First Year of college Not going too well

[sjforte]

so I'm half way through my second semester in college and the first semester my gpa was a 1.7. I got a C in biology so I am retaking it this current semester. ( the first semester I did have mono for finals time). The first tests of my semester didn't go to well, but I am kicking my ass non stop studying and I got low 90s on almost all my second tests. My whole life I have wanted to be a vet and everyone is telling me I'm not going to be able to accomplish this. Getting a bad grade is definitely a major ego killer but I only see it as a minor setback. I just really want to know if I'm going to make it? is it already over for me? I cannot see myself giving up on my dream.

I have one supportive friend throughout this whole mess and I cant even look out for my own health. I have many learning disabilities so I'm either getting tutored or just studying and doing homework. My parents keep stressing the fact that if I don't get good grades this semester I'm not coming back next semester. When do I know when to change my life goal? How do I even know if I can do it? What other career can I even do that would be as satisfying as veterinarian? I have shadowed so many vets and I have done the cornell cooperative program in high school, I volunteer at an animal shelter every chance I get and I am also doing a research program this summer at the north Carolina zoo. I NEED ADVICE

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[mmmdreamerz]

It's taken me a long time to figure this out, but you pretty much have two options when it comes to a low grade. You can beat yourself up about it or you can learn from it. To learn from bad grades, you have to have an honest reflection about WHY you didn't do well. Okay you "studied" but did you study effectively? Believe it or not, there's a big difference.

If you want this, you CAN do it. I might be hard as hell, but you CAN make it happen. Basically, you have to decide how badly you want it and go from there.

The other thing is, burn out is a real thing. Take it from someone who is currently feeling it bad. Spending all your time studying is not good for you at all and ultimately will probably just hinder how well you do. Take breaks, have some fun, enjoy life.

 

[sjforte]

It's taken me a long time to figure this out, but you pretty much have two options when it comes to a low grade. You can beat yourself up about it or you can learn from it. To learn from bad grades, you have to have an honest reflection about WHY you didn't do well. Okay you "studied" but did you study effectively? Believe it or not, there's a big difference.

If you want this, you CAN do it. I might be hard as hell, but you CAN make it happen. Basically, you have to decide how badly you want it and go from there.

The other thing is, burn out is a real thing. Take it from someone who is currently feeling it bad. Spending all your time studying is not good for you at all and ultimately will probably just hinder how well you do. Take breaks, have some fun, enjoy life.

Hearing that makes me more at ease. just another question. Have you ever heard of someone getting that low of a GPA and making a major comeback? or even getting into vet school with a 3.00

 

[rockatiel]

Hearing that makes me more at ease. just another question. Have you ever heard of someone getting that low of a GPA and making a major comeback? or even getting into vet school with a 3.00

I'm going to be very honest with you and probably tell you things you won't like hearing. The former, yes, because I did, the latter, no. Very few people get in with a low GPA. Never assume you will be the one that does. Usually these people have had many many hours of other experiences or graduate degrees. You absolutely need to figure out what works for you school wise or you WILL burn out. No one needs to spend every waking moment studying. If you have a learning disability, you need to see what accommodations are available to you. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Take this from someone that has been there. I went 2.8-> 3.5 in three years (I had no direction my first year) and it was very stressful. That stress was my own fault and I have experienced burnout. Do everything to prevent that from happening. It's not good. You absolutely can make this work, but now the road is a little tougher.

I can understand the situation... It feels like one little slip up will take you away from vet school... You feel a need to be perfect. But please don't let this consume you. I almost let that mindset ruin me. If you stay determined it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

 

[Jess Monster]

Firstly, what were your science grades like in high school? What else did you not do well in your first semester? Obviously, if you ended up with a 1.7 GPA you had more than one C.

If you're just having a difficult adjustment time but you're still a disciplined, academically competent student, you can correct your GPA by your senior year. That's the silver lining of doing poorly as a freshman. That will take work though.

If you maintain the current academic trend, it will be difficult to fix things and, honestly, a 1.7 GPA is in "academic probation" territory at many schools.

In my opinion, you shouldn't be worrying about vet school right now. You need to fix your GPA so you can continue being enrolled in school, period. All of your worries are for naught if you fail out of undergrad.

 

[sarakittykat]

I had a 1.7 GPA after my first semester of college. I came back from it and am graduating with honors. HOWEVER, it took a lot of work and figuring out what I was doing wrong. I took time off from school to work for a few years, then went back to school at a community college to complete all of my basics and finally transferred to a university. I had to retake all of those classes from my first semester and I made it my goal to get an A in as many classes as I possibly could.

It was hard work and a longggg journey for me (eight years!). I was so worried that first semester would ruin my chances at vet school, but I was accepted!

If you are determined and driven, then you can do it too (and hopefully it won't take you on an eight years). I agree with Jess Monster; don't worry about vet school right now, worry about what caused you to do poorly this semester and fix those things.

 

[sjforte]

I'm going to be very honest with you and probably tell you things you won't like hearing. The former, yes, because I did, the latter, no. Very few people get in with a low GPA. Never assume you will be the one that does. Usually these people have had many many hours of other experiences or graduate degrees. You absolutely need to figure out what works for you school wise or you WILL burn out. No one needs to spend every waking moment studying. If you have a learning disability, you need to see what accommodations are available to you. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Take this from someone that has been there. I went 2.8-> 3.5 in three years (I had no direction my first year) and it was very stressful. That stress was my own fault and I have experienced burnout. Do everything to prevent that from happening. It's not good. You absolutely can make this work, but now the road is a little tougher.

I can understand the situation... It feels like one little slip up will take you away from vet school... You feel a need to be perfect. But please don't let this consume you. I almost let that mindset ruin me. If you stay determined it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

I greatly appreciate you're advice! How did you get your GPA to improve like that? Any thing specific that helped you improve as a student? It is very refreshing knowing that someone improved so much and is feeling what I am feeling.

 

[sjforte]

Firstly, what were your science grades like in high school? What else did you not do well in your first semester? Obviously, if you ended up with a 1.7 GPA you had more than one C.

If you're just having a difficult adjustment time but you're still a disciplined, academically competent student, you can correct your GPA by your senior year. That's the silver lining of doing poorly as a freshman. That will take work though.

If you maintain the current academic trend, it will be difficult to fix things and, honestly, a 1.7 GPA is in "academic probation" territory at many schools.

In my opinion, you shouldn't be worrying about vet school right now. You need to fix your GPA so you can continue being enrolled in school, period. All of your worries are for naught if you fail out of undergrad.

Science was great in high school I always had A's or high B's. First semester I wasn't aware of all my learning disability accommodations. I also was on the rowing team which was 8 hours of practice a day. Then I got mono. So I was set back a bit, I now gave up the sport that I love and have been a part of since freshman year of high school in hope to join spring of sophomore year. I am currently on academic probation. Thank you for that word of advice.

 

[sjforte]

I had a 1.7 GPA after my first semester of college. I came back from it and am graduating with honors. HOWEVER, it took a lot of work and figuring out what I was doing wrong. I took time off from school to work for a few years, then went back to school at a community college to complete all of my basics and finally transferred to a university. I had to retake all of those classes from my first semester and I made it my goal to get an A in as many classes as I possibly could.

It was hard work and a longggg journey for me (eight years!). I was so worried that first semester would ruin my chances at vet school, but I was accepted!

If you are determined and driven, then you can do it too (and hopefully it won't take you on an eight years). I agree with Jess Monster; don't worry about vet school right now, worry about what caused you to do poorly this semester and fix those things.

Thank you very much! can I ask what you decided what you did wrong the most freshman year and how you improved it? Like I said in my early comment I have quit crew. I am also creating a time management schedule and I'm going to follow it religiously. I don't study in the library, but that's going to change now. I am also creating relationships with my professors and going to them before I hand in any work and I also have many tutors.

 

[sarakittykat]

Thank you very much! can I ask what you decided what you did wrong the most freshman year and how you improved it? Like I said in my early comment I have quit crew. I am also creating a time management schedule and I'm going to follow it religiously. I don't study in the library, but that's going to change now. I am also creating relationships with my professors and going to them before I hand in any work and I also have many tutors.

High School was a breeze for me and I didn't have to work very hard at all to get an A. I think I kept that mentality when I first went to college. I just didn't focus on studying and had way to much of a social life.

I would put some thought into switching to a community college for a couple semesters to get some basics out of the way if you still don't do great this semester. You will save so much money and I think it's a really good way to refine your study habits since the classes won't be as rigorous.

Joining study groups and studying in the library definitely helps me do well. You're smart to want to meet with professors! This a great way to make some connections too. It sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Science was great in high school I always had A's or high B's. First semester I wasn't aware of all my learning disability accommodations. I also was on the rowing team which was 8 hours of practice a day. Then I got mono. So I was set back a bit, I now gave up the sport that I love and have been a part of since freshman year of high school in hope to join spring of sophomore year. I am currently on academic probation. Thank you for that word of advice.

I had been riding horses nearly my whole life. They were my inspiration for wanting to go to vet school in the first place. I didn't have a hard time my freshman year, but that was because I decided first semester that I had to make a choice about what I really wanted. Selling my horse was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, but ultimately it was the right one. I guess what I'm trying to say is I know what its like to give up what you love for another dream. Not an easy decision to make.

 

[lianali]

so I'm half way through my second semester in college and the first semester my gpa was a 1.7. I got a C in biology so I am retaking it this current semester. ( the first semester I did have mono for finals time). The first tests of my semester didn't go to well, but I am kicking my ass non stop studying and I got low 90s on almost all my second tests. My whole life I have wanted to be a vet and everyone is telling me I'm not going to be able to accomplish this. Getting a bad grade is definitely a major ego killer but I only see it as a minor setback. I just really want to know if I'm going to make it? is it already over for me? I cannot see myself giving up on my dream.

I have one supportive friend throughout this whole mess and I cant even look out for my own health. I have many learning disabilities so I'm either getting tutored or just studying and doing homework. My parents keep stressing the fact that if I don't get good grades this semester I'm not coming back next semester. When do I know when to change my life goal? How do I even know if I can do it? What other career can I even do that would be as satisfying as veterinarian? I have shadowed so many vets and I have done the cornell cooperative program in high school, I volunteer at an animal shelter every chance I get and I am also doing a research program this summer at the north Carolina zoo. I NEED ADVICE

Honestly, it can be much, much better for you to take time off and let that time be part of your motivation to build up the determination you WILL need to get good grades, meet the prereqs, and get the experience that counts. Looking backwards, it would have been much, MUCH healthier for me and better for my GPA if I'd just gotten a job out of high school and worked at making myself independent of a toxic family situation. I was a poster child for college recruitment straight of high school, minority female with 4.2 GPA, honor orchestra, NHS memeber, blah, blah, blah... None of that mattered because I wasn't ready for college. My toxic, co-dependent family dragged me down - anybody ready to be a third parent to a rebellious 15-16 year old that likes to drink? Yeah. I wasn't ready to do that either when I was 18-21 years old AND go to college, but my parents and my sister expected that out of me. Needless to say, my mental health suffered quite a bit, which was reflected in a terrible, terrible GPA. I've since moved out, gotten away from the toxic, abusive, co-dependent family situation, and managed to graduate college with a 2.98 GPA (yeah, it burns.) I'm paying for it now. My really ****ty undergraduate GPA bars me from making the first cut at a lot of programs, including NCSU's program, which is my instate. I'm currently in my last semester in an MPH program with a 3.92 GPA, honors society member, 3 or more publications with secondary authorship, blah blah blah. So, am I mentally capable of graduate school? Yes. Did life get in the way? Yes. Is it going to hurt my chances? Yes. Am I going to let that stop me? No.

What I don't see a lot of people saying is - IT IS OKAY TO TAKE TIME OFF. Go get a job as a vet tech/vet assistant. See if veterinary medicine is really, truly the path for you. I was recruited HARD to be an engineer, but my internship with an engineer convinced me that is exactly NOT AT ALL what I want to do. So many of my friends have had to make career changes after college, because they just blasted their way through a college degree and found out they hate the job. If you love being a vet tech, see if you can work and go to school part time to be a registered vet tech - it may cover a lot of the required courses you'll need for vet school. It will also build those experience hours. But seriously, consider taking a year off to figure out what you want in life, explore your options, and see if you're willing to make the sacrifices it will take to get there. You're not done for now, but getting admitted to any graduate program requires a long, hard slog.

 

[WulfpackChica]

I had a low undergraduate GPA and got into vet school... however, it took me several tries and several years after my original undergraduate degree to get in. I also went back to get a Master's degree as my back up plan. I agree that it is okay to take time off of school, you may a little more time to mature and sort things out. If you can take classes as a non-degree student that can help work toward you degree but that will not be considered pre-reqs. Hell take some classes at the community college. It will cheaper in the long run for you and allow you to so some soul searching. Many of us have been there.

If you are determined to stay in and you think that you have a learning disability, get tested for it. If the report comes back that you do, talk to your professors and the school's disability office to make arrangements. There is no shame in it.

You just want to make sure that you take care of the problems while you can and do not waste time.

 

[heyyimhayley]

I also just want to add that you will have to retake most of those courses. Most veterinary schools don't accept pre-reqs with less than a C-, so whichever ones of those were pre-reqs, you'll need to retake before you apply. If you can figure out what the problem was the first time around and do well on another try, then it shouldn't hinder your application too much. You will need to improve, but a low GPA this early on is not a death sentence!