Missing science pre-req's at time of application

[anotherbusybee]

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Hi all. This is my first time here, and I'm very impressed with the depth and breadth of these forums. So, I'm placing my fate in your hands with my questions 🙂 I'm making a new thread because I feel that my situation is a little complicated, but maybe that's just my tendency to overcomplicate things...

Target school: UC Davis. There are others, but UCD is my first choice and in-state school.

A little background: I am a 3rd year attending a college that I love. Unfortunately, it is a public school, so it has been under a constant barrage of budget cuts and, subsequently, a lot of class shortages. For those reasons, if things go even as planned, I will be missing 2 science classes should I apply Fall 2012 (which I really really want to do!!!). I'd be missing 1 lower div and 1 upper div, but I will have completed all science pre-reqs by my last semester. Not a huge deal, right? Everyone applying straight out of undergrad seems to be missing a class or two at time of application, but...

What makes things worse: I did not do well in two lower div classes, so I really needed these two other science prereq's to bring my science GPA up. Current science GPA is like...3.0 (if that).

And to make things a little more complicated: I really screwed up my first two years and (as explained above) don't have great lower div science grades. However, I have gotten my act together and am performing very well in my upper div sciences. So, given these factors, do you think missing those two science classes @ time of application will have a significant effect on my application? If so, what might that effect be? Also, even if I wait until I graduate/finish all my prereqs before applying, how much of a difference would that make on my application? Could two missing classes be the deciding factor?! I'm going crazy; I couldn't even sleep last night. Someone help me!!!

 

[Bismarck]

Sounds like you have a few hurdles to clear. I'd start with the easiest one and call Davis and see what they say about classes. In particular, which courses would you have in progress/ still to go? Most schools will let you have 2-3 in progress or to go, so long as they aren't all big ones (e.g. biochemistry and organic chem 1 and 2 all together!)

As for your academic progress, you may want to think about graduate coursework after your bachelor's degree to show you can handle a tough curriculum placed in front of you. Many schools have coursework Master's degrees as an option.

Do you have an academic/pre-professional adviser assigned to you at school by the way?

 

[twelvetigers]

Just gonna poke my head in here and remind everyone that UCDavis wants all applicants to have completed a bachelor's degree...

 

[HelloNello]

Just gonna poke my head in here and remind everyone that UCDavis wants all applicants to have completed a bachelor's degree...

Didn't they get rid of that? I had heard somewhere that they decided to not require a bachelors after deciding to require one....Davis' FAQ says:

Do I need to have a bachelor's degree to be accepted to veterinary school?
No. However , 95% to 100% of those admitted do have a bachelor's degree by matriculation. If a bachelor's degree is not earned, the committee will still base its decisions on the strength and breadth of the applicant's educational background.

Maybe its not updated?


75 percent of required courses have been completed at time of application. Grades for course work completed after you have submitted your application (i.e., fall quarter) will not be used to calculate your GPAs for that application cycle. You must finish all courses before the end of spring semester before you matriculate.


Also, if you have to retake courses Davis will average the 2 grades, so keep that in mind.

I'd say if Davis is okay with you missing 2 pre-reqs at the time of application then it doesn't hurt to apply. If your GPA isn't good enough and you don't get in then you can just reapply the following year with the additional grades.

 

[twelvetigers]

Maybe they did get rid of it as a requirement and I just missed the memo.

 

[anotherbusybee]

I will have a bachelor's degree by the time of matriculation...I'm doing the typical apply-straight-from-undergrad route (so applying my senior year). And most of the students I know applied prior to graduation, during senior year. So, twelvetigers, I'm not sure where that requirement came from? I haven't heard of it before.

I did not do poorly enough to be able to retake the two lower division courses...unfortunately. And I'm getting the impression that maybe I talked myself down a little bit LOL. I do have academic counselors and they're as wonderful as would be expected from my university, but they just aren't as well-versed regarding the subtleties of vet school applications as you all probably are. That said, thank you for the 75% rule of thumb! That gives me a clear idea of what is 'normal' and expected from undergrad students. 🙂

Regarding the graduate schoolwork...I would really like to avoid it at all costs =/ I also just calculated my science GPA again, weighted correctly with the units, and it is around 3.2-3.3. So, does it sound like a viable option to apply during my sr year with the two "missing" pre-reqs?

 

[twelvetigers]

It WAS a requirement (at UC Davis only) and then they revoked it. Because people thought it was silly.

I just forgot about the part where they got rid of it... my bad.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Even though it doesn't matter, the bachelor's requirement was to enter vet school at Davis, NOT to apply. Some people attend vet school without ever completing their bachelors.

But that was just a one year thing it seems.