Quitting Grad School to go to Vet School?

[zebrastripe86]

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Hello everyone,

I am currently in a Master's program (to help boost my GPA to help gain entrance into vet school) it is a two year program, and I am thinking about applying to vet school for fall 2011. This would be my second time applying. The last time I applied to vet school was in 2008 and I didn't get in. I have done a lot of things since then such as gaining more experience and now, with doing the master's program.

My problem is that if I were to get into vet school for fall '11, I would have to drop out of the program I am in right now, which, wouldn't bother me, but I am just worried how vet schools would view this. I don't want it to seem like I am quitting something, but at the same time, vet school is what I wanted to begin with.

I was just wondering if anyone has any insight to this and possibly some advice?

Thank you so much and I apologize for it being so long!

 

[chordy4]

First of all, if you are currently in a master's program and apply, many schools will require a letter from your adviser/program coordinator, so they will need to be aware of the fact that you may be leaving the program if you get in.

Overall, I think it just depends on the situation/your interviewers as to how much it will affect you. I applied last year while in a master's program, but it was such that I would still be able to finish it after entering vet school, which I planned to do.

Definitely be prepared to respond to questions either regarding you not finishing, or your plans regarding your master's program.

What program is it? Could you not just wait another year? Is it really worth the money/time etc you'll already have invested in that first year to NOT finish?

 

[BlacKAT33]

IMO it would look bad because you didnt finish what you started.

Besides that, you say that you are in the Masters program now, if so does that mean you already finished 1 yr of it? Because then if you apply this year, you can still complete your second year of the Masters program before you actually start vet school.
If you just started your Masters program then first of all that means you don't really have that much more experience if you just started it (in terms of experience specifically related to your masters degree), so why bother applying?

What exactly is the time line of when you started your masters program?

 

[nyanko]

Don't do this. DO NOT DO THIS

You will only make it harder for those who genuinely want to do a Masters before vet school and who have the integrity and capability to finish the program to get in. Not to mention that you will burn the crap out of some bridges and how exactly do you plan to get a rec letter from your adviser?? If you don't want to do the Masters, drop the f**k out now and don't take up a spot from someone who actually wants to be there, and quit wasting your department's time and resources.

👎thumbdown👎

 

[zebrastripe86]

These are all good points. I actually just started the masters program this year. It is a 2 yr program. My fear was that I would be burning bridges in the first place, and my intention was not to take a spot from someone else nor was it to waste the time and resources of the department. It is just a hard decision to make. I realize that I shouldn't rush myself into applying, but at the same time I feel like I am not getting any younger and I don't want to be 30 yrs old when i apply for vet school again (not that there is anything wrong with that) I just don't think I want that for myself. Though I am only 23. I just want to apply to vet school again and actually get in. I have a ton of experience, and hopefully with this masters program I can really boost by GPA.

I don't know for sure yet what I am going to do, I just wanted to get others' input.

 

[nyanko]

It is just a hard decision to make. I realize that I shouldn't rush myself into applying, but at the same time I feel like I am not getting any younger and I don't want to be 30 yrs old when i apply for vet school again (not that there is anything wrong with that) I just don't think I want that for myself. Though I am only 23. I just want to apply to vet school again and actually get in. I have a ton of experience, and hopefully with this masters program I can really boost by GPA.

But the thing is, a traditional two year Masters program is not simply there for you to improve your application to vet school. It is a graduate level program that requires a lot of commitment and confers a degree that proclaims your knowledge of and interest in a specific field. If you just wanted to raise your GPA, a postbacc or 1 year coursework based Masters may have been more appropriate for you. You are indeed wasting your own and everyone else's time by being enrolled in the program you're in now if you don't intend to actually take it seriously.

Maybe you could discuss honestly with the department the feasibility of changing your degree objective? Seriously when I came in to talk to my PI and the grad coordinator about first entering the MS program I'm currently finishing, both of them expressed quite candidly a fear of getting "burned" because they knew that I had applied once to vet school and not gotten in. These people invested in me as a graduate degree candidate and researcher, and in return I have learned a ridiculous amount, gotten to experience some amazing opportunities, contributed to a ton of stuff in the lab and gotten two good enough rec letters that my interviewers here commented on them...just thinking about doing that to them sort of makes me feel sick.

And the other thing is - how do you expect to raise your GPA by the application deadline for this year? Wouldn't one whole year of Masters classes do better for you than just the Fall semester that a lot of schools may not even take into account?

This is a really, really bad idea, and I'm not sure if I can stress that enough.

 

[zebrastripe86]

Maybe you are right nyanko. I did originally applied for a one year intensive program, but they redirected my application for the two year program instead. I guess because I need more time to boost my gpa, which is a 3.2, and a 1 year program would likely not do that for me. Thanks to your advice, I am now leaning towards finishing up the program that I started. I really need to get a 4.0 this semester and throughout my entire time, which is probably feasible, since I will not be working during my time here. If there is any more advice you would like to give, I welcome it entirely.

How long is your masters program?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[DVMorBust]

These are all good points. I actually just started the masters program this year. It is a 2 yr program. My fear was that I would be burning bridges in the first place, and my intention was not to take a spot from someone else nor was it to waste the time and resources of the department. It is just a hard decision to make. I realize that I shouldn't rush myself into applying, but at the same time I feel like I am not getting any younger and I don't want to be 30 yrs old when i apply for vet school again (not that there is anything wrong with that) I just don't think I want that for myself. Though I am only 23. I just want to apply to vet school again and actually get in. I have a ton of experience, and hopefully with this masters program I can really boost by GPA.

I don't know for sure yet what I am going to do, I just wanted to get others' input.

Uh...you're 23 now. So, at most, if you apply next cycle (and thus FINISH your masters) then you're what, 25? when you start vet school? graduate around 30?

What's the masters in? Finishing a masters would be a bigger boost to an app than whatever GPA raise you'd get (and I don't think graduate courses go towards cumulative UG GPA...someone correct me if I'm wrong). I'm a bit confused - you say you started this year - do you mean this past January? or you will be starting this fall? or you have a year under your belt and only need one more to finish up?

You say you last applied in 2008...so why does this year specifically need to be the one you apply during?

Are you miserable in your program and just don't want to finish it?

 

[nyanko]

^^My Masters courses went towards calculating my overall GPA and my last 45 hours GPA at all of the schools I applied to. There are schools that don't include grad courses in the GPA, and those are ones that I weeded out pretty early for obvious reasons.

Mine's thesis based - I'm one of those research crazies and entered it more in order to get a really good, solid research background in my field of interest than for GPA reasons. My undergrad GPA was bad though - worse than yours, even. 😉

So I took classes + TA'd + did research for my first year of my Masters (and ended up with a 3.91), and then since then I have pretty much been doing full time research towards my thesis. I started researching in my PI's lab the summer before I started my Masters, in 2008, started classes in Fall 2008 and am now completing my thesis writing.

I only skipped one year of applying to vet school in the process (applied for class of 2012 at UCDavis, was interviewed and rejected, skipped applying for 2013 and applied for 2014 and was accepted), so it really isn't all that much to lose, and I'm quite a bit older than you. I really, really feel like everything that I gained as a student, researcher, veterinary school applicant and person from that one piddling year of not applying far outweigh any negatives in the grand scheme of things.

 

[zebrastripe86]

OK let me clarify some things: I am not miserable in my masters program. I have not started it yet, I start it this fall but what I have learned so far, I actually find it quite interesting. I did apply last in 2008, I want to apply this year because my mentor, who is a vet advised me to do so, and her reasoning is that I want to be a vet so if I got into vet school for the fall 2011 cycle, why continue with the masters program? I have a considerable amount of experience and my GRE score is good. It is just my GPA that sucks ( as i mentioned before its a 3.2) If I do not get into vet school for fall 2011, then I could still finish out the masters program and apply again for 2012. The masters is in lab animal science. And, I was implying that I do not want to be so old that when i finish vet school I will not be able to have a family and all of those things.

Also, I believe that whatever GPA I get would go to my last 45 credit hour GPA which some vet schools figure in as well as the science GPA. This program is designed to help people get into vet school. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there is a difference between getting a masters degree and just sailing by with a c avg than getting a masters degree with a 4.0 gpa?

 

[nyanko]

I think if you finish the program in lab animal science and find it to be something you're interested in, you will have a very, very good chance of admission at a lot of vet schools. Lab animal med is fairly underserved, so just by getting the degree you'd be putting yourself in a better position for acceptance IMO.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Don't do this. DO NOT DO THIS

You will only make it harder for those who genuinely want to do a Masters before vet school and who have the integrity and capability to finish the program to get in. Not to mention that you will burn the crap out of some bridges and how exactly do you plan to get a rec letter from your adviser?? If you don't want to do the Masters, drop the f**k out now and don't take up a spot from someone who actually wants to be there, and quit wasting your department's time and resources.

👎thumbdown👎

Heartily agreed.

 

[chordy4]

Basically listen to nyanko...as usual 😉

I obviously wasn't thinking of time line when I first responded...if you haven't even STARTED the program yet, I don't think you should apply to vet school, I really don't think that will look good, and schools you apply to won't even see any grades from your grad program before evaluating your application.

 

[DVMorBust]

OK let me clarify some things: I am not miserable in my masters program. I have not started it yet, I start it this fall but what I have learned so far, I actually find it quite interesting. I did apply last in 2008, I want to apply this year because my mentor, who is a vet advised me to do so, and her reasoning is that I want to be a vet so if I got into vet school for the fall 2011 cycle, why continue with the masters program? I have a considerable amount of experience and my GRE score is good. It is just my GPA that sucks ( as i mentioned before its a 3.2) If I do not get into vet school for fall 2011, then I could still finish out the masters program and apply again for 2012. The masters is in lab animal science. And, I was implying that I do not want to be so old that when i finish vet school I will not be able to have a family and all of those things.

Also, I believe that whatever GPA I get would go to my last 45 credit hour GPA which some vet schools figure in as well as the science GPA. This program is designed to help people get into vet school. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there is a difference between getting a masters degree and just sailing by with a c avg than getting a masters degree with a 4.0 gpa?

Ah, makes a lot more sense now. And yeah, last 45 would be from grad classes - just sounded like you were counting on it to up the cumulative. I think (as it sounds like you've figured out) you've got to do an either-or, but I agree with Nyanko - if you nail the masters GPA, lab animal medicine can only help you have a stronger application.

If it's designed to help students get into vet school, have you talked to anyone who's been through it before? They could give you a better idea on the culture of the program (i.e. do people usually apply during and skip out the last year? Who knows - it could be something they plan for if it's designed towards future vet students).

 

[Soyjoy]

If you haven't even started the program, you won't have any grades to boost your GPA or any significant experience to write about since apps are due in October. I think it makes perfect sense to apply next year after one year of coursework and a clear agenda to finish your program, which the adcoms will see and like. Like everyone else is saying...

 

[sumstorm]

While I understand the thought process of if you want to be a vet, get to vet school quickly, there is a lot to be said for finishing what you start. If you won't finish what you start in a 2 year program, why should adcoms think you will do so in a four year program?