Getting into vet school with no grades?

[saraprevet]

I'm currently applying to a ton of vet schools this cycle (only 2 more apps left to finish) and I have encountered a little trouble because my undergrad college, New College of Florida, doesn't give out grades or a GPA. I have a GPA from summer classes taken at other colleges, but not for my prerequisite classes. I do have narrative evaluations for each class, so I've been emailing those to all of the admissions departments of schools I am applying to. Missouri already rejected me because of not having grades, and RVC emailed me pretty confused about the whole thing. Has anyone else gotten in or applied to vet schools with narrative evaluations instead of grades?

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[saraprevet]

Thanks for the response. I have applied through VMCAS. VMCAS has a page explaining that I should fill it out as a pass/fail and basically include the narratives somewhere in my application. Other colleges do this too, mostly small liberal arts colleges. The pre-vet advisor at my school doesn't seem concerned at all, but considering I have already been rejected once because of this, I am a bit worried. My school will not convert to grades no matter what.

 

[SkiOtter]

Contact other schools you are applying to and ask them their policies. I think a lot also say that you can’t take any prereqs as pass/fail

 

[finnickthedog]

Where did you apply? Some schools specifically state that they won't accept pass/fail for prerequisite courses (Missouri is one of these) which presents an issue since in the absence of grades your classes are essentially pass/fail. If the school doesn't specifically state that they don't accept P/F but does list a minimum grade requirement for those courses then there's still a chance they don't accept P/F so I would recommend contacting them to ask.

You say you have a pre-vet advisor who isn't concerned... so has your advisor seen students from your school successfully matriculate into a DVM program without taking the prerequisites elsewhere? If so, which school(s) were they admitted to? That might help you in figuring out some good schools to apply to if this cycle doesn't work out.

 

[saraprevet]

My college is so small that I had to start the pre-vet club. And the pre-vet advisor will tell me nothing more than that she's "seen people get in" from my college. I just find it really frustrating because I chose my college for its especially rigorous academics and now its academic system seems to be hurting me. I wish there was a way to differentiate that these were not pass/fail classes. If you read the evaluations, many of them have good test scores and two of them even say that I was "the best student in the class." But I doubt most of the vet schools are even going to bother to read the evaluations :/

 

[Lupin21]

Uh, yeah, this is something you should have researched for sure before applying. It stinks, but I don't see many if any schools taking pass fail for pre reqs.

 

[PippyPony]

It looks like your school has a Career office -- have you gotten in touch with them in addition to the pre-vet advisor?

I'd push on your school for support in this case. Their website says that they have the highest percentage of students that go on to PhDs...and if they're touting success in graduate school as a reason to apply, then I would make sure they are putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

I can't imagine you are the first person to pursue a doctorate degree in a medical field, so it may be worth asking them what they have done in the past on behalf of med students, not just pre-vet.

As an aside, if your advisor can't point to actual people who got into vet school, then tbh I would try another avenue because it sounds like they're just trying to reassure you, and that's not particularly helpful if you're already looking at a rejection solely based on this.

 

[Lupin21]

Also, you have a prevet advisor but you had to start the pre vet club? That sounds fishy too. Sorry you are going through this.

 

[SkiOtter]

I wish there was a way to differentiate that these were not pass/fail classes

They are essentially pass/fail though because there is no letter grade or GPA attached to them. VMCAS even says to input them as pass/fail when doing transcript entry.

 

[PippyPony]

They are essentially pass/fail though because there is no letter grade or GPA attached to them. VMCAS even says to input them as pass/fail when doing transcript entry.

Not exactly; the OP is describing a system that is not simply pass/fail but does not provide letter grades. Just because that's how they are being interpreted by VMCAS doesn't mean that is what they are from the perspective of her undergrad institution, which is the point of the question.

 

[PippyPony]

If it were me, I would be talking to school administration and asking them why they cannot provide a converted transcript for you, considering that this is their weirdness and you paid them 4 years of tuition and did well in your classes.

 

[DVM-2023]

Just finished an exam so I have some time on my hands. I called your school and told them I was interested in attending as an undergrad and then go on to med school. The person I spoke to recommended sending your written evaluations to the schools you wish to apply to. I would recommend you call the schools back that you wish to attend and make sure that they completely understand the situation and ask if they would be willing to review your written assessments. Other than that the person I spoke to in admissions said there is not really anything they can do outside of giving advice.

I think your next best option would be to finish our your bachelors degree and then enroll in a local community college and re take the necessary science prerequisites for letter grades. It may be hard to find a CC that offers biochem but you could probably enroll through an online university. This is something many people do and it shouldn't take longer than 2 years to get the pre reqs knocked out. Also you may get higher marks in those classes having already been exposed to the material once before.

Unfortunately your school designed a grading system with no apparent thought to how it might be converted to a traditional grading system.

Good luck with your admission.