Iowa State c/o 2024

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exotic birb said:
Iowa State does consider gpa for 50% of the application, then a completely separate committee that doesn’t even see your academics reviews the rest of your application. That means experiences and references are also weighted 50% in the admissions decision. If you’re nervous about your GPAs, just remember you have the same chance as a 4.0 student with little to no experience 🙂
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But do you have to pass academic review in order to move to committee review? Meaning if your GPAs are sub par, they can eliminate you without seeing your experiences?
 
WY2NC said:
But do you have to pass academic review in order to move to committee review? Meaning if your GPAs are sub par, they can eliminate you without seeing your experiences?
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Yes, you have to make it to committee review in order for them to look at your experiences
 
WY2NC said:
But do you have to pass academic review in order to move to committee review? Meaning if your GPAs are sub par, they can eliminate you without seeing your experiences?
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Yes, you do. My rejection was based solely on my science pre-req gpa and no other aspect of my application was reviewed/considered. My admissions status sat at Academic Review for a couple of days before the rejection.
 
As someone with the majority of their science courses being re-takes and no GPA's (other than cumulative) calculated yet, I'm very curious to see how they end up calculating my science GPA. I calculated my own a while ago, so I'm nervous that, like others, my retakes will be missed in some way and that will limit my application.
 
I’m a little worried just because I retook Orgo without the lab and got a much better grade but based on the previous posts I guess this won’t be considered/used in my GPA.

Is there a consensus on where the GPA is for you to be rejected and not go to committee review?
 
I submitted on September 17 and my GPA still isn't calculated... Is this normal because I submitted so late?
 
meykai16dew said:
I submitted on September 17 and my GPA still isn't calculated... Is this normal because I submitted so late?
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Yes. Remember, they have like one person who enters stuff into the portal for everyone. And that person has additional office duties as well.
 
After committee review, when is the next time we will be notified of our application status?
 
asch97 said:
After committee review, when is the next time we will be notified of our application status?
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When final decisions are released, which typically happens in mid-February (I believe that it was February 12th when I applied).
 
I submited my application 9/16 and I am now in academic review! Hopefully my last 45 doesn't affect me too much.
 
melizabeth18 said:
Yes, you do. My rejection was based solely on my science pre-req gpa and no other aspect of my application was reviewed/considered. My admissions status sat at Academic Review for a couple of days before the rejection.
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Sorry about the rejection... that sucks 🙁 has anyone else got rejections from there? If you did what was your science pre-req gpa?? Getting a little concerned because I calculated mine out to be around 2.77... (not in any review yet, expecting it to be sometime next week based on how long it has been for others in this thread). Ahhh why does this have to be so nerve wracking!!
 
mld11 said:
Sorry about the rejection... that sucks 🙁 has anyone else got rejections from there? If you did what was your science pre-req gpa?? Getting a little concerned because I calculated mine out to be around 2.77... (not in any review yet, expecting it to be sometime next week based on how long it has been for others in this thread). Ahhh why does this have to be so nerve wracking!!
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I’m a bit concerned because how they calculated mine brought it down to 2.97 🙁 we shall see
 
Just saw that they updated my portal with my last 45 and science gpa, so feeling relieved and happy about that! Also happy that they calculated my science GPA exactly like I did, and that my last 45 ended up being up being a bit higher than I calculated it.
 
My application is in committee review. I submitted VMCAS app 9/15, it was verified 9/16 (I had already submitted my app for other schools this round so it was verified super quickly), and I had all my other stuff for Iowa in before 9/15. Not sure what Iowa calculated my required classes and last 45 to be, only my cumulative gpa is entered in the portal so far.
 
If your application says "in committee review" does that mean I made it past the academic review and I'm in the next round?
 
Just like melizabeth18 I got the rejection too - reason: Science GPA didn't meet the cutoff which they don't tell you what the cut off is this cycle - mine was also down to a 2.59. My last 45 and CUM are both above 3.5. It blows the way they do this - All of my Animal Science classes (All A's) help my Science GPA and as I progressed in undergrad my Science grades got better and better. By not counting O Chem II & Lab, Physics II & Lab, the Anatomy Labs, and the Genetics Lab (which I did very well in) hurt me. In my opinion their process eliminates well rounded candidates. Yes it's 50% Academic and 50% Non-Academic, but no one sees all the other stuff if they boot you out in Phase I for a low required science GPA. They should at least do a quick breeze over everything before casting applicants aside. Maybe all those Animal Science classes, 4800+ veterinary hours, 7000+ animal experience hours, and a ridiculous amount of time in extracurriculars, volunteer, research and leadership positions would have changed their minds.

However, I wouldn't change a thing and will remain positive for my other schools. I feel my time was better spent getting hands-on veterinary and animal experience in large, small, exotic, and emergency at various sized clinics and specialty hospitals. The time devoted to extracurriculars and staying active in the university community was more beneficial than staying locked in my room studying for a few more hours. These were my choices and I stand by them.

Sorry if my rant sounds like the funny fat chic with the pretty face and electric personality crying because the hot guy didn't give her the time of day - LOL.

For anyone else with similar stats - just know that Iowa has its own weed out process and sometimes it is about looks only - the school that is the right fit is the one that digs deeper and looks at the whole application together. The schools that do this know that it takes just as much time and effort to build the other side of the application and that often times the most successful students aren't necessarily the ones with 4.0's across the board.

Good Luck to all who are still in the running at Iowa - May the odds be ever in your favor!
 
MSM1444 said:
just know that Iowa has its own weed out process and sometimes it is about looks only - the school that is the right fit is the one that digs deeper and looks at the whole application together.
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Every school has a slightly different process. I think that instead of blaming the school for not looking at your whole application at once, you probably should have targeted your applications to schools that will put more emphasis on soft skills vs academics, or those that weight the last 45 credits more strongly. I wish you luck with the other schools that you applied to!
 
MSM1444 said:
Just like melizabeth18 I got the rejection too - reason: Science GPA didn't meet the cutoff which they don't tell you what the cut off is this cycle - mine was also down to a 2.59. My last 45 and CUM are both above 3.5. It blows the way they do this - All of my Animal Science classes (All A's) help my Science GPA and as I progressed in undergrad my Science grades got better and better. By not counting O Chem II & Lab, Physics II & Lab, the Anatomy Labs, and the Genetics Lab (which I did very well in) hurt me. In my opinion their process eliminates well rounded candidates. Yes it's 50% Academic and 50% Non-Academic, but no one sees all the other stuff if they boot you out in Phase I for a low required science GPA. They should at least do a quick breeze over everything before casting applicants aside. Maybe all those Animal Science classes, 4800+ veterinary hours, 7000+ animal experience hours, and a ridiculous amount of time in extracurriculars, volunteer, research and leadership positions would have changed their minds.

However, I wouldn't change a thing and will remain positive for my other schools. I feel my time was better spent getting hands-on veterinary and animal experience in large, small, exotic, and emergency at various sized clinics and specialty hospitals. The time devoted to extracurriculars and staying active in the university community was more beneficial than staying locked in my room studying for a few more hours. These were my choices and I stand by them.

Sorry if my rant sounds like the funny fat chic with the pretty face and electric personality crying because the hot guy didn't give her the time of day - LOL.

For anyone else with similar stats - just know that Iowa has its own weed out process and sometimes it is about looks only - the school that is the right fit is the one that digs deeper and looks at the whole application together. The schools that do this know that it takes just as much time and effort to build the other side of the application and that often times the most successful students aren't necessarily the ones with 4.0's across the board.

Good Luck to all who are still in the running at Iowa - May the odds be ever in your favor!
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Take this from a 29 year old whose life is on hold. Your core required science courses matter. I had to retake mine because my life went to total hell in undergrad, my grandfather who raised me died slowly and I cared for him while working 30ish or more hours a week. Iowa takes your retaken courses, my IS is UF and due to my undergrad even with a 3.7-3.8 masters and a decent gpa UF will not forgive my grades from 8-9 years ago. Iowa is doing that this because you need a grasp on orgo, biochem, microbio etc. Trust me im glad I retook courses because my Master's dealed with that a lot. Veterinary work also had me using microbio, etc.

My IS also wont even look at my folder without me passing an unknown cutoff. I don't blame UF but im is saying iowa gives folks a fair shake compared to some. Heck Ive got over 4k almost 5k large animal hours (over 6 if you count middle school) and probably over 4k now of vet and I was rejected at all schools last year.

I know it hurts, trust me I've been through that hurt and im still hurting trying to find a job with my master's..but talk to Iowa get a file review and if god forbid you don't get in anywhere ( I hope you will but its a possibility) get a file review and take their advice.
 
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PreciousMoments2024 said:
My application is in committee review. I submitted VMCAS app 9/15, it was verified 9/16 (I had already submitted my app for other schools this round so it was verified super quickly), and I had all my other stuff for Iowa in before 9/15. Not sure what Iowa calculated my required classes and last 45 to be, only my cumulative gpa is entered in the portal so far.
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Mine says in committee review too but my science and last 45 GPAs are also not calculated
 
Hoping to go into academic review sometime today... was expecting it to be yesterday since it was taking everyone else about a month and 5 days from when they were verified (I was verified 9/23 after submitting on 9/13). This is getting super hard to just remain patient about!
 
When I checked my portal on Friday it still said none and my vmcas had not been received, today I’ve jumped to committee review! No GPAs listed for science or last 45 yet.
 
genny said:
Every school has a slightly different process. I think that instead of blaming the school for not looking at your whole application at once, you probably should have targeted your applications to schools that will put more emphasis on soft skills vs academics, or those that weight the last 45 credits more strongly. I wish you luck with the other schools that you applied to!
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Thank you for your input. Iowa was a wildcard for me and I am not blaming the school at all. Could some of my earlier science classes be better - of course. I was trying to complete my undergrad with a double major and double minor in 4 years and graduate. I decided that retaking a few of those courses at my undergrad institution would push me to a 5th year and that did not make financial sense. Retaking some of those earlier science courses may be part of my game plan depending how this cycle shakes out. Thank you all again for your feedback and GOOD LUCK!
 
mld11 said:
Hoping to go into academic review sometime today... was expecting it to be yesterday since it was taking everyone else about a month and 5 days from when they were verified (I was verified 9/23 after submitting on 9/13). This is getting super hard to just remain patient about!
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Applied the same timeline, verified on the same day, still no updates to my portal. I don’t even like checking but I have to cause it’s gotta he updated any day now
 
Rayprevet said:
Applied the same timeline, verified on the same day, still no updates to my portal. I don’t even like checking but I have to cause it’s gotta he updated any day now
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Same timeline for me as well. Still says nothing received. I feel ya on the not checking cause it’s just disappointing now.
 
hiellen said:
Same timeline for me as well. Still says nothing received. I feel ya on the not checking cause it’s just disappointing now.
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Same! I've become a pro at typing my username and password REALLY quickly now. At this point I've made a game of how quickly I can type it in. Kind of sad haha!
 
After being in committee review, when is the next time you’ll get an email from them? Do we have to wait until February/March to know any further updates?
 
Hey I have a tiny update! I spoke with a representative from the vet program at a conference I’m attending this week, and she said last she checked there are 3-4 people who manually enter everything and each had about ~200 applications to process. So, I feel much better with my portal not being updated yet
 
asch97 said:
After being in committee review, when is the next time you’ll get an email from them? Do we have to wait until February/March to know any further updates?
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It’ll be radio silence until final decisions go out in February.
 
asch97 said:
The waiting game never ends I guess haha.
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Ha. I mean, I’ve been there, so I know it’s easier said than done... but try to not let the worry of applications and waiting for decisions overtake you. It’s out of your control at this point and vet school itself will provide more than enough in the way of stress. I definitely regret agonizing over applications as much as I did; it’s such a comparatively small part of the journey.

Just live your life and focus on other things. If it is meant to be, it will all fall into place soon enough. Faster than you think it will. 🙂
 
Yay! My portal finally changed, I’m in academic review! The only GPA calculated is my cumulative but atleast something changed
 
Rayprevet said:
Oh my gosh guys I just watched it change to committee review right in front of my eyes. I’m so excited
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Yay! I’m in committee review now too! Also don’t have anything but cumulative GPA calculated
 
Is there any idea how many applicants they received this cycle?
 
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