Should I even bother...

[Meagabux]

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Today has not been to great of a day for me. I had an emotional breakdown and came to the realization that getting into Vet school is just not going to be a possibility..I have a 2.18 GPA and all I have left are my science classes left...🙁🙁 I'm not even sure what to do right now.

I dont mean to sound like a baby but becoming a Vet is all I want to do and all I've ever wanted to do. I love animals and working for a vet now has fueled my passion for them..My grades just dont reflect that..

I need some advice from everyone...should I continue and try my hardest to get my GPA up as high as it can be...or just change my major?

 

[goldnretrivrgrl]

Today has not been to great of a day for me. I had an emotional breakdown and came to the realization that getting into Vet school is just not going to be a possibility..I have a 2.18 GPA and all I have left are my science classes left...🙁🙁 I'm not even sure what to do right now.

I dont mean to sound like a baby but becoming a Vet is all I want to do and all I've ever wanted to do. I love animals and working for a vet now has fueled my passion for them..My grades just dont reflect that..

I need some advice from everyone...should I continue and try my hardest to get my GPA up as high as it can be...or just change my major?

How far are you into your undergraduate studies? What kind of experiences (animal and vet) do you have? You definitely have to get your GPA up to be considered but if you're not terribly far into undergrad that might not be too awful. Do you have any idea what has caused your grades to be low? Studying problems, familial or health issues?

 

[FleurNoire]

Well, if being a vet is what you really want to do, then go for it. I think it would reflect well on you if schools see that you improved your GPA, especially with the science classes. I mean all you can do if try right? And maybe you don't become a veterinarian, but you can still work in the veterinary field or at least with animals. You can always become a technician, there are lots of specialized areas now such as exotic medicine or emergency. You never know where life is going to take you, so I would suggest still aim for your dream because along the way you might find other opportunities that you never even imagined for yourself. Keep your chin up 🙂

 

[Meagabux]

How far are you into your undergraduate studies? What kind of experiences (animal and vet) do you have? You definitely have to get your GPA up to be considered but if you're not terribly far into undergrad that might not be too awful. Do you have any idea what has caused your grades to be low? Studying problems, familial or health issues?

I am technically a senior. I grew up on a farm so I have always been around Animals and such. Delivering cattle and things of that nature. I am working at a veterinary office now. I do everything. Tech, Reception, and Kennel. I

I played college basketball for 2 years so that was basically the down hill slope of it all. I just didn't ever want to go to class and I was young and stupid. I feel like I have no hope. Honestly. But even now my grades are C's. I just don't try hard enough. I guess..

Wow what a pity party for myself. 🙁

 

[Horsingaround31]

As far as bringing up your gpa, you have options. If you can't do it with the science courses you have left, you can always go for your master's and then apply to vet school. I've heard it's easier to do very well in a master's program, which will help your cumulative gpa, as well as your last 45-hour gpa.

Don't get down about it, though. If you're serious about being a veterinarian, start working as hard as you can in school, keep gaining veterinary experience, and talk to people -- veterinarians, your advisor, professors you like, grad students. You never know when you're going to come across someone who helps you on your way. And don't forget that a low 3.2 or 3.3 gpa can be overcome by an excellent GRE score (especially a high math score) and lots and lots of experience! If you check the successful applicants thread from last year, you may be surprised -- dispersed in between all those 3.7s and 3.8s are a few 3.2s and such with mid to high 700 math GRE scores and thousands of hours of veterinary experience.

 

[Dsmoody23]

I am technically a senior. I grew up on a farm so I have always been around Animals and such. Delivering cattle and things of that nature. I am working at a veterinary office now. I do everything. Tech, Reception, and Kennel. I

I played college basketball for 2 years so that was basically the down hill slope of it all. I just didn't ever want to go to class and I was young and stupid. I feel like I have no hope. Honestly. But even now my grades are C's. I just don't try hard enough. I guess..

Wow what a pity party for myself. 🙁

Eh. If you're getting C's now, it seems like the issue is spending more time on the material and... making it to class.

At some point you have to make the tough decision to really devote yourself to the learning and the grades. Experience and love of animals is great, but it doesn't get you through graduate classes in science.

If you seriously want to become a doc, it's rarely too late. From what I hear, every admissions dept loves a good redemption story, as long as you have the grades to back it up at the end of the day.

But if you don't mentally commit to the hard work, you're wasting your time.

 

[Meagabux]

Should I retake the classes I have C's in? Or is that a waste of time and money?

 

[Dsmoody23]

Should I retake the classes I have C's in? Or is that a waste of time and money?

I'd worry about having your next semester be significantly better than your previous ones. Before you shell out the money to improve old grades, make sure you're able and willing to make that expense worth while.

Get some A's in your current classes and then move on from there.

 

[Robdude]

Just my .02 but....

Getting rejected sucks. I mean, it really sucks. And each time you get rejected from vet school - it gets worse.

This is my fourth year applying. It's a huge burden. Financially, I'm dumping more and more money each year to take more classes to try and bring up my GPA. I've done plenty of unpaid volunteering. I mean, it's one thing when you are a kid in college; but I'm 27.

And it's just as bad on your spouse, depending on their career and goals. Most vet schools are in small towns and it's darn hard to get a decent job in them. I'm in Fort Collins, CO (CSU) thinking I'd be able to get into CSU; the job market here compared to New York or Chicago is non-existent. And, for the last four years I've never been more than 10 months or so from possibly relocating across the country to a new school. It pretty much de-rails your significant other's career.

We bought a house, which in retrospect was stupid. At the time, we were sure we'd get into CSU, being IS - but we were wrong. Now we've got to try and sell the house and move; but we don't even know which state or country we'll be moving to (and that's assuming we get in anywhere). If we sell the house and get in no-where; we'd be homeless. And forget timing the market or any of that. We'll be desperate to sell and will pretty much be forced to take any offer we get.

School costs are outrageous and once you are off the happy path of having a major/being an undergrad student loans get more difficult. I finished an Equine Sciences degree and then was taking classes as a student at large to bring up my GPA. I was working insane hours at a horse farm trying to get my experience hours up; so I never took enough classes to qualify for student loans - but still needed to come up with several thousand dollars each semester. I, literally, can't pay my rent/mortgage (my significant other fits the bill, which makes me feel terrible for being unable to contribute; on top of which, my SO gave up a much better paying/better career building type job in Chicago to live in FC, which just makes it that much worse).

I'm too old to be on my parents health insurance, but I can't afford to pay for my own. That's a big gamble - I'm one bad thing away from crippling financial debt.

I'm not trying to be a downer or anything; I'm just saying - it sucks pretty bad not getting in. If you are 100% 'I'll give my left arm to get into vet school' then sure - go for it. But if you are like, 'Well, I'd love to be a vet, but I could always do X instead' then maybe X is something to look at. I mean, hey, I'd love to be an NBA star; but I'm short, white, and nonathletic. It's just not going to happen.

Just something to think about.

 

[Cautionary Tail]

Should I retake the classes I have C's in? Or is that a waste of time and money?

If you have a C- in any of them, you definitely want to retake if the course is a prerequisite... I don't know of any programs that will accept a C-. For a higher C, it depends. I retook a class I got a C+ in because I knew I could do better. (I'd taken it at the very beginning, it was highly information intensive, and my study skills were pretty much nonexistent at that point.) I got a solid A on the retake, and it really boosted my GPA.

I would worry more about prerequisites than the extraneous stuff. If you got Cs in a number of your science courses, you might want to consider retaking a few to up your science GPA. (Some schools calculate science GPA as a separate entity.) If you got a C in a philosophy class, I'd probably let it go and just focus on nailing the sciences. If you don't want to do a retake, another option is replacing the grade with a higher-level course.

If you're just easing into the whole studying thing, you may want to slow it down and mix a few easier personal interest classes with the science courses. These will help boost your GPA as well, while giving you more time to focus on the prereqs. I saved all my harder science courses for the end, too, and my last year and a half was brutal. 👎 I wish I'd spaced things a little better!

All hope isn't lost, especially if you nail it from here on out. I know someone who got into a Caribbean vet program with a 2.5-ish cumulative. She had lots of research and animal experience, and finished things out on a good note. She probably would have had a hard time getting accepted in the states, but she got in there, and as far as I know, she is doing very well. 🙂

 

[that redhead]

My advice to you is to make a lifestyle change. I came to this forum with a 2.8 and I'm now at a 3.01. I busted. my. ass for every lousy point of that cumulative GPA and you'd better believe that it takes a lifestyle change to make the turn around. You're going to have to learn to go to class and STUDY every day and you're going to act stressed about grades like you've never known. You will have to put in extra time because since you're already a senior (I was a senior too; I've taken an extra year of undergrad), even straight As won't help you that much.

At this point, your GREs and experiences can only help you so much, even if they are stellar. Minimums for even applying at 2.5 at the lowest, 2.8 at most and even 3.0 at some. I would forget about applying for a couple of years at least and work on getting that GPA to qualifying. It's going to be a really long, hard road but if you want it, you'll get it.

 

[Dsmoody23]

Agree 100% with the above. 👍

 

[RaiderTXgirl]

If you have a C- in any of them, you definitely want to retake if the course is a prerequisite... I don't know of any programs that will accept a C-.

I have one C- on my transcript (pre-requisite - gen chem 1), and there are actually several schools that will accept it (I applied to Texas A&M, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and Tufts). I checked with all of them about it after I found out that Wisconsin and Iowa (where I was also planning to apply) would NOT accept the C-. It just depends on where you want to apply.

 

[Cautionary Tail]

I have one C- on my transcript (pre-requisite - gen chem 1), and there are actually several schools that will accept it (I applied to Texas A&M, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and Tufts). I checked with all of them about it after I found out that Wisconsin and Iowa (where I was also planning to apply) would NOT accept the C-. It just depends on where you want to apply.

Good to know... I stand corrected! I must have been going on the basis of one or more of the schools that I applied to. Comprehension FAIL. 😳

 

[jsp132]

with the above posters, you have to make a lifestyle change imo

if it's what you want to do in life you have to make some sacrifices like studying differently, being really dedicated

im 34 and the first time i went to class i was young naive and stupid thinking school didn't matter.......oh yeah lazy to

this second time around i've sacrificed alot of time and money and gotten much better grades

it's all in the effort you put into it 😉 it'll be worth it in the end

 

[PocoCalypsoQH]

I just have another success story to share. This didn't happen to me and it was 25 years ago, but I still feel it has relevance to this topic.

When my uncle graduated from college, he had a 1.8 GPA for a economics degree. (I don't know how someone could even graduate with that low of a GPA, but whatever, it happened.) He went into the world and worked for 7 years and finally decided that he really wanted to be a veterinarian. So he went back to school and got a totally different bachelors in microbiology and graduated again with a 3.8 GPA and was accepted to Davis.

So...it can be done is all I'm saying...it might take a decade tho 🙄

 

[parietal]

Just want to reiterate that it is going to take serious time and a serious lifestyle change if you want this.

If you are halfway through your junior year and have taken a minimum 12 credits each semester, you should have at least 84 credits. With a 2.18 GPA, it will thus take at least 69 credits (at least 4.5 semesters) of a 4.0 to bring you up to a POSSIBLY competitive 3.0 GPA. (Calculate your specifics here: http://www.back2college.com/raisegpa.htm)

If you can't commit to this, or can't accept that the courseload in vet school is going to be much more intense, find your plan B.

And like PocoCalypso said, if you do something else and decide you still want vet school in a decade, schools will be much more forgiving of previous indiscretions if you do well when you go back.

In my opinion, it is much better to make an informed decision as a pre-vet than it is to waste thousands of dollars on pointless applications or, even worse, hundreds of thousands on wasted tuition if you fail out during vet school.

 

[ColoradoDVM]

Vet school is much more challenging than undergrad. If you really want it, you need to do what it takes. Skipping class, not trying hard enough, suggests you are not as committed as those who do attend class and study. If you were to get accepted at this point, I question if you could keep up with the courseload of a PVM program. Is it possible that you have a learning disability? Most universities offer testing, and if you find out you do have a disability, you could receive accomodations.
Other than that, you may want to consider SG or Ross. You could give them a call, talk to them about your current gpa, and see what you would need to do to gain admission. I agree with some of the other posts that you have a long road ahead of you to correct the current sitation.

 

[bee83]

I apologize if this has already been mentioned or is irrelevant to your school, but here is some good advice that I failed to follow when I was a senior undergrad...do not graduate until you are done with your pre-reqs. Sounds like a no-brainer, but I was so eager to have my college degree in hand that I went ahead and submitted my intent to graduate, even though I had hardly even started on my actual pre-reqs for vet school. Now, I have my coveted diploma, but I am pretty much completely ineligible for student loans or free money. It really sucks, and makes things much more difficult. So, put of graduation if you can, and take advantage of the money you can get.

 

[Zusie]

If you don't like school now you're not going to like vet school either. Where I am the first 3 years is just lecture lecture lecture exam. I'm not complaining because I like school and I'm happy to be here but if you're burned out already that's not good if you're wanting to go directly into vet school. And there's a lot of "Why did I do this to myself" thoughts so you just have to be a person that is focused. You need to go ahead and develop that ability now. No matter how much you love animals and how much experience you have doesn't help you when you're losing sleep to come out of a week of practicals, quizzes, and tests intact.

I was always a high B-ish student in undergrad (with some A's sprinkled in) and am basically doing the same in vet school. You don't have to have straight A's to get in. However, you DO need to do better than the 70% range.

 

[masscrash]

I was in a similar situation when applying to medical school. I had a 2.5 the start of my senior year. For the last year of my classes I got all A's. But even then my GPA was 3.0 and wasn't competitive enough. Luckily I had a great adviser who helped me and we decided the best thing for me is to continue with my graduate degree. I got an assistantship which means they pay for my school and I get $800 a month for being a TA for 20 a week. This might also be an option. I got good grades and got to teach the prereq classes for medical school. In my opinion experiences are worth just as much as grades and test scores. You can also use the extra time to apply with the expectations that your not going to get in and use it to get experience in applying and interviewing and find out what else you can do to make your application better. If you really want to become a vet, don't give up. Where theres a will theres a way.

 

[Cautionary Tail]

If you don't like school now you're not going to like vet school either. Where I am the first 3 years is just lecture lecture lecture exam.

To an extent, this is true... but if sitting in lecture for hours on end isn't your thing (I'm an extremely kinesthetic learner, and unless the subject is of great interest to me, hours of just sitting and listening isn't how I operate- I need to move, interact, and do), there are programs that aren't as lecture-based. A heavily PBL-centered program like Western's might be more "you".

Granted, we don't always have much choice over where we end up... but if you find that your learning style doesn't mesh terribly well with what your undergrad program has to offer, this won't necessarily be the case in vet school (if you choose where to apply carefully).

And... for whatever it's worth, I found going to class (for the most part) pretty excruciating until I started hitting the more relevant upper-level lab classes that interested me. I hated taking gen eds. Once I got into stuff like Microbiology, Genetics, Comparative Physiology, Anatomy, Developmental (lab... our lecture was lame 👎), that was when things started to get fun. Even Biochem wasn't that bad (awesome professor- I am so hopelessly not a "chem person").

So, maybe you will actually find that school is easier and more enjoyable now that you're getting into the heavier stuff. You never know. (And, if you do start rocking out the science classes and your GPA is in need of a boost, I can't think of a more application-friendly means of doing so than by indulging in upper-level science electives. 👍)

 

[Zusie]

To an extent, this is true... but if sitting in lecture for hours on end isn't your thing (I'm an extremely kinesthetic learner, and unless the subject is of great interest to me, hours of just sitting and listening isn't how I operate- I need to move, interact, and do), there are programs that aren't as lecture-based. A heavily PBL-centered program like Western's might be more "you".

Granted, we don't always have much choice over where we end up... but if you find that your learning style doesn't mesh terribly well with what your undergrad program has to offer, this won't necessarily be the case in vet school (if you choose where to apply carefully).

And... for whatever it's worth, I found going to class (for the most part) pretty excruciating until I started hitting the more relevant upper-level lab classes that interested me. I hated taking gen eds. Once I got into stuff like Microbiology, Genetics, Comparative Physiology, Anatomy, Developmental (lab... our lecture was lame 👎), that was when things started to get fun. Even Biochem wasn't that bad (awesome professor- I am so hopelessly not a "chem person").

So, maybe you will actually find that school is easier and more enjoyable now that you're getting into the heavier stuff. You never know. (And, if you do start rocking out the science classes and your GPA is in need of a boost, I can't think of a more application-friendly means of doing so than by indulging in upper-level science electives. 👍)

Well, whatever. Mainly what I mean is that with the application process all you can focus on is the end - getting into ANY vet school. There's no point in really thinking past that point until you get in.

However, I remember exactly the moment when me and several of my fellow classmates were at orientation and had the epiphany - "Oh &#%@ now we actually have to SURVIVE VET SCHOOL."

We've lost 4 so far because of falling below that magical 70% mark in one class (okay, they allow you one D but you have to pass a placement test and are on academic probation after that).

Not to be depressing but getting in isn't the light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining! I'm excited about my future and I'm learning a ton! But there are just days where you don't give a crap about the life-cycle of random pig parasites or thresholds for membrane depolarization. But you'd better learn at least enough about it to get the "C" on the test.

 

[TheVetVetVetVet]

I'm not saying for sure you can get in or anything (I also didn't read all the rest of these posts to see if anyone suggested this already) BUT why not try to get in at Ross?

I think you still have a good chance. Their admissions program is advertised as a "humane" approach to admissions - meaning they know that people mess up and still are intelligent and capable of being great doctors. You often can do your residency at great schools like Cornell, Penn, etc., and you get to live in the Caribean.

Not to sound like a poster for the school but if it's your dream and all . . . play the hand you're dealt.

Best of luck.