Non-Traditional and Low GPA

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sjenn

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I graduated in 2012 with a degree in Economics.

My GPA is 3.54 (I know it is not good enough for vet schools) and that is because I started strong. Then, I started to get bad grades, like 3.1 towards my 4th year. Meaning, my grades went down year after year and my GPA for last 45 units is horrible.This is a bad sign!! On top of that, I took a lot of pass-or-no passes for my electives towards the end of my college years. I just wanted to get over with college and thought I would never want to come back to school. I am freaking out because I can not change my undergrad GPA!!

I took no science courses. To satisfy the prerequisites, I am planning to attend a community college. If I get good grades at a community college, will that grades add onto my overall undergrad GPA and GPA for last 45 units? So that my GPA can boost up a little bit?

Please give me advice. Do you think my chances of going to a vet school look grim?
(By the way, I am currently studying for my GRE)

Thanks!

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Yes, your new undergraduate course work will be factored into your GPA when you apply. All course work from all institutions has to be reported.

As for your prerequisite courses, if you have taken no science, then you must have a lot of classes to take. Starting your classes at a community college is fine, but remember that generally schools will require you to take at least the upper level sciences at a four year institution.

3.5 isn't bad at all...and with all the prereqs you'll need to take you can easily boost it and your last 45 up.
 
Going to vet school not only depends on your GPA but also your GRE score and your experiences. I certainly believe taking science courses helps fulfilling the pre-reqs but I'm not so sure about it add onto the 45 credit hours. Maybe call the veterinary school your interested in and ask them directly. Overall, as long as you have experiences, good GRE score, your chances aren't slim. Your GPA isn't that bad to make your chances slim. :] good luck.
 
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What's your experiences (vet & animal) look like?

As for taking your pre-reqs at a CC, I would suggest contacting the schools your interested in applying to & see what they think about it. For me, most didn't care that I took physics and micro at a CC but there were some that wouldn't accept them.

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What's your experiences (vet & animal) look like?

As for taking your pre-reqs at a CC, I would suggest contacting the schools your interested in applying to & see what they think about it. For me, most didn't care that I took physics and micro at a CC but there were some that wouldn't accept them.

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I have no experience so far.
I am going to start volunteering and working as soon as I am done with my GRE.
It took my a long time to finally pursue my career as a vet.
It was not an easy decision because becoming a vet is very difficult.
Even you do your best and everything, you never know if you can make it.
And that is what scares me.
What if I can't become a vet? You need to think about your opportunity cost as well...
So I really had to think about my life and career seriously first...
Anyway, excuse my gibberish!
Can you guys give me advice where to start, in terms of experience?
Thanks..
 
I have no experience so far.
I am going to start volunteering and working as soon as I am done with my GRE.
It took my a long time to finally pursue my career as a vet.
It was not an easy decision because becoming a vet is very difficult.
Even you do your best and everything, you never know if you can make it.
And that is what scares me.
What if I can't become a vet? You need to think about your opportunity cost as well...
So I really had to think about my life and career seriously first...
Anyway, excuse my gibberish!
Can you guys give me advice where to start, in terms of experience?
Thanks..

I've had a great time volunteering at a shelter. I started just getting animal experience through the cat care and dog walking, and then I talked to the vet there and she let me shadow her in clinic, and then i was assisting with that before I moved up to helping in surgery prep and assisting the techs. I think shelters are great places to start for experience because they always need the help ^_^
 
Please give me advice. Do you think my chances of going to a vet school look grim?
(By the way, I am currently studying for my GRE)

Thanks!

Well. Considering my situation was far more grim than yours and I'm halfway through vet school now, I think it's safe to say you can do it.

The biggest thing you need to do is recognize that it's not the sort of thing where you can decide now you want to do vet school, apply, and start in the fall. Anticipate that it will take you a few years - chugging through the pre-reqs, building up the 500+ hours of experience you need (especially with vets who can write an awesome recommendation), etc.

But if you do that, and if you get really, really solid grades on the pre-reqs (seriously - do your absolute best to stay at 3.8+), you have as good of a chance as anyone.

As far as experience, where you get it is really diverse and it should at least somewhat reflect your goals as a vet. I plan on small animal companion practice, so I spent 1.5 days a week for a few years with a small animal vet shadowing. I volunteered at the teaching hospital weekly for two years. I rode with a farm vet for a short time, and shadowed an equine vet for a week. I had a background that included working a dairy farm already. I volunteered at a wildlife rehab center for 1.5 years (animal experience, not vet). That was about it - my experience was fairly thin compared to many candidates.
 
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If it's any consolation, my GPA was a bit below that and I got into all my first choice schools on the first application cycle. Don't get too bent out of shape about the number. Kick ass on the GRE and start racking up those experience hours. And you might want to think about taking those pre-reqs in a four year institution, as it looks better on your application (and may be required in some schools). Many schools have specific post-baccalaureate tracks for people like you, who were not science majors but then decided to attend medical/veterinary/dental school. Good luck!
 
3.5 is not a low GPA - it's around the average many (most? all?) vet schools. The downward trend is more of a concern, but if you can do really well in your pre-reqs (which will be included in your GPA) it can easily overcome the downward trend. Like others have mentioned, check and double check which classes they will accept from a community college and which you will need to take a four year university.

Like LIS said, it's a long road ahead of you. Pre-reqs will take a couple years (depending on if you're full time student or not) and experience can also take a while if you can only do weekends or nights or whatever. Experience is divided into animal vs. veterinary, and while both are good veterinary is worth more on the application, so I would seek out those experiences hard core. Your best bet will probably be shadowing a vet or volunteering at a clinic (large or small animal), but keep in mind that you can also volunteer at a zoo, aquarium or research facility and get hours.
 
WildZoo, your animal experience sounds a lot like mine. I volunteer at a no-kill shelter, and also am a volunteer keeper at our local zoo. It is refreshing to get a mix of both the normal vet world dog and cat patients at the clinic, and then go to the zoo and work with the incredible array of wildlife..........last week I was within a foot of our Chinese alligator; she is totally fascinating..........last summer our lady tiger had 4 cubs, and watching them grow has been thrilling. Absolutely awesome in every way! This summer I plan to volunteer at our local wildlife preserve :)
 
Well. Considering my situation was far more grim than yours and I'm halfway through vet school now, I think it's safe to say you can do it.

The biggest thing you need to do is recognize that it's not the sort of thing where you can decide now you want to do vet school, apply, and start in the fall. Anticipate that it will take you a few years - chugging through the pre-reqs, building up the 500+ hours of experience you need (especially with vets who can write an awesome recommendation), etc.

But if you do that, and if you get really, really solid grades on the pre-reqs (seriously - do your absolute best to stay at 3.8+), you have as good of a chance as anyone.

As far as experience, where you get it is really diverse and it should at least somewhat reflect your goals as a vet. I plan on small animal companion practice, so I spent 1.5 days a week for a few years with a small animal vet shadowing. I volunteered at the teaching hospital weekly for two years. I rode with a farm vet for a short time, and shadowed an equine vet for a week. I had a background that included working a dairy farm already. I volunteere d at a wildlife rehab center for 1.5 years (animal experience, not vet). That was about it - my experience was fairly thin compared to many candidates.

LetItSnow, you mention a 3.8 GPA. What is the typical vet school grading scale like? I doubt it is the usual 60/70/80/90 scale, and have heard that for some schools a grade under 76 is an F and you need at least a 94 for an A. Those are some high numbers:p
 
LetItSnow, you mention a 3.8 GPA. What is the typical vet school grading scale like? I doubt it is the usual 60/70/80/90 scale, and have heard that for some schools a grade under 76 is an F and you need at least a 94 for an A. Those are some high numbers:p

I was talking about a decent GPA for applying, given the context of a checkered past (like I had). I just threw that out as a pretty decent target - you can obviously get in with considerably less. I just wouldn't let yourself slack through the pre-reqs with a 3.0 and then hope to see vet schools get all excited. Since you struggled recently, you'll really want to be able to demonstrate academic excellence.

I don't know if there is a typical vet school grading scale? Most of our classes here at UMN use a pretty typical (for the U.S.) 90/80/70/60 scale, though I've had a few classes that departed from that. The UK schools do it differently. I don't really see that it matters much, though, because testing is designed around whatever scale is being used. If you have a scale where a 30% is passing, you're obviously going to make it much more difficult if you're writing the exam. Ya know?

I wouldn't worry about vet school grading - just kick butt on your pre-reqs and get in and worry about it then. :)
 
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