WAMC- Low GPA, 1st time applicant

[mmelancholy]

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I graduated in 2022 with a BS in Animal Science and Technology.
My cGPA is 2.88, not great, I know.
- Biomedical research technician (mostly pigs, but also sheep, rabbits, rodents and chickens) ~5,000 hours.
- Undergraduate Research Assistant biological control research (bugs) ~300 hours.
- Vet tech in a small animal GP ~5,000 hours
- Wildlife rehabilitation ~50 and completed a basic wildlife rehab RACE course w/ 15 hours.
- Animal shelter experience ~20 hours
- I also put on my application that I was in theater for 3 years of highschool and the historian
- Worked in a restuarant for a year in highschool
Extracurriculars
- Created a self sustaining freshwater shrimp tank since 2023
- Working on self publishing a medieval fantasy novel
- Can veggies/fruits from my garden
I am planning on retaking 8 prereqs that I got below a B in. I am either going to go through a local state school or go the UNE PBPH program as it is fully online and asynchronous and I work full time.
Taking my ALAT exam in May, I have completed 1 semester of the VT program at Penn Foster as I thought maybe I should get my CVT but its not what I want.
I plan on applying to Tufts (IS), Cornell, Colorado, Washington State, U-Penn, and Virginia-Maryland.
I have four LOR in progress, two from veterinarians and two from managers, I still need two from professors/advisors but hopefully I can work that out taking summer courses.

 

[supershorty]

What are your prereq and last 45 GPAs?

 

[mmelancholy]

What are your prereq and last 45 GPAs?

Pre-req GPA is 2.94, last 45 is 2.67

 

[Nash09]

A lot of schools will need a minimum of 3.0 gpa (Virginia-Maryland being one of them). For others that don’t have a minimum, the rest of your application would need to be STELLAR. Penn is one that doesn’t have a gpa requirement, and if you look at the profile for the class of 2029, the gpa range is 2.85-4.0, but the average is also 3.76.
Overall, a gpa of below a 3.0 along with a last 45 gpa that does not show an upward trend is going to be very hard to overcome, and you may not get the results you need fast enough to make it worth applying right now.

ETA: I was in a similar position the first time I applied, GPA wise, and was rejected (in 2016-2017). I gained a LOT of life experience, a masters, and two years of post-bac classes in between then and now, when I received acceptances for this fall (you can search my post in the successful students thread if you want more details on my stats). So it is possible! But it takes a lot of time and effort.

 

[sabza]

Just FYI, Tufts does not accept online labs.

 

[supershorty]

Your application is currently not competitive, and I'd encourage you to hold off on applying this cycle and instead focus that money toward strengthening your application for future years. As Nash said, many schools have a minimum GPA requirement (whether pre-requisite specifically or cumulative), which you do not meet, which would make your application fees donations to those programs. It's not uncommon for applicants to have a weaker GPA in one area or another, but your application is weak in all GPA areas, which is a red flag. You need to have a stellar last 45 GPA that shows you've figured out how to address your academic deficiencies effectively. Otherwise, it's concerning for adcoms that you may not be able to handle the rigor of vet school.

Take some time to markedly improve your last 45 GPA and then look into programs that emphasize that. Best of luck. It's not going to be an easy road, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.