WAMC (Nontraditional, pretty low GPA, decent experience)

[griffinmay]

Hi guys! I'm a 26-year-old NC resident applying this cycle. I have a question regarding the GPA calculations so please let me know if I calculated wrong. I'm under the impression cumulative GPA is the score that a student has received from the most recent institute or does it include the transfer grades as well? I have always been interested in vet medicine but money was always a factor in my family's decisions so I went to community college, didn't have a set direction, and put more focus on work than education the first few years of my college career so my grades were not great.

Sad to say but my dad unexpectedly passing away when I was 22 knocked the sense in me to shoot for my passion. Started this journey in 2018! And still have pre-reqs to complete this fall and next spring so hoping to at least bring my GPA to a 3.4/3.5.

Schools applying to: LSU, Midwestern, NCSU, UGA, UT, St. George's, and VMCVM
Cumulative GPA: 3.357 (was a 3.5 until receiving 2 C's this summer in ochem II and calculus)
Overall GPA: 3.26
Last 45 GPA: 3.36
Science GPA: 3.146
GRE: V: 148, Q: 140, A: not back yet

Veterinary Experience:

• 20 hours and counting shadowing veterinary emergency physicians
• ~3,960 hours (4 years) working as an assistant alongside a veterinary radiologist

Animal Experience:

• ~580 hours petsitting
• 36 hours volunteering at a raptor rehab center
• (in progress) spring 2021 internship rehabbing sea turtles

Research:

• ~240 hours researching canine bronchiectasis including necropsy and case report (soon to be published)

Extracurriculars & Community Service:

• Pre-veterinary medical association club member
• 3 years of playing coed softball

Honors & Awards:

• None at the moment but thinking about applying to scholarships

Other Work Experience:

• 4 years as a Subway sandwich artist
• 3 years as a server in a sports bar

Please be gentle, I've been working hard with what I have 🙂

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[DrinkWater95]

Hi!

I’m pretty sure the cumulative GPA includes transfer credits as well. I also went to community college and I believe those grades were factored in. This is especially true if the courses were prerequisite courses.

You’re not in a hopeless spot, however, your GRE and science GPA may be what holds you back most. Do you have time to retake the GRE? Are you applying to schools that don’t require it (sorry don’t know specific requirements of the schools you’re applying to). Any time to retake some science courses?

Your experience is pretty varied and it’s nice to see you’ve done some things non-vet school related. When writing your essays, I would talk about your transferable skills learned at your customer service jobs/team sports. The only thing that seems to be lacking is large animal experience. Anyway to shadow a vet or do large animal research where you’re at?

There’s sometimes an essay about resilience, this may be a good time to talk about your experience with losing your dad. You took hardship and turmoil and let it inspire you to be a better person.

At the end of the day, I recommend doing some research and applying smart. Look at the % of OOS students accepted at each school and the average stats of OOS students accepted. Additionally, think about cost. Some of your schools listed are pretty up there in terms of cost.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[griffinmay]

Hi!

I’m pretty sure the cumulative GPA includes transfer credits as well. I also went to community college and I believe those grades were factored in. This is especially true if the courses were prerequisite courses.

You’re not in a hopeless spot, however, your GRE and science GPA may be what holds you back most. Do you have time to retake the GRE? Are you applying to schools that don’t require it (sorry don’t know specific requirements of the schools you’re applying to). Any time to retake some science courses?

Your experience is pretty varied and it’s nice to see you’ve done some things non-vet school related. When writing your essays, I would talk about your transferable skills learned at your customer service jobs/team sports. The only thing that seems to be lacking is large animal experience. Anyway to shadow a vet or do large animal research where you’re at?

There’s sometimes an essay about resilience, this may be a good time to talk about your experience with losing your dad. You took hardship and turmoil and let it inspire you to be a better person.

At the end of the day, I recommend doing some research and applying smart. Look at the % of OOS students accepted at each school and the average stats of OOS students accepted. Additionally, think about cost. Some of your schools listed are pretty up there in terms of cost.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for the advice! The only school requiring the GRE is UGA and I think I could definitely retake 1-2 science courses. COVID has made it hard to find facilities willing to let someone new in but I'll keep looking around for large animal. 🙂

 

[Lupin21]

If I recall UGA is hard for OOS as they have few spots and those candidates typically are quite strong. There are hopefully some folks who can point you in school list direction with your stats that might fit a bit better. 🙂

 

[griffinmay]

If I recall UGA is hard for OOS as they have few spots and those candidates typically are quite strong. There are hopefully some folks who can point you in school list direction with your stats that might fit a bit better. 🙂

Thank you I appreciate your feedback! I'm also not against applying next year in order to give me time to beef up my GPA and experiences if you think that'll be beneficial. I want to apply smart.

 

[battie]

Thank you I appreciate your feedback! I'm also not against applying next year in order to give me time to beef up my GPA and experiences if you think that'll be beneficial. I want to apply smart.

With applications becoming more and more competitive (approaching 50% of applicants not getting a seat), I would highly recommend taking the gap year if your heart is set on LSU and UGA. LSU only interviews their top 150 OOS applicants and UGA accepts a super low number of students. As far as getting good bang for your buck, those two arent it.

The gap year would only help you! Or, if your heart is set on applying this year, maybe re-evaluate your school list.

 

[griffinmay]

With applications becoming more and more competitive (approaching 50% of applicants not getting a seat), I would highly recommend taking the gap year if your heart is set on LSU and UGA. LSU only interviews their top 150 OOS applicants and UGA accepts a super low number of students. As far as getting good bang for your buck, those two arent it.

The gap year would only help you! Or, if your heart is set on applying this year, maybe re-evaluate your school list.

Thank you so much for your input! I agree, I'm going to take the gap year to finish up my pre-reqs as well as retake some classes and gain more experience in each category 🙂

 

[battie]

Thank you so much for your input! I agree, I'm going to take the gap year to finish up my pre-reqs as well as retake some classes and gain more experience in each category 🙂

Good luck! 😀