In a bit of a unique situation

[JC21]

Graduated from undergrad with a degree in journalism, and after two years I'm on my third job and realizing the instability of the degree. I have an orientation tomorrow at a community college to start taking classes, and I just had some questions about the process.

My undergrad GPA was not good (2.6) mostly due to laziness. Will that have any implication on my application if I do really well on the pre-vet type courses? (And by really well, I mean around a 3.5). Also: Most of my undergrad classes were not science related.

What is normally the first term for vet students? (Fall, Spring, or rolling?)

I have a rough outline of classes, ending in Spring 2018. Should I worry about finishing all of my classes before the application deadlines?

Apart from working at a vet's office or volunteering at a shelter, what type of experience should I be looking for?

Should I take upper-level classes at a university instead of a community college?

I appreciate any help you all can provide! Thanks

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[glg923]

You should post in the "What are my chances?" thread. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/what-are-my-chances.820748/

 

[stealthoscope]

I don't think that it's unreasonable to make a separate thread for this, because the Chances thread is a lot more structured towards being just about ready to apply, as opposed to just changing paths and wanting more advice.

Yes, your GPA may be an issue because they will probably calculate one overall GPA. That said, some schools look at the last 45 credits or so, some look at science GPA, and I'm sure all of them like to see overall improvement over time. There's nothing you can do to change your old GPA, so focus on doing really well going forward. Could it affect you - yes. But hopefully you'll be able to explain some of it away with your discussion on the career switch / laziness (of course, be sure to highlight that you know how to and are capable of changing!) and your newer grades will make up for it.

As far as I know, all the US schools do Fall as the first semester. I don't see how anywhere could do rolling because everything builds, and it doesn't make sense to miss some courses or come in halfway or whatever. I believe the Caribbean schools do some January matriculations?

I think you can have up to six credits of prerequisites in progress /outstanding (ie. You apply in the summer to early fall and might take the classes during fall or spring) when you apply, but it may vary by school. If these are courses you're concerned about failing, you should consider whether it's worth putting in the time and money to apply if you might become ineligible. If you think you'll do fine in them, then I think it's totally ok to have them in progress when you apply. Some schools will ask for your fall transcripts before they make their decision in the spring (some do not take it into account) and all will check that you actually finished the prerequisites you said were in progress and could rescind your application if you don't truly finish them.

For experience, it depends what kind of medicine you're drawn to. You could try wildlife, LA shadowing, or shadowing or working at a specialty clinic like oncology or in a big hospital with lots of specialties, like surgery and internal medicine.

Where you take classes should depend on cost but also, on the schools you will apply to. Some schools want you to take prerequisites at a four year institution, some don't care. How "rigorous" the coursework is can factor into how they will consider your GPA, too. You could phone some schools and find out what they advise as far as where to take courses. I've heard different opinions on SDN but I think most people here will tell you to take them at a community college to save money and that it doesn't really matter to vet schools.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I don't think that it's unreasonable to make a separate thread for this, because the Chances thread is a lot more structured towards being just about ready to apply, as opposed to just changing paths and wanting more

Yeah but see... Every time someone makes
a new thread asking for advice because their situation is "unique" 99% of the time, their questions are no different from anyone else asking for general advice on what someone should do if they want to go to vet school.

How is OP any more unique than the thousand other people lurking on this forum who are "nontrads" because they graduated undergrad 2 years ago? And why does that make it so OP shouldn't have to do a search to find out how to get experience and take prereqs, all types of things there are literally hundreds of previous threads with excellent advice? What about this person makes it so that S/he needs to make a thread asking to be spoonfed information about what s/he should do to get into vet school that would be different than for like anyone else?

People can make new threads to ask questions that aren't so common that there are hundreds of existing threads on it, or if previous ones are obsolete. But it's no fun at all if the whole forum was filled with threads for each person who asked: "here's my situation. I just decided to go to vet school. How do I go about that? Tell me step by step please"

 

[LetItSnow]

Graduated from undergrad with a degree in journalism, and after two years I'm on my third job and realizing the instability of the degree. I have an orientation tomorrow at a community college to start taking classes, and I just had some questions about the process.

My undergrad GPA was not good (2.6) mostly due to laziness. Will that have any implication on my application if I do really well on the pre-vet type courses? (And by really well, I mean around a 3.5). Also: Most of my undergrad classes were not science related.

What is normally the first term for vet students? (Fall, Spring, or rolling?)

I have a rough outline of classes, ending in Spring 2018. Should I worry about finishing all of my classes before the application deadlines?

Apart from working at a vet's office or volunteering at a shelter, what type of experience should I be looking for?

Should I take upper-level classes at a university instead of a community college?

I appreciate any help you all can provide! Thanks

Vet school typically starts in fall.

Answers to all the rest of your questions can found with a little searching through the forum.

A 3.5 GPA is not "really well". It is average.