If I don't get into vet school...

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vandalgirl59

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Hello! Brand new member here. I have some questions and I need the cold hard truth...I'm tired of my advisors sugar-coating everything.

I am a 19 yo college senior in pre-vet. I actually have 1 more year left of undergrad before I apply to vet school. My grades are terrific...EXCEPT in chemistry. Horrible. Awful. Yuck. Those are my chemistry grades, respectfully lol.

If I do not get into vet school my first try, and I do not expect to, is it better to take off time from school and work at a vet clinic, or pursue more schooling? I'm looking into pursuing my Master's in Animal Science or Pre-Veterinary Medicine before vet school just to show how committed I am but I also have a clinic that is willing to pay me ANYTIME I am ready to come work with them.

While I'd be thrilled to get in my first or even second try, I'm willing to go as long as it takes. I'm very young and I have plenty of time.

so...

1) Will my low chem grades keep me from getting in? Even with great other grades and TONS of experience?

2) What is the best option in the event I do not get accepted?
 
I don't think that bad chem grades are necessarily the kiss of death, especially if you've done well in everything else. But I can't promise that you'll get in either. Try to rock your GREs if you haven't taken them yet.

Honestly, I think your best option (and everyone else's) if you don't get in is to contact the school and arrange a meeting to discuss why you were rejected. I haven't encountered a school yet that is unwilling to do this, and most encourage it. They will probably be very honest with you, and will tell you where you went wrong. Then just follow their advice. If they say get more experience, do that. If they say you need to boost your grades, look into Master's programs.
 
P.S. My current GPA overall is about 3.6, however my Chem Grades average out to be C's 😱...just in case you needed some numbers.
 
Hi! How bad are you talking for your chemistry grades? If you have below a C, most schools will not accept them. Maybe you should consider retaking some classes. If your overall and science GPAs are still pretty high with your other classes then you might be okay.

As far as whether it would be better to go to more school or work, I think it depends on how much experience you have. If you only have minimal vet experience than it would maybe be better to work. I agree with Skillet that you should meet with the schools that reject you and see what they recommend.
 
Like Skillet said, what is best depends on your app.

I admire your determination very much. Wish I had your level of focus at your age.

As far is what to do, depends on where your lacking. Also, can you kill 2 birds with one stone? Retake the 2-3 chem classes you did poorly in while working full time as a tech. Not sure were you live, but I'm sure you can get some tech work as a (near) college graduate.

May not be as good as starting your Masters, but reapplying with a couple 1,000 hours of vet experience and better chem grades will make you a much more competitive applicant. That will only take 1 year vs. 2+ year commitment. But, if you already have a ton of experience, then MS program may be the way to go.
 
Thanks for the replies so far 🙂

If I remember correctly, and I'm embarrassed to say this 'aloud', but my grades in chem were Gen Chem 1=B, Gen Chem 2=C, O Chem 1=D....Oh my. And the worst part is that that was after retaking O chem!!! It's just not a subject I click with.

I am trying to make up for my poor grades but when they are in some major subjects, it's rather disheartening.
 
As mentioned, if any pre req grades are under a C/C- they won't count for admissions, so you probably need to retake ochem1 again anyway.

Also seconding go to the schools you applied to and do a file review if you don't get in. If it's grades that made them think twice about you, getting thousands of hours more of experience probably won't help all that much...
 
Unfortunately,

As someone stated above, the majority of vet schools won't accept a D if it is earned as a pre req subject. You'll most likely have to repeat O chem, as most schools require it, unless you find a school to apply to that A: accepts a D as a pre req or B: don't require O chem as a pre req.

On a personal note:
I didn't get into vet school my first time, and pursued a master's degree AND got more hours experience by working part-time in a vet clinic and helping research students with their large animal projects. I also got some more leadership experience by teaching science labs for my university. So, you shouldn't feel pressured to only follow one path; it's very possible to work on your application in several areas at the same time.

I agree with those who have recommended following up with any schools that offer counseling on your application. They may bring up points that you never even considered, and will definitely have advice for you about how to fix any deficiencies.

I realize this post was very long, but I hope I have helped. If you stay dedicated and are able to improve your credentials, there is no question that's you'll eventually get in. 🙂
 
cRose said:
On a personal note:
I didn't get into vet school my first time, and pursued a master's degree AND got more hours experience by working part-time in a vet clinic and helping research students with their large animal projects. I also got some more leadership experience by teaching science labs for my university. So, you shouldn't feel pressured to only follow one path; it's very possible to work on your application in several areas at the same time.
Click to expand...

Depending on the kind of MS you do, there may not be time for the part-time at a vet clinic thing. In a coursework based MS perhaps there is time (but from what CBRGirl posted about the one she was doing, the courseload was crazy so I can't imagine!) but there's no way that I would have the time for that in my current research-based degree with my courseload, TA job and research. Of course, the research (and possibly TA job) obviously provides experience on its own as well (especially since my goal is to do research anyway) but for me grad school is a full time job PLUS some. 😛
 
True, I failed to mention that I am doing a coursework only master's degree, so you make a good point, nyanko.

I take about 12-14 credits a semester, so teaching labs and working a few days a week is doable.
 
I feel you. Chemistry has been the the bane of my existance for so long. My brain seems to have some sort of Chemistry concepts block. But there is hope. Here were my undergrad Chemistry grades:

Gen Chem 1: B
Gen Chem 2: B
O-chem 1 (first time): C
O-chem 1 (second time): A
O-Chem 2: C
Biochem 1 (first time): D :scared:
Biochem 1 (second time): A
Biochem 2: C

Not so great, huh?

I got accepted to vet school on my first try! 🙂

It helps to retake your bad grades and replace them with A's, do well in your other classes, get lots of experience, rock your GRE's, and demonstrate passion for the profession. Oh, and it helped to keep my composure when they brought up my big fat D in Biochem during my interview. :laugh:
 
...eek at work, shouldn't be on here, but gotta drop my two cents!

If you retake - def try to do it at a 4-year school rather than community college.
If you plan on getting experience - try research and/or large animal as these are unique area's vet schools seem to really love on the app.
Take the GRE and at least get over 670 on the Quant. section b/c this will truly help balance your not so stellar chem scores.

Also, I agree with the other posts that you should def check the requirements for schools you plan on applying to next year, esp how they calculate courses you had to re-take.

...OK hope that helps, now back to work 😛
 
karmapple said:
I feel you. Chemistry has been the the bane of my existance for so long. My brain seems to have some sort of Chemistry concepts block. But there is hope. Here were my undergrad Chemistry grades:

Gen Chem 1: B
Gen Chem 2: B
O-chem 1 (first time): C
O-chem 1 (second time): A
O-Chem 2: C
Biochem 1 (first time): D :scared:
Biochem 1 (second time): A
Biochem 2: C

Not so great, huh?

I got accepted to vet school on my first try! 🙂

It helps to retake your bad grades and replace them with A's, do well in your other classes, get lots of experience, rock your GRE's, and demonstrate passion for the profession. Oh, and it helped to keep my composure when they brought up my big fat D in Biochem during my interview. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Oh my gosh. So does mine:laugh: On a serious note. I think the more you get into chemistry it becomes to the point were you either got it or you don't. I don't know if it is like that for you but it is for me. Anyways beck to the OP, like most peopel said the schools won't look at D's but you could possibly retake. Good luck. Your other good grades and experience will probably make up for it anyways.
 
I didn't get in when I applied as a senior at UVM. I decided to do a MS degree (at UC Davis). I did undergrad research for 2 years and I decided to continue on with my research. My feeling was that EVERYONE gets more experience when they don't get in to vet school. If you already have a lot of experience you should try something new to add to your application. As far as the MS goes, I feel that it is only 2 years of my life, and I'm really glad that I did it (although now I need to write my thesis...eek). This round of applications I have had 3 interviews (waitlisted at OSU) and I'm still waiting to hear from 5 schools...I'll let you know if that ended up working out for me (when I was a UG there was a Grad student who applied and got in to a number of vet schools).
As for chem, I think that (even if it doesn't change your GPA much) you should retake those classes. Perhaps you could take them in the summer so that you eat sleep and breath Chem for 4 weeks (at least that's how our summer courses were)...I took organic chem in the summer and it was HARD, but there was no temptation to procrastinate because you know you can't. Unfortunately, I feel like the chem courses are important ones so you want to show that you can do well in it. Good luck:luck:. Sorry this is so long!
 
General Chem I&II: A
Organic I&II: A
Biochem: B
and A's in all my other pre-reqs

Should feel proud for my GPA and science GPA because this is what saved me from my horrible 1050 GRE score! I am lucky I got into Missouri this year (first time applicant) because Mizzou only looks at the GRE score as 5% in the total decision process. I also had no research experience, just a lot of vet experience and animal related expereince that impressed the committee. I guess it also came to a surprise to the committee that I had Asperger's Syndrome! All I can say is this, there are a lot of vet school applicants that don't do well in chemistry. As long as you can make up the grades by either retaking them (shows the committee dedication) or doing well on GRE (my personal bane) and getting plenty of experience, then you should be in the mix like the 10k's of students also applying to vet school.
 
Retaking courses may not be that simple. Here in FL, you cannot take a course again and replace a previous grade if you earned a C or better the first time around. Therefore you are stuck with a C if you get one.

Now I don't know for sure if you can retake it anyway to show them your dedication and the fact that you took it on again and did better, but the way I understand it, your improved grade will not enter into your GPA computation, i.e., it will not replace the original bad one.

Another consideration is that you sure don't want to retake it and actually do worse, because they don't take the best grade of the two, they take the most recent attempt.

One thing's for sure - you'll never get there if you give up. Fight, fight, fight for it. There will be ups and downs, but stay the course.
 
vandalgirl59 said:
Hello! Brand new member here. I have some questions and I need the cold hard truth...I'm tired of my advisors sugar-coating everything.

I am a 19 yo college senior in pre-vet. I actually have 1 more year left of undergrad before I apply to vet school. My grades are terrific...EXCEPT in chemistry. Horrible. Awful. Yuck. Those are my chemistry grades, respectfully lol.

If I do not get into vet school my first try, and I do not expect to, is it better to take off time from school and work at a vet clinic, or pursue more schooling? I'm looking into pursuing my Master's in Animal Science or Pre-Veterinary Medicine before vet school just to show how committed I am but I also have a clinic that is willing to pay me ANYTIME I am ready to come work with them.

While I'd be thrilled to get in my first or even second try, I'm willing to go as long as it takes. I'm very young and I have plenty of time.

so...

1) Will my low chem grades keep me from getting in? Even with great other grades and TONS of experience?

2) What is the best option in the event I do not get accepted?
Click to expand...

I was kind of in a similar situation as you when I applied last year. My overall GPA is about a 3.5. Science is a 3.6 and last 45th hour is a 3.7. My O chem grades weren't the best (B- and a C) and I actually withdrew from gen chem the first time because I was failing, although I did well when I retook it. I ended up getting wait listed at 4 schools, not because of my grades but because of my lack of vet experience. Only one school said my grades could be a bit higher and they recommended for me to either retake the GRE (my score using the best scores from two tests is a 1220 with a 5 on writing) or take additional classes. I had considered doing a master's program and had actually applied to several, but was pretty much told it would be a waste of my time and money. So instead I'm taking the year off and working part time in a clinic as a vet assistant and hoping things will work out this year.

In the end, it's up to you but I say if your grades are decent otherwise and you did well on the GRE, I would just maybe take a class somewhere locally and work. It's probably not worth taking out the loan money for a master's program. At least that's what I decided in the end.
 
pssst.... you do realize that the 19 year old brand new member is probably like 21 years old by now right?

i mean, it's nice to resurrect these old threads and add current input/personal stories... but just in case you were trying to help the OP out...
 
Minnerbelle said:
pssst.... you do realize that the 19 year old brand new member is probably like 21 years old by now right?

i mean, it's nice to resurrect these old threads and add current input/personal stories... but just in case you were trying to help the OP out...
Click to expand...

LOL I was just reading this trying to figure that out.. I thought maybe the OP had an update or something.
 
Minnerbelle said:
pssst.... you do realize that the 19 year old brand new member is probably like 21 years old by now right?

i mean, it's nice to resurrect these old threads and add current input/personal stories... but just in case you were trying to help the OP out...
Click to expand...

Hahahaha. Totally realized right after I posted. I've been studying for an animal nutrition test all day so I'm a little out of it. =/
 
Minnerbelle said:
lol, i think it's pretty funny when these ancient threads all of the sudden pop up as if we've traveled back in time
Click to expand...

I don't understand... how does that happen!? I'm always confused.
 
breenie said:
But how do the n00bs find these threads? Go back like 20 pages and think, "Huh this question is unanswered, I should probably answer it!?!?!"
Click to expand...

usually it's like some person who googles "animal rights" or something and lands on an inflammatory thread, who feels the need to open an account and rekindle the fire... but i dunno how a thread like this gets discovered.
 
Probably just searched "what if I don't get in" and this thread pulled up. At least it gives us something interesting to read. 😉
 
Minnerbelle said:
usually it's like some person who googles "animal rights" or something and lands on an inflammatory thread, who feels the need to open an account and rekindle the fire... but i dunno how a thread like this gets discovered.
Click to expand...

Ooooh, that makes sense.
 
You know when you've been on SDN too much when ancient threads look familiar....
 
If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the thread, SDN will suggest similar threads for you to read. That's how I end up on ancient thread! (Although I do try to notice the dates before I reply... just from bb courtesy). I do wonder how people are doing though after they post these threads. I'm sure everyone goes through these thoughts when they're applying to vet school even if they seem like the perfect applicant!
 
StartingoverVet said:
I am embarrassed to say that I have never noticed that before - actually I don't think I ever bothered scrolling down that far! Thanks for the :idea:
Click to expand...

Oh, don't worry! Same here! Never seen that before I read the post... :laugh:
 
On a similar note, PreVetMom and princesspeaches and I are all viewing this thread!

Look at all these new features... !
 
So I just had my interview at KSU and I rocked all of the questions but one (and I even know the answer ugh)... the difference between animal welfare and animal right for some reason I just blanked and then babbled I don't remember what I even said I just know it was wrong. Will this kill my chances of getting in?
 
There really isn't a right answer, to be honest. The point of interviews is not to see if you give the right answer; it's to see if you can effectively communicate your answers.

The answer is we can't tell what you're chances are without more complete information. Most likely, one question probably is not make or break you unless they know you're outright lying.
 
batsenecal said:
There really isn't a right answer, to be honest. The point of interviews is not to see if you give the right answer; it's to see if you can effectively communicate your answers.

The answer is we can't tell what you're chances are without more complete information. Most likely, one question probably is not make or break you unless they know you're outright lying.
Click to expand...
Um, yes there is a big difference between animal rights and animal welfare...
 
Lupin21 said:
Um, yes there is a big difference between animal rights and animal welfare...
Click to expand...

I never said they were the same; I said there really isn't a right answer to interview questions. There are several people in my class who are legit animal rights activists who answered this question in a pro-Animal rights way. So pro-animal welfare over pro-animal rights is not necessarily the "right" answer as long as the person being interviewed is not an ALF nut.

I figured cebo answered this question in a more moderate way and not in an extremist Animal Liberation Front way judging from the fact they said that they know there's a right answer (presumably animal welfare).
 
batsenecal said:
I never said they were the same; I said there really isn't a right answer to interview questions. There are several people in my class who are legit animal rights activists who answered this question in a pro-Animal rights way. So pro-animal welfare over pro-animal rights is not necessarily the "right" answer as long as the person being interviewed is not an ALF nut.

I figured cebo answered this question in a more moderate way and not in an extremist Animal Liberation Front way judging from the fact they said that they know there's a right answer (presumably animal welfare).
Click to expand...
That is not the point of the question. You have to know the difference between the two groups, not take a side.
 
Lupin21 said:
That is not the point of the question. You have to know the difference between the two groups, not take a side.
Click to expand...

Going back, I see where cebo said the difference between them; I missed that on my first read through. Sorry, my mistake! I was asked the animal welfare/animal rights question in a different way, so I went off that.
 
cebostenfrankie said:
So I just had my interview at KSU and I rocked all of the questions but one (and I even know the answer ugh)... the difference between animal welfare and animal right for some reason I just blanked and then babbled I don't remember what I even said I just know it was wrong. Will this kill my chances of getting in?
Click to expand...
In short, it is definitely a knock if you were way off base in my opinion. As you can see, it is asked at many interviews because as vets, we are faced with both sides constantly. Nothing you can do about it now though, so try not to let it eat at you. If you have more interviews, maybe prep your answer for this question so you are able to answer it without getting too nervous. Good luck! :luck:
 
cebostenfrankie said:
So I just had my interview at KSU and I rocked all of the questions but one (and I even know the answer ugh)... the difference between animal welfare and animal right for some reason I just blanked and then babbled I don't remember what I even said I just know it was wrong. Will this kill my chances of getting in?
Click to expand...
It probably depends on the interviewer and how much weight they put on the question. I was literally in the same position as you except different school and apparently it wasn't too big of a deal because I got in... So don't let it get you down.
 
HorsesRLife said:
It probably depends on the interviewer and how much weight they put on the question. I was literally in the same position as you except different school and apparently it wasn't too big of a deal because I got in... So don't let it get you down.
Click to expand...

😱 You botched the question? I would have never guessed. lol
 
Lupin21 said:
That is not the point of the question. You have to know the difference between the two groups, not take a side.
Click to expand...
At least at my K-State interview, they did ask as a follow-up question which side I'm on. But like bats said, I don't think it matters which side you say as long as you can defend your position and aren't an animal rights extremist.
cebostenfrankie said:
So I just had my interview at KSU and I rocked all of the questions but one (and I even know the answer ugh)... the difference between animal welfare and animal right for some reason I just blanked and then babbled I don't remember what I even said I just know it was wrong. Will this kill my chances of getting in?
Click to expand...
I agree that one fumbled question probably won't make or break you. During my interview I struggled with a question about the differences between shelter medicine and private practice, but I still got in. 🙂
 
LyraGardenia said:
At least at my K-State interview, they did ask as a follow-up question which side I'm on. But like bats said, I don't think it matters which side you say as long as you can defend your position and aren't an animal rights extremist.

I agree that one fumbled question probably won't make or break you. During my interview I struggled with a question about the differences between shelter medicine and private practice, but I still got in. 🙂
Click to expand...


haha! I am pretty sure the rights extremists are generally found out before interview if they are being honest, otherwise they would likely know better and fib. I definitely agree they ask followup for verbal acuity though. I guess for me it was a major point in my prevet animal classes to know the differences, so it was considered a necessary piece of knowledge for admissions standpoint. It was then hit on again in school, especially lab animal as you have to deal even more with the rights people.
 
Lupin21 said:
😱 You botched the question? I would have never guessed. lol
Click to expand...
Yeah and I had actually researched it and had an answer all thought out just in case, then they asked and I was like oh oh oh welfare is the basic care of the animal then I blanked and was like um you know, I can't remember the rest haha. Obviously it didn't bother them probably cause I was honest and didn't waste anymore time on it.
 
HorsesRLife said:
Yeah and I had actually researched it and had an answer all thought out just in case, then they asked and I was like oh oh oh welfare is the basic care of the animal then I blanked and was like um you know, I can't remember the rest haha. Obviously it didn't bother them probably cause I was honest and didn't waste anymore time on it.
Click to expand...
haha! Glad it worked out. Hope it makes the OP feel better then.
 
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