Does it really matter?

[Equestrian10]

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Alright, so I had two very interesting conversations recently from two different people with different perspectives. I just want to get everyone's opinion...

So I talked to two different people about vet school admission, and I currently attend a community college. Mind you, I only attended to save money, and well, my parents had a big say in it too haha. But one person that I talked to said that she knew a girl who went to a community college her first two years, transfered to a four-year university and got admission into vet school. However, the other person I talked to said that vet schools look down on applicants who don't attend a four-year university for their full four years, and I pretty much wouldn't have a chance. The only chance I would have at becoming a veterinarian is if I attended a school out of the US.

So I'm wondering if you guys have any idea about how vet school admissions view attending a community college. I emailed Tufts, and they said it doesn't make much of a difference, but I have to have a really high GPA. Part of me wants to believe it, and the other part of me thinks that they're just saying it. Should I just try my luck outside of the US?

Any information is helpful, and please feel free to PM me. Thanks 🙂

 

[PAThbrd]

I believe as long as the undergrad school is accredited all you have to do is concentrate on doing well, at least for most schools. When I was looking at undergrad schools in high school (2002-03), I had asked Penn if my undergrad school mattered and they told me that the school must be ranked at least "competitive" by Barron's Guide to American Colleges and Universities (or whatever that book is called). My school was only "competitive" and I got in. I'm not sure if they still go by that but I would definately check with any schools that you may be interested to confirm their individual policies. I believe, however, that when most people run into problems at community/junior colleges its because the school doesn't offer the upper level science courses and they need to go elsewhere to finish the prereqs.

Sorry for the rambling, incoherentness of this post, my brain is still in summer mode 😉 Yea for still having 2 weeks til classes start!

 

[youthman]

the other time "less competitive" schools come into play is if you have borderline gpa - then everything matters

 

[Boxsterluv]

There are so many factors that go into vet school admission that it's hard to say that one thing, like going to a JC, would limit your chances. Honestly, if I were a member of an adcom and I saw that you went to a JC for two years and saved money and your closest competitor took out school loans and spent tons of money on an expensive (therefore more competitive) school, I would pick you because you've got some sense. If you feel it is an issue, you can mention it in your PS and say something along the lines of that it made more economical sense to go to a JC; just don't spend too much time on it because it's really not that big an issue. Make sure to give yourself a lot of options, apply to multiple schools... for every one school that thinks it's an issue, you'll get two that aren't going to even consider it a factor. Keep your head up, good luck!

 

[tygris]

The only thing you have to be careful of is that some schools don't accept pre-reqs taken at 2-year colleges. Cornell told me they wouldn't accept a summer course taken at a community college, I believe it was biochemistry. So I think it definitely goes on a school-by-school basis, but I certainly don't think you have zero chance of getting into a US school 🙂

 

[Bill59]

At most schools it doesn't matter, as long as the college is accredited. Many vet. schools have gone to a pretty objective academic score, assigning so many points for things like GPA, GRE scores, etc. And they usually don't account for the college(s) you attended. It's not that all colleges are the same, but it's very difficult to come up with any sort of objective measurement of this. For example, a 4.0 at Yale is more impressive than a 4.0 at the local community college. But how much more? What about a 3.5 at Yale vs. at 4.0 at LCC? What about the other 100s of colleges out there? It just gets too complicated.

So check the website of the schools(s) you're applying to, that sort of information is usually there and they often even have the exact formula they use for academic score.

 

[Equestrian10]

Thanks guys for all the helpful information. It's good to know that I still have a chance ^_^

 

[kate_g]

Cornell told me they wouldn't accept a summer course taken at a community college, I believe it was biochemistry.

Hm... You were enrolled at a 4-year program, but took that one CC class somewhere in the middle? The issue might have been that biochem at a CC is probably easier than the equivalent class at your university - they don't want people sneaking off to a CC to do all the "hard" prereqs. But in Equestrian's case, I think it's a standard transfer situation - 2 years of lower-division classes at CC, credits are transferred to a 4-year program where you do the 2 years of upper division and get a bachelor's degree. There are lots and *lots* of people who do this in CA, might be less common elsewhere. The key is, your 4-year university accepts the CC credits as transfers, so they actually show up on your university transcript. And also, typically the "harder" upper-level classes are actually done at the university, so the school doesn't have to wonder if you could handle it.

Equestrian, this has gotta be another one of those "call schools and ask" situations, because they probably all have slightly different answers, but I'd be clear when doing so that you're doing a CC->university transfer, not just that a random selection of your prereqs were at a CC. Maybe Cornell is out, but I think "you don't have a chance, apply overseas" is overly dire...