Grade forgiveness effects?

[ashashbobash]

Hi

I didn't take highschool chem and wound up with a D in Chem 1. I'm doing grade forgiveness, which will save my gpa from being affected. However, Im pretty sure the D will stay on my transcripts.
How do vet schools factor this in?
Do they calculate what my gpa would be with the D in there?

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[finnickthedog]

I assume you mean that you're retaking it (sorry just not super familiar with what "grade forgiveness" actually means)? Different schools may calculate differently so you'll need to look at the schools you're interested in. Some will only use the new grade. Some will use both (effectively averaging your new and old grade). Some will use the new grade for your science/prerequisite GPA but will use both grades for your cumulative.

 

[danseth]

I'm not 100% on the VMCAS GPA calculation, I think they do calculate the D into their GPA calculation.

I have been told that schools like to see improvement. If you go from a D to an A or B, they'll see that you improved and that you are capable of working to better yourself in classes that you might not have initially excelled at. At CSU it's called repeat-delete and the improvement thing is what my pre-vet advisor talked to the pre-vet club about once regarding how it might affect the applicants.

If you're worried, look at schools that are more holistic. Make sure you use the explanation statement to discuss the circumstances as well.

 

[Caiter92]

I'm not 100% on the VMCAS GPA calculation, I think they do calculate the D into their GPA calculation.

I have been told that schools like to see improvement. If you go from a D to an A or B, they'll see that you improved and that you are capable of working to better yourself in classes that you might not have initially excelled at. At CSU it's called repeat-delete and the improvement thing is what my pre-vet advisor talked to the pre-vet club about once regarding how it might affect the applicants.

If you're worried, look at schools that are more holistic. Make sure you use the explanation statement to discuss the circumstances as well.

The explanation statement really isn’t meant for just one bad grade or because you had never taken a chemistry class in high school. It’s for hardships that have effected your application.

I used it due to health issues during my sophomore year of college. But even then it was short and sweet, “my previous and subsequent semesters are a much better representation as a student” and “I’ve over come these issues and have a plan in place to prevent this from becoming an issue again.” If someone uses the explanation statement, it needs to show how they’ve learned and grown from the experience and not to make excuses. Using it for one D, especially when it’ll be retaken and hopefully improved, is just going to draw more attention to it.

Plenty of people have C’s and even D’s on their transcripts and still get into Vet school. One D really isn’t a big deal

 

[ashashbobash]

The whole semester was a mess. I got Bs in bio and chem lab and W in Calc. I am usually an A student.
In all honesty, I couldn't time manage. If I had more time I feel like I couldve taught myself the basics of chem. Even when I was on top of everything, doing task after task, I still couldn't keep up. I was working 30 hours a week as well.
Is Calc and 2 science courses with labs seen as a rigorous course load. I wanna say I learned my limits from this semester, but I don't want to appear weak.

 

[danseth]

The explanation statement really isn’t meant for just one bad grade or because you had never taken a chemistry class in high school. It’s for hardships that have effected your application.

I was told you can use it for whatever you need to explain extraneous things in general that might have caused something to be weird or different or out of the ordinary. It's a fine place to use it. You can use it to discuss anything that might have had an impact on your application or that you want to explain. It might take two sentences to say "I repeated a class and wanted to improve my grade and I clearly did better, as seen on my transcripts."

 

[ashashbobash]

I assume you mean that you're retaking it (sorry just not super familiar with what "grade forgiveness" actually means)? Different schools may calculate differently so you'll need to look at the schools you're interested in. Some will only use the new grade. Some will use both (effectively averaging your new and old grade). Some will use the new grade for your science/prerequisite GPA but will use both grades for your cumulative.

Grade forgiveness is when the college replaces the old grade with a new grade. The old grade doesnt affect your gpa, but it does stay on your transcript.

 

[Caiter92]

I was told you can use it for whatever you need to explain extraneous things in general that might have caused something to be weird or different or out of the ordinary. It's a fine place to use it. You can use it to discuss anything that might have had an impact on your application or that you want to explain. It might take two sentences to say "I repeated a class and wanted to improve my grade and I clearly did better, as seen on my transcripts."

This is straight from VMCAS https://portal.vmcas.org/applicants2014/instructions/ins_explanation.pdf
"Use the explanation statement to record information that could not be listed anywhere else within the web application, such as missing parental information, and disciplinary action(s) which require detailed explanation. This section can also be used to provide the admissions committee(s) additional information that you consider vital to your application. Your explanation statement should be clearly and succinctly written – 2000 characters (including spaces) have been allotted for this purpose.

Examples of pertinent information might include explanations about interruptions in your studies or experiences, unique circumstances you have faced, or reasons for decisions you have made. "

 

[finnickthedog]

I was told you can use it for whatever you need to explain extraneous things in general that might have caused something to be weird or different or out of the ordinary. It's a fine place to use it. You can use it to discuss anything that might have had an impact on your application or that you want to explain. It might take two sentences to say "I repeated a class and wanted to improve my grade and I clearly did better, as seen on my transcripts."

You technically can use the statement for whatever you want and no one is going to stop you, but in cases like the OPs situation I would not recommend it. Getting a D and retaking the class is not weird, different, or out of the ordinary. It doesn't need explaining.

Grade forgiveness is when the college replaces the old grade with a new grade. The old grade doesnt affect your gpa, but it does stay on your transcript.

That's what I figured, I just have never referred to it in exactly those terms so I wasn't 100% sure that I was correct on that.

 

[ajs513]

Two F’s and a D here. Plus a number of C’s. My first 3 semesters were awful due to adjusting and family hardship. That’s when you’d use the explanation portion. VMCAS does average everything. They also use specific values for different grades that may differ from what your school uses or how the schools you’re applying to use. My school put plus grades at a .5, so a B+ was a 3.5. They didn’t give minus grades. Due to VMCAS not giving grade forgiveness and using different values, my GPA calculated by them was 3.0 (my school calculated mine as a 3.32). This really hurt me. Schools that did grade forgiveness were a little better. But I would just recommend doing well from here on out. Retaking this one class won’t affect you. It probably won’t even be considered by most schools when they think about you as an applicant. Granted that’s my speculation, but it’s hard to imagine one D in a freshman level class is going to matter.

 

[danseth]

"This section can also be used to provide the admissions committee(s) additional information that you consider vital to your application"
If OP considers it a vital thing then it can be included. I literally only meant that they could use it as a area to explain if they wanted to. Doesn't mean they shouldn't or can't use that section to explain things.

 

[Caiter92]

"This section can also be used to provide the admissions committee(s) additional information that you consider vital to your application"
If OP considers it a vital thing then it can be included. I literally only meant that they could use it as a area to explain if they wanted to. Doesn't mean they shouldn't or can't use that section to explain things.

The problem is using the explanation statement just for one bad grade, with no extenuating circumstances, can also be used against you. It can make it seem like someone is a perfectionist and can't handle failure. This has been discussed a lot on the forum over the years, and I recommend the OP search to look around at threads discussing the explanation statement before they decide to use it for one bad grade. Saying you got a D in one chem class cause you had never taken chemistry before isn't vital to an application, it just looks like someone is making excuses.

 

[finnickthedog]

"This section can also be used to provide the admissions committee(s) additional information that you consider vital to your application"
If OP considers it a vital thing then it can be included. I literally only meant that they could use it as a area to explain if they wanted to. Doesn't mean they shouldn't or can't use that section to explain things.

Again, if the OP decides they want to include it then none of us can or will stop them. We're just saying that we strongly recommend they (and any applicants in similar situations who may be lurking on this forum) do not use the explanation statement for this type of situation because this is not really the sort of thing it's intended for and it's a normal situation that does not warrant explanation. It isn't vital information. Using the statement to explain that they retook a course is unlikely to help their application and could even hurt their application.

 

[ajs513]

Saying you got a D in one chem class cause you had never taken chemistry before isn't vital to an application, it just looks like someone is making excuses.

And this is the most important factor. I can imagine someone on adcom looking at that and saying “well this entire curriculum over the next four years is going to be things you haven’t taken before so are you saying you can’t do it?” You shouldn’t have to fail at something to be able to be get through it the next time. If you’re failing, it means you need to rework your strategy so that it doesn’t happen again when you see new material. This coming from someone who absolutely believed I couldn’t handle chem without taking it twice until I realized I was just making excuses.

 

[danseth]

I'm not saying OP has to say they got a bad grade because they didn't have experience with chemistry. I'm saying they can use it to explain the repeat-delete/grade forgiveness side of things if they wish to do so because THAT might be the odd thing that not everyone has on their transcript.

 

[finnickthedog]

I'm not saying OP has to say they got a bad grade because they didn't have experience with chemistry. I'm saying they can use it to explain the repeat-delete/grade forgiveness side of things if they wish to do so because THAT might be the odd thing that not everyone has on their transcript.

We are not talking about different things. Retaking a class and having the grade forgiven on a transcript is not odd and does not need explaining.

 

[youstinatutti]

Hi

I didn't take highschool chem and wound up with a D in Chem 1. I'm doing grade forgiveness, which will save my gpa from being affected. However, Im pretty sure the D will stay on my transcripts.
How do vet schools factor this in?
Do they calculate what my gpa would be with the D in there?

Hi! I just spoke to a couple of Veterinary Schools about this because I'm in the same boat. So far, a good majority of Vet schools create their own GPA. The one that the VMCAS use is a standard, but a really large portion of the schools don't necessarily follow it. They calculate your GPA using the VMCAS as a standard/starting point then use their own calculation system. So far, all the Vet Schools I have talked to will still see the D in Chem, but they will not factor it into your calculated GPA come application time. They will only consider the Higher Grade. They made it clear, however, that that they only do this for science classes. So if you got a D in Calculus or English, and retake it and get an A, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), they will just average out the two and factor BOTH into your GPA because they aren't science classes. If you got a D in Chem, and an A in Chem when you retake it, they'll still see the D, but won't factor it into your GPA. They'll just use the A. They actually told me that it looks better when you retake it and do well because it means that you kind of learned from your mistake and you weren't willing to settle with said grade. One school (just an example out of the many schools I have spoken to) that really stressed this was UGA's Vet. They said if you have anything lower than a C in a science class, RETAKE IT because they do this. There is no limit as to how many classes you can retake I believe, and they'll only consider the higher grade received. Hope this helps and you find this comforting

 

[finnickthedog]

Hi! I just spoke to a couple of Veterinary Schools about this because I'm in the same boat. So far, a good majority of Vet schools create their own GPA. The one that the VMCAS use is a standard, but a really large portion of the schools don't necessarily follow it. They calculate your GPA using the VMCAS as a standard/starting point then use their own calculation system. So far, all the Vet Schools I have talked to will still see the D in Chem, but they will not factor it into your calculated GPA come application time. They will only consider the Higher Grade. They made it clear, however, that that they only do this for science classes. So if you got a D in Calculus or English, and retake it and get an A, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), they will just average out the two and factor BOTH into your GPA because they aren't science classes. If you got a D in Chem, and an A in Chem when you retake it, they'll still see the D, but won't factor it into your GPA. They'll just use the A. They actually told me that it looks better when you retake it and do well because it means that you kind of learned from your mistake and you weren't willing to settle with said grade. One school (just an example out of the many schools I have spoken to) that really stressed this was UGA's Vet. They said if you have anything lower than a C in a science class, RETAKE IT because they do this. There is no limit as to how many classes you can retake I believe, and they'll only consider the higher grade received. Hope this helps and you find this comforting

I'm not sure if you're interpreting this correctly based on how you then described it, so you may want to ask for clarification with the schools you talked to. When they said this to you were they talking about science classes in the cumulative GPA or were they talking specifically about the science GPA? It's common--based on schools I've looked at--for schools to take the higher grade when calculating a science GPA, but not common for them to take the higher grade for cumulative GPA (in science or other classes).

Also, I don't know which schools you spoke to or if UGA was one of the ones who told you they consider the higher grade for science classes, but their website is clear they will consider both grades when calculating a cumulative GPA.

 

[Georgethecat]

Hi! I just spoke to a couple of Veterinary Schools about this because I'm in the same boat. So far, a good majority of Vet schools create their own GPA. The one that the VMCAS use is a standard, but a really large portion of the schools don't necessarily follow it. They calculate your GPA using the VMCAS as a standard/starting point then use their own calculation system. So far, all the Vet Schools I have talked to will still see the D in Chem, but they will not factor it into your calculated GPA come application time. They will only consider the Higher Grade. They made it clear, however, that that they only do this for science classes. So if you got a D in Calculus or English, and retake it and get an A, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), they will just average out the two and factor BOTH into your GPA because they aren't science classes. If you got a D in Chem, and an A in Chem when you retake it, they'll still see the D, but won't factor it into your GPA. They'll just use the A. They actually told me that it looks better when you retake it and do well because it means that you kind of learned from your mistake and you weren't willing to settle with said grade. One school (just an example out of the many schools I have spoken to) that really stressed this was UGA's Vet. They said if you have anything lower than a C in a science class, RETAKE IT because they do this. There is no limit as to how many classes you can retake I believe, and they'll only consider the higher grade received. Hope this helps and you find this comforting

Like Finnick said, UGA averages any retakes with the original grade. This is from their website.

Minimum Requirement to be Considered for Admission
In order to be considered for admission to the College you must have either a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or greater, or a combined score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE of 308 or greater. Applicants must meet one or the other of these two criteria to be considered; it is not required to meet both. GRE scores are required and must be sent to GRE code 5752, regardless of which criteria you are meeting. As part of our review process, UGA calculates you overall GPA by looking at any and all courses taken at the undergraduate level. If you have retaken a course due to poor performance, both grades are considered as we calculate your overall GPA.

UGA requires a minimum of a C in all pre-req courses.

What might be a little different for UGA as compared to other schools is that they calculate their own pre-req gpa and do not use the overall science gpa that vmcas calculates.

 

[youstinatutti]

I'm not sure if you're interpreting this correctly based on how you then described it, so you may want to ask for clarification with the schools you talked to. When they said this to you were they talking about science classes in the cumulative GPA or were they talking specifically about the science GPA? It's common--based on schools I've looked at--for schools to take the higher grade when calculating a science GPA, but not common for them to take the higher grade for cumulative GPA (in science or other classes).

Also, I don't know which schools you spoke to or if UGA was one of the ones who told you they consider the higher grade for science classes, but their website is clear they will consider both grades when calculating a cumulative GPA.

Like Finnick said, UGA averages any retakes with the original grade. This is from their website.

Minimum Requirement to be Considered for Admission
In order to be considered for admission to the College you must have either a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or greater, or a combined score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE of 308 or greater. Applicants must meet one or the other of these two criteria to be considered; it is not required to meet both. GRE scores are required and must be sent to GRE code 5752, regardless of which criteria you are meeting. As part of our review process, UGA calculates you overall GPA by looking at any and all courses taken at the undergraduate level. If you have retaken a course due to poor performance, both grades are considered as we calculate your overall GPA.

UGA requires a minimum of a C in all pre-req courses.

What might be a little different for UGA as compared to other schools is that they calculate their own pre-req gpa and do not use the overall science gpa that vmcas calculates.

Yes, I am fairly certain. I spoke with one of the actual admission reviewers and I asked several times on the phone with them to verify because I could not believe it myself. They reassured me. They do this for both Cumulative AND Science GPA. Although, if there was a slight doubt in the information I had received, they perhaps only do it for the pre-req classes and that's it (worst-case scenario if perhaps I have forgotten or anything). But either way, it still offers a bit of leniency and hope. I also spoke with the head of admissions for the Vet school at Tufts and he told me the same, along with an admissions representative/counselor from KSU.

One thing I am starting to realize is that not everything is posted on their website. Sometimes you have to pick up the phone and call or even see them in person and ask the right questions. They only put the absolute bare basics on their websites. For example, a couple of Vet Schools are willing to review an "unofficial application" (as in give them a very brief description of your situation, your resume, and unofficial transcripts) and they'll be more than happy to have a doctor and/or admissions counselor give you a brief "WAMC" and they'll let you know if you have a chance or not into their Vet School and whether they recommend you applying there or not. Typically if they don't think your application is strong enough, they'll let you know and will actually offer advice on how to strengthen your application to make it more competitive for their school. They'll also let you know what they like and don't like about your application point blank.