents and they basically told me "F you, you are destroying all of our lives." So I went through a depressive bout. B) My health bombed. Fantastically. My gallbladder checked out for life, student health refused to acknowledge my complaints, so I was trapped into a dining hall contract, too poor to go else where (remember my parents told me to F off), and getting violently ill daily. Ever had diarrhea for 6 months straight? I have. C) I came from a small town high school that just prepared to ship students to the local factory. I was dramatically unprepared for university (no chemistry or bio what so ever).

My grades are going up this semester. A in lit, A+ in German, A+ in a general science course, B+ in bio, and B in Orgo I. My sciences still aren't great as you can see, but I've gone from a C+ on exam one in both bio and chem (I had no idea how to study) to getting B+s and A's. I'm not bad at the sciences, just lost a lot of confidence in myself and need to reacquire my faith in myself.

I'm a diverse student. Queer, poor socioeconomic background, trilingual, learning disabilities (dyslexic). But I am smart and hardworking. I'm currently shadowing 3 vets, all of which will give me fantastic rec's and I'm always on point there. All 3 are constantly quizzing me and I know what I need to know. I just haven't been testing as well as I need to.

I'll have crazy amounts of animal experience hours: 100+ poultry from my summer job (which I'll be going back to), 5000+ equine hours from high school volunteering, 150+ small animal from the vet I worked for in high school (could also get a good rec from him), plus 3 years worth of small and large (especially cattle) from the practice I'm at here.

So I guess what I'm getting at... As I'm doing much better and having a significant upwards trend, is it unreasonable for me to continue to pursue vet school? Am I likely to even get an interview? I'm shooting for IA State.

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You wouldn't be the first with who had a rough start and it looks good if you have an upward trend. Focus on getting some A's in upper level classes.

If you want it, make it happen. Definitely not too late.
 
I would say continue! :D Save your money for applications so that you can apply to the schools that heavily weight the last 45 credits. You can totally come back from a bad freshman year. I definitely did. Also, you're setting yourself up to have a great amount of experience. I think your application will definitely be competitive! :)

I'm also really really sorry that your parents did that to you. It's heartbreaking. I'm glad to hear you are doing better and pulling yourself up by the bootstraps in the face of adversity!

You can totally be successful :) You just have to work a little bit harder. Also, plan to crush the GREs. Study enough so you only have to take it once :)
 
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Thanks guys. I've already picked out the main schools I want to apply to (trying to balance likelihood of getting in and affordability) so I can arrange pre-reqs appropriately. My GPA should definitely be increasing, but it's gradual and every now and then I let my freshman GPA shake me up a bit. I needed some reassurance. Sometimes I get myself down, when I need to just focus on doing well and getting where I need to be.

And as for the GRE, thank God for a mom who told me, "You may be dyslexic, and your brother as well, but I'll be d*mned if my kids won't be able to keep up with the best of them." And thanks to her hard work, I can read faster than most (though I have to slow way down for complex reading, and I really require multiple pens and stuff on exams for highlighting key words in the questions which has been a lesson learned the hard way) and posses an incredibly vast vocabulary. I definitely owe her that.
 
Thanks guys. I've already picked out the main schools I want to apply to (trying to balance likelihood of getting in and affordability) so I can arrange pre-reqs appropriately. My GPA should definitely be increasing, but it's gradual and every now and then I let my freshman GPA shake me up a bit. I needed some reassurance. Sometimes I get myself down, when I need to just focus on doing well and getting where I need to be.

And as for the GRE, thank God for a mom who told me, "You may be dyslexic, and your brother as well, but I'll be d*mned if my kids won't be able to keep up with the best of them." And thanks to her hard work, I can read faster than most (though I have to slow way down for complex reading, and I really require multiple pens and stuff on exams for highlighting key words in the questions which has been a lesson learned the hard way) and posses an incredibly vast vocabulary. I definitely owe her that.

I would suggest a LOT of practice tests. I'm a pretty fast reader and the timing of the GRE can be tricky. Best of luck to you in the future! Also, I would find a facility that still gives the written version of the GRE. All of the testing locations near me only had computer testing.
 
I'm a diverse student. Queer, poor socioeconomic background, trilingual, learning disabilities (dyslexic). But I am smart and hardworking. I'm currently shadowing 3 vets, all of which will give me fantastic rec's and I'm always on point there. All 3 are constantly quizzing me and I know what I need to know. I just haven't been testing as well as I need to.

No. AND you are smart and hardworking. The but sort of read to me like those things mentioned before are negatives; they're not.

You've overcome a lot, so keep moving up. That in and of itself speaks to your character and abilities. There are some great resources for the GRE. I recommend Magoosh because I used it and found it really helpful, but search the forum for others.
 
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Dude, if you keep doing as good as you're doing, you shouldn't have any issues! People here have gotten in with way worse than just a bad first year. If you continue to do as you've been doing, it will be obvious that your first year grades do not reflect your abilities. You also have an interesting background and a drive that I can see burning brighter than most people just from one post. You are instantly likeable, which will carry you far in the subjective areas of your application.

You may not get into every school, but I would be shocked if those first two semesters prevented you from getting into vet school. You have time to improve your GRE, just keep working on it. Just keep on keepin on, and I'm sure you'll do great. So just don't dwell on your past and keep up the awesome job you've been doing. Your set of experiences already sets you apart from most applicants. Just keep getting more vet experiences, and you're golden there. If you are working at a poultry operation, see if you can get in touch with the vet that consults with them and see if you might be able to shadow for a little bit.
 
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I needed some reassurance. Sometimes I get myself down, when I need to just focus on doing well and getting where I need to be.

I know exactly what it is like to lack confidence. Once upon a time I was the queen of putting myself down. Like most things, building confidence is a process. If you want this, you can do it!
 
I finished freshman year with a 2.8, and next spring I will graduate with a 3.5. It's stressful at times but it's doable.
 
Thanks everyone for your support, it means a lot! Sorry I didn't reply sooner, life gets in the way sometimes. I suppose it's relevant, I improved 13% between my last two organic I exams, so my studying is improving :D. I'm getting there!

I've been mostly concerned about Iowa State's bizarre method of calculating science GPA and I know that it's going to hurt me. Unfortunately that C and B- in gen chem really aren't helping me out here. I'm just focusing now on improving where I can and just getting the interview. If I can make it that far, I think I stand a chance.
 
Thanks everyone for your support, it means a lot! Sorry I didn't reply sooner, life gets in the way sometimes. I suppose it's relevant, I improved 13% between my last two organic I exams, so my studying is improving :D. I'm getting there!

I've been mostly concerned about Iowa State's bizarre method of calculating science GPA and I know that it's going to hurt me. Unfortunately that C and B- in gen chem really aren't helping me out here. I'm just focusing now on improving where I can and just getting the interview. If I can make it that far, I think I stand a chance.
Fantastic job on the 13% improvement, seriously! :thumbup:

I'm also applying to Iowa State this cycle. Yeah, they have a rather... unconventional... way of calculating that science GPA, and unfortunately unless you absolutely nail your chem courses, it's probably not going to be as high as you anticipate. For what it's worth, I obtained pretty much straight Bs in my chemistries (outside of gem chem 2, where I got a C... I much preferred organic), and my science GPA for Iowa State was still >3.1. That being said, labs are included with lectures at my undergrad, so I'm not sure if the calculation would have differed had they been separate.

Just as a quick glimmer of hope to you, as well... although Iowa State does have an odd way of coming up with that science GPA, if you look at previous classes' average entry stats, you can see that their GPAs do tend to be lower than a lot of other vet schools. That may very well just be a byproduct of how they run their calculations.

I guess my point is that you shouldn't necessarily give up hope on Iowa State yet; you may surprise yourself with how well you actually do in their admissions process.
 
You can do it!! As long as you keep up with your grades from now on, I think you will be more than okay. You definitely have lots to write about in your essays and explanation statement. Don't be discouraged, I had a D and 2 Cs on my transcript and have been accepted to one school already. You are doing great, especially with an upward trend!
 
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You can do it! You still have 75% of your grades to make and your GPA is still super malleable.
 
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