I feel like my chances are ruined.

[bigdreams97]

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Okay, long story short - I have always wanted to be a vet, just didn't start my college career off that way. I studied nursing. I went to a university on a full ride scholarship however a year 1/2 later I transferred to a nursing only school at a hospital. That last semester I went to that school I just didn't show up. I failed all of my classes that semester. So my GPA would be a 2.5 there.

Now...I realize I want to be a vet and my best (financial) decision would be to go back to the university I was at because as long as I return within a year I can keep my original scholarship. However...I don't think I could ever make up that GPA. I feel so stupid having known I burned my bridges like that. I was young. I was dumb.

Do you think I could ever get passed this?

 

[Ashgirl]

Okay, long story short - I have always wanted to be a vet, just didn't start my college career off that way. I studied nursing. I went to a university on a full ride scholarship however a year 1/2 later I transferred to a nursing only school at a hospital. That last semester I went to that school I just didn't show up. I failed all of my classes that semester. So my GPA would be a 2.5 there.

Now...I realize I want to be a vet and my best (financial) decision would be to go back to the university I was at because as long as I return within a year I can keep my original scholarship. However...I don't think I could ever make up that GPA. I feel so stupid having known I burned my bridges like that. I was young. I was dumb.

Do you think I could ever get passed this?

If you wander through this website long enough, you'll see that there are people that have overcome a great deal. Even a GPA worse than what you have now. So is it possible to recover and get accepted? Absolutely. Will it be easy? Absolutely not.

You have a really long haul ahead of you, but if this is the career you want, it's possible. You will have to really nail your pre-req and last 45 credit GPAs from here on out, and you'll have to make sure to apply smartly to schools that emphasize parts of your application that you excel at. If you are interested, I would also highly consider shadowing a vet right away to make sure this is the career for you.

 

[pp9]

Okay, long story short - I have always wanted to be a vet, just didn't start my college career off that way. I studied nursing. I went to a university on a full ride scholarship however a year 1/2 later I transferred to a nursing only school at a hospital. That last semester I went to that school I just didn't show up. I failed all of my classes that semester. So my GPA would be a 2.5 there.

Now...I realize I want to be a vet and my best (financial) decision would be to go back to the university I was at because as long as I return within a year I can keep my original scholarship. However...I don't think I could ever make up that GPA. I feel so stupid having known I burned my bridges like that. I was young. I was dumb.

Do you think I could ever get passed this?

Did you mean to drop those classes and miss the deadline, did you just not want to go anymore, was there some sort of personal issue....?

I'd think you have a lot of pre-vet classes to take so there is a chance of raising it close to or above a 3.0. I'd be more worried about having an entire semester of F's to explain. There are students who have failed a class here and there, but failing an entire semester is a bit of a big deal. You'll likely need to make use of the 'explanation statement' portion of VMCAS. If you just say something like 'I decided I didn't want to be a nurse anymore so I chose to stop going and fail all of my classes,' it may not come off very well.

I also have to wonder if the university would accept your return as a student. Have you looked into whether or not you'll be able to return?

Edit: I'm not saying your chances are ruined by any means, btw. I just think you need to approach this strategically and have all of your ducks in a row prior to even thinking about applying to vet school.

 

[bigdreams97]

Did you mean to drop those classes and miss the deadline, did you just not want to go anymore, was there some sort of personal issue....?

I'd think you have a lot of pre-vet classes to take so there is a chance of raising it close to or above a 3.0. I'd be more worried about having an entire semester of F's to explain. There are students who have failed a class here and there, but failing an entire semester is a bit of a big deal. You'll likely need to make use of the 'explanation statement' portion of VMCAS. If you just say something like 'I decided I didn't want to be a nurse anymore so I chose to stop going and fail all of my classes,' it may not come off very well.

I also have to wonder if the university would accept your return as a student. Have you looked into whether or not you'll be able to return?

It's not that I decided I did not want to be a nurse anymore so I quit showing up to school, because I did want to be a nurse at the time. I just got into one of the best nursing schools in the state so I just kinda didn't care about my classes at my old school. I burned my bridges. I had way too much going on that semester to really care about anything. My mother threw me out of the house at the time so I was working that semester instead of going to school.

 

[bigdreams97]

I could also attend a state school and start fresh but I am wondering whether or not that transcript would still ruin me.

 

[pp9]

It's not that I decided I did not want to be a nurse anymore so I quit showing up to school, because I did want to be a nurse at the time. I just got into one of the best nursing schools in the state so I just kinda didn't care about my classes at my old school. I burned my bridges. I had way too much going on that semester to really care about anything. My mother threw me out of the house at the time so I was working that semester instead of going to school.

Like I said, I'd confirm with the original school that they will accept you back as a student/your scholarship will still be valid after failing an entire semester. That would be my first step, as you have to decide what school you're going to go to.

You definitely could start fresh at a different school. It may still haunt you, so be prepared to answer questions about this down the road should you get interviews at vet schools. I've heard of students neglecting to disclose that they attended other schools that had bad transcripts in favor of just sending the good transcript from the school they started fresh at, but I don't recommend that. VMCAS expects that you supply all of your academic history last I checked.

I agree with Ash in that you should definitely get veterinary experience now before assuming vet med is the career for you.

 

[that redhead]

Okay, long story short - I have always wanted to be a vet, just didn't start my college career off that way. I studied nursing. I went to a university on a full ride scholarship however a year 1/2 later I transferred to a nursing only school at a hospital. That last semester I went to that school I just didn't show up. I failed all of my classes that semester. So my GPA would be a 2.5 there.

Now...I realize I want to be a vet and my best (financial) decision would be to go back to the university I was at because as long as I return within a year I can keep my original scholarship. However...I don't think I could ever make up that GPA. I feel so stupid having known I burned my bridges like that. I was young. I was dumb.

Do you think I could ever get passed this?

What made you decide to pursue veterinary school? That will be a big thing to address especially after going to far through a different field's education path.

If you are able to do very well in your prerequisite courses and last 45 credits, you may be able to mitigate the damage. But depending on how long ago this incident occurred (it sounds like it was very recent...) schools may want to see distance between that mistake and your application to feel more confident in your maturity levels.

 

[mht2k3]

Starting fresh at a new school wont affect your GPA so I dont really see what the issue is there. Vet school applications are going to want the GPAs from all of the places you attended. If you can still get a free ride at that one school I'd go there for as many classes as possible. You have an explanation section on the VMCAS form to explain the semester. Unless I'm not understanding your post, that seems like the best thing to do. If you kick ass from now on you will definitely still have a chance.

 

[bigdreams97]

I have worked at a veterinary office as a kennel attendant for about a year and a half now. I am fortunate enough to have a great relationship with one of the vets here and she has taught me so much. This job is one of the reasons I believe made me switch career paths. I kept on in nursing school but everyday at work I kept thinking that this is truly what I wanted to be doing.

I have also looked at schools that only look at last 45 and prerequisite or science GPAs. I could definitely work with that. I am just upset because I think my instate school (NCSU) is out of the question.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

 

[Standard* Student]

I have worked at a veterinary office as a kennel attendant for about a year and a half now. I am fortunate enough to have a great relationship with one of the vets here and she has taught me so much. This job is one of the reasons I believe made me switch career paths. I kept on in nursing school but everyday at work I kept thinking that this is truly what I wanted to be doing.

I have also looked at schools that only look at last 45 and prerequisite or science GPAs. I could definitely work with that. I am just upset because I think my instate school (NCSU) is out of the question.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Minor update, did you see that NCSU lowered their in-state cumulative, required course, and last 45 GPA to 3.0? You can still be competitive if you work for it.

 

[LabLuv004]

It may be worth a try to ask the school to withdraw you for the classes now. My undergrad would allow that for extenuating circumstances so instead of a full semester of Fs you'd have Ws. Then you could explain what happened that semester on the VMCAS. I don't know if all schools offer that and you'd have to make a good case (usually some sort of illness or family issue). If the issues with your mom were so bad that they interfered with your studies you may be able to make a case. It's worth a try worst thing they'll say is no.

Either way there is still a chance you can turn it around and get into vet school.