WAMC c/o 2028... very low GPA

[goosegirl]

Hello everyone!

I am a 22 year old Virginia resident and I am heading into my second gap year after not getting in this past cycle. I don't have any extenuating circumstances or excuses to explain my poor grades. Honestly, I didn't take school seriously for the first 2 years (I had like a 2.4), then COVID hit, and I just wasn't able to get myself up. I've known I wanted to work with animals since late high school but I just wasn't sure what path to take and by the time I cared about getting into/going to vet school it wasn't enough time. I am hoping to get some very honest feedback from peers. I know mostly where my weaknesses are and I am hoping just to hear from all of you! Don't hold back

So this is my second cycle and I plan on applying to VA-MD, Iowa, Colorado, WSU, LMU, and others depending how much I can boost my GPA.

Undergrad:
-graduate from a public university in VA
--Cum GPA: 2.94
--Last 45: 3.15
--Science: 3.2

Vet Experience:
-- VA at GP practice (CURRENT) ~1,200 hrs
-- Shadowing Exotics vet ~25 hrs
-- Volunteer work at spay/neuter and vaccine clinics ~20 hrs

Recs:
--2 vets at my practice
--animal welfare prof
--maybe office manager at my practice (if it would be worth it to get a 4th)

Animal Experience:
--Intern at Wildlife and Large Animal farm/park ~200 hrs
--Volunteering at same place as above (after internship) (CURRENT) ~100 hrs
--Yard Attendant at doggie daycare/boarding facility ~1,500 hrs
-- Volunteer work with local shelter (cleaning/walking/enrichment) ~100 hrs
--Stable Hand at a stable (horses) , some livestock work ~30 hrs

Other Employment:
--Target (style dept) ~500 hrs
-- Other retail job (shoe store) ~2,000 hrs

Other relevant experiences
-- VP with Pre-Vet club (1 year)
-- Academic Committee member with Pre-Vet club (1 year)
-- Member of Pre-Vet club (2 years)

General Plans for Improvement:
--Retaking courses currently with Doane University to boost my GPA and plan to continue doing this for the next year
-- Volunteering with shelter vet, rabies lab, volunteering with humans, currently looking into whatever I can do honestly haha
--Waiting to schedule file reviews and get some feedback that way as well

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[supershorty]

To be honest, I think you may be better served by not applying this next cycle and take some more courses. You need to really buckle down and remediate at least that last 45 as much as you can to indicate that you can handle the rigor of veterinary school. There are some schools that do full grade replacement, but many average your earlier grade (if it was within 10 years or so - it differs by program), and if you're just retaking courses you did poorly in, I'm not sure that will be sufficient to bring your GPAs up to something more competitive.

As an OOS student, I think your finances are better served by not applying to CSU in particular. You'll be much more competitive in the future if you get that last 45 up (significantly - it will need to be pretty outstanding to overcome your cumulative and science GPAs being on the weaker side) and focus on schools that prioritize those more recent credits (KSU, ISU?, UMN, Michigan State are all options worth considering) in addition to your IS program. Because your GPAs are on the low side, you need to apply smart - applying to schools that are exceptionally competitive for out of state admission, like CSU, is likely going to cost you money with little chance of return.

Focus first on getting your last 45 stronger, then think about reapplying once you've gotten that to be competitive.
Good luck!

 

[VeggieTrex]

If you were interested in post-bac programs, I really would recommend the Illinois CVM Post-bac. I would say 70% of my cohort has already applied at least once. The advisors really do care about us, and want the program to do well! The accompanying Master's is also amazing so far.

I'm in a similar place as you academically, and also sympathize. Vet School is very difficult though and it will be worth it to take time and build a strong base. Taking extra time also allows for building a financial cushion. It probably won't be enough to pay for vet school, but deposits, app costs, moving ect. It is possible to go on your GPA, but you may not have many choices.

 

[wayne455338]

I think you know what is the weakness of your application. I apply to WSU and CSU this cycle too and get rejected from CSU and waitlisted for WSU. As an OOS applicant, those schools are incredibly competitive. You can find the class statistics on their websites. The email said that 4000 people applied to CSU and almost 2000 to WSU. the number of applicants is also increasing every year. I only have 1 B and the rest are As for my whole academic career here in the States and still get rejected. I had a bad grade from my country but VMCAS separate them, so I don't know if that matters when the committee reviews my application. Anyway, I would say since you have a poor grade so far, you have to work extremely hard to bring the grade back. I finished 2-year master's program and retake all the prereqs in the last 2 years with straight As. I think this is the only way I would be accepted. Same concept as you as well. You have to bring your last 45 credits higher enough, I would say at least 3.6 to let the committee know you can handle the harder classes and succeed with them. Otherwise, you have average vet experience and animal experience, and there is no outstanding component that impressed me in your application. Another thing is if you did not bring your GPA higher than 3, there are not that many schools you can apply to since a lot of schools have their minimum grade requirement at 3.0. You will get rejected automatically before a real person looking your application.

 

[RazzJazz]

Hello everyone!

I am a 22 year old Virginia resident and I am heading into my second gap year after not getting in this past cycle. I don't have any extenuating circumstances or excuses to explain my poor grades. Honestly, I didn't take school seriously for the first 2 years (I had like a 2.4), then COVID hit, and I just wasn't able to get myself up. I've known I wanted to work with animals since late high school but I just wasn't sure what path to take and by the time I cared about getting into/going to vet school it wasn't enough time. I am hoping to get some very honest feedback from peers. I know mostly where my weaknesses are and I am hoping just to hear from all of you! Don't hold back

So this is my second cycle and I plan on applying to VA-MD, Iowa, Colorado, WSU, LMU, and others depending how much I can boost my GPA.

Undergrad:
-graduate from a public university in VA
--Cum GPA: 2.94
--Last 45: 3.15
--Science: 3.2

Vet Experience:
-- VA at GP practice (CURRENT) ~1,200 hrs
-- Shadowing Exotics vet ~25 hrs
-- Volunteer work at spay/neuter and vaccine clinics ~20 hrs

Recs:
--2 vets at my practice
--animal welfare prof
--maybe office manager at my practice (if it would be worth it to get a 4th)

Animal Experience:
--Intern at Wildlife and Large Animal farm/park ~200 hrs
--Volunteering at same place as above (after internship) (CURRENT) ~100 hrs
--Yard Attendant at doggie daycare/boarding facility ~1,500 hrs
-- Volunteer work with local shelter (cleaning/walking/enrichment) ~100 hrs
--Stable Hand at a stable (horses) , some livestock work ~30 hrs

Other Employment:
--Target (style dept) ~500 hrs
-- Other retail job (shoe store) ~2,000 hrs

Other relevant experiences
-- VP with Pre-Vet club (1 year)
-- Academic Committee member with Pre-Vet club (1 year)
-- Member of Pre-Vet club (2 years)

General Plans for Improvement:
--Retaking courses currently with Doane University to boost my GPA and plan to continue doing this for the next year
-- Volunteering with shelter vet, rabies lab, volunteering with humans, currently looking into whatever I can do honestly haha
--Waiting to schedule file reviews and get some feedback that way as well

If I were in your situation I would look for longer series masters or do a 30 credit hour masters/certificate alongside retaking science courses. In a perfect world, I would do this while working at a mixed/large animal vet or alongside someone in my field of interest with the expectation of a strong recommendation letter/impactful experience.

One thing also is to maybe consider which CVM you would ideally like to go to in the future and try to become a resident of that state. GPA requirements for IS applicants are generally not as strenuous at any CVM so this is definitely something to consider (especially if you're already considering OOS). Some states might consider working part time while in school (at like a post bac program/masters) to meet residential requirements while others do not.

For example, Texas Tech CVM only requires a minimum GPA of 2.9 for both science and cumulative GPA. After this point they don't consider GPA anymore. However, in contrast they are only taking TX (and some New Mexico) residents from rural areas and/or with (at least 6 months I think) experience in rural vet med. If you were already considering large animal medicine in underserved areas moving to Texas and working for a year or two in a rural area is definitely a path to becoming a vet. Following the mission statement or improving the stat your school of choice seems to value highly is definitely the way to go. I got into TAMU with ~750 vet experience hours this cycle after getting my masters (improving my already average GPA). If I had been applying to a different school I would have definitely focused more on diverse experiences, however I knew I wanted to go to TAMU and they cap application points for veterinary experience at ~600 hours after which they are moved to a different category of the application (ex. animal experience).

Overall I would say definitely don't give up! There is definitely a path forward to become a veterinarian! Just really consider what the selection process is at your school of choice and how you can make yourself standout/improve!

 

[goosegirl]

Thank you to everyone for your responses thus far! I appreciate getting all of these helpful tips! I'd love to be able to do a master's or something similar, but it's hard to find something that isn't massively expensive. I understand the costs of vet school are exponentially worse but I am trying to keep myself from having too much extra debt. Does anyone have any budget friendly certificate programs that they know of or anything like that?

 

[VeggieTrex]

Thank you to everyone for your responses thus far! I appreciate getting all of these helpful tips! I'd love to be able to do a master's or something similar, but it's hard to find something that isn't massively expensive. I understand the costs of vet school are exponentially worse but I am trying to keep myself from having too much extra debt. Does anyone have any budget friendly certificate programs that they know of or anything like that?

Illinois MVS comes out to right around 10k. It's all online, but that hasn't been a hindrance to me so far!