WAMC c/o 2028 - 2nd time applicant

[elg1096]

Hello everyone!

I am a 26 year old Texas resident and I am in my first gap year. I am planning to apply for the second time this cycle. During my undergrad I unfortunately got a lot of C's in my upper science courses one semester and that took my GPA down quite a bit, I did complete a Masters Program in an attempt to raise my GPA more. I am currently working as a Lab Animal Care Technician and want to become . I am open to any tips or advice from anyone on whether or not I'm a strong enough candidate this cycle.

I plan on applying to: Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kansas, Lincoln Memorial, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, and possibly Wisconsin.

Degrees:

• B.S. Biomedical Science with a emphasis in pre-vet
• M.S. Public Health

• Cum GPA: 2.95
• Last 45: 3.27
• Science: 2.88

Vet Experience:

• ~200 Small animal GP
• ~24 hrs Small animal Emergency medicine (shadowing)
• ~3500 Large animal
• ~6 hrs Shelter med

LoR's:

• 2 vets I work with ( 1 is the director of the department and 1 clinical vet)
• Principal Investigator I've worked closely with in research

Animal Experience:

• ~7000+ hrs Lab animal care tech (rodents + large animal) -CURRENT
• ~500 Kennel tech (small animal)
• ~20 Pet sitting
• ~1700 Veterinary tech assistant (small animal)

Research Experience

• listed above as current role as lab animal technician

Other Employment:

• ~320 hrs US Air Force
• ~20 hrs Retail

Volunteer

• ~450+ hrs total from Spay/Neuter Clinic, fundraising and community engagement

Clubs /Organizations

• Pre vet club
• Pre-Health Professionals club (alpha epsilon delta)
• National Honor Society of Leadership and Success
• American Association for Laboratory Science (AALAS)

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[ch3yruh]

Just wanted to let you know that Michigan wont look at your app because of the 3.0 sGPA cutoff. They denied me after I went through the whole application process because my prereqs were at 2.95 GPA. 😅

 

[miranda920]

TAMU has a HARD 2.9 science GPA cutoff. So just be aware of that if you apply.

 

[matthirten13]

Private Investigator I've worked closely with in research

Animal Experience:

• ~7000+ hrs Lab animal care tech (rodents + large animal) -CURRENT
• ~500 Kennel tech (small animal)
• ~20 Pet sitting
• ~1700 Veterinary tech assistant (small animal)

Research Experience

• listed above as current role as lab animal technician

Is your LoR from a principal investigator perhaps? 😅 There's nothing here to make me think you worked with a private investigator

But overall I think your gpa is likely to hold you back the most. Not an expert on which schools value it less, but def would read through some of the other WAMC threads for lower GPA applicants for advice.

 

[miranda920]

Is your LoR from a principal investigator perhaps? 😅 There's nothing here to make me think you worked with a private investigator

But overall I think your gpa is likely to hold you back the most. Not an expert on which schools value it less, but def would read through some of the other WAMC threads for lower GPA applicants for advice.

Matt don’t sad me, I’m just trying to save them $200

My PI would’ve been way cooler if he was a private investigator lol

I can provide some insight about applying with a lower GPA. Yes, it’s going to be tough. It’s not impossible though.
It looks like you have a lot of things on your application that will make you stand out. Lean into those things and have strong recommendations.
Retake undergrad classes as needed.
I think it’s going to help a lot if you boost that last 45.

As mentioned above Michigan State has a hard cutoff of 3.0 for their science pre reqs. Take a look at those and see if you meet that. They do grade replacement as well.
A&M also has 3 GPAs they look at, you meet their cGPA and last 45 requirement, but not their science GPA. They will not review your application if you do not meet all three.

I would keep Mississippi if with retakes you are over the 3.0 mark, they do total grade replacement.
I’d consider ISU as well.
LSU had a very high GPA cutoff for OOS this year - they don’t publish these number though.
Ohio also has a cGPA cutoff of 3.0 - don’t know if they do grade replacement

You just have to apply smart! I’m not at home right now, otherwise I could put a whole bunch of information together for you!

 

[honeypot999]

I wouldn’t apply for Missouri as they often set their GPA average around a 3.75. They don’t seem very accepting of lower gpas.

 

[elg1096]

Is your LoR from a principal investigator perhaps? 😅 There's nothing here to make me think you worked with a private investigator

But overall I think your gpa is likely to hold you back the most. Not an expert on which schools value it less, but def would read through some of the other WAMC threads for lower GPA applicants for advice.

Yes I definitely meant Principal Investigator lol. Thanks for catching that 😅

I've looked at a couple threads and they had some pretty good advice overall. Some even mentioned some schools I've never considered before.

Matt don’t sad me, I’m just trying to save them $200

My PI would’ve been way cooler if he was a private investigator lol

I can provide some insight about applying with a lower GPA. Yes, it’s going to be tough. It’s not impossible though.
It looks like you have a lot of things on your application that will make you stand out. Lean into those things and have strong recommendations.
Retake undergrad classes as needed.
I think it’s going to help a lot if you boost that last 45.

As mentioned above Michigan State has a hard cutoff of 3.0 for their science pre reqs. Take a look at those and see if you meet that. They do grade replacement as well.
A&M also has 3 GPAs they look at, you meet their cGPA and last 45 requirement, but not their science GPA. They will not review your application if you do not meet all three.

I would keep Mississippi if with retakes you are over the 3.0 mark, they do total grade replacement.
I’d consider ISU as well.
LSU had a very high GPA cutoff for OOS this year - they don’t publish these number though.
Ohio also has a cGPA cutoff of 3.0 - don’t know if they do grade replacement

You just have to apply smart! I’m not at home right now, otherwise I could put a whole bunch of information together for you!

I calculated my GPA for Louisiana state pre-req's and it was 3.11. So I'll need to go back and calculate them for a few of the other schools. I'm definitely open to any additional advice whenever you get some time! I'll private message you!
Thanks!😀

 

[supershorty]

OP, I think it may benefit you not to apply this time around and take some more courses to really focus on getting that last 45 up. Whether it's retaking courses you did poorly in (which, if you choose to do this, you'll want to see how the programs you ultimately decide to apply to handle this; some replace the grades, but others average the two) or taking more upper division sciences, but something where you know you'll be able to really knuckle down and bring that last 45 up dramatically. Because your GPAs are overall on the weaker side, demonstrating that you can handle a rigorous course load is going to be really important. Right now, your GPAs are such that you won't make the cutoffs that some schools have - and that's fixable! But it will take time and I think your money is going to be better spent focusing on that first before reapplying. The programs that don't look at your cumulative GPA do emphasize last 45, and I think those are likely to be the most viable option for you down the road.