units and credits and quarters, oh my!

[kate_g]

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My undergrad institution did classes thusly: A "credit" or "unit" was essentially one hour of class per week for a semester. The standard 3hr/week class was 3 credits. In my experience this seems to be the most common system. Some places do quarters instead of semesters - this is easy, they give you a formula for turning semester credits into quarter credits.

But I took a couple classes post-bacc just for fun while I was working at UPenn. In Penn's system, the standard 3hr/week/semester class is *one* unit. So while I actually took four 3hr/week classes, my transcript says I have 4 units. I wouldn't care about it looking like four "normal" credits - I have more than enough undergrad credits - but one of the classes I took (physiology) is a prereq for some schools, notably Davis which is my in-state.

So my question for people who have gone through an application cycle is, is there a way to specify on VMCAS what kind of credit system each of your institutions used? Or do I just have to hope they figure it out correctly?

 

[Miranda]

I went to a college (Middlebury) where every course was for 1 credit, which sounds like what you received at Penn. The transcript explain their system, the schools you apply to will see that and most likely have no problem with it. On my application, I "translated" these into semester hours (I put down 3 credits for normal classes, 4 credits for those with labs) with no further explanation. No one seemed to have a problem with it, although perhaps that's why I got a few rejections.... Oh wait. Perhaps that was because getting into vet school is really hard!! 😉

Hope that helps!
Miranda

My undergrad institution did classes thusly: A "credit" or "unit" was essentially one hour of class per week for a semester. The standard 3hr/week class was 3 credits. In my experience this seems to be the most common system. Some places do quarters instead of semesters - this is easy, they give you a formula for turning semester credits into quarter credits.

But I took a couple classes post-bacc just for fun while I was working at UPenn. In Penn's system, the standard 3hr/week/semester class is *one* unit. So while I actually took four 3hr/week classes, my transcript says I have 4 units. I wouldn't care about it looking like four "normal" credits - I have more than enough undergrad credits - but one of the classes I took (physiology) is a prereq for some schools, notably Davis which is my in-state.

So my question for people who have gone through an application cycle is, is there a way to specify on VMCAS what kind of credit system each of your institutions used? Or do I just have to hope they figure it out correctly?

 

[kate_g]

The transcript explain their system, the schools you apply to will see that and most likely have no problem with it.

Yeah, I just can't remember if there's an explanation on the Penn transcript, been a while since I looked at one. Penn as an institution was a little on the snotty side when it came to administrivia - totally unapologetic about the fact that almost everything there is done a *little* differently than most everyplace else, and putting an explanation on the transcript would be admitting that one might reasonably have expected a different system. 🙄

 

[2Bsure]

You could try calling the admissions offices at the vet schools you are applying just to clarify your situation. Most schools should have no problem with that sort of thing.

 

[LynnKat]

I had the same problem, and also translated the credits into normal semester hours on my VMCAS. I had no problem with anything counting for pre reqs, though different schools (where I saw my calculated GPA) calculated my GPA differently. For example at LSU they just multiplied by the credit on my transcript so only counted my full course for one credit in my GPA, while at Illinois they multiplied each of the course units by 3 to get 3 credits for a regular class and 1.5 for a lab. No problems with the classes satisfying requirements though.

Best of Luck!

 

[kate_g]

You could try calling the admissions offices at the vet schools you are applying just to clarify your situation. Most schools should have no problem with that sort of thing.

Yeah, I was hoping someone could tell me there was a standard solution... If I call several schools and get told to do several things, then which do I actually do on the application? Clearly the strategy recommended by my top choice school, but anyway... 🙂

 

[HorseyVet]

So my question for people who have gone through an application cycle is, is there a way to specify on VMCAS what kind of credit system each of your institutions used? Or do I just have to hope they figure it out correctly?

That's sort of what I did. I had a lot of courses that didn't fit neatly in the blanks etc....If I recall though VMCAS has a little space next to each course where you can write a little note about the course, which I did if if it didn't fit neatly.

No schools said that I didn't meet the pre-reqs, so I think what I did worked. Like others said, its good to just call and/or have a follow-up call just saying that you weren't sure if everything was clear....that way it doesn't look like you did anything funny and they can just ask if they had a problem. I did have schools call me about a few things just to make sure that my application was complete. I think so long as you get it in, you'll be okay and they'll work with you from there.

Good luck

 

[PAThbrd]

There is also an explanation box on the VMCAS, right after the personal statement box. I used it to explain some transcript related stuff and no one seemed to have a problem with it...

 

[cyrille104]

I go to a school which is on both quarters AND units. What a pain, let me tell you. The school that the credits are from should give you a standard conversion, though.

 

[JIKJen124]

I think the instructions for VMCAS were pretty clear - put whatever your transcripts actually say. In the case of Penn (I took some post-bacc classes there as well), I just put the CUs as listed on my transcript. The conversion is listed on the Penn transcript to vet schools can then translate it as they feel necessary. I am doing conversions for supplements as they ask for overall GPA.

I did list my Penn GPA in the explanation section.