WAMC or should I not even bother?

[bne1218]

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I'll try to keep this short! I know with my current stats I have almost no chance of acceptance anywhere. I was never planning on applying this cycle, I was looking to either get a masters or retake classes and diversify my experience, but part of me just wants to apply for the experience of it.

2023 Undergraduate BS Biology cGPA: 2.84
2025 Took Biochem: Received an A

>12,000hrs ER/ICU veterinary experience (working full time the past 6 years as an ER assistant worked up to unlicensed ICU tech)
1,500hrs working as an assistant for a vaccination clinic
20hrs shadowing at GP
Fostered numerous neonatal kittens over the past 5 years
Fear free certified
Recovery ALS and BLS certified

Would it be a waste to bother applying this cycle or would it be a good experience? I graduated about 3 years ago so I've been out of school for a bit except going back to take biochem last year since I never took it during undergrad. I have recently reached out to several places to volunteer and diversify my experience but what should I do about my GPA? I have over undergrad 140 credits so it'll be hard to make it budge. I was looking into multiple master's programs that are advertised as stepping stones into professional school. I was also looking into Ross's vet prep program. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[JaynaAli]

I would not apply until your GPA is in a more competitive place. Research the heck out of schools and figure out where you will get the most bang for your buck on taking additional classes. Figure out which schools do grade replacement vs averaging of retakes, look at what GPAs each school considers in their calculations…for example, some mostly look at a prereq GPA (which a masters won’t help much if at all), others may put more emphasis on cumulative and last45 (which a masters may help more substantially). But every school does it differently so you will need to do a lot of reading and calculating to really figure out where you’re most competitive. A lot of the time we hear from applicants that a masters doesn’t do as much to increase their chances as they’d hoped, and often retakes are a better option. I’d only do a masters if it helps you get to a plan B in case it doesn’t work out for you. It’s not impossible to get in as a lower GPA applicant but it is an uphill battle and I wouldn’t waste your time and money this year. And honestly by waiting a year or two maybe we can get some improvement on the loan situation created by the Big Beautiful Bill loan changes anyway.