A Few Questions from a Newbie :)

[tingtangjahe]

Hi there. I'm a new excited member of this student doctor forum, and I have a few quick questions.
First, I have already graduated from a university with my BA in the Spanish and French languages... although all of my life I have had the desire to become a veterinarian... but got scared off my the math and science... I am curious about how vet schools may look at the history of my first degree... and the GPA that goes along with it. Will they mostly look at my pre vet classes and how well I do in them once I start? (i have about 6 semesters of prep left, it will be like starting over) or will they consider everything and shoot me down because of some past indecision?
Anyone?
Thanks a lot.

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[ElvisMarie6]

I think schools vary somewhat in how they look at applicants. If you are applying out of state, in my experience, they often only look at your GRE and cum GPA. Other schools have a more holistic approach and they consider working and volunteering while in school along with GPA and GRE and other things. It might be a good idea to see if you can find info on the selection process from the schools you are looking at applying to. From what I have heard, your whole GPA does matter but maybe if you show how serious you are now and do really well in the pre-req courses, get awesome GRE scores, and get a load of diverse experience they wont look as heavily at your past. Who knows? Good luck!!

 

[Hobiecat1642]

I graduated with a BA in English, and I was also very much afraid of the math component of the prereqs. With 6 semesters of classes to take, you can show that you're serious about raising your GPA and becoming a competitive applicant. Also, I agree that your GRE and experience count for a lot. Good luck. I also had to take a lot of post bacc classes, and it was not a picnic, but it can be done.

 

[david594]

We just had this discussion in the "Large Animal Advantage" thread.

All you can do to have a chance is to take the classes you need now and get killer grades in them.(which will only help your GPA so much).
Prepare very well for the GRE's and achieve very impressive scores on them.
Get significant experience preferable with good variety and depth.

Then when you start applying, look for schools that have a more holistic approach to admission than just your GPA. Your numbers will look better in the eyes who look at your GPA for just pre-req classes or your last 45 hours.

 

[lailanni]

We just had this discussion in the "Large Animal Advantage" thread.

All you can do to have a chance is to take the classes you need now and get killer grades in them.(which will only help your GPA so much).
Prepare very well for the GRE's and achieve very impressive scores on them.
Get significant experience preferable with good variety and depth.

Then when you start applying, look for schools that have a more holistic approach to admission than just your GPA. Your numbers will look better in the eyes who look at your GPA for just pre-req classes or your last 45 hours.

I'm curious -- which schools would most people consider to have a more holistic admissions approach?

The websites are so awful, it can be hard to find how each school places emphasis on GPA, GRE, experience, etc...

 

[lailanni]

For the OP - First I'd recommend working/volunteering in the vet field. It will help you to find out if you really, really want to be a vet.

If you're new to the field, remember being a vet isn't the only way to work with animals. You could also be a vet tech, a vet assistant, work in research, etc... many many jobs out there work with animals. Being a vet isn't the only path to working with mans best friends.

Many people I talk to seem to think that being a vet is the only way to work with animals, and that simply isn't the case.

Also, vet tech school is shorter (I belive around 2 years, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong). At my local tech school, they do have some tech pre-reqs, but it's no where near as many as pre-vet.

Generally, tech schools also require a little bit of clinical shadowing or observation. And pre-vets tend to have hundreds, if not thousands of hours of some kind of vet experience. So I think looking into pre-req science classes and getting vet field experience wouldbe your first step in helping you decide what to do.

(and yes, I've heard of people getting in even with a low GPA for their undergrad. But they more than made up for it in other areas like prereqs, GRE, experience, last 45 gpa, etc)

 

[ElvisMarie6]

I'm curious -- which schools would most people consider to have a more holistic admissions approach?

The websites are so awful, it can be hard to find how each school places emphasis on GPA, GRE, experience, etc...

The only one I know of is CSU. On their website you can download their admissions guidelines.

 

[clawsbeatskin]

Minnesota does not include the grades from repeated courses if they were repeated at least 3 years after the first attempt in the GPA calculation.

 

[tingtangjahe]

Thanks very much everyone, I did read the thread 'Large Animal Advantage' last night and found that to be somewhat informative... along with other things. I dearly enjoyed the drama llama..
If anyone can add to the list of schools that use a holistic view to judge applicants please list them. Does anyone know about WSU?
I also am questioning what it takes to specialize in equine medicine. I've been riding all of my life, but talking to a friend recently, we agreed that there are some veterinary applicants who have been grooming for equine medicine since they were very very young. Any thoughts on this?

 

[lailanni]

Thanks very much everyone, I did read the thread 'Large Animal Advantage' last night and found that to be somewhat informative... along with other things. I dearly enjoyed the drama llama..
If anyone can add to the list of schools that use a holistic view to judge applicants please list them. Does anyone know about WSU?

WSU uses a 3 tier system for evaluating applicants.

Tier 1 - GPA 3.5+, OR science GPA 3.7+, OR GRE above 75 percentile
Tier 2 - GPA 3.2 - 3.5, OR science GPA 3.5 - 3.7, OR GRE 60 - 74 percentile
Tier 3 - GPA below 3.2, AND science GPA below 3.5, AND GRE below 59%

The majority of students that are interviewed are Tier 1. Fewer Tier 2 students are invited for an interview. Very few Tier 3 applicants tend to interview. (average GPA for last incoming class was 3.7)

WSU also takes into account animal experience, extra curriculars/leadership, etc etc. More info can be found on their website:

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/prospectivestudents/AdmissionProcedure.aspx

They do claim to look at the whole package, but since at the top of their own website, they say..

"How likely is it that this applicant will be able to successfully complete our rigorous, science-based veterinary curriculum? Answering this question begins by considering the applicant’s so-called academic indices, i.e., cumulative GPA, science GPA, last 45-semester hour GPA, grades in upper division science courses, course load per semester, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score, as well as his/her record of academic honors, scholarships, etc."

So it seems like they look at academics first, and then move onto other areas. I'm not sure how holistic it may or may not be. I just hope they like me either way...I'm anxiously waiting for an interview notice : )

 

[tingtangjahe]

Good luck on you're interview! and thanks again for all the good info.

Also does anyone have info on Davis?
I know it's one or was one of the top vet schools in the country. I have looked at their website, but not too extensively...
Is there anyone currently applying there, or has experience with their application process?

and finally, what else can one do in order to prepare hands on hours, does university equestrian competition count?

 

[ShelterGirl]

Davis is hideously difficult to get into if you're from out-of-state. Out of a class size of 131, they accept 3-7 out-of-state people (of around 500-600 out-of-state applicants).

They look at GPA and GRE first, and then at other factors such as experience and recommendations. I believe they tend to weigh GRE scores the same as GPA, where other schools place more emphasis on GPA.

 

[fargeese]

I've heard from a few people that Western takes a more holistic approach, but it is all hearsay, I have no experience with them myself.

 

[chris03333]

I believe they tend to weigh GRE scores the same as GPA, where other schools place more emphasis on GPA.

They seem to weigh GRE > GPA in my experience...

 

[Weazlebub]

Hi there. I'm a new excited member of this student doctor forum, and I have a few quick questions.
First, I have already graduated from a university with my BA in the Spanish and French languages... although all of my life I have had the desire to become a veterinarian... but got scared off my the math and science...
I have to be honest here. I had no idea what I was doing for a while, in school and in life. I did O.K in college.. but ended up graduating.. please don't think i am dumb, (i promise i am not) with below a 3.0- (a 2.95 to be specific) the math and chemistry that I tried to take were the classes that significantly dropped my GPA.
I had no idea how to study for them, and at that time in my life my time management (though innocent enough) was not at a high point.
I am wondering if anyone knows what the best step to take form here may be in order to prepare for veterinary school. I have thought about doing post back credits at the same university from which I graduated... ???
I am also curious about how vet schools may look at the history of my first degree... and the GPA that goes along with it.
Will they mostly look at my pre vet classes and how well I do in them once I start? (i have about 6 semesters of prep left, it will be like starting over) or will they consider everything and shoot me down because of some past indecision and scholarly mistakes?
Anyone?
Thanks a lot.

Our admission committee likes seeing people who apply themselves to the pre-requisites and upper division sciences and can demonstrate significant improvement. A common theme with some of our second career vet students are weak grades for their first degree then straight A's for the recent/applied upper division sciences. Demonstrate your academic ability with a real (full) credit load and good GRE's. This will let us look past a cumulative GPA that might be less than average.

 

[nyanko]

They seem to weigh GRE > GPA in my experience...

Well that would sure be nice for me

(Slightly below average GPA for their admitted class statistics, but far above average GRE)