GPA < 3.0, does that mean its all over?

[Doc4dogs]

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Has anyone ever fallen below a 3.0 for a semester? Where you able to come back above a 3.0 with in one semester? Most important did it affect getting into a summer internship or program? I know I just need to work harder to make sure I get it back up above 3.0 but does this mean that I can forget about applying to summer internships until I get it back up?

 

[1CellNtheSea]

Has anyone ever fallen below a 3.0 for a semester? Where you able to come back above a 3.0 with in one semester? Most important did it affect getting into a summer internship or program? I know I just need to work harder to make sure I get it back up above 3.0 but does this mean that I can forget about applying to summer internships until I get it back up?

As much as I hate to say it, for the first time in my life my GPA is below 3.0. It kills me but my mom keeps reminding me, it's not about grades anymore. I'm just trying to get through! In terms of getting into internships, not sure since I haven't applied to any. Hopefully they will look at you as a whole person, not just a GPA.

 

[HeartSong]

Same for me. I'm not even sure what my GPA is, but I know it is below a 3.0. I never had interest in internships or anything competitive so I never worried about my grades.

It doesn't hurt to apply. Even if you know you won't get in, at least you tried and you won't ask "what if?" later on.

 

[missDVM2B]

Same for me. I'm not even sure what my GPA is, but I know it is below a 3.0. I never had interest in internships or anything competitive so I never worried about my grades.

It doesn't hurt to apply. Even if you know you won't get in, at least you tried and you won't ask "what if?" later on.

Exactly, besides, lots of good applicants don't make a match because of how the system matches.. but you just might... there's always flaws to the system

 

[ovc2012]

I did hear that the internship matching program is sort of flawed but I'm really freaking out over my average now. It's definitely dropped a lot but it's only my first year of vet school. I was told that they really weigh the 2nd and 3rd year more because there's more "clinical" component to it plus they're your most recent 2 years. I also heard that it's not just about marks and that there are other components. But I know that marks are definitely important when you want to apply for an internship because there is a certain "cutoff". Once you're beyond the cutoff point, I think the other aspects kick in.

I sure hope they look at 2nd and 3rd year more!!! lol

 

[Poochlover11]

I was told by a teacher that when they do the match thing for internships after vet school, letters of recommendation are huge and GPA isn't as important (in comparison to getting into vet school). So if you have some good contacts that may be a good boost! I don't know for sure-since I am not in vet school. But that was a statement from a professor who went through vet school. Good luck 👍

 

[HeartSong]

I think that summer internships are different than yearlong interships after you graduate. With most summer internships, you apply specifically for the one(s) you are interested in. Some programs/ internships will interview as well and may be more influenced by your interest in the topic/ area of internship rather than your grades alone. It also depends on who else is applying for the same positions.

 

[Doc4dogs]

When I say internship I am really talking about internships first and second summer. There should be time to come back up to a 3.0 before graduating. I am concerned about getting a position in an academic institution next year.

 

[Dela737]

unless you're planning on going into a Surgery Residency after vet school. Other than that, you're fine.

I personally have a 2.7 GPA and not only did I get every summer job or research position/internship I wanted throughout vet school, but in applying for post-graduation positions, I got my top choice internship and have a good prospect for a residency afterwards.

Who you know and more importantly who knows you as being a good person will get you so far, especially in the veterinary community it isn't even funny. I'm in the bottom 10% of my class and I literally had internship places fighting over me based on recommendation letters I had.

In conclusion, do the best you can in terms of grades and classwork, but most importantly, be a good person and be involved in and out of the classroom at your school and faculty will notice and help you get where you need to be. 🙂

 

[Poochlover11]

unless you're planning on going into a Surgery Residency after vet school. Other than that, you're fine.

I personally have a 2.7 GPA and not only did I get every summer job or research position/internship I wanted throughout vet school, but in applying for post-graduation positions, I got my top choice internship and have a good prospect for a residency afterwards.

Who you know and more importantly who knows you as being a good person will get you so far, especially in the veterinary community it isn't even funny. I'm in the bottom 10% of my class and I literally had internship places fighting over me based on recommendation letters I had.

In conclusion, do the best you can in terms of grades and classwork, but most importantly, be a good person and be involved in and out of the classroom at your school and faculty will notice and help you get where you need to be. 🙂

Ya, that is about along the lines of what my professor said. I guess the old saying "it's not what you know, but who you know," is fairly accurate (based on what I've heard).

 

[Doc4dogs]

unless you're planning on going into a Surgery Residency after vet school. Other than that, you're fine.

I personally have a 2.7 GPA and not only did I get every summer job or research position/internship I wanted throughout vet school, but in applying for post-graduation positions, I got my top choice internship and have a good prospect for a residency afterwards.

Who you know and more importantly who knows you as being a good person will get you so far, especially in the veterinary community it isn't even funny. I'm in the bottom 10% of my class and I literally had internship places fighting over me based on recommendation letters I had.

In conclusion, do the best you can in terms of grades and classwork, but most importantly, be a good person and be involved in and out of the classroom at your school and faculty will notice and help you get where you need to be. 🙂

Thanks Dela737, that was what I was hoping to hear from someone who is a senior or a resident. I had always been the type to be very active in a few key clubs/activities and also keep my grades high but the last exam or two caught me off guard and caused me to struggle. I have done a lot of networking and I have a lot of good and 1 or 2 influential references from influential places. So I guess the plan now is to just reorganize my studying so I hopefully can keep my overall GPA above a 3.0 and I will make sure that I keep in contact with people and get active in at least one organization. Yeah luckily my interest in not in surgery and or anything that the majority of students are interested in.

thanks everyone for their input. Good luck with finals if your still taking them or Hooray for everyone that is done, I still have 3 more to take.🙂

 

[projekt]

I read an article recently that said, when you study, you should read, close the book, and try to write down what you have learned. Then go back and check to see what you are missing, and then later write it down from memory again. The more you use recall, the better you will remember when it counts.

I haven't put it into practice yet, but the article had statistics behind it,.... 🙂

 

[Doc4dogs]

I really like the process that one person on here ( or the pre-vet thread) posted. She said she spends a few hours each day going over the material that was covered in class that day. I know that sound soooo simple and some of you probably already do that but I need to discipline my self. I feel so wiped out most days that I don't study that evening or I will only study one subject. With all of the info we need to know I definitely will not ( have not) get anywhere only studying 1 subject a day. I might be leaving something out, that seems too simple to me thinking about it now and when I read her post it just jumped out at me, WOW that is a good way to study. I think she might also have been talking about how to study and still have time left in your day or week to do something other than study and still be efficent. I will try to find her post.

I am hoping 2nd year will be better though because I don't have to spend time in Gross Anatomy Lab after hours. There have been many days when I literally spent 6-8 hours outside of class time just in the lab. That alone is enough time to study 2-3 different subjects right there. So maybe when I get home I will take 30minutes-1 hr to decompress with a nap or something that I really have missed doing. Do household things, then study each coarse I attended that day until time to go to sleep. Which reminds me if I can make it work with my schedule I think I will give biphasic sleeping a try since studying is best for me between 10pm-2am. We'll see. I'm going to to search more stuff on these threads, I need a game plan.😀

 

[sumstorm]

I read a book that talked about retaining information called 'what smart students know' by adam robinson of the Princeton Review.

Anyways, it said that when getting ready for class or a reading assignment (even if you only have a minute) jot down what the purpose of reading/hearing/doing this and then jot down the 'topic' of that class and very briefly what you know about the topic, even if what you know is vague or general. Then a brief line about where it fits in the big picture (based on syllabus, reading, teacher's comments from last lecture, etc.)

After doing this the past 2 semesters, I have found that it takes less than 2 minutes and really increases how much I retain from the 'first pass' at information, either in lecture or reading. I have also used it at seminars and such, and I find that I can coalesce different lectures/topics/concepts better with this method. He does emphasize that it is important to put it down (writing, picture, whatever.)

Then, throughout a lecture or reading, try to anticipate what comes next in your mind, and try to find the answer to 'expert questions' which are, essentially, the important concepts of the lecture/reading. The big idea is to keep your mind engaged and actively learning rather than passively hearing/seeing the topic.

Also, as you are reading/listening consider what questions does it bring to mind, especially 'what if' questions and/or 'what does it remind me of' because these tend to tack the idea into your mind....gives you personal handles on it. This can also be done after a class while reviewing notes, but the sooner, the better. Obviously you could come up with far more questions than you will have time to answer, but just getting them in your mind will start connecting the information. Also, when reading/reviewing notes, seperate out what is important and paraphrase/summarize/condence information in a written format (which can also be a visual format such as drawings/diagrams.) Do this the same day as the class. The idea is to minimize material. He also suggests reading a section, then cover it and jot down notes on what you remember, organize/outline/etc. Also, if you write on only one side of a sheet of paper, you can jot 'study questions' on the other side for reviewing later. He also suggests this is a good time to combine notes from reading and lectures.

Next he suggests considering how the information can be organized and pictured such as diagrams, charts, comparisons, visuals (not ones you copy, ones you draw yourself.) Then, for stuff that isn't 'sticking' and has to be memorized, find a hook (mnemonic) such as a picture, pattern, rhyme, story, joke, etc and link it to other material you know (or if there are no links, such as randomly needing to memorize all the kings of england, make the link as crazy as possible), do all of this for smaller chunks of info, then connect the chunks (more on this farther on), engage as many senses as possible (visual, tactile, etc...I bet most of us can remember what parvo does to a dog's intestinal tract partly because of the smell), take breaks while memorizing, even brief ones where you just notice what is around you, as it helps your brain anchor information in 'time' for you.

Finally, the biggest reason for the condencing is that you need repeated brief reviews of information (preferably recall then check your recall against the condenced notes.) He mentions being able to keep condencing notes until it takes very little to trigger full recall through associations in the brain. Finally, also consider how what you have covered fits into the big picture.

OK, so it sounds like a lot...I was a bit overwhelmed when I started this. It really does work. I doubt I quite do all the steps, but I definitly do the jot down before lecture/reading, the questioning throughout, a brief mental review after (normally as I am going somewhere) and the condensing as soon as possible. The condensing is probably the part that took me the most time to get use to, but I have also started using mind maps more frequently, and have found that the combination has made me far better at condensing because I can see how what I am dealing with interconnects. I have been using this for 400-500 level classes and other lectures/seminars.

One other thing I learned for memorization of things like processes is backchaining.

So say there is an order of something, like the kreb's cycle. Most of us start at the beginning and memorize towards the end. A way that works better for me is backchaining. In backchaining you break thinks into ~5 unit pieces, with overlap. Then you memorize from the end to the beginning.

So, if you wanted to learn the alphabet, instead of going:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

you would break in into chunks like:

'ABC' & 'CDEF' & 'FGHIJ' & 'JKLMN' & 'NOPQR' & 'RSTUV' & 'VWXYZ'

and memorize starting from the end chunk.

Now, instead of trying to memorize the entire thing, you memorize each 'chunk' but because of the overlap (c, f, j, n, r, v) each chunk leads into the next chunk, triggering your memory, because the last chunk is the most practiced, it is the least likely to be forgotten. So, you memorize the last chunk. Then the second to last, then practice both together, then memorize third to last, then practice all three, and so on.

At first, I didn't trust this. It was taught to me by a person who has to do a lot of passage memorization for her career (recitation of speeches by historical figures) after we discussed how we train dogs through back chaining because the thing they know the trained behaivor they know 'best' can reinforce other trained behaviors that they don't know as well. It is the quickest way to train dogs to complex behaviors (like fetching a bottle of water from a fridge and bringing it to an owner who can't move very well/open the fridge/etc.) I have started using this more often, and was suprised at how much more I recall with the overlapping parts and with the end stuff more rehearsed then the beginning. So that just the beginning tag (abc) would trigger the recall all the way down the chain.

I don't know if any of that was clear, but thought I woud toss it out there.

 

[dgm]

Wow, Sumstorm. I'm going to have to look into those strategies - thanks for typing all that out. I know that my study habits are going to need a major overhaul in vet school - "wait till the last minute and cram" is definitely not going to be a viable option anymore!