Do I stand any chance

[dlaanr1]

Hello. I am new to the forum and I am quite not sure if this is the right place to ask questions. If not I am sorry.

I wanted to hear some advice and know if I stand a chance of getting into any vet schools.

Many of you might have noticed from the title, my gpa is horrible. During first couple years of undergrad, I did not know what I wanted to do and I did not know anything about gpa stuff and how it will affect my future. I immigrated during my highschool year. I didn’t care about grades because I just thought being in college was what mattered. However, as I realized I wanted to become vet, I have shown significant improvements over the years. Even though my grades improved, getting As and Bs in upper level classes, couple fail classes and low grades during my first two years it is hard to raise gpa with all those credit hours. My cumulative gpa is 2.87 but I ended with good notes where I got mostly As and less Bs in my last couple years. Also I am working at a small vet clinic and have shadowed at horse hospital. I am trying to do more shadowing at horse hospital and volunteer at shelter before I apply.

So..will admissions consider my significant improvement with such a low cumulative gpa? I have been working during weekends and do school at the same time but managed to work hard to get good grades. Will they see those factors? I will work hard for GRE and aim for high percentile.
I’ve done research about schools where Kansas state weighs last 45 heavily and midwestern with lower average gpa compared to other schools. Also, Ross is an option for me if anything does not work.
How should I improve to be more competitive applicants? I have considered masters and what not but due to money restraints and even gpa, that is my last option to take..

Thank you so much for reading!

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[EngrSC]

I’m a low-GPAer and this is my first application cycle. I’ve interviewed at Lincoln Memorial and interviewed and was accepted to St. George’s. I also have a ton of schools I haven’t heard back from yet.

I think you could potentially be accepted if you have diverse experiences, a strong science GPA, and a strong last 45 GPA. Also apply to schools that look at applicants more holistically. I believe there are also a few schools that will allow you to petition to drop your first year of undergrad from GPA calculations (Illinois or Missouri I think?).

I know my situation is pretty different from yours but I took more post-bacc classes than I needed to bring my cumulative GPA to above a 3.0. If you can manage that, you’ll be able to apply to a lot more schools.

Basically the rest of your application needs to be strong. Strong LORs, experiences with as many species as possible, and something to set you apart.

 

[dlaanr1]

A cumulative GPA of 2.87 is definitely pretty low, unfortunately, and the majority of vet schools require at least a 3.0 in order to even be eligible to apply. That said, as you’ve found, there are schools with lower minimums. The information is slightly outdated, but there's a link to an old version of a vet school admissions information tables page from my website in my signature (or you can click here, sorry for the terrible archive formatting--you might have to horizontally scroll some) and it's got most of the absolute minimum requirements for US schools. I attended Iowa State, for example, and I can tell you that the minimum GPA requirement to be eligible to apply to that particular school is just 2.5, which you'll definitely meet, and once you're past that point cumulative GPA is no longer considered and it's only the science and last 45 GPAs from then on. If you've really done well over the past couple of years (ie. your last 45 GPA is going to be high and you have an upward trend), then you still certainly have some options available; you simply might have to be more selective about where you choose to apply. Your odds are even better if your science GPA is high, too. K-State is a good option, as well, since you mentioned it, as is any other school whose admissions criteria emphasizes last 45 GPA and/or science GPA over cumulative GPA.

That said, a lot of those schools tend to be on the more expensive end for OOS students and Midwestern especially is the single priciest vet school in the country. It's possible to graduate with well over $350k in student loan debt once interest accrual comes into play. Keep in mind that that level of debt can have a profound, negative impact on your future quality of life. Only you can decide for yourself if that's worth it.

It may also be prudent for you to utilize the Explanation Statement on VMCAS when it comes time for you to apply; you can use that space to detail why your initial couple of years of undergrad were rough while also demonstrating and outlining what measures you've put in place to improve over your recent semesters and ensure that it will no longer be an issue for you in the future. The sad reality is that most, if not all, undergrad students have to work on top of going to school these days, so that's not really much of a unique struggle anymore unless you're working multiple jobs or something.

Insofar as experience is concerned, it sounds like you've got a good start with the small animal and equine experience, but without exact numbers of hours to go off of, we can't tell you for sure how much focus you should place on that right now. Of course, with an application that is weaker on the academic side of things, having some strong, varied experience becomes increasingly important. Breaking into the 1000+ hour range for veterinary experience is a good goal to aim for, if possible.

What do you predict your last 45 hours and science GPAs will actually look like? How much higher are they over your cumulative GPA? What state are you a resident of? What other cool experiences or qualifications do you have that can set you apart from the sea of other applicants in spite of your academics? If you can provide answers to those questions, we can probably give you some better guidance.

so I am unsure if I calculated science gpa correctly but due to couple Fs in most basic bio and chem 1 classes, it pulls down science gpa alot as well. Science gpa is about 2.9 but last 45 is 3.5. First couple years, gpa were about 1.7 but after those years, I have been getting above 3 easily and above 3.5 in last 4 semesters. Last semester was 3.7 with two upper level biology (physiology and mechanism of animal behavior) and organice chem 2 with lab. I regret it so much because I manage to get As and Bs in harder classes but I lacked so bad for easy basic classes... every single day is full of regret and stress.

 

[SkiOtter]

so I am unsure if I calculated science gpa correctly but due to couple Fs in most basic bio and chem 1 classes, it pulls down science gpa alot as well. Science gpa is about 2.9 but last 45 is 3.5. First couple years, gpa were about 1.7 but after those years, I have been getting above 3 easily and above 3.5 in last 4 semesters. Last semester was 3.7 with two upper level biology (physiology and mechanism of animal behavior) and organice chem 2 with lab. I regret it so much because I manage to get As and Bs in harder classes but I lacked so bad for easy basic classes... every single day is full of regret and stress.

Have you repeated bio and chem?

 

[dlaanr1]

Have you repeated bio and chem?

Yes! I have repeated and passed the course! I honestly don’t know how I should calculate the courses I retook like should I average them and use that to calculate science gpa or do i put both into gpa calculation.

 

[SkiOtter]

Depends on the school. Some use only the retaken grade, some average the two. I know Kansas state replaces grades. Definitely contact all of the schools you’re interested in and check whether they replace grades or average. Michigan State is also another one to look into. They don’t look at cumulative GPA and once you make it to file review, they don’t care about GPA. They do grade replacement for prereq I’m pretty sure. You just need a 3.0 or higher in prereq and last 36 gpa and then it’s just your non academic app for interview invites and then the two of those for admissions decisions.

Definitely recalculate what your science/last 45 GPAs are with grade replacement just to see where you stand for those schools that do replace the grades.

 

[dlaanr1]

Depends on the school. Some use only the retaken grade, some average the two. I know Kansas state replaces grades. Definitely contact all of the schools you’re interested in and check whether they replace grades or average. Michigan State is also another one to look into. They don’t look at cumulative GPA and once you make it to file review, they don’t care about GPA. They do grade replacement for prereq I’m pretty sure. You just need a 3.0 or higher in prereq and last 36 gpa and then it’s just your non academic app for interview invites and then the two of those for admissions decisions.

Definitely recalculate what your science/last 45 GPAs are with grade replacement just to see where you stand for those schools that do replace the grades.

Thank you so much for the detailed answers. I was so afraid to talk about my situation anywhere but you guys are so nice. Even though my chances are pretty low, I can try to reach for the little hope!