Re-taking Courses

[Pandacinny]

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So I got denied from my state school (Va/Md) after an interview for the second year in a row. I'm trying to make plans for improving my application.

My science GPA (and regular GPA) is definitely not as high as it could be. I have a couple of C's. I'm considering retaking a couple of courses to see if I can boost my GPA, or at least show that I can do well in these courses.

How exactly does that work? I've heard that vet schools average the grades on retaken courses. Is this true? Do I have to re-take the courses at my undergrad institution, or can I take them again at a different (preferably cheaper) school? If I plan on getting a masters degree (and hopefully doing well), would you guys still recommend retaking my C courses, or will the masters sort of make up for a low undergrad GPA?

 

[mistifical]

I would call whoever the admissions coordinator is for MD residents for advising (I think they said we could do this at the end of March??). I was kind of in a similar situation last year where I had a few F's (Calc 2, who needs it?) that I wanted to make up for, but I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. When I talked to Dr. Feldman last year about this she was very helpful in telling me what would make my application look better (and I didn't end up taking more classes). I have no idea how Va-Md considers graduate courses vs undergraduate prereqs.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

 

[Pennvet]

Adcoms have many formulas for calculating the relative weight of influence that different factors (gpa, gre, vet exp., lor, etc.) will have on their decision, but persistence is not quantifiable. Retake the courses (and totally kill them), diversify your field experience, study hard for and retake the gre, and do something really amazing that you can write about in your PS. Build a relationship with the adcom members, and research all of the professors and possible interviewers at your top choice schools. Be ready to ask questions that are specific to the research that is conducted at the school, and be familiar with important publishings of the school's profs. This is one way to prove that you are ready to be a veterinary student, and by doing things this way, some schools may be willing to make exceptions regarding your gpa.