No possibility getting into vet school with very low GPA?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

bullyluver2011

New Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
So I graduated last year with my bachelors degree in animal science and really struggled thru chemistry's and physic's especially (made a D- in general chemistry, D- in organic 1 and a F in Organic 2 because I missed a test and the final counted for over 50% of my grade). Unfortunately my GPA was only a 2.27 but I did get my associate degree before transferring to the university and had a 3.26 gpa at the community college. I had to retake the general chemistry and organic chemistry at the university and still ended up making C's in them after retaking them. I plan on retaking physics 1 and organic chemistry 1 at the community college and I have not taken biochemistry yet or the GRE. The chemistry grades were over 3 years ago and I had kidney stones a lot and unfortunately was out of school right much because of them which is one reason my grades were so bad. There is probably no hope with me getting in to vet school though, I was looking at Ross university but I doubt I could even get in there. I'm not sure how to even calculate my overall GPA with both school's combined. Does anyone have any suggestions/advice? I would absolutely love to get into vet school but with my academic past I don't know if there would even be any hope of getting in.

Members don't see this ad.
 
My impression is you haven't mastered how to succeed in these tough science courses. You re-took a couple of classes already and are only managing Cs. That's not much of an improvement over your previous grades, unfortunately, and not enough to show adcoms that you've overcome whatever obstacles you had. Vet school is an even more rigorous environment than the one you're in now and they want to admit people they feel can succeed.

But there's always hope - it's just a matter of how much time, effort and money you're willing to put in. I would advise you to find a way to succeed in those classes. Change the way you do things - learn to study efficiently, figure out how to manage your time, seek help from tutors or professors or TAs, etc. THEN go back and re-take all of your pre-reqs and get as close to straight As as you can. And of course the rest of your application should be spectacular - hours, good GRE, excellent letters.

I got in with a sub-3.0 GPA - it's doable. But I learned how to really bust my butt, and that's the only speed you can afford to operate at from here forward.
 
What TRH said, and ....

.... I wouldn't go at it with the "well, maybe I can get into Ross, at least" approach. (Maybe that wasn't how you meant it, but I kinda read that between the lines.)

Ross is known for taking, um, less-academically-appealing candidates. That's true. But it's also known for washing out people who can't hack it. So in the end, the people that graduate from Ross are fine veterinarians. It's not some sort of quick 'n dirty way to get a DVM degree for people who couldn't manage the academic load elsewhere.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thanks for the advice. I am retaking organic chemistry 1 and physics 1 this coming semester and really plan on studying my butt off. I have looked at the prereq's for ross and I did fairly well in the biological science's other then genetics (all A's and B's except for genetics). I did well in the math required, english required and did manage to make an A in General Chemistry 2. The other prereq's were 1 semester organic chemistry, 1 semester of physics and 1 semester of biochemistry which like I said I haven't even taken biochemistry once yet. I am working on getting more hour's in but am only able to shadow as I can't find a job at any of the vet's office's around here. I just said Ross also because I have seen they take student's with lower GPA's, not that I plan on being slack and drop out as soon as I get there. I had also started taking vet tech classes and have 19 credit hours of those and made straight A's in all those classes but I really would rather be a vet and was just going to be settling being a tech so I didn't continue with those classes.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice. I am retaking organic chemistry 1 and physics 1 this coming semester and really plan on studying my butt off. I have looked at the prereq's for ross and I did fairly well in the biological science's other then genetics (all A's and B's except for genetics). I did well in the math required, english required and did manage to make an A in General Chemistry 2. The other prereq's were 1 semester organic chemistry, 1 semester of physics and 1 semester of biochemistry which like I said I haven't even taken biochemistry once yet. I am working on getting more hour's in but am only able to shadow as I can't find a job at any of the vet's office's around here. I just said Ross also because I have seen they take student's with lower GPA's, not that I plan on being slack and drop out as soon as I get there. I had also started taking vet tech classes and have 19 credit hours of those and made straight A's in all those classes but I really would rather be a vet and was just going to be settling being a tech so I didn't continue with those classes.

All As and Bs in biological sciences and Gen Chem 2 is a good start :) Just make sure you have a concrete plan for how to study (and make sure it's different than whatever you did before!) and not just good intentions.

As for your experience hours, those are going to be really important too. If your application is weak in one area (grades), it can be mitigated by strengths in other areas (hours). Not sure what your current strategy is for finding experience, but the forums have a lot of good suggestions on how to get your foot in the door. You need hours, especially with your grades. Good luck :luck:
 
Ross is known for taking, um, less-academically-appealing candidates. That's true. But it's also known for washing out people who can't hack it. So in the end, the people that graduate from Ross are fine veterinarians. It's not some sort of quick 'n dirty way to get a DVM degree for people who couldn't manage the academic load elsewhere.

:thumbup: best I've ever heard this said-this needs to be known!
 
Ross is known for taking, um, less-academically-appealing candidates. That's true. But it's also known for washing out people who can't hack it. So in the end, the people that graduate from Ross are fine veterinarians. It's not some sort of quick 'n dirty way to get a DVM degree for people who couldn't manage the academic load elsewhere.

And those that do wash out have significant debt, without even a degree to show for it and help pay it back.
 
My impression is you haven't mastered how to succeed in these tough science courses. You re-took a couple of classes already and are only managing Cs. That's not much of an improvement over your previous grades, unfortunately, and not enough to show adcoms that you've overcome whatever obstacles you had. Vet school is an even more rigorous environment than the one you're in now and they want to admit people they feel can succeed.

But there's always hope - it's just a matter of how much time, effort and money you're willing to put in. I would advise you to find a way to succeed in those classes. Change the way you do things - learn to study efficiently, figure out how to manage your time, seek help from tutors or professors or TAs, etc. THEN go back and re-take all of your pre-reqs and get as close to straight As as you can. And of course the rest of your application should be spectacular - hours, good GRE, excellent letters.

I got in with a sub-3.0 GPA - it's doable. But I learned how to really bust my butt, and that's the only speed you can afford to operate at from here forward.

This seems to sum up what I was thinking. I'm not in yet, but as someone who has struggled with a low GPA for many reasons, I do know that you have to really buckle down and prove your self now.

PS: Redhead, you might be my secret hero. Getting in with a sub-3.0, you must be a rockstar. :) (I've been bringing my grades up and hope to apply in the low 3s.)
 
Top