WAMC? HELP!

[Deacon James]

Hi guys! I’m 25YO and live in Kentucky. Like many, I’ve wanted to be a veterinarian since I was little. I took a turn into shelter medicine when I was 14 and am now the Shelter Director! I convinced myself not to pursue vet school, but here I am. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I do have some backups, as I know my GPAs are low. I’m super worried about my GPA, BUT I want to give it a try. Island schools are not an option.



For this first cycle, I have applied to Auburn, Iowa, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado (MBA/DVM), Oregon, and Kansas.



A short intro about you, where you are from, any previous application results, the school/s you are interested in, your current career interests.



Cumulative GPA: 💥 2.5 💥

science GPA: 3.4 (it’s 3.6 for Iowa)

last 45: 3.8 (it’s 3.85 for Iowa)



Any degrees achieved: Bachelors in Business Administration



GRE results: Didn’t take. Did take CASPER and received 4th quartile.



Veterinary Experience:

• 14,000 hours with a mixed animal veterinarian, primary focus on food animal, equine, and shelter medicine.
• 300 hours with a small animal veterinarian and exotics (I thank her for my collection of turtles and dragons now!)
• 100 hours with an ER veterinarian (equine originally, then small animal)

Animal Experience:

• 19,000 hours with shelter medicine (spay/neuter clinics, grant writing, financial management, oversee community programs and staff at 3 locations). Coordinate with organizations like PetSmart Charities, Banfield Foundation, Bissell Pet Foundation, and Petco for events, grants, and other.
• 3,000 hours licensed wildlife rehabber since 2020
• Multiple apprenticeships with Maddie’s Fund, ASPCA, and Bissell Foundation

Research Experience: 100 hours through virtual Black Footed Cat Research at Loop Abroad.



Awards/scholarships:

• ahhhhh none

Extracurriculars:

• Avid gardener since 2019: canning, selling, and giving vegetables. I love my garden haha.
• Hiking. Avid hiker weekly.

Employment:

• Animal Shelter since 2011
• LVS veterinary clinic since 2016

Volunteer:

• Animal Shelter 2010-2011
• LVS 2011-2016

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[flotus]

Are you sure the schools will look at your application with a 2.5 gpa? Many schools have a hard 2.9-3.1 cumulative GPA cut off for out of state applicants and I want to make sure you’ve done your research on that.

I do know Auburn allows a 2.5 GPA for in state/contract applicants - so you’re good there as long as you’re sure it’s actually a 2.5 and not a 2.49 or something.

Your science GPA is ok but not great. Your last 45 is good though!

Have you thought about a masters degree to boost your GPA and prove that you’re prepared for the academic part of veterinary school? It’s clear you have the experience part covered.

It’s also good to diversify your involvement - not just in vet med. maybe volunteer somewhere new. If you get a masters degree, join a club at the college. Show other interests, maybe some leadership skills.

If you have ~any~ employment outside of vet med that is good to include too! Even McDonald’s. Seriously.

 

[BlueCats]

As you know It’s going to be difficult with your GPA. I would do the math on how many credits you would need to take to raise it to a 3.0. Then consider If you need to pursue a second degree, like a masters. You are below the cut off for most schools, meaning they won’t even look at your application. Even island schools have a cut off, Ross is 3.0 I believe. You need to raise yourself above the GPA cut off before you will stand a real chance. You have great experience, but right now most schools would not even consider you.

Lots of vet schools do say they prefer a breadth of experience, but I will go against the grain and say that I think your depth of experience is incredibly valuable. I would focus on raising your GPA. If you can get some other experience, like shadowing a large animal or equine vet on the weekends, that would be ideal.

Did you already apply? I think Wisconsin has a 3.2 cut off. Michigan might be 2.75.

 

[Deacon James]

Are you sure the schools will look at your application with a 2.5 gpa? Many schools have a hard 2.9-3.1 cumulative GPA cut off for out of state applicants and I want to make sure you’ve done your research on that.

I do know Auburn allows a 2.5 GPA for in state/contract applicants - so you’re good there as long as you’re sure it’s actually a 2.5 and not a 2.49 or something.

Your science GPA is ok but not great. Your last 45 is good though!

Have you thought about a masters degree to boost your GPA and prove that you’re prepared for the academic part of veterinary school? It’s clear you have the experience part covered.

It’s also good to diversify your involvement - not just in vet med. maybe volunteer somewhere new. If you get a masters degree, join a club at the college. Show other interests, maybe some leadership skills.

If you have ~any~ employment outside of vet med that is good to include too! Even McDonald’s. Seriously.

I communicated with a lot of schools and was very transparent about my grades. The ones I applied to all said that there either wasn’t a cGPA cutoff or I met the requirements.

 

[Deacon James]

As you know It’s going to be difficult with your GPA. I would do the math on how many credits you would need to take to raise it to a 3.0. Then consider If you need to pursue a second degree, like a masters. You are below the cut off for most schools, meaning they won’t even look at your application. Even island schools have a cut off, Ross is 3.0 I believe. You need to raise yourself above the GPA cut off before you will stand a real chance. You have great experience, but right now most schools would not even consider you.

Lots of vet schools do say they prefer a breadth of experience, but I will go against the grain and say that I think your depth of experience is incredibly valuable. I would focus on raising your GPA. If you can get some other experience, like shadowing a large animal or equine vet on the weekends, that would be ideal.

Did you already apply? I think Wisconsin has a 3.2 cut off. Michigan might be 2.75.

A masters isn’t out of the woods, but isn’t quite an option at this time. I have a lot of experience with equine, food animal (cows and goats), exotics (birds, reptiles, amphibians), shelter medicine, small animal and wildlife. I did already apply. I spoke with both Wisconsin and Michigan and they both said they didn’t have a cut off (Michigan does a 3.0 for science pre-reqs) and both encouraged me to apply.

 

[flotus]

If you’re not wanting to raise your GPA by taking classes, but you’re worried about your GPA, AND you’ve already spoken to schools about their GPA requirements…what advice are you looking for exactly?

We have also suggested diversifying experience - although you do have quite a lot - and you say you have plenty (which makes it seem like you don’t want to pursue internships, other jobs, etc.)

So what exactly do YOU think you should do to improve your application then?

 

[WonderingStudent]

What is your Instate school?

I know at least some schools have X as their GPA cutoff but depending on how their admissions process operates and the application pool they receive that cutoff can increase. I agree with what has already been suggested. You should seriously consider looking into how many credits it would take to improve your GPA to a 3.0 if you end up needing to reapply. Additionally, ask yourself how long you would stay on this path to get into vet school and when to take the alternate career plans you mentioned above. For example, if it would take you 5 years to get enough money or time to take the needed classes, would that be worth it when you would still have 4 years of vet school ahead of you (assuming you get in that cycle). Even with the best GPA, you can get rejected from vet school - it isn't guaranteed to gain admission with any cycle.

Michigan I've heard that if you meet their GPA cutoff then they no longer utilize your GPA for admissions decisions (but definitely confirm this with other sources as I have mostly received this information from reading posts from Michigan students on the forum). Additionally, Colorado is known to have a large amount of out of state applicants which can make it more difficult to gain admission.

At this point your application is submitted and all you can do is improve your app for future cycles.

 

[Deacon James]

If you’re not wanting to raise your GPA by taking classes, but you’re worried about your GPA, AND you’ve already spoken to schools about their GPA requirements…what advice are you looking for exactly?

We have also suggested diversifying experience - although you do have quite a lot - and you say you have plenty (which makes it seem like you don’t want to pursue internships, other jobs, etc.)

So what exactly do YOU think you should do to improve your application then?

I didn’t say that I don’t want to raise my GPA or that I didn’t want to pursue either opportunities, so I’m not sure where you are getting that information from. I was just trying to think of what my chances are and if there were other suggestions/thoughts. Thanks for the helpful information.