LOW GPA ALERT!
I am hesitant to share because I don’t want anyone to think less of me. I messed up during my undergrad and didn’t apply myself the way I am capable of, but I promise I worked my tail off in graduate school and beyond because I was determined to better myself!
But I do think it is important to share this information to show any applicants who are like myself that it is possible to get into vet school with hard work and determination
Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
27, F, TX, Non-traditional, 2nd application cycle
Applied: MSU, KSU, Western U, UMN, Cornell, PennVet, UPEI/AVC, LSU, LMU, UofA, VMCVM, SGU
Rejected: UPEI/AVC, LSU, LMU, UofA, VMCVM, Cornell, UMN, PennVet
Interview Invites: KSU, SGU, Western U, MSU
Waitlist: KSU, Western U
Accepted: SGU FTV Program, MSU
Attending: MSU 💚🤍
Overall GPA: 2.81
Science Prerequisite GPA: this was very variable from school to school, but anywhere between 3.0-3.5 depending on what the prereqs were
Last 45 GPA: 3.67
*I had a couple of Ds and an F that really brought this down. The majority of my credits are Bs. I even have a couple of Ws on my transcript.
Degree(s): BS, Cell and Molecular Biology & MS, Poultry Science (thesis program)
Veterinary Experience:
Small Animal GP - 4000+ hours (spread between 3 different clinics)
Poultry Vet - 100+ hours
Shelter Med - ~40 hours
Animal Experience:
Therapuetic Horse Ranch - ~100
Pet sitting
Pet ownership
(honestly don’t really have that much because by the time I started really working on getting hours, I felt it was more valuable to get veterinary hours over exclusively animal)
Research:
Poultry Parasitology - 4000+ (undergrad, gap year, and grad school)
- 2 first authorships, 3 co-authorships
- Co-taught undergraduate/graduate parasitology lab with another GTA
Extracurriculars/Awards:
Relay for Life - Committee Executive - 500+ hours
Social Sorority - Director of Public Relations - 400 hours
Best Poster - International Poultry Scientific Forum
AAAP Avian Bioscience Scholarship Winner
Non-Animal Employment:
Student Worker - College of Liberal Arts - 3600 hours
Taco Truck - 240 hours
Zoetis Reference Labs (but it’s still veterinary adjacent) - 200 hours at the time of application
LORs:
Assistant Professor/Veterinarian - This was my advisor for Grad School. He is a professor dually appointed in the College of Ag and CVM at my alma mater (Auburn). I was his very first student, and I helped him grow our lab to what it is now. He and I have a very good working and personal relationship, he knows me and my goals very very well! He also has first-hand experience seeing my academic growth between undergrad and graduate school so his recommendation is likely my strongest of the three.
2 Associate Veterinarians at one of the small animal GPs I worked at
Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I went to university. I eventually joined a parasitology lab in the Poultry Science department as an undergrad, which inevitably led me to apply to graduate school. I had no animal science experience, but it gave me an opportunity to apply my molecular biology knowledge to a new field. From there, I was introduced to a new industry and fell in love with it and veterinary medicine. I talked about my experiences post-grad school, from working in a small animal GP and taking post-bac classes. My graduate school experience is highlighted a lot in many of my different essays. It was super formative for me as a student and what led me to realize I wanted to pursue veterinary medicine.
Explanation Statement:
I was honest, I talked about how I was unfocused and unmotivated during undergrad due to a multitude of reasons. Both my parents were pretty sick during my undergrad so that influenced some of it. I had also been officially diagnosed with ADHD and did not do well on medications. I struggled because I really didn’t know anything about college or careers, so there was no motivating factor for me, I was a total underachiever. I talked about how these things held me back from reaching my full potential. I wanted to be better for myself but didn’t know how.
Once I had a strong mentor who saw my potential, everything completely changed. My attitude toward learning took a complete 180 and I sought out the help I needed (therapy) to deal with my personal issues. I saw my graduate program as a fresh start and my own personal redemption arc. I was determined to be the best student I could be, learn as much as I could, and make my PI and most importantly, myself, proud!
NOTES and ADVICE:
Last year I was admitted to Ross Vet Prep, but decided not to attend because it was very unrealistic financially (there is no financial aid). It was a hard decision to make because at the time I felt that was going to be my only offer ever. Ultimately, I’m glad I took this extra year to keep working hard toward my goals and to get into a program that is a great fit for me!
Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. I never shared my stats with anyone openly because I didn’t want to hear what anyone had to say and feel even more discouraged than I already was. I knew that I could be successful and would be a great candidate, it just would take some extra work! In fact, during one of my interviews, my interviewer told and reassured me that I was a unique and competitive applicant. It’s so hard not to compare yourself to others in this process, but we all have such variable experiences and stories that it’s unfair to yourself to compare. For the schools I received interviews at, I knew plenty of other applicants who did not get to the interview stage and who had much better GPAs than myself. I questioned why I made it while they didn’t. I had to actively remind myself that I have a lot to offer despite having had a rough start to my academic career. Remember,
YOU are special and YOU are worthy, regardless of how you think you stack up to others. We all have something special to offer.
You will get there if this is truly your passion and you are determined to make it!
Believe in yourself!
It’s not an “if I get in…”, it’s a “when I get in!”