WAMC c/o 2028

[gingertabby99]

Hello! I’m a 22-year-old Maryland resident who graduated from college this past May. I’m planning on applying for the class of 2028 and this would be my first time applying. I’m mainly concerned that my GPA is too low and that I don’t have enough vet experience. If anyone has feedback or advice it would be greatly appreciated!

Cumulative GPA: 3.48
Science GPA: haven’t calculated, likely 3.3-3.4
Last 45: not sure how to calculate because every class was only worth one credit at my college, so I have 39 credits for my entire college career. I’m not sure what the last 45 credits would translate to in my case

Degrees achieved: Graduated May 2022 with a BA in biology

Applying to: definitely VMCVM, also considering Penn, NCSU, and Tufts

GRE: not taking

Vet experience:
Vet assistant at a small-animal GP clinic (725 hours, ongoing, dogs and cats only)

Animal experience:
Horseback riding weekly for 15 years (3000 hours)
Camp counselor at riding camp (~200 hours)
Pet-sitting (~100 hours)
Sea turtle rescue internship: hours TBD, starting in November and running until February or March

Research experience:
Worked with one of my professors and another student on a project about the effects of aquatic pathogens on tadpoles, also created a poster and presented it at biology department poster session (~100 hours)

Awards/scholarships: Fear Free certified (doesn't really fit in this category lol I just didn't know where else to put it)

Extracurriculars:
Wind ensemble
College swim team (only freshman year)
Horseback riding
Whistling a cappella group
Varsity swim team in high school
Pit orchestra in high school

Non-animal employment: Swim coach (~1000 hours, will continue to increase as I plan on coaching as long as I can)

Concerns/questions:
Like I said, my main concern is my GPA. I have one C- in orgo 2, everything else is in the A and B ranges. Should I try to retake orgo 2? VMCVM, Penn, and NCSU all either don't require it or will accept a C-. Tufts requires it, but I couldn't find anything about minimum prerequisite grades on their website.

I also know I don’t have a great variety of veterinary hours. The sea turtle rehab internship will hopefully involve some vet hours, but I’m not sure how many yet. Beyond that, I'm going to look into finding an exotic/large animal/equine vet to shadow.

This is less of a concern and more of a question: My mom is a vet and I’ve helped her for the past several years with some at-home procedures on our own medically complicated pets/animals we’ve fostered. Most of it has been stuff like restraining for vaccines/blood draws, helping give sub-q fluids, etc. I know pet ownership doesn’t usually count for anything, but should I mention this anywhere when I apply? Realistically, the number of total hours wouldn’t add up to much, and I don’t want to overstate my involvement. If nothing else, having a veterinarian parent gave me a lot of insight and exposure to the positive and negative aspects of being a vet.

My mom and her (deceased) grandfather are also both PennVet graduates, not sure if that would help me at all for Penn.

Thank you!!

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[max_wildlife]

Hey @gingertabby99 , I wouldn't sweat the C- in Orgo II for Tufts, but you can contact Patty at admissions for more clarification/assurance. I got into Tufts with many a C, C- and W, with a 3.4 cumulative GPA. Many of my classmates had higher GPAs, sure, but it wasn't the rule. Tufts will like the sea turtle rehab internship and your animal experience. Some people get in with relatively little vet experience, too. Full disclosure though,that wasn't me - I made up for my gpa with clinical wildlife/shelter time. But Tufts can be unpredictable. They'll also like your extracurriculars; I spoke to admissions at some point in a brief leadership position and they're looking to admit people with interests outside of the animal world too.

I can't really speak to anything else, though. Just that at least for Tufts, your GPA doesn't put you out of the running.

 

[WonderingStudent]

Last 45: not sure how to calculate because every class was only worth one credit at my college, so I have 39 credits for my entire college career. I’m not sure what the last 45 credits would translate to in my case

My undergrad did the same with the credit system. Look into if your school says online somewhere or speak to your college admins to see if they have a number of credit hours their credits are equivalent to. This will also be helpful for when you are filling out VMCAS and have to assign courses to prereqs (a lot of schools say X credit hours for prereqs which is annoying for undergrads that don't have that system of credit hours).

Recommend diversifying your vet experiences ie work/volunteer/shadow at a specialty/Large animal/exotic facility. Unsure what your end goal is but for example if you are planning on writing you want to become a Cardiologist in your essays you need hours to show that you have explored this area and demonstrate this is a path you are passionate about.

Fear Free is more likely to be listed as an extracurricular.

Your GPA is fair - I've seen people get accepted with lower GPAs and rejected with higher. If you're able to increase your GPA then that can help - ie retake orgo 2 and get a better grade then that would demonstrate to schools you can handle that course load - but if that's not possible/not worth paying for tuition then it is possible to be accepted with that GPA.