Cumulative vs. Prereqs GPA?

[Thunderbunny]

So, as I'm browsing through prospective schools that I will be applying to next summer, I found that LSU's policy is to look only at prereq course GPA and the final 45 credit hours GPA. This was wonderful for me because I had some med issues my freshman year...long story short, ended up with a semester of Fs that I can't get rid of.

Does anybody know of other vet schools with a similar policy to LSU? So far, I haven't found another one that doesn't even look at cumulative GPA, but would definitely add that school to my list.

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[Truth74]

Some schools * cough Illinois cough* Will waive a bad first year( or anything past 6 years for us non-trads), if you explain why it happened and why you want it waived. I would check with the vet schools you want to go to and see if they will waive or in some other way ignore those F's.

 

[smilin1590]

Will illinois think a first year semester of gen-ed courses that all got c's is bad? Sorry if I worded this poorly?

 

[feadog]

I'm pretty sure Kansas State bases interview invitations on prerequisite GPA, last 45 credits undergraduate GPA, and GRE scores.

Actually, I think it's pretty common for schools to give more weight to those GPAs than the overall GPA. Either way, you'll probably want to briefly describe what happened in the Explanation Statement portion of the VMCAS.

 

[Truth74]

Will illinois think a first year semester of gen-ed courses that all got c's is bad? Sorry if I worded this poorly?

That's about 12-15hrs of C's. I'd be really careful with organic chemistry and microbiology, if I were you. Oh, and the 2 semesters of Physics, if you haven't taken them. Those C's will add up quick. I think it depends on what the other 3.5 years look like. Illinois looks at general trends of performance, so if you do better in your junior and senior years, it'll look better. It will be easier to get better grades as you get to the upper level courses, because you will be more interested and involved in the subject matter. Just keep in mind that the mean GPA hovers around 3.5.

I was told that if you are at a 3.1, it is still within the mean, but you may be above or below the interview cut off. There is also the GRE and supplemental application that can sway them in your direction.

 

[georgie339]

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[Truth74]

At Illinois, for phase 1, you are assigned a rank or number of points based on the gpa and gre, yes. That number of points (not your actual grade or GRE score) determine whether you get to phase 2. Phase two involves the supplemental essay and other non-academic parts of the VMCAS, like animal and vet experience, awards, extra curriculars, et al.

To clarify, if you have a gpa below 3.1 (or at the cut off of 2.75) and have a terrible GRE score, you don't get to Phase 2. If you have something above 3.1 and a better than average GRE, the supplemental will mean a lot in phase 2.
When I said "sway them in your direction," I meant ask you to interview. When you get to the interview, all bets are off.

 

[Magentacat]

I don't think you should worry about your first year. Plenty of people are stupid and don't know how to study their first year, but then they do a lot better! And you are not stupid or lazy. You had medical issues. I'm sure once you mention that on your interviews, or maybe if one of your professors or pre-health advisor mention it on recommendation letter, they won't even think twice about it. Even if they don't know the cause. it's be pretty stupid of them to not consider you because of a bad first year if you are doing great now.

 

[gone2dogs]

CSU does not look at GPA at all, or so they claim. They do look at grades, presumably in classes they feel are important, but the only reason they ask you for your GPA on the supplemental application is so that they can report it after admissions decisions are made. I would think that an explanation of a semester of F's would be good, but in theory it doesn't have to hurt you.

I have a pretty average/slightly below average GPA for admitted students, and asked if it was an issue for the adcoms. That was when I was told that they didn't even look at GPA, and indeed if you look on their website they have no hard cutoff for GPA.