Low Freshman Undergrad GPA - hope lost? game plan? Any help greatly appreciated!

[nrncldl]

Hi everyone,
I apologize for being another worried undergrad, but I feel hopeless right now. I just finished my freshman year at Cornell and I have a cumulative GPA of 2.57. I have gotten C-'s in both semesters of general chemistry, as well as C+'s in both semesters of my animal science classes (I'm an animal science major). There is an additional C+ in a statistics class, which I honestly did not expect. Anyhow, I get it. I messed up badly. I underestimated the difficulty of college, and overestimated my abilities, for the entirety of freshman year.

What I want to know is:
1) Have I shot myself in the foot, or leg, or entire body with regards to admission? Is all hope lost for getting in on my first try? I really wanted to go to Cornell or UC Davis, but I don't think I'm the "best and brightest" that they get to choose from. I've heard that vet schools are slightly more lenient towards freshman year mistakes, but a 2.57's much different from, say, a 3.0.
2) What can I do to save myself? Ace everything from now on?
3) Do any of you have any tips, or have been in the same position? I'd really appreciate anything you can offer, as I'm understandably incredibly desperate.

Thanks so much. Again, I really appreciate it.

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[Falina]

I got terrible grades my freshman year(almost flunked out of school), and now I'm going to UC Davis this fall. Don't give up hope!

I'd go to a website like http://gpacalculator.net/college-gpa-calculator/, and figure out what you need to do, grade wise, in order to bring your GPA up.

Your "last 45 credits" GPA will probably be higher than your overall GPA. You should start figuring out which schools will look at your last 45 credits rather than cumulative.
If your GPA isn't going to be the strongest part of your application, make sure that the other parts can compensate. Study for your GRE, and get lots of experience hours in a variety of areas.

Most importantly, figure out why you got low grades and fix it. Making all these plans isn't going to help you any if you keep getting Cs. I'm sure you don't need to be lectured about your grades, but in the world of vet school applications they are very important.

Best if luck!

 

[MysteryCat]

Get good grades from here on out! You still have time to bring it up. You do have to bring it up though! Also, I have heard multiple times that sometimes an improving GPA looks better than one that was always 4.0. Not to say that if you'd had a 4.0 you'd be worse off, but you could potentially use this to your benefit. I was a "running start" student, and that means for me, that my first few quarters of college credits were something like a 2.6. I have worked like crazy to get it up...but I have succeeded, and should be able to manage a pretty competitive GPA when applying to vet school in 1.5 years or so.

Don't loose hope, just work hard! Good luck!

 

[CloudlessNights]

Freshman year I had a C+ in both semesters of gen chem. Sophomore year I had a C+ in orgo 2 and a C genetics (genetics was due to the final--just had found out the day before the final that my grandmother had passed away; prof wouldn't let me move the final to the end of the finals week; bombed it and it brought my grade down alot).

Graduated with a 3.5 and just was accepted to Tufts off the waitlist.

I had the same problem coming into college and not understanding how much studying I had to do. The good thing is, this is usually easy to fix. Once I learned what study habits were helping me, I got nothing but As and A-s (occasional B+) from there on out. Try out different things and see what works for you!

 

[Easnadh]

One thing you might not want to hear is that you *may have to retake the classes in which you got a C- as some vet schools won't accept pre-reqs with grades lower than a C. That being said, you have a lot of time in which to improve, and I highly recommend the GPA calculator.

Also, start gaining as much experience as you can ASAP to help strengthen the non-academic side of your application

 

[Frozenshades]

Most importantly, figure out why you got low grades and fix it. Making all these plans isn't going to help you any if you keep getting Cs. I'm sure you don't need to be lectured about your grades, but in the world of vet school applications they are very important.

Just to reiterate this because it's important. Telling yourself that you're going to do better and actively figuring out why you did poorly and correcting it are two different things. Take a serious evaluation of all your study habits and class attendance/participation.

 

[LetItSnow]

Just to reiterate this because it's important. Telling yourself that you're going to do better and actively figuring out why you did poorly and correcting it are two different things. Take a serious evaluation of all your study habits and class attendance/participation.

And maybe ask a few trusted people. Talk to a professor or two about how you approached their class. Talk to a study friend or two.

Keeping this vague intentionally, but I know of someone whose study habits had some very obvious deficiencies, and her grades were suffering badly. But when she'd get down about school and you'd try to tactfully point out the obvious study problems (not just me; any of her friends), she'd respond that "that doesn't work for me; this is what works best for me."

It was this kind of defensive blindness ... it didn't matter that obviously she was wrong, since it wasn't working at all, but she just wasn't willing to consider what people around her could see. She never managed to finish her pre-reqs.

There's a balance: you have to trust yourself and know what works for you. But if things aren't working, don't be quick to dismiss what friends and professors are telling you. Trying a new approach for a test or two may make all the difference.

 

[485501]

One thing you might not want to hear is that you *may have to retake the classes in which you got a C- as some vet schools won't accept pre-reqs with grades lower than a C.

Depending on how your school works, you may also have to retake the chem classes in order to take more advanced chem. At my college, a C- wasn't high enough to let you count the class as a pre-req for a more advanced class; it had to be a C or higher.

This could be good for you, though - retaking a class could help you figure out a new study technique or new test-taking strategies, especially if it's taught by the same professor/s.

 

[DaBears90]

My sophomore year, I transferred from one four year university to another and joined the competitive figure skating team that required 15 hours a week of training not including our 6 competitions. I had a C- in gen chem, a C- in Anatomy and Physiology, and a C in Orgo that year. I realized I wanted to be a veterinarian much more than a professional skater or coach, so I "retired" and really buckled down. Once I had a normal sleep schedule (no more 5:00 AM practices), and was able to focus on my material at hand I got nearly straight A's in my upper-division Animal Science courses junior and senior year as well as the rest of my pre-requisites. It wasn't easy--I definitely had to study and figure out what works best for me and my science GPA was only a 2.92 when I applied last fall, but I was admitted to my state school and I couldn't be happier .

I took what spare time I had and continued to rack up experiences at my shelter, study abroad spay/neuter campaigns, and worked during the summers with a pet sitting business and at a veterinary specialty center. I also had a lot of people believe in me to write letters of rec (5), and utilized the "explanation statement" on the VMCAS app to explain why I had that dip sophomore year and to show off my upward trend in grades.

It's definitely possible to get in, you'll just have to work harder from here on out and try to stand out in other areas if your grades aren't a 4.0. Vet school looks at that stuff, I promise it's much more than grades and I'm a poster child for that. Good luck good luck good luck!