Prerequisites

[medtechv79]

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Hi All,

I was wondering, I plan on taking some pre-reqs at a four year university called Hood college because it fits my schedule better. (I work full time in a vet diagnostic lab). I was wondering to all you pre-vets and those already in vet school or already vets do vet schools give alot of weight to exactly where you take your pre-reqs? I already have a bachelors degree and my GPA is below a 3.0. I have the option of taking it at Univ of MD or Hood college. What would you guys suggest? I am partial to UMD mostly b/c ranking wise its in the top 60. Hood college is like a 2nd tier school I think? Does it matter? As long as it is a 4 year college am I ok?
Thanks alot guys for your advice!

 

[mokadet]

From my experience it depends A LOT on the schools you will be applying to.

Are you a Maryland resident? If this is the case VA-MD would be your "in-state" (actually not in your state at all) school. I'm a VA resident and my experience working with them has shown me that they do NOT care where you took your pre-reqs. If this was the only school you are considering (I wouldn't reccommend this option - more to come) I'd say go for Hood.

However, VA-MD also places a huge emphasis on GPA and because you said that your undergrad GPA was below a 3.0 I would suggest applying to a selection of schools, especially schools that look at the applicant as a big picture instead of a collection of numbers. Now these schools WILL care where you took your pre-reqs and what your course load was, what you were doing at the time, etc. In this situation you might lean toward UMD. You also might want to consider taking a full load (I don't know what your financial situation is, so might not be an option) or a masters program to really boost your GPA and show schools that you can be academically competative in vet school.

Really it's a toss up and depends a lot on where you plan to apply.

 

[medtechv79]

From my experience it depends A LOT on the schools you will be applying to.

Are you a Maryland resident? If this is the case VA-MD would be your "in-state" (actually not in your state at all) school. I'm a VA resident and my experience working with them has shown me that they do NOT care where you took your pre-reqs. If this was the only school you are considering (I wouldn't reccommend this option - more to come) I'd say go for Hood.

However, VA-MD also places a huge emphasis on GPA and because you said that your undergrad GPA was below a 3.0 I would suggest applying to a selection of schools, especially schools that look at the applicant as a big picture instead of a collection of numbers. Now these schools WILL care where you took your pre-reqs and what your course load was, what you were doing at the time, etc. In this situation you might lean toward UMD. You also might want to consider taking a full load (I don't know what your financial situation is, so might not be an option) or a masters program to really boost your GPA and show schools that you can be academically competative in vet school.

Really it's a toss up and depends a lot on where you plan to apply.

Thanks Mokadet! Well, financially I don't think I can really do a full course load at this time. I need to work full time to pay bills. You know how that is. But I did look at the UMD schedule and alot of their classes don't totally fit my work schedule. So we'll see. I guess I'll think more about it. I do want to apply to VA-MD but you are right, I need to apply to a broader range of schools....b/c of my GPA. I'll research some more and decide. thanks for your advice!