I have been lurking around SDN since applications were due. I feel bothered by this and I thought I should share. One of the schools I applied to this year was Kansas State(OOS). Let me start off by saying I am a non-traditional applicant. Completed undergrad in 2002, I was your average student due to working to support myself, and I will admit, at times alittle too much socializing. So I went on to grad school to improve my GPA and prove to vet schools that I can handle the rigorous curriculm etc., I did tons of research, received an award for it, presented my research at conferences, TA two vet school classes and labs, and worked part-time at a vet clinic while getting my master's degree. I did not get an interview at K-State, so I inquired about my application and how I could improve for next year. The response I got back said that they will look at your last 45 credits of undergrad only. They won't look at your grad work, they said most people that go onto grad school receive A's and B's in their classes so it's not a good measure. Do they not believe that people can grow? I am just frustrated and I want to go to vet school so bad!! Thanks for reading my vent!
Thought Grad school would help?
- Thread starter annemal22
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That is frustrating and I'm sorry to hear that. I think a few things to possibly take from your experience is that you need to make sure you stress in your application the changes you have made so that there is no question of whether it was simply easier classes or if you truly made a turn around in your life. Also, all of the vet schools look at different things in making their decisions. Some schools mainly look at overall GPA, some look at science GPA, last 45 hours GPA, GRE, and any mix of those with different percentages. Kansas State has an exact formula they use to decide who gets an interview I think and their formula only looks at undergrad work, but somewhere else might use a different selection criteria. Don't get down, you'll be a vet someday! Did they not give any advice on how to improve your application for next time?
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That may be Kansas's view, but it's not necessarily every other school's view. I would recommend talking to other schools, because when I talked to admissions officials at Tufts, U-Penn, and U-Illinois, I told them I'm considering getting a Masters if I don't get in after my first application and they all supported that idea.
Of course, that doesn't automatically mean that those schools count graduate work in their evaluation of GPA, but I think it's promising!
Tufts also looks at your ENTIRE application before making a decision about rejection, unlike a lot of other schools that look at your GPA and GRE scores 1st and then may toss the rest of the app without looking at it.
Of course, that doesn't automatically mean that those schools count graduate work in their evaluation of GPA, but I think it's promising!
Tufts also looks at your ENTIRE application before making a decision about rejection, unlike a lot of other schools that look at your GPA and GRE scores 1st and then may toss the rest of the app without looking at it.
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I don't think you can say with certainty that your graduate work won't help. You just have to make it through Kansas' first cut for it to be able to help you. That might mean (ugh) going and taking/re-taking undergrad courses, until your last 45 undergrad GPA looks prettier. That would help for Kansas, right?
But like someone else said, other schools probably evaluate your app differently, so if you're open to going somewhere else you might not have to worry about how to fix your undergrad GPA.
PS - That must be really frustrating. I'm sorry.
But like someone else said, other schools probably evaluate your app differently, so if you're open to going somewhere else you might not have to worry about how to fix your undergrad GPA.
PS - That must be really frustrating. I'm sorry.
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That is frustrating. It may have something to do with something that has recently been discussed in this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=698938&highlight=grade+inflation
Specifcally look at the posts by No Imagination and nyanko.
Specifcally look at the posts by No Imagination and nyanko.
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It is very frustrating. What helps me, is to think of the time prior to vet school as a journey. An intellectual and emotional journey of experience that will, in the end, help you be a better veterinarian. (I'm nontrad too!) So while this may not help you with admission into vet school hopefully it will help you cope with the time between now and when you get in and with what other preparations you feel you need to gain admission. Good luck and congratulations on the success you found in your graduate program!
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I think that is very odd that Kansas doesn't look a post undergrad work i.e. masters work. I applied two years ago and didn't get a single interview and then I decided to get a masters. I applied again this year and got three interviews (KSU, ISU, VMRCVM). Did Kansas say how you can improve your application for the next cycle? I know that some schools prefer applicants with an advanced degree, because, like you said, it means you can handle the stresses of a professional curriculum. I'm sorry that it your degree didn't help with Kansas 🙁
Thanks for all the encouraging words!! They actually didn't really tell me what I could do, they said improve the last 45 credit GPA. The thing is in my last 45 credit hours of undergrad I don't really have pre-req's that have grades needing repeating. It was other courses that brought my GPA down in the end. I mean is it really worth taking Microbiology over if I got a B in it? Do they want me to take more undergrad courses over again? I thought that schools frowned upon that and want you to take an upper level of a similar course?? So frustrating, but I REALLY want to be a vet, so I put myself through the necessary hoops.
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Well, if they told you to improve your last 45 GPA, and they also said that for them the last 45 GPA = last 45 UNDERGRAD hours, then it seems clear that you will have to go take more undergrad courses to make them happy. If you can find some upper-level science classes you haven't taken yet, I imagine that would be your best bet (definitely preferable to retaking stuff). But if you can schedule an appointment (might have to wait a few months) and get their exact recommendation of what they'd like to see you take to prove yourself to them, that would be ideal.
KSU puts a lot of weight on GRE. What was yours? I have a feeling that is likely at play? What exactly was your GPA? Thesis/nonthesis M.S?
I'm somewhat curious b/c I'm in the same boat, but i was interviewed and accepted. 3.14 UG GPA, 3.9 G GPA, 760Q, 490V, 4.5 W.
I truly feel for you, but I'd hate for someone to read your story and think it isn't possible.
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I know it is frustrating! You probably need to take a heavy science upper level load for 1-2 semesters to prove your mettle. Research is not the same thing as sitting through 40+ hours of lecture/basic lab every week and and obtaining massive quantities of infomation. I hate benchtop research and still prefer it to endless lecture, and I am thilled to spend time in field or behavioral research! I am sure 2 semeters of upper level sciences at 4.0 helped alot for my app.
Good suggestions, I have thought about doing something like this, but I just don't feel I can afford to quit my job and go to school full time. I am taking a grad course right now in molecular genetics, so I guess next semester I could take an undergrad upper-level class. I have some other schools to get feedback from, they just aren't doing reviews yet.
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May not want to hear this at this point, but I ended up taking General Chemistry I and II over again, while i was completing my PhD in Biochemistry. They didn't want to hear about the grades I got in Adv. Orgo, or Adv. Biochem, they were concerned with the two C's I got in G. Chem I and II, so i retook them both (it was very embarrassing sitting there, but you do what you have to do!)
Also, I never heard of a school not excepting last 45 hour of grad work. That blows
