I need some advice...asap

[futurepetfixer]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys,

I am applying to vet school this summer and need some advice on how to introduce a difficult situation I faced my junior year of college.
A little background story: I first took organic chem 1 fall semester of my sophomore year and failed, I think I underestimated the amount of work it covered and as a straight A student, I didn't think much of it at first until it was too late. I took a semester off from chemistry and registered again for it fall semester of my junior year, along with physics 1, genetics and 2 writing intensive art history courses (to show I can do well in it while working with a full course load). After the first exam of the semester, on which I didn't do TOO well but not terrible either, I came to the professor's office hours to ask him to look over 2 questions which I thought deserved more credit. He had asked if I had made changes to my paper, which at the time I didn't think I did and said no. 37 minutes later I realized my friend and i had been trying to work out a DIFFERENT problem together and my notes may have still stayed on the answer sheet. I emailed him immediately to explain myself and to tell him the correction was on the paper but that is not one of the questions he needs to grade, so please ignore it. He didn't email me back for a week and then I receive a notice saying that I am failing the course because I attempted to submit an altered exam for regrading. The whole incidence was a major oversight but it unfortunately took 8 months to resolve at which I thought my academic career was over because the college wasn't supportive and seemed to side with the professor. While this was going on I barely attended any of my classes, I was a nervous wreck, and surely didn't have the brain power to study for orgo. I ended up with a D in orgo (after the F has been removed 7 months later), a D- in physics and a C in genetics, I did well in my art hist classes because it was mostly paper writing which I kind of BS'ed through (I'm a good writer).

I ended up retaking the class for the third time with the same professor during a condensed summer session and got a C+. I took orgo 2 with the same prof (lucky me ey? no one else was teaching it) this fall and got an A.

My question is--how do I approach the topic on vet school apps? I don't want it to sound like I am blaming the professor or the dept even though it was completely their oversight which made my life a living hell, but how else do I explain taking orgo 3 times and physics twice? (A second time)

I appreciate any advice, thanks

 

[futurepetfixer]

I should add that the reason I admitted there's a change on it is because this prof makes copies of the answer keys and would have realized this anyway.

 

[Packen]

You could write an explanation of the situation in your "explanation statement" on your apps. Just tell the story straightforward without blaming anyone and just talk about how it affected you as a student.

One suggestion I would make though is to look at how schools calculate your SciGPA. I know some schools will use both grades from repeated courses if there is not a sufficient amount of time between the two. For example I had a traumatic semester and ended up doing poorly in a few courses. I retook them the next semester and earned As, but for my application, some schools took an average of the two grades (D and A) to calculate my grade for that course. So this severely affected my SciGPA. I think it was VMRVCM that said for a grade to completely replaced by another grade you had to wait 6ys (????? don't remember exact time) to retake it.

 

[LetItSnow]

My question is--how do I approach the topic on vet school apps? I don't want it to sound like I am blaming the professor or the dept even though it was completely their oversight which made my life a living hell, but how else do I explain taking orgo 3 times and physics twice? (A second time)

First, I'm not sure why you'd approach the issue at all on your apps. The space for your personal statement is limited, and you'll want to cover bigger territory than why you struggled with one particular class. So long as your overall GPA is in reasonable shape, I don't know that I'd worry too much about it.

Second, don't even begin to make it sound like you're blaming the professor or the school; that only reflects on you. No matter how unfairly you feel you were treated, don't forget that it started because of your mistake and you're solely responsible. Trying to shift or share that blame risks making it sound like you aren't accepting responsibility.

It may come up in an interview, I suppose, depending on the school. I don't know anything about that. But if so, just tell the story straight up and let them make their own conclusions: "I turned in an exam for regrading upon which I had made changes unrelated to the section I wanted regraded. The school took a closer look to ensure academic policies weren't violated. The anxiety led me to struggle for the next semester, and my grades took a hit. In the end, the school agreed that I didn't violate any policies and I returned to my previous level of academic performance."

Or something. You get the idea. Be honest, take responsibility, don't blame others, and emphasize that the situation wasn't representative of your academic capabilities.

 

[NStarz]

First, I'm not sure why you'd approach the issue at all on your apps. The space for your personal statement is limited, and you'll want to cover bigger territory than why you struggled with one particular class. So long as your overall GPA is in reasonable shape, I don't know that I'd worry too much about it.

There is a place on the application for something called an "explanation statement." That is where the OP would put this, not the personal statement.

 

[futurepetfixer]

I'm not as worried about explaining the situation in an interview, I'm worried about not getting TO the interview. Repeating an orgo class 3 times and a physics class twice doesn't look good right off the bat, so I do want to approach it somehow, maybe not in the PS, but at some point in the app. I guess I am wandering if I should just tell the whole story as is on the app, or just hint at a "school related trauma" and hope they'll invite me for an interview...?

 

[light10]

I think LetItSnow has very solid advice. If you really feel like you ought to mention it in your explanation statement (if it is dramatically different from the rest of your academic record such that it will raise eyebrows, or if the final verdict -whatever it was- is on your permanent record in any way), I would note the facts of the incident, and then - rather than anything about the school/department/professor - note how having your integrity challenged made you realize how important it was, and how you realized stupid mistakes can have major consequences, or some such.

 

[bonaparte]

I probably wouldn't mention it either (for the reason that writing about it will only bring more attention to a less-than-wonderful period of your academic life). Do, though, have something prepared in the case you are asked about it in an interview.

Sorry. It was a dumb mistake that turned out very poorly — it happens sometimes. 🙁

 

[LetItSnow]

I'm not as worried about explaining the situation in an interview, I'm worried about not getting TO the interview. Repeating an orgo class 3 times and a physics class twice doesn't look good right off the bat, so I do want to approach it somehow, maybe not in the PS, but at some point in the app. I guess I am wandering if I should just tell the whole story as is on the app, or just hint at a "school related trauma" and hope they'll invite me for an interview...?

If you feel strongly it has to be covered in the app, then Nstarz is correct: there is a box in the academic section for a catch-all 'Explanation' of anything you'd like. The instructions, IIRC, say to use it for things like academic dismissal, multiple GPAs from multiple schools, etc., but I imagine you could use it for this as well.

Bottom line is it's a gamble: if you draw attention to it, you draw attention to it. 🙂 Personally, I think this is exactly the kind of thing you go to an admissions director *before* you apply and say "Do I need to address this in my application?"

 

[Maschka1]

I have to agree with letitsnow. You only get about 700-800 words in your personal statement, I wouldnt mention this at all or maybe leave it to a couple sentences, if you want. you might use it for your explanation statement, but be brief and concise. I wouldnt even go into the he said, she said. Just say there was a mix up with the grade and you were not able to correct the issue so you retook the class. Obviously with the A in org 2 you were able to learn the material. The adcoms will see that you got that A, later. I am also going to assume, that they see lots of students with hicups in their transcripts. You said you had straight A's up until that semester might just mention that you had a very rough semester in your explanation statement, and leave it at that. If they want to know more they will probably ask you in an interview.

If you do want to include the story in your app , make sure that you learned a valuable lesson or can show them that it wont happen again. at least thats what I have always heard.

Dont stress too much, everyone has an off semester unless they are freaking super man. How much did it hurt your GPA? have you taken Biochem yet? I am sure there will be other things in your app to help off set. And if you look at previous students that have been accepted. Some that got in failed org chem too, and others with 4.0's were rejected. You are a whole picture and not just a semester of oops.

And now I am getting long winded-I am a little slap happy from 3 hours of sleep (studying org chem 2😛) so I apologize if this got a little long and rambley.

 

[futurepetfixer]

thank you so much for all the advice. I spoke to a lot of friends of mine who have applied to vet/medical/dental schools and many of them suggested I don't even mention it, but I feel like if I don't say anything at all, it just appears as if I couldn't get it together to study orgo 3 times over, lol. i had a solid study group and much better study habits the second time around and feel I could have easily ended up with a B/B+ if this whole thing hadn't happened. I guess I will take your advice and make a very brief ambiguous mention of the situation in my app and pray that they are interested in me enough to ask me more about it. It just sucks that an entire year of my academic career is now stained with D's and C's (the c's are in bio classes🙁 )

And Maschka as a response to you, I should graduate with a GPA of about 3.45-3.5. All phsyics and chemistry classes at my school are worth 5 credits which means they are weighed almost twice as heavily as a regular 3 credit class...I could have otherwise had a 3.6-3.65 or so. I am taking biochem this upcoming semester, hopefully I'll do well...

I guess I can only hope for the best with this crappy situation.

 

[twelvetigers]

I'm not saying I think you should mention it for sure - I'm not sure, and it's really just up to you, BUT I do want to make it very clear that the explanation statement and the personal statement are two different sections on the application. Absolutely don't mention it in your personal statement (which is what, 5000 characters?) but if you do choose to talk about it, there is a separate section (the explanation statement) that is specifically for explaining things like this. For example, if you had mono your sophomore year and failed a class because of it (or whatever) then that's where you would explain that. You get something like 2000 characters for that.

Just clarifying for anyone here who hasn't done VMCAS before.

 

[futurepetfixer]

got it, thanks

 

[BlacKAT33]

if you do write this in your explanation statement i'd make sure to add in there somewhere that this is not an excuse for your bad grades, but like Bonapart said before a dumb mistake that turned out poorly. just to emphasize that you realize it was your fault you had to repeat the classes, but this situation unfortunately added to you having to repeat them more than once

 

[squirrelsrule]

If your overall GPA is 3.4-3.5 I wouldn't mention it if I were you. If you mention it it will just draw attention to it. If they have a question about it, they'll ask you about it in the interview and you can explain without blaming anyone but maybe yourself.

I'd be focused on getting a solid score on the GRE and getting lots of experience hours. I really don't think a 3.4 GPA will cause any issues, most people have issues one semester or another.

 

[quantized]

Is the honor code violation on your permanent record?

 

[futurepetfixer]

I have been told by the Dean that since I won the case and was proven not guilty, that there should not be any record of it on my transcript or anywhere else. So I don't know if I should say anything at all other than, I had a rough year.

 

[kaydubs]

I'm not saying I think you should mention it for sure - I'm not sure, and it's really just up to you, BUT I do want to make it very clear that the explanation statement and the personal statement are two different sections on the application. Absolutely don't mention it in your personal statement (which is what, 5000 characters?) but if you do choose to talk about it, there is a separate section (the explanation statement) that is specifically for explaining things like this. For example, if you had mono your sophomore year and failed a class because of it (or whatever) then that's where you would explain that. You get something like 2000 characters for that.

Just clarifying for anyone here who hasn't done VMCAS before.

Dang, maybe that's where I should have put information about my clinical depression. Oh well.....I did include it in my personal statement because it affected my life greatly & impacted my choice to stick with vet medicine.

Futurepetfixer, it's totally your call if you want to mention it. In your situation, I might make a few comments to emphasize I'm a serious student who had a rough time with admin at my school (besides professors, my schools would get an F as far as going above and beyond to help students)

Best of luck!

 

[quantized]

I have been told by the Dean that since I won the case and was proven not guilty, that there should not be any record of it on my transcript or anywhere else. So I don't know if I should say anything at all other than, I had a rough year.

Then if you want to say something about it, just say in the explanation section that you were having a difficult time with some personal issues and they are resolved and you learned from them and moved on. Anything doing with any hint of an honor code violation will get you move to the rejection pile. Since there is no record of it as it was proven to not have happened, then it is no one else's business what your personal issues were and you are under no obligation to disclose specifics of the situation.

 

[BrumleyVet]

Get an official copy of your transcript to see what it says. AND contact the student affairs office to see if there is anything in your file regarding this. Based on what you find in these areas is what I would base my explanation on. Bottom line - if they call or see something on the official documentation it had better match what you are saying (if anything) on your app!

 

[futurepetfixer]

well whereas there shouldn't be an official "academic dishonesty" clause on the transcript they will see that the grade was an F and then became a D... so I think they might wander why. But I think the advice I've gotten on here is solid, just mention that I was having a rough semester and learned from it..and hope for the best

 

[ImNotThatGirl]

Explain it in your explanation statement on your app, and be prepared to talk about it if you get invited to an interview, but most of all - FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE! Point out that you did better in your later semesters and later courses. Definitely don't play the blame game, and don't even dwell on the problem too much, mostly explain how you recovered.

 

[futurepetfixer]

so all the feedback i've been getting from SDN members and friends have led me to realize i should make some brief attempt at an explanation or I will not even be offered an interview. I don't want to just write "personal issues" cuz they know thats BS. I do want to write something along the lines of unexpected obstacles presented a great challenge to my academic career and I am disappointed in the outcome of this particular semester and assure them I have learned from my mistakes and went on to do well the following year.

 

[Minnerbelle]

You said that you got an A in orgo II with the same exact professor right? How is your relationship with him now? If it's a lot better and you've come to a mutual understanding about the incident, it would be great if you could have him write a LOR. Or if not him, a dean, or academic advisor, or anyone like that who's sympathetic to your cause would be really good to have. This person also has to be someone who believes in you and thinks you deserve to go to vet school though.

If they can write that you made a dumb mistake that led to a simple misunderstanding that almost got you in a heap of trouble. And that though you cracked under the pressure that semester due to all of that and let that affect your academic performance, you've matured a lot from it. That it was such a good learning experience, that he/she is sure that the next time you are under a lot of pressure, you will be able to handle it more maturely.

Something like that would be really good for your situation, and will probably make adcoms a lot more comfortable with giving you a chance given that you're a qualified candidate otherwise. I'd also succinctly say something along those lines in your explanation statement. Dunno what to say about your other bad grades though...

I've personally walked out on an internship because it just was NOT working out. It was def not my fault, but I knew how bad that could look on my apps... I didn't want to sound like I was irresponsible or making excuses. So I had a letter from my supervisor explaining the situation and advocating for me, and I think my interviewers were impressed with my take on the situation when I talked about it during the interview. I think the letter from my supervisor helped a lot.

 

[futurepetfixer]

unfortunately that's not really an option, the professor hates me with a passion he took it as almost a personal vendetta to prove he did not mistakenly accuse me and that I deserved to fail--it was awful