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So did they reject you with a 2.57 gpa or was that the gpa you had calculated using the classes you retook? I am getting worried. My required science gpa is 2.83
Iowa State c/o 2024
- Thread starter Sunshine in a Storm
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They rejected me with their calculated science GPA being 2.59, with my retakes that weren't included it would have been around a 2.9 for their required science courses. I feel like you will probably be ok because I'm guessing that the cutoff is somewhere around a 2.6-2.7 this year based on other posts.
Also, side note to anyone else that also didn't make it past academic review for Iowa, I just got an interview invite for UC Davis last night so stay optimistic because there is definitely still hope for other schools!!
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Congrats!!! I can't afford out of state so I only applied to ISU. I hope you get accepted, UC Davis is a great school!
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since davis is gpa and gre, do you mind sharing your stats? I didn’t apply and that’s my in state.
Sure! Davis is my IS as well and this is my second time applying but first time receiving an interview. If you go to the Davis forum, a bunch of people who also received interview invites posted their stats as well.
Last 45: 4.0
Overall Science: 3.28
Quant GRE: 161
Last 45: 4.0
Overall Science: 3.28
Quant GRE: 161
Also, this was very weird, but I logged into my portal for Iowa just out of curiosity for the first time since I got the rejection and it looks like they actually did end up using 1 of my retakes that I had asked about. So I am still rejected but my required science posted in the portal is actually a 2.74 (not a 2.59)...but that didn't actually update in my portal until after my rejection...
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So they actually have two parts to their committee review. The 1st part you get to by just passing academic review. The 2nd part I believe is based on your essays etc. Im just going by the fact last cycle I was knocked out of the 2nd round.
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Interesting, when did that happen?
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For anyone interested they updated my other GPAs!
Required Science GPA: 3.59
Last 45 Credits GPA: 3.62
Cumulative GPA: 3.8
Also interesting about the 2 part committee review, now I’m nervous again!
Required Science GPA: 3.59
Last 45 Credits GPA: 3.62
Cumulative GPA: 3.8
Also interesting about the 2 part committee review, now I’m nervous again!
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I sent a message to admissions after I got my rejection for not meeting the required science GPA cutoff for this cycle and asked what the cutoff was this cycle. I received a response from Donna Groom stating:
Due to this year's applicant pool being a very academically qualified group, the cutoff for the prerequisite science course GPA is a 3.0. This GPA includes only the science courses required by ISU CVM (General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, General Biology, Genetics/Animal Breeding and Anatomy/Physiology).
Just thought I would pass along the info for anyone wondering.
Due to this year's applicant pool being a very academically qualified group, the cutoff for the prerequisite science course GPA is a 3.0. This GPA includes only the science courses required by ISU CVM (General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, General Biology, Genetics/Animal Breeding and Anatomy/Physiology).
Just thought I would pass along the info for anyone wondering.
Ugh!!! I’m 2.98. I’m still in academic review though
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I saw it when I got denied last year it said 2nd round or something like that.
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Its weird how LSU calculates much different from ISU because your required there was much Higher if I remember. Im rooting for you.
asch97
Ohio State C/O 2024
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So even though you pass academic review, they have an addition academic review once you’re in committee review? Sorry if that didn’t make sense haha.
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weirdly this cycle they said they included my 4.0 last fall semester (2018) in last 45 but none of the gpas changed
Yeah I did very poorly in orgo 1(in my defense the teacher literally failed like 80% of the class). My retake was a A so I guess Iowa is calculated the first class in and LSU didn’t? Also the prerequisites are slightly different so it might just be LSU is using some that are a bit better for grades.
Thank you!
Mystery solved! “In addition to the specific prerequisite courses, also factored into the Required Course GPA are any other Animal Science, Physical Science or Biological Science courses that are taken and in which an "A" grade is earned.” I had a lot of science classes as a Bio major. So my other As probably bumped my grade a bit.
LSU vs Iowa for reference. Also my Iowa was actually 2.97 :/
Edited to add: also LSU had slightly more prerequisites. They required 2 semesters of math from my notes, and Iowa didn’t. So having more prerequisite classes included helped my grade too.
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Thank you! Looks like I am out this year 🙁 I was pregnant with complications and preterm labor which got me a couple C's. Looks like I will retake those and try again next year.
asch97
Ohio State C/O 2024
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You’re not out until you receive a rejection! Keep up hope!!!!
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Just missed the cutoff! Sigh 🙁 My status is still at "None" but I'll let you guys know if they decide to be generous and round up my science GPA (It was either 2.94 or 2.97, can't remember)
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Do you recall if you received an email notification? Not sure if I need to be checking my portal regularly, which I haven‘t been. Trying to continue on with life and “forget” about applications
D
deleted676737
Yes, you should get an email notification when final decisions go out.Do you recall if you received an email notification? Not sure if I need to be checking my portal regularly, which I haven‘t been. Trying to continue on with life and “forget” about applications
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That explains it too as my major for M.S was animal science thanks!!
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I got a message from admissions about my BA fulfilling the oral communication requirement and she also said that my application is being sent to committee review. But, my portal only lists my cumulative GPA as calculated. Maybe eventually they will list it 😵
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Congrats on moving to committee review! What do you think your science gpa is?
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I didn’t get any messages from them, but I did notice I went to committee review with only cumulative GPA calculated as well. My other GPAs popped up a week or two after I first went to committee review.
I'm still in academic review. Where do you have none received, for your vmcas? I would contact them because that seems odd to me. No GPA is way less concerning.
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Yeah, my application status says "none" and my VMCAS says "not yet received" still... did you guys contact them via email or on your messaging portal or call them??
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I used the messaging portal when my VMCAS was still listed as not received and the next day they updated my portal to say it was received and sent a message back saying it would be another 4-6 weeks until they updated everything else. That was October 2, and I went into academic and committee review last week! So they answered pretty quick and gave me peace of mind to wait atleast 6 weeks until I messaged again and then they ended up getting everything in so I didn’t need to!
I would use the portal and contact them asap.
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Mine said the same thing. I messaged them and Kathy told me they got over 800 applications Sept 16th-17th and not to worry. She said they hope to have them all reviewed by the end of November
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Oh geez lol I was verified September 23 so makes sense then if I haven't heard back! Thanks for the info, I did end up sending them a message just to make sure!
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I think 3.51? If I’m calculating it correctly (only the prereq sciences).
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After getting to Committee review is the next step just hearing back from them?
meykai16dew
U of I c/o 2024
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My application status is still none and my required and last 45 credits still haven't been calculated. Should I contact them? Is this a normal amount of time? I did apply on the deadline date but I thought they would at least have calculated my GPA by the time they are putting others in committee review and sending out rejects?
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Mine says the same. I messaged them and they said over 800 people submitted their applications on the 16th and 17th. They hope to have everyone reviewed by the end of the month
meykai16dew
U of I c/o 2024
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Okay thanks. That's relieving to know!!
meykai16dew
U of I c/o 2024
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Are there any current students browsing this forum? If there are what made you choose Iowa as your school? What do you like/not like about Iowa?
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ISU (not Iowa, that’s a rival school without a vet school) was my IS, and cost was the biggest factor for me. The things I liked most about the school were the cooperative rather than competitive mentality between students, the ability to get hands-on experience through clubs, and tracking during 4th year. They allow a lot of time 4th year for externships.
I don’t think I had any big dislikes, other than the typical student gripes of being overwhelmed by the amount of information I had to absorb in a short period. Diversity is a little lacking, but Iowa is a really white state to begin with, so their applicant pool is also really white. They try though.
I know they have made changes to the surgery program since I graduated, but I can probably still answer questions about other stuff if there’s anything you were wondering about.
D
deleted676737
I was considered IS at the time, so ISU was the cheapest option I had for vet school. That's pretty much it.
Paying the debt back sucks hardcore. Unless you've got some seriously exceptional reason(s) not to, I really recommend that you attend the least expensive vet school you're accepted to. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache and regret later on, and you'll have greater financial freedom in case you get into a bad situation or decide a job or even the profession as a whole isn't for you (it happens).
From what I've seen, ISU is pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of OOS costs.
I've already posted much longer lists in the ISU section of my Factors When Picking a School document, but I'll run through a few of the more notable things quickly below.
Likes
- Ames is a nice college town. Between CyRide (bus service; completely free if you've got your student ID!) and bike paths, it's surprisingly quite navigable even if you don't drive. If you need to get away for the weekend, there are several large cities (KC, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc.) within a few hours' driving distance.
- Good breadth of education in general. The curriculum felt pretty balanced between the major species areas.
- Hands-on experience as early as your first semester through a clinical foundations class. I personally had only ever shadowed prior to vet school, so I appreciated the chance to obtain technical skills I was lacking. You'll do venipuncture and also learn how to perform basic systems exams (neuro, ortho, etc.), among a few other nifty things. The instructors will have you fill out a short questionnaire at the start of the semester to assess the level of your technical skills so that they can form groups; generally, they'll try to organize students so that each group has one or two students who are confident and competent in those skills, one or two who are not, and then one or two kind of in between.
- Surgery education starts in the fall semester of second year, which is still quite a bit earlier than a lot of other schools. You can actually start participating in surgery as early as first year (albeit under guidance/supervision) through clubs, most notably Feral Cat Alliance, if that is of interest to you.
- Clubs. SO many clubs. Clubs for pretty much any interest area you can think of.
- 24 hour building access, which is an awesome thing to have on those nights when you’re cramming for a test and decide that a 12 AM anatomy lab session is in order.
- The dress code is pretty laid-back and common sense most of the week, but you'll be expected to wear business professional attire on Thursdays, though I found that business casual usually slips by fine. This is especially irritating first year because you'll have anatomy lab on Thursday, meaning that you'll have to fight the crowd of 120+ students at the lockers to change into scrubs/lab attire in the ten minutes between anatomy lecture and lab. Apparently my class was really bad with this because we were on the receiving end of multiple "professionalism" spiels. I don't know, I just think the Thursday dress code is stupid.
- The class size is one of the largest of US vet schools, if that matters to you. When you account for the UNL/ISU students who will join you in third year, the total class size is 150-160. Some areas of the school, at least back when I was still there, were pretty crammed.
- You're required to purchase a standardized tablet computer with insurance, which costs about $2k. For my class, this was a Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 260; it's a fine enough machine, I guess, and OneNote is amazing in tandem with the included pen. It'll be accounted for in your financial aid package the fall of first year, so it isn't like you're forced to pay for it out-of-pocket or anything, but it is still an extra expense. You can use your own computer if you want, but you'll still need to bring the ThinkPad with you on exam days since a lot of tests are done through LockDown browser software.
- I personally thought that ISU didn't offer enough for living expenses. There were multiple times where being offered even another $1k-2k per semester would have helped out a lot and it sometimes was a struggle to get all of the bills paid. I ended up picking up two jobs while in school in order to cover costs, which in retrospect was not a great idea, but... you do what you have to do, I guess. The summers between first and second and second and third years can be tough since, if you don't work and/or you aren't receiving support from someone else, you'll have to simply try to survive on what is left from your financial aid package from the previous semester. Caveat, though, that most students who lived in the trailer parks seemed to do fine compared to those of us in apartments. YMMV.
- Though it sounds like some improvements have been made since I was there, I think ISU still has a long way to go in supporting struggling students. They do offer tutoring, but really only for first year classes and that only goes so far. I recognize that I am probably crazy biased, but I also feel like vet school is too difficult and too expensive to not give students who are on academic probation and/or dismissed the benefit of a second chance. Most schools will allow a student to drop to the class below and repeat the year, sometimes even without a petition process of any sort, but ISU doesn't unless you want to jump through a million and one hoops, take additional courses, submit a petition, and then reapply to start all over with nothing even close to a guarantee that you'll get back in... it's a convoluted mess of a process. I don't want to spoil the applicants thread with this since I know you guys are all just super excited (as you should be!) and I've detailed what happened to me several times on the forums already, but if you're interested, you can check out this and this post.
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I'm working on an answer but also tagging @Doggo Labs
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So I’m OOS but I went here for undergrad and when I was accepted they offered me a scholarship which was unexpected because I was on the waitlist. It ended up being the cheapest school for me that I got accepted to because my fiancé lives here and covers a lot of expenses. I also just like Ames and like to pretend I like Iowa weather lol.
So things I like about the school itself are most professors are super approachable and always seem to be willing to help out. Also there’s been times (mostly this semester) where the exam schedule was rough and they were willing to try to move things around or at least explain how the exam schedule is made. I love all the different clubs and wet labs and how I can do stuff with cows or snakes or whatever even if I don’t plan on working with them in the future. Many clubs also give you the opportunity to attend rounds in the hospital. I also like that they’ve been working/have plans to renovate a lot of things (recently redid the commons and the main bathrooms, have plans to redo the fish tank lobby and the most outdated lecture hall). I like that first semester we did get to work with real animals in clinical foundations and that there is a nice clinical skills lab available to students. I also agree with what was said before. Also not related to the vet school but tailgating here is fantastic
I don’t have any huge dislikes. The class size is a bit large so even in labs where there’s multiple sections they can still be a bit crowded.
Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
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Likes:
I really like to town of Ames, it is big enough to do things, go out to eat, movies, some shopping, but its also close enough to Des Moines if you want more options to do things.
Ames is also a safe town to live in, being a female I am comfortable going places by myself at night and have never felt threatened.
I know many vet students don't get to go to main campus much, vet school and main campus are not in the same location, but it is gorgeous and is one of the reasons I chose ISU way back for undergrad
I am food animal focused and Iowa State has a great program and many clubs to get you hands on experience prior to graduation or if you are unsure of what you want to focus on.
There is a high case load for small animal, food animal, equine, and the diagnostic lab, which means whether it be for 4th year, finding a job, or getting some experience, there are lots of options for that.
They are currently renovating/have plans to renovate some of the classrooms to update technology and to increase space.
ISU has many quite spaces in the school to study.
There is a great cafe in the school that has coffee, breakfast, and lunch food to purchase if you forget to bring food.
The professors are super helpful and want you to succeed, they will take time out of their schedules to meet with you and help you understand the material better
Dislikes:
There could be more windows throughout the school, especially in the classrooms.
Over all I don't have many dislikes for ISU and have enjoyed my time here
Hope this helps, if you have any other questions feel free to ask
meykai16dew
U of I c/o 2024
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Thank-you all for taking time to reply! I really appreciate it. =)
