is there any consideration for major

[akitavet]

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when talking about GPA? I have a 3.5 for both my MS and BS in Chemical engineering. Its not bad, but not great. Do you think they will take into consideration that ChemE is a super hard major?

 

[RazorDoc2010]

super hard? sometimes that's an understatement! (I say this as I'm writing a report about an awful, awful CSTR experiment) I think it really did play a role in my application, even though a lot of schools say it doesn't. Some of them have an "academic rigor" category that I'm sure it helped in...but if not, in my interviews I talked about it and how it set me apart from other applicants/what it helped teach me/what benefit it could be to me as a veterinarian and all the interviewers seemed to like that answer.

I think you should be in a great position GPA wise. I know in the med school forum, someone made the comment that you add ~0.2 to a ChE/EE major to "normalize" it for comparison...I don't think that happens in vet med admissions but it does pull some weight. Just make sure to get the diverse experience to back it up.

Oh, and it helps to diversify the class too...something almost every school asks about.

 

[silverelf]

to be completely honest, i don't think they do, except from a diversity standpoint. During my post-rejection interview with CSU the professor remarked that my B+ in Orgo had probably hurt me. I go to a very rigorous school, but he said that they cannot take that into account because although my school is large and well-known, many liberal arts colleges are not. I think its kind of similar with major...depending on where you go, engineering many be more or less difficult than another major. And i'm not saying engineering is easy (i know its not!) but i think that's probably the issue as far as vet school taking it into account.

 

[cyrille104]

They certainly do take your major into account. At admissions advising sessions at both Penn and CSU, they both told me that chemistry is a notoriously difficult major. I assume the same goes for ChemE.

As far as the school you go to, most schools care at least a little bit. Penn said "Your grades are good for a chemistry major at a top university". CSU told me that they do not take your school into account at all. She then proceeded to tell me that she'd never heard of my school, which is top 10-15 in the nation. At that point I knew I was screwed.

 

[thereservoirdog]

to be completely honest, i don't think they do, except from a diversity standpoint. During my post-rejection interview with CSU the professor remarked that my B+ in Orgo had probably hurt me. I go to a very rigorous school, but he said that they cannot take that into account because although my school is large and well-known, many liberal arts colleges are not. I think its kind of similar with major...depending on where you go, engineering many be more or less difficult than another major. And i'm not saying engineering is easy (i know its not!) but i think that's probably the issue as far as vet school taking it into account.

what??! a B+ in organic chem hurt you? thats crazy

 

[silverelf]

what??! a B+ in organic chem hurt you? thats crazy

yeah unless you have a 4.0 (regardless of your university) don't even bother applying there. Biggest waste of money ever!!

 

[CookieBear]

yeah unless you have a 4.0 (regardless of your university) don't even bother applying there. Biggest waste of money ever!!

I thought it was mentioned around here that CSU had more of a 'holistic' approach to the admissions process...

Then again, maybe if I read the four pages or however long it was document that they sent with my rejection, I'd have a better idea.

Here I thought my B+'s in Orgo I and II were good. Ah well.

Anyway... this was off-topic, so excuse my off-topic-ness.

 

[cyrille104]

what??! a B+ in organic chem hurt you? thats crazy

Yeah, that's bizarre, because when I went there Sherry Stewart told me that they don't particularly like A students. I think the issue is that CSU has a more random admissions process than anyone else. They don't seem to be clear on their whole "holistic" thing. My tour guide told me that if they threw the applications all over the ground and picked 100 of them the class would be pretty much the same.

 

[RosieMoll3]

when I went there Sherry Stewart told me that they don't particularly like A students. I think the issue is that CSU has a more random admissions process than anyone else. My tour guide told me that if they threw the applications all over the ground and picked 100 of them the class would be pretty much the same.

Wow, THANKS. That makes me and all the others who were accepted to CSU this cycle feel awesome. I'm starting to get slightly miffed by all these baseless admissions theories. From my *experience* I can say that they do reward A students. I also think there's a reason why they have a reputation for graduating quality veterinarians, and it's not because they pick their apps from a pile on the ground.

 

[hoodle]

whoa, calm down. do realize that everyone who wasn't as lucky as you were this round needs to justify it, so as not to throw themselves off the nearest bridge. clearly, all schools appreciate A students. clearly, sometimes admissions can be totally obtuse and bizarre. don't get your panties in a twist... just be proud that you'll be graduating from one of the best schools in the country!

 

[QTkitty]

I understand what you're saying Hoodle, but I'm going to have to go with RosieMoll3 on this one. Whether or not these admission theories make people who got rejections from CSU feel better about themselves, it belittles those of us that did get in. I don't mind a little discussion or banter, but it seems like every time CSU is even mentioned someone has to say something about how crappy their admissions process is... OK enough of that...

That aside, I definitely think chemical engineering will be considered for its difficulty. No offense, but I don't think it's comparable to getting a B+ in orgo only because we all have to take orgo. The only reason I'm think it might hurt you is because it isn't some type of bio-related major. You might want to make sure you make up for that with A LOT of experience because the schools are going to expect you to be prepared for your courses. Congrats on graduating with a CE degree (I hear it's a killer 😉)

 

[ri23]

I definitey agree with QTKitty. You will make it past any GPA cuts with a 3.5, and that is when they look at your application as a whole. I know some schools have categories for strength of applicant coursework and difficulty of program, and with your major you will certainly get full points in those categories 😉.

As for admissions, though an admissions process may seem random to outsiders, the adcomms certainly have a very detailed list of qualities they are looking for. I'm sure that something as important as choosing a new class isn't done "randomly". Every applicant that is accepted is chosen based on the fact that the adcomms think they will be a good fit for their school and program.

 

[akitavet]

For electives, especially in graduate school, I have taken the following bio courses:

Human Nutrition
Cell Biology (Pass/Fail, stupid in retrospect, but my goals were different then)
Functional Genomics
Molecular Biology (P/F)
Applied Genetic Engineering (biomedical engineering)
Medical Imaging (biomedical engineering)
Proteins and Nucleic Acids
Biochemical Engineering (ChemE)
Protein Crystallization (ChemE)

Not too shabby for an engineer eh?
I have to take genetics still either this summer or this fall, and some of those courses arent from the department of biology, but they are awefully bio-related. I never took "Biology" because I had AP credit, but I checked with the schools I am applying to, and they said that was OK. I would love to find time to take anatomy too, but we shall see. I just notice that most places I am right around the out of state admissions mean for GPA, and I guess being an average accepted applicant is fine with me (I dont really have a choice at this point do I, LOL) but I wanted to know if maybe they would give me some credit for majoring in something very difficult even if its not directly related. Actually I was just hoping so.

 

[Emio]

Wow, THANKS. That makes me and all the others who were accepted to CSU this cycle feel awesome. I'm starting to get slightly miffed by all these baseless admissions theories. From my *experience* I can say that they do reward A students. I also think there's a reason why they have a reputation for graduating quality veterinarians, and it's not because they pick their apps from a pile on the ground.

i'll keep my mouth shut on this one, but rosie deserves a big 👍

silverelf, did he say that verbatim?? cause thats ridiculous. he could at least come up with a plausible lie if he's trying to find reasons to explain your rejection. you must have been a very strong applicant and they just couldnt *fit* you on the list. i had two B+s in org chem. i call shenanigans!! lol, jk jk.

 

[wildfocus]

silverelf, did he say that verbatim?? cause thats ridiculous. he could at least come up with a plausible lie if he's trying to find reasons to explain your rejection. you must have been a very strong applicant and they just couldnt *fit* you on the list. i had two B+s in org chem. i call shenanigans!! lol, jk jk.

yeah, i'm shocked on this one too... i have a sprinkle of b's throughout my 300 or so credits and no one has questioned it at csu, wsu, or davis. (of course, i didn't get into csu's dvm program, but still!!) that is the wackiest thing i've heard, and i wonder if he really knew what he was talking about? i think a b+ in ochem is fantastic!!

on topic: major doesn't really matter as long as you have a well-rounded academic record (with all prereqs), though the "harder" majors certainly look impressive and, for most the most part, ARE taken into consideration

 

[rosemma]

I think it is pretty ridiculous they don't take where you went to school into account. I know that overall they don't know all the schools and therefore it's hard to judge when you haven't heard of half of the schools. BUT I think a state school should know at least the schools in that state and should take difficulty into account at least a bit. I mean, if I had known that where I went to school didn't matter at all then I would have gone to a **MUCH** easier school.

 

[Cheska]

I just could not help myself in replying to this thread since I have extensive CSU experience.... we need a little "smilie" with a soap box!

First to Akitavet: I don't think you will have to worry much, I am sure that some vet school will have 😍 for you with your difficult major... that being said, with everybody's experience here, I would apply to more than one school if I were you- since the admissions process is incredibly erratic.

For those who have been accepted to CSU:
Please! Take this entire thread as a huge compliment- that you could get into a school that many, many, many people struggle to get into! That is awesome you got in-- it is a fantastic program, and obviously the ad coms saw something special in you that they think would be a great fit in their school.

Silverelf: How did you get somebody other than Sherri Stewart to review your application??? I have been trying forever to get somebody else, and she is the only person I ever get! Not that is sounds like that guy was particularly helpful to you.

I have applied to CSU several times as a WICHE student and got no love... so I moved to CO and applied as an in-state, still got no love, not even an interview. I can count the people that I know this has happened to on two hands. Their "holistic" approach is a great sell to students.

I have seen Sherri Stewart speak to pre-vets more times than I care to think about- she has problems with contradicting herself. (If you want examples, pm me, I have tons, I may write a book about it ) From my experience "holistic admissions process" only means that they do not look at your GRE's and it is a great excuse to do whatever they want. She is a great anatomy professor (I strongly recommend her online anatomy class if you need one!), and an "ok" histology professor, but completely worthless as an admissions counselor. People either love her or can't stand her around here.

In my two years here, I have learned that CSU is not the right vet school for me personally- no hard feelings with them, I will be a great vet with or without them! Hey, so the ad com was right, it's just too bad I wasted so much time and money on them. I have seen great and not-so-great vets come out of here, Vet School Is What You Make Of It!!!! It is a great program: if you got in- please be proud of yourself! If you did not, don't take it personally- it happens to a lot of people!

Steps off of soap box and grabs a beer...

 

[wildfocus]

Steps off of soap box and grabs a beer...

it's before noon in co - but, then again, it sounds like you deserve it!!

 

[Cheska]

it's before noon in co - but, then again, it sounds like you deserve it!!

LOL... I was *hoping* nobody would notice the time 😛

But heck, its my morning off- may as well take advantage of it, how sober do ya need to be to prepare a power point presentation anyway. 😀

Edit: My above post- I really don't want to discourage anybody from CSU, the admissions process is just not as straight forward as they claim. Take any advising advice from them with a grain of salt- especially GRE advice.
We are here to support each other especially with our own experiences, since this is not an easy road to be on. I have had some incredibly valuable experiences here in CO (see avatar of my friend Statler), and my goal in life is to regret nothing. But if I can help others avoid problems, then I am happy.

 

[cyrille104]

Wow, THANKS. That makes me and all the others who were accepted to CSU this cycle feel awesome. I'm starting to get slightly miffed by all these baseless admissions theories. From my *experience* I can say that they do reward A students. I also think there's a reason why they have a reputation for graduating quality veterinarians, and it's not because they pick their apps from a pile on the ground.

I meant no offense, and I'm SURE the tour guide was exaggerating. They certainly would not let in underqualified applicants. If you got into CSU, you definitely deserved it.

 

[cyrille104]

I think it is pretty ridiculous they don't take where you went to school into account. I know that overall they don't know all the schools and therefore it's hard to judge when you haven't heard of half of the schools. BUT I think a state school should know at least the schools in that state and should take difficulty into account at least a bit. I mean, if I had known that where I went to school didn't matter at all then I would have gone to a **MUCH** easier school.

Rosemma, don't worry. A lot of people on this board says that they don't take your school difficulty into account, but most schools actually do. If you went to a top school, you will get credit for it. I certainly did - Penn even told me I did. At my Penn interview everyone around me was from a great school. Consider applying to the private schools, because I think they consider your academic program more than state schools.

 

[silverelf]

i'll keep my mouth shut on this one, but rosie deserves a big 👍

silverelf, did he say that verbatim?? cause thats ridiculous. he could at least come up with a plausible lie if he's trying to find reasons to explain your rejection. you must have been a very strong applicant and they just couldnt *fit* you on the list. i had two B+s in org chem. i call shenanigans!! lol, jk jk.

Yes I was told that since I didn't have a 4.0 I wasn't as competative as other applicants who have better grades then me...even though I went to a better school then some kids who got their 4.0. He told me that my A-s should have been As and my B+s should have been As. He specifically pointed out Orgo and Biochem (which I got an A-). He basically told me that the school had no legitimate reason for not accepting me. He even asked what position I was on the waitlist! When I told him I wasn't on it, he was like "oh well uh yeah um hey I don't know."

And I didn't do anything special to have Dr. Earheart review my application, I just called the office and asked for a post-rejection appt. They DID reschedule about 289457239 times though, which was really annoying.

 

[peco]

I don't think if you did't get a 4.0, you are not competitive. I got accepted and I didn't have a 4.0. I don't know what happened, but he shouldn't just pick a few classes that you took and commented on you. I did get As for Orgo, but I got A- in my Biochem and even a B in Orgo Lab (there was a story behind though). If they said they use a holistic approach, they should have looked at your whole application, in every aspect. Thats my two cents.