WAMC: 1st Timer. Improved GPA / Fair Experience.

[alyssajustine33]

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Hello -

Thank you in advance!

This is my first time applying. I was originally going to go for the all eggs in a basket approach but I finally realized that is unrealistic and a significant waste of money. I am open to an island or in-state schools. I am just curious about your thoughts on my chance of being accepted.

I am a non-traditional student. I had to take quite a few years off of class due to financial reasons. I ended up sacrificing my studies due to the need to work to have a roof over my head and my grades reflected that. I dropped to a mid-2.0 and then was placed on academic probation. I was at a 2.96 at the end of the Spring 2014 semester before I decided to take time off. Fall of 2020 was my first semester back in classes and I have been working hard to get that GPA up to where I know it should be.

GPA:
Cumulative: 3.42
Science: ~2.63 (If calculated correctly but I know it is low.)
Last 45: ~3.8

Experience:
- I definitely have plenty of hours with veterinary supervision and without. I currently work as a vet tech and have been since August, and more than likely will continue until acceptance (if accepted). I just recently had a knee surgery that has kept me out of volunteering more but I plan on getting more of that involved once I am able to. My experience is in small animals and some large animals, but hoping to try and incorporate exotic into the mix.
- I have some high school accomplishments with band and sports but I have heard mixed reviews on if that should be included.

Awards:
I have made Dean's List Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 so far.

eLORS:
I have two veterinarians, the director of our clinics, and a professor. I am working on getting another professor's letter after I complete my physics summer course.

Some places that I am interested in are:
Michigan State, Kansas State, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Washington State, University of Minnesota / 2+2 Program with South Dakota State, University of Florida, Oregon State, St. George, Ross, etc.

I know I can't apply to the University of Tennessee or Wisconsin because I haven't taken Cellular Biology and I can't squeeze anything else in before end of spring semester 2022.

 

[Lupin21]

Hello -

Thank you in advance!

This is my first time applying. I was originally going to go for the all eggs in a basket approach but I finally realized that is unrealistic and a significant waste of money. I am open to an island or in-state schools. I am just curious about your thoughts on my chance of being accepted.

I am a non-traditional student. I had to take quite a few years off of class due to financial reasons. I ended up sacrificing my studies due to the need to work to have a roof over my head and my grades reflected that. I dropped to a mid-2.0 and then was placed on academic probation. I was at a 2.96 at the end of the Spring 2014 semester before I decided to take time off. Fall of 2020 was my first semester back in classes and I have been working hard to get that GPA up to where I know it should be.

GPA:
Cumulative: 3.42
Science: ~2.63 (If calculated correctly but I know it is low.)
Last 45: ~3.8

Experience:
- I definitely have plenty of hours with veterinary supervision and without. I currently work as a vet tech and have been since August, and more than likely will continue until acceptance (if accepted). I just recently had a knee surgery that has kept me out of volunteering more but I plan on getting more of that involved once I am able to. My experience is in small animals and some large animals, but hoping to try and incorporate exotic into the mix.
- I have some high school accomplishments with band and sports but I have heard mixed reviews on if that should be included.

Awards:
I have made Dean's List Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 so far.

eLORS:
I have two veterinarians, the director of our clinics, and a professor. I am working on getting another professor's letter after I complete my physics summer course.

Some places that I am interested in are:
Michigan State, Kansas State, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Washington State, University of Minnesota / 2+2 Program with South Dakota State, University of Florida, Oregon State, St. George, Ross, etc.

I know I can't apply to the University of Tennessee or Wisconsin because I haven't taken Cellular Biology and I can't squeeze anything else in before end of spring semester 2022.

have you struggled in science classes then?

 

[alyssajustine33]

have you struggled in science classes then?

My grades have shown that I have struggled but it was initially based on poor work ethic and time management. I was young and not focused, and then when I transferred I had to focus on working to be financially stable more than school. I took some time off and have had great grades since being back.

Grades since coming back last fall:
BIO II: A- (Repeat), Equine Science: A+, Veterinary Topics: A, Animal Physiology: A-, Chemistry I: A+ (Repeat), Physics I: B (Repeat), Physics I Lab: A (Repeat), Genetics: A.

 

[Lupin21]

Excellent. You’ll have to make sure the schools you’re applying to don’t have a science minimum. I would use the explanation statement for the early misstep and what you changed to do better. Lots of good comes from the last 45 gpa for certain schools. Kansas specifically 🙂

 

[alyssajustine33]

Excellent. You’ll have to make sure the schools you’re applying to don’t have a science minimum. I would use the explanation statement for the early misstep and what you changed to do better. Lots of good comes from the last 45 gpa for certain schools. Kansas specifically 🙂

I definitely had Kansas on my radar. Thank you!

 

[TabbyCat2]

Michigan State may be a really good option for you. They do total grade replacement for classes that you’ve retaken (a lot of schools don’t, they’ll average the two grades). They also use a holistic approach to selecting applicants. Is your calculated science GPA with total grade replacement or average of all science classes? MSU does require a 3.0 minimum science gpa for file review, so if it isn’t above a 3.0 I would recommend waiting to apply there until you can get your grades up a bit :/

 

[SpiderPony]

Have you taken the GRE?

I had a 3.47 overall, 3.15 last 45 (which went up a little as the cycle progressed, also not considered by all schools) 3.33 science (TMDSAS calculation not VMCAS, I'll see if I can find the other value). I think my GRE score helped me a ton - I'm currently at the only school that didn't drop that requirement for the 2025 cycle because of covid.