Low GPA successful applicants?

Started by Lise117
Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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Lise117

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Hi everyone! Just wondering if any low GPA successful applicants would be willing to share their stats.

I'm on track to applying to veterinary schools, and I'm a bit discouraged due to my low GPA as a result of different personal issues (Overall: 3.37 Science: 3.33 Last 45+ cred: 3.55). I have two C+s in introductory science classes, but mostly B+/A's in the higher level sciences. I have 4 pre-reqs I still need to complete (one course is a re-do to get a higher grade than a C+) as well as the GREs. My only veterinary experience so far is working part-time as a vet tech at a small clinic (~3 months so far). I plan to stay at this job for a long time as well as expand my experience with other types of veterinary medicine. I have animal experience from high school (low hours) from working at a kennel, volunteering at a shelter, and I used to ride horses in middle school and elementary school (not sure if that counts... 😀)

I'm a MA resident and my top choice schools are Tufts, Cornell, and UPenn.

ANY LOW GPA SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT STORIES WOULD BE SO APPRECIATED 😍😍😍

Advice would be amazing as well!!
 
 
I applied this year for the first time with a 3.48 (sci GPA of 3.1-3.3. depending on the school) to six schools, including Tufts (I'm IS too!). I was originally waitlisted at Tufts, Minnesota, and Illinois (rejected at three others), but have since been accepted to all three.

I had two C+s in both semesters of gen chem and one semester of orgo and a C in genetics. But I did have a great upward trend after that, with almost all As and A-s. I had almost 1500 hours of varied vet experience at the time of application, and about 600 hours of animal experience. I continued working full-time this gap year and now have over 3000 hours of vet experience now. My GREs are average.

I would say to work really hard to get all As in your remaining classes, rock the GREs, and continue to get diverse experience, and you definitely have a shot!
 
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Thanks for the inspiration, CloudlessNights!! I have a C+ in 2nd semester gen chem and a C+ in genetics (I'm retaking this course). You have given me some hope lol 😉
 
I applied this year to AVC (Canada) with about a 3.0 (82%). My GPA in my first application was a little lower and I didn't get an interview. I was able to improve my grades for my second application and I was interviewed and waitlisted. My third application I was accepted and every part of my application (vet/animal experiences, extracurriculars, interview, GRE) were all above average which was able to compensate for my below average GPA. So, it most certainly can be done with a lot of hard work and grit. Check out the Successful Applicants thread for a little more insight. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=970957

ETA: I also had a C+ in both org chem and genetics.
 
Oh goodness... my GPA was 3.22, with a lower than that science GPA. Most of my low grades were in my freshman year. I used the option that University of Illinois has to delete all your freshman year grades (so long as there weren't any prerequisites there) and it greatly improved things, and I got in this past year, no waitlist! I got a C+ in orgo 1 and a C in orgo 2, and I'd had a couple D's and a failed class my freshman year. Hope that inspires you!
 
Thanks for everyone's advice, so far!!


randombird: That's great about University of Illinois, I never knew that. Unfortunately for me, that only boosts my GPA up to a 3.39 lol. Oh well!
 
My bad. I used a GPA converter. I converted in from % to GPA. Canadians don't typically use GPA so I'm not all that familiar with it. Sorry if I confused anyone.
 
Wow, this is very interesting & inspiring to read about. While I wouldn't say my GPA is bad by any means, I spend all my time freaking out about my grades, especially right now - I'm taking summer physics (icky!) and it's harder than I anticipated.

Thank you for your insight, everyone!
 
My cGPA was about a 3.2 (?), I'm Canadian so the GPA thing is a bit confusing. I definitely had a couple of C's and D's (Orgo 1 and 2 killed me!). But this past app cycle was my first, I applied to 4 schools, got interviews at 2 and accepted at another! Don't give up just because your marks aren't awesome!
 
Believe it or not, I applied with a GPA of 2.83 from a very prestigious university. I applied to 10+ vet schools and I only had one interview. I was on the alternate list for about 4 months, and I recently got in!! 🙂

I had MANY C- 's in many required classes, which prevented me from applying to most vet schools. I was almost about to give up, but I decided to pursue my passion and I applied anyways. What I didn't mention was that to make up for that low GPA, I went to another university to repeat and take upper division classes for another year and a half, finishing with a new GPA of 3.90. So what I'm saying is, please don't be discouraged. I'm sure your GPA will never be as low as mine. Good luck! :laugh:
 
Bumping with a question... I'm premature in this, I haven't taken the upper level chems yet or anything, but so far I have a As in my chem and I'm mostly worried about my math and other humanities. Math is a C, trying to salvage a B for the semester. I am mostly wondering how poorly it will reflect if my overall GPA is quite low (3.2/3.3) but I have a strong science GPA? Thanks in advance... I'm a worrier 🙂
 
Well obviously you want the highest overall as possible, but considering a lot of schools (or at least the ones I applied to) tend to evaluate you by looking at your overall, your prereq, and your last 45, I'd say it's not the end of the world if your math grade drags your overall a bit. Unless of course it's one of your prereqs (stats or calc??), and you're in your last 45 credits, then it might suck because it'll drag down all three of your totals a bit..

Also good luck with your humanities! The couple I had to take drove me mad, I struggled more with them than anything else I think. Yechh.
 
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