Chances/Improvements

[Julia243]

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Hi Everyone,

This is my fourth round of applying to vet schools. I’m pretty stubborn in wanting to be a vet, so I don’t plan on giving up anytime soon despite past rejections! Previously, I’ve applied to LIU (1 time), CSU (3 times), and OSU (Oregon,1 time). This cycle, I applied to GSU (1st time) and OSU again (2nd time). Below are my stats.

Education Stats:

- Undergraduate Degree: BS in Zoology w/minor in Global Environmental Sustainability
GPA: 3.12

-Graduate Degree: Master’s in Toxicology
GPA: 3.59 w/32 credits

-Overall Science GPA: (according to Oregon State Admissions): 3.08

-Last 45 credits: (32 from graduate, last 13 from undergraduate): 3.67 (roughly)

-Recommendations: 2 from veterinarians and 1 from my master’s degree advisor/professor

Veterinary Stats:

-Veterinary Hours: 2,500
-Animal Hours: 500 hours

I previously worked at a veterinary clinic for a few years and got my AVA certificate. I also have volunteered at local TNR clinics and raptor programs and have had extensive experience handling birds at educational events. Since my undergraduate GPA was lower than I’d like, I decided to go back and get my master’s degree, but with schools being so rigid, it seems like my undergrad degree and my lower performance with prerequisites have been set in stone. I’m curious about your thoughts, will they consider my masters degree or do you think they’ll still be hung up on my bachelors? Does anyone have recommendations on how I can improve my applications in the future? I have met with many pre-vet advisors at my school and they seem to believe I am on the right track, but I’d appreciate any additional feedback. If I don’t get into OSU or GSU, I plan on applying to NCSU next cycle. Thank you in advance!!

 

[DogtorAsh]

Hello! My first question is where is your instate?
I would 1) make sure you are applying there as for the most part your instate gives you the best chance of getting in because most* schools have a decent number of instate seats and the applicant pool is normally smaller for instate. EDIT TO ADD: also cost, IS tuition is to die for!!!
2) is there are particular reason you are applying to these schools?
LIU (1 time)
CSU (3 times) - notoriously large applicant pool, very hard to get into (if you are aware of this, that's fine but it is potentially a large factor you are not getting in because you do have a lower GPA--just be aware you might just be giving them money to essentially put your application to the side)
GSU (1st time) - Is this st george's? (SGU)
OSU again (2nd time) - Oregon state if this isn't your instate is also one of the schools that is generally very hard for OOS students to get into as they have a very small number of OOS seats (at least last time I checked**just checked, it's 38 OOS seats, not the best but not the worst I have seen for sure but still odds are small with that low of seats), and historically they have really only accepted very high GPA OOS applicants.

As for NCSU I would 100% not apply to them. They have a hard requirement of 3.4 GPAs in all 3 categories (overall, science/pre-req, and last 45), if you have below any of those then they will immediately toss your application. (If you are instate for them they are a little less harsh on the GPAs but they still historically really only accept high average/high GPA candidates and are a very competitive program.

3) Based on your GPAs I would be looking towards the more "holistic" schools. These are schools that do grade replacements (Mississippi state, Iowa state, Minnesota, etc) and also schools that look at last 45 more than the other GPA categories. I don't know what your other experiences look like but I would also say to make sure you have leadership experiences and other things on your application besides just vet and animal hours to make sure you're well rounded.

 

[JaynaAli]

NCSU offers very few OOS seats and in addition to having a hard cutoff of a 3.4 minimum GPA requirement, the average GPAs for the 20ish admitted OOS students at NCSU is 3.8. Even if they didn’t have that 3.4 minimum, you’d honestly be donating them your admissions fees if you apply there. Also what is GSU? Georgia is UGA and St. George’s is SGU. At first I thought maybe it was a new school but none of the new ones admitting students are GSU I don’t think.

With your below average grades, I think you need to spend a lot of time researching schools and find the ones who put emphasis on last 45 credit GPA, allow grade replacement, and that sort of thing. Make a spreadsheet and really figure out where you may look more competitive on paper. Your GPAs will likely make this an uphill battle for you. I’m not saying it’s impossible or you need to abandon the dream, but you need to apply smartly and be sure you meet all requirements and have a realistic chance anywhere you apply. The masters grades showed improvement which is good especially in regards to a last 45/upward trend, but in the grand scheme of things a 3.6 is still pretty average so in addition to applying smart, I’d be sure your essays and letters of rec are stellar.

 

[Julia243]

Thank you all for your responses. The Georgia school I was referencing was UGA. My in state school is CSU, but after 3 years, I no longer want to apply unless my chances miraculously change by having a master's degree. I wanted to apply to Georgia and Oregon after reading about their opportunities for exotic animal medicine. Also, in regards to grade replacement, if it will miraculously change my chances of getting in, I would do it, but if not, I wouldn't as I prefer to not pursue more education after obtaining a masters degree unless absolutely necessary. Does anyone have any recommendations for vet schools where I should apply? I'm definitely going to do research about holistic schools, but I'd love to get more opinions/constructive feedback. My ideas for my future would be to leave states and establish residency somewhere else. My home state is NC and I did have discussions with NCSU about establishing residency, and they told me if I move there and spend a year there I could get that residency without issue. Thoughts?

 

[Cowsrcool]

Both Georgia and Oregon are very difficult for out of state and GA specifically is pretty GPA oriented and OSU has moved that way as well with establishing GPA minimums for oos applicants. I suggest overhauling your school list and putting more schools that are holistic in review. As I have experienced, masters degrees don’t necessarily weight heavily (or even at all) on your admissions chances- many schools don’t include those GPAs or grades in your calculations. It’s a school by school basis. If you were to move and establish residency somewhere, I’d do it at a school that heavily favors IS applicants.

 

[channie]

Take this with a grain of salt, but my boyfriend worked as a tech at the UGA teaching hospital for a year and spoke with students often about admissions. UGA is very GPA heavy, yes, but several students mentioned that they actually do take interest into having a masters degree. Again, this is just from what students at the teaching hospital said, but from talking with Parker (the admissions director) it does sound fairly accurate. UGA was my undergrad school btw

 

[DogtorAsh]

Take this with a grain of salt, but my boyfriend worked as a tech at the UGA teaching hospital for a year and spoke with students often about admissions. UGA is very GPA heavy, yes, but several students mentioned that they actually do take interest into having a masters degree. Again, this is just from what students at the teaching hospital said, but from talking with Parker (the admissions director) it does sound fairly accurate. UGA was my undergrad school btw

Counterpoint, I have 2 masters and yes a lower GPA but I brought it up over multiple years and also have thousands of hours like 10K+ and I was denied multiple times from UGA (and was IS). They are very GPA focused but just want to put that in there, that applying OOS for UGA is a hard feat for how small of seats they offer.

I did get residency at NCSU and try to apply there instate which granted my stats were not where they are now then, but NCSU is also a very competitive program even within their instate pool.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Just as an FYI.

Ask the Professional: University of Illinois Vet Med Master of Veterinary Science Program | SDN

Dr. María Juárez Byrd spoke with SDN about the University of Illinois Vet Med Master of Veterinary Science Program, which is designed to help prepare

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Julia243]

Just as an FYI.

Ask the Professional: University of Illinois Vet Med Master of Veterinary Science Program | SDN

Dr. María Juárez Byrd spoke with SDN about the University of Illinois Vet Med Master of Veterinary Science Program, which is designed to help prepare

www.studentdoctor.net

Thank you for the resource, however, I already have my master's degree in Toxicology!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the resource, however, I already have my master's degree in Toxicology!

How did any admissions recruiters react to your master's in toxicology? In the med admissions world, only a "special master's program" like the one I featured will impress those adcoms. I don't know what courses in your master's program will sway vet adcoms.

 

[supershorty]

How did any admissions recruiters react to your master's in toxicology? In the med admissions world, only a "special master's program" like the one I featured will impress those adcoms. I don't know what courses in your master's program will sway vet adcoms.

The medical school admissions world is different from its veterinary counterpart. There are not sufficient SMPs in this area for an SMP to truly be a thing. Very different from medical school. 🙂

@Julia243, how did you choose the programs you applied to? You're going to want to target programs that heavily emphasize last 45. With your stats, as an OOS student, NCSU is going to be you donating your application fee; that program is exceptionally competitive for OOS, and your current stats will not be competitive enough for that program. You'll want to look more at programs like UMN, ISU, Mississippi State, and possibly Michigan State, as those programs either look harder at last 45 or have a hard cutoff and afterward, don't consider GPA. I believe most of those do grade replacement, as well, as opposed to averaging if you have retakes of courses.