Perspective

[WildZooVet]

I'm not trying to get up on a soap box here, but, I've noticed a lot of threads about whether one bad grade/bad decision will keep you out of vet school. I just had a couple thoughts on on this.

I feel like it is really easy in this crazy, competative process to lose track of our real goals. Vet school is not the ultimate goal, it is just a tool to becoming a veterinarian. Coming into this process, I felt so relieved because I finally knew what I wanted to do with my life, knew I would be good at it, and knew that utimately I would make it happen. No random group of strangers (and this is not a knock on adcoms) can keep you from achieving your dreams.

I did get very caught up in the whole thing and have spent the last several months either feeling like this or, often, like this .

And just as a reassurance to all those worrying that if you're not perfect you won't get in, I got many C's in undergrad, I blew off my first o-chem exam to go snowboarding, I failed a class because I forgot to drop it and forgot that I was still registered in it, I intentinally missed a final exam...Somehow, I still pulled off a 3.2, not amazing, but, also not bad enough to keep me out of vet school. I AM NOT bragging here. It was a total lack of maturity and direction. I'm just trying to reassure those that are worried that the fact that you already know what you want to do and are working hard towards it is an enourmous advantage. YOU WILL SUCCEED!

This was my first time applying and I was accepted at 4 schools and am the #1 alternate at Davis (which is where I would like to go.) I did also do a thesis based masters between undergrad and applying, during which time I have been very dedicated to my education (because I know what I want to do and am very interested in what I am doing.)

So perspective...our job is to prepare ourselves to be the best veterinarians we can be, so that we are able to help others and achieve our own goals. If you want to be a vet you WILL find a way to make it work for you.

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[alliecat44]

Yay!! Very well-said!

I've been having the same thoughts. One bad test won't make or break you. One bad grade won't do it. One bad semester--or even one bad year--won't do it.

If you need reassurance of this, go through the "accepted applicants" threads for the past few years...there are PLENTY of stories of people with less than stellar GPAs getting in to vet school. (my own story included!)

One more thing: take some time to enjoy your life right now. If you burn yourself out in undergrad, you will have nothing left in vet school. Plus, once you get to vet school, you will look back longingly at how much free time you had in undergrad...you will be pretty closed-off from "normal" life for four years. Take advantage of this time to develop yourself outside of 98% exam scores, etc. It'll better your application, but more importantly, it will better YOU as a person.

Okay, off my own soapbox.

btw, CONGRATS WildZooVet!!!

 

[david594]

Huh, my last semester of undergrad I had 2 C's and a D. (D is for diploma right?)

And I actually slept through my last final of undergrad. Some a-hole spoofed an email to the class list saying the final my 10AM was pushed back a day and I read it just as I rolled out of bed. I went straight back to bed and missed the correction email that came out like 3 minutes later.... Ended up finding out about it when I woke back up at 3PM and had to frantically call my professor to see if I could make up the exam. That was a bad day.

Those are among the reasons I went back to school for another 2 years to prove I wasn't half the idiot I appeared on paper.

 

[bunnyslippers]

I think it's also important to mention that someone with a 3.8+ GPA and a bunch of experience isn't exactly a sure thing either, both out-of-state and in-state.

 

[sunnex3]

seriously - i've recently come to realize that getting into vet school is basically a shot in the dark!

 

[WildZooVet]

seriously - i've recently come to realize that getting into vet school is basically a shot in the dark!

I think "a shot in the dark is too bleak," although on bad days I wonder about adcom comittee members who accidentally got pored decaf coffee or got stuck in traffic the particular day they looked at my application, but, the point sunnex is if you want to be a vet, then no one can stop you.

 

[GeeQued]

I dont think one single thing can make or break anyone's chances. I have an average GPA, ok GRE (Great if you just look at my math and writing) and a huge diversity of experiences. Being more of an all around person is what I feel made my application as succesful as it was.

A fellow classmate has an amazing GPA, I'd say around 3.8 if not higher, mediocre GRE from what I remember, extremely involved on campus, and has research and wild life experience but didn't even get an interview at Davis,

So Im figuring its just the luck of whos reviewing your application and having something in there that stands out to them. Mine, aside from a diverse amount of animal/veterinary experiences, IMO was my non-animal experiences at 19 I served on the board of directors for a multimillion dollar property development corporation and have worked in a real estate office since I was 15, not something thats even close to normal for most teenagers. Also for Davis many people didn't look that there were two additional forms to fill out that were optional, one was just a general expression if you were interested in particular areas (Equine, Food Animal, Zoo, Wildlife, Research, Fishys) which I filled out, and then the disadvantage students which I didn't.

 

[dgm]

Amen to that, WildZooVet! I've noticed a rather high drama level here recently. Let's all take a deep breath... We're gonna be allllll right!

 

[katryn]

From a lot of what I've started reading into, it does seem that grades and scores just aren't everything.

I have decent midline grades, a better than average GRE score, experience, and am staring at my third try of applying next year because being the idiot that I am, I have no proof that I"m passionate about anything but doing my homework and getting payed to do my job....so, my advice to add to the pot is find something you like doing passionately enough to do it for free(even if you can get paid for it) and do it alot! That's what I'll be spending this years wait on anyway.