How to strengthen my chances for next time?

[Fragaria]

I only applied to a few schools this year, I wasn't really expecting to get in the first time, and I've yet to hear from one so there's still (potentially, not gonna hold my breath) hope of getting in.

My GRE scores aren't the best, I studied different resources but holy moly there were math problems on there that weren't in any of my study guides nor do I still know to this day what they were asking !

Here's one kicker; I'm embarrassed to even mention this, but I was in nursing school prior to graduating but the program I was in was new the method of instruction was where we met once a week and did everything else online. Basically being self-taught, and I ended up failing two courses my first semester, and deciding not to continue with the program (the class I started with ended up only graduating 3 people out of the 50 of us that started out!). That's probably what is a big killer in my application, but I used my explanation statement to address this.


I applied to: UPenn (rejected), Mississippi (rejected), Midwestern (Waitlisted for interview), Okstate (won't know 'til January but I assume rejected lol)
So here's my stats:

Degree: B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology
In-state: Texas, I didn't apply to A&M there are reasons behind this that I am not comfortable disclosing.
GRE: V152/Q143/W3
Overall: 3.23
Science: 2.92
Last 45: 3.1

Vet experience:
900 hrs with zoo/exotics
130 hrs with food/equine
800 hrs with food/equine/small

Animal experience:
96 hrs as a zoo keeper
910 hrs at a shelter

Employment:
2000+ hrs as a pharmacy technician/cashier

Research:
100 hrs in zoo research
60 hrs in tick research

Extracurricular:
secretary for bio club
Vice President for pre vet club


My last 45 suck, organic chemistry absolutely kicked my booty and so did biochem. I plan to retake all three of those, and two other courses I made C's in. I have no real way of retaking the two nursing courses I failed at the school I went to, so that's probably my biggest killer.

Aside from the retakes, is there any problem in taking some graduate courses over actually completing a masters? I don't know what I would like to get a masters in, but I do have some masters courses I'm interested in taking that don't require a degree path.

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[genny]

Your GPAs are low, so I suspect that's your major issue to address, which means retaking courses or taking more upper level science classes. Explanation statements can also be problematic; they're tricky to get right. I would recommend file reviews with the schools that rejected you to confirm what they recommend you fix, and it wouldn't hurt to ask their opinion on your explanation statement. Fs aren't always a barrier if you spin your story right.

 

[EngrSC]

I have F’s in my academic history, though they’re 10+ years old. Used the explanation statement to talk about medical issues I had as an undergrad. I took 84 credits of science classes as a post-bacc student (3.87 GPA) with last 45 of 4.0, cumulative 3.06. Applied to 21 schools and I have 3 acceptances and 5 interviews. Would be happy to send you my explanation statement if you want an example!

 

[Fragaria]

Your GPAs are low, so I suspect that's your major issue to address, which means retaking courses or taking more upper level science classes. Explanation statements can also be problematic; they're tricky to get right. I would recommend file reviews with the schools that rejected you to confirm what they recommend you fix, and it wouldn't hurt to ask their opinion on your explanation statement. Fs aren't always a barrier if you spin your story right.

That's an excellent idea, I wasn't sure if you were allowed to ask about statements or essays written for the file review so that's definitely one of my next steps to take!

I have F’s in my academic history, though they’re 10+ years old. Used the explanation statement to talk about medical issues I had as an undergrad. I took 84 credits of science classes as a post-bacc student (3.87 GPA) with last 45 of 4.0, cumulative 3.06. Applied to 21 schools and I have 3 acceptances and 5 interviews. Would be happy to send you my explanation statement if you want an example!

Congrats to you! I'd definitely would like to see your statement as an example, I suspect my explanation statement may have not faired as well as I had planned but I've got plenty of time in the world to fix it.

 

[EngrSC]

Congrats to you! I'd definitely would like to see your statement as an example, I suspect my explanation statement may have not faired as well as I had planned but I've got plenty of time in the world to fix it.

Sent! And thanks. Hopefully your next cycle is your year (if Oklahoma doesn’t pan out)!!