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What are my chances?

  • Great!

    Votes: 12 8.8%
  • Good, but some areas could be improved

    Votes: 28 20.6%
  • You're a pretty average candidate, so it could go either way

    Votes: 21 15.4%
  • Not great, but there's room for improvement

    Votes: 7 5.1%
  • Have you considered under water basket weaving?

    Votes: 68 50.0%

  • Total voters
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Hi guys!

I applied to 6 vet schools this cycle (Michigan State, Ohio State, Missouri, Illinois, NC State-IS, and Purdue) and was denied admission everywhere. I received an interview to Purdue but was not admitted. My science GPA is low due to 4 C's in Orgo 2, Physics 1, Genetics, and Microbio. My science GPA comes out to a 3.18, my last 45 credits is a 3.31 and my overall GPA is a 3.52. I was told that my GPA was just too low to compete but that retaking classes wouldn't do much to boost my GPA. I'm considering going to get my Masters in Animal Science since if I don't get into vet school, I'll need the degree anyway and it could boost my chance of being admitted. However, I was told by a professor that vet school's don't want to pull students out of Master Programs so I'd have to wait 2 years before I could apply and be considered again.

Is this true? Will there be any use in applying this upcoming cycle? Should I skip the masters and just gain more experience and apply one more time before getting a Masters?

The fact that you were rejected everywhere really shocks me, to be honest. My stats are lower than yours and this really just killed my confidence . My plan is to do a one year masters if I don't get accepted my first application cycle.


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(First time posting on here so please bear with me!)

I'm currently finishing my undergrad and I plan on applying to vet school for the first time this upcoming cycle. I am worried I won't get accepted due to a low gpa :( My cum gpa is a 3.12 and my science gpa is roughly a 2.99 (without this last semester and summer courses). I had some issues occur during my undergrad that ultimately affected my grades.
I have animal experience with:
  • a rescue shelter for cats and dogs
  • vet assistant with an in-home vet
  • shadowing a vet that owns their own clinic (and working there as well)
  • interning with a vet at an equestrian center
  • an animal caretaker at a wildlife rehab center (now working with the vet in the clinic there)
I am still planning to do numerous things to gain more experience but I am worried about my gpa holding me back. I really want to get into vet school and I am aware that I probably won't get accepted on my first try. Please give any feedback or advice!!! I'd appreciate anything.
 
(First time posting on here so please bear with me!)

I'm currently finishing my undergrad and I plan on applying to vet school for the first time this upcoming cycle. I am worried I won't get accepted due to a low gpa :( My cum gpa is a 3.12 and my science gpa is roughly a 2.99 (without this last semester and summer courses). I had some issues occur during my undergrad that ultimately affected my grades.
I have animal experience with:
  • a rescue shelter for cats and dogs
  • vet assistant with an in-home vet
  • shadowing a vet that owns their own clinic (and working there as well)
  • interning with a vet at an equestrian center
  • an animal caretaker at a wildlife rehab center (now working with the vet in the clinic there)
I am still planning to do numerous things to gain more experience but I am worried about my gpa holding me back. I really want to get into vet school and I am aware that I probably won't get accepted on my first try. Please give any feedback or advice!!! I'd appreciate anything.
Definitely work on getting your gpa up. Some schools won’t even look at you if you don’t meet their minimum GPA requirements. For Michigan State you have to have a 3.0 in science and last 36 gpa (maybe cumulative too?) and then after you make it to phase 2 where they look at the rest of your app, they don’t care about your gpa anymore.
What does your last 45 gpa look like? And are there any prerequisites you got a C in that you could retake for a higher grade? Some schools average the two and some replace with the new grade. Michigan State takes the higher grade I believe.
Research the schools and find out how you can make yourself a better candidate for the ones you have a decent chance at and do those things. Apply smartly and don’t apply to schools who weigh cumulative gpa super heavily.
 
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The fact that you were rejected everywhere really shocks me, to be honest. My stats are lower than yours and this really just killed my confidence . My plan is to do a one year masters if I don't get accepted my first application cycle.


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It really depends on what schools you apply to and how they look at their candidates. Some don’t focus on gpa as much, some do. If your gpa isn’t the strong part of your application, don’t apply to schools that put a heavy weight on them.
 
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How many hours of experience of the different types do you currently have?
Also, MSU doesn’t care about your gpa beyond making sure you meet their minimum requirement of a 3.0. If you still were looking for a masters program, there ARE some one year masters out there, but I don’t know when the app deadlines are. Could also find some schools that replace the grade with the retaken grade instead of averaging the two and that would boost your GPA as well.

I have about 260 hours of Animal Experience with pet sitting and being a turkey and swine farm employee, about 500 hours of research experience working with poultry and swine, and about 800 hours of Veterinary Experience in a SA Emergency/Specialty clinic, a GP clinic, and about 20 hours of exotic experience. I met MSU's minimum requirements but my application score was a 7.0 and only students with an 8.5 or higher were invited to interview. I know there are some one year Masters but the only ones I've found that I'm interested in require me to move to a different state and I'm just not sure its worth uprooting my life for a year. I know UF has online programs but they're nothing that I would be interested in using if I don't get into vet school :/

It really sucks because I have a ton of animal/vet experience and leadership experiences, but the only thing holding me back is my GPA. NC State is my In-State and they don't take the higher grade even if I retake the classes. I really don't know what to do and I feel like maybe I'm just not meant to be admitted :/
 
The fact that you were rejected everywhere really shocks me, to be honest. My stats are lower than yours and this really just killed my confidence . My plan is to do a one year masters if I don't get accepted my first application cycle.


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I was honestly extremely disappointed and shocked that I did't at least get invited to interview at more places :( I really didn't see this coming and now I'm not sure what to do. If I had to re-do applying, I'd definitely apply to LMU and Western. I counted them out because I thought my experience would make up for my GPA at the bigger schools but it definitely didn't...
 
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Definitely work on getting your gpa up. Some schools won’t even look at you if you don’t meet their minimum GPA requirements. For Michigan State you have to have a 3.0 in science and last 36 gpa (maybe cumulative too?) and then after you make it to phase 2 where they look at the rest of your app, they don’t care about your gpa anymore.
What does your last 45 gpa look like? And are there any prerequisites you got a C in that you could retake for a higher grade? Some schools average the two and some replace with the new grade. Michigan State takes the higher grade I believe.
Research the schools and find out how you can make yourself a better candidate for the ones you have a decent chance at and do those things. Apply smartly and don’t apply to schools who weigh cumulative gpa super heavily.

My last 46 gpa is a 3.4. There are some courses I can retake again to receive a better grade but I guess I am wondering now is it worth to even apply at this cycle? I have read previous success threads from previous years of applicants getting accepted with relatively low gpa's so I am somewhat holding on to that hope.
 
I have about 260 hours of Animal Experience with pet sitting and being a turkey and swine farm employee, about 500 hours of research experience working with poultry and swine, and about 800 hours of Veterinary Experience in a SA Emergency/Specialty clinic, a GP clinic, and about 20 hours of exotic experience. I met MSU's minimum requirements but my application score was a 7.0 and only students with an 8.5 or higher were invited to interview. I know there are some one year Masters but the only ones I've found that I'm interested in require me to move to a different state and I'm just not sure its worth uprooting my life for a year. I know UF has online programs but they're nothing that I would be interested in using if I don't get into vet school :/

It really sucks because I have a ton of animal/vet experience and leadership experiences, but the only thing holding me back is my GPA. NC State is my In-State and they don't take the higher grade even if I retake the classes. I really don't know what to do and I feel like maybe I'm just not meant to be admitted :/
Have you done/scheduled file reviews with the schools you applied to? That’s the only way to know why you didn’t get an interview or weren’t accepted and how to improve your application.
 
My last 46 gpa is a 3.4. There are some courses I can retake again to receive a better grade but I guess I am wondering now is it worth to even apply at this cycle? I have read previous success threads from previous years of applicants getting accepted with relatively low gpa's so I am somewhat holding on to that hope.
You’re the only one that can make the decision on whether you should apply this cycle or not. There ARE schools that look at applicants as a whole and that your GPAs aren’t everything, but you have to make up for the lower gpa in the other areas.
You are also given the short optional explanation statement section to explain a bad portion of your schooling, but it’s not a place for just giving excuses or placing blame on someone/something else. You have to show how you’ve learned and grown from it and what you’ve done to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again.
Try looking into schools GPA minimum requirements and their average accepted GPAs and GRE scores. If you haven’t taken the GRE yet, make sure to rock it out of the park because a high gre could help you make up a bit for your lower GPAs.
 
I met MSU's minimum requirements but my application score was a 7.0 and only students with an 8.5 or higher were invited to interview.

To my understanding, MSU doesn't look at your GPA at all once you clear the minimum. If you had a 7.0 and the average interviewee had an 8.5 or higher, that means that there are OTHER parts of your application that are holding you back because GPA isn't included in that score. (Somebody at MSU can correct me here if I'm wrong.)


I have about 260 hours of Animal Experience with pet sitting and being a turkey and swine farm employee, about 500 hours of research experience working with poultry and swine, and about 800 hours of Veterinary Experience in a SA Emergency/Specialty clinic, a GP clinic, and about 20 hours of exotic experience.

It really sucks because I have a ton of animal/vet experience and leadership experiences, but the only thing holding me back is my GPA. NC State is my In-State and they don't take the higher grade even if I retake the classes.

I'm sure that this isn't what you want to hear, but based on the numbers you posted I think you are actually a below average applicant, especially in terms of animal experience and to some extent veterinary experience.

Not every school posts experience hours for successful applicants, but applicants with more than 1,000 hours of animal experience and more than 1,000 hours of veterinary experience seem to be the norm for schools that do post that information. Look through the admitted applicant stat thread and jot down some notes about the types of experiences that people with lower end GPAs had. My impression is that most of them had way above average veterinary hours because they worked either full time or part time for years in a veterinary setting. (Granted I haven't sat down and crunched the numbers, so maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to bet money on it.)

Also, NC State will average in the GPA of any courses that you re-take. If you retook those four courses and got A's in all of them you could potentially raise your pre-req GPA from about a 3.18 to a 3.36 for NCSU. Not a huge jump, but it would be noticeable and push you closer to the mean pre-req GPA for NCSU, which they post as 3.61. It would also push up your last 45 closer to the mean - the average successful applicant has a 3.72; if you retook 16 credits worth of courses and got straight A's you'd pull yourself up to ~3.55. Your overall GPA probably wouldn't move much, but you're not very far off of that stat anyway (3.52 for you vs. 3.64 for average applicant).

Honestly, your current GPA stats fall within the ranges given by the school for admitted in-state applicants (3.14-4.00 for cumulative GPA, 3.30-4.00 for last 45, and 2.97-4.00 for pre-reqs). Given that reality, if I were you I would be looking into what other parts of your application could be strengthened, not just your GPA. Your GPA isn't doing you any favors, but it is definitely not the only thing holding you back.

If I were you I would:

1. Get feedback during a file review with any program that will give you one. You won't know if programs didn't like your essays or if one of your LORs was garbage unless someone tells you. Essays and LORs are important parts of your application and having really stellar application materials can help you overcome a sub-par GPA. (Same goes for GRE score for programs that want them - make sure you are getting above average if you want to compensate for below average GPA.)

2. Focus on getting more experience.
First: buff up your veterinary experience in 1-2 different diverse fields if you can - more exotics, shelter med, large animal, lab medicine, etc. You have plenty of small animal already, but if that's the easiest for you to increase your hours in because you can get a job at a clinic, go for it. If I remember the admissions site, NCSU wants to see experience in at least 3 different aspects of the profession: you have a lot of hours in one area (small animal) and a small number in a second (exotics).
Second: get more hours with animals. Easiest way is volunteering at an animal shelter or working on a farm (it sounds like you may already have connections with one)

3. If you want to improve your GPA, start by retaking those 4 classes that you got a C in. You can't improve your pre-requisite GPA unless you do that, and pre-req GPA is usually it's own stand alone part of the application for schools.

4. Do a Master's if there is one that speaks to you. You could also do an undergraduate certificate or graduate certificate in a field that interests you, or delay your graduation and add a double major or a minor to your current degree program (if you are still in school). All of those things should only take about a year. You could also just take a few classes relevant to vet-med to boost your last 45 GPA without being in a degree program.

Only pursue further education, especially if you will accrue debt while doing so, if it will help you in an alternate career. Don't go just for GPA fodder, and I'd prioritize getting tons of experience over accruing debt to strengthen your application. If you go the school option, ideally choose something that will count toward your science GPA. (I think somebody on this forum was told by a program that the online UF programs don't count toward science GPA? Make sure you ask any schools you plan on (re)applying to how programs will count on your application.)
 
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Hi guys!

I applied to 6 vet schools this cycle (Michigan State, Ohio State, Missouri, Illinois, NC State-IS, and Purdue) and was denied admission everywhere. I received an interview to Purdue but was not admitted. My science GPA is low due to 4 C's in Orgo 2, Physics 1, Genetics, and Microbio. My science GPA comes out to a 3.18, my last 45 credits is a 3.31 and my overall GPA is a 3.52. I was told that my GPA was just too low to compete but that retaking classes wouldn't do much to boost my GPA. I'm considering going to get my Masters in Animal Science since if I don't get into vet school, I'll need the degree anyway and it could boost my chance of being admitted. However, I was told by a professor that vet school's don't want to pull students out of Master Programs so I'd have to wait 2 years before I could apply and be considered again.

Is this true? Will there be any use in applying this upcoming cycle? Should I skip the masters and just gain more experience and apply one more time before getting a Masters?
I too have a very similar GPA like you (overall GP 3.28, last 45 credit GPA 3.49, and science GPA 3.24) and also applied to 5 vet schools this cycle, including NCSU (my IS) and MSU. NCSU rejected me (yet again!), but I was surprised that MSU offered me an interview followed by an acceptance which I was not expecting! It just goes to show you that GPA is not everything. ;)

I think @britzen touched on some key points above that I won't repeat here. Even though my GPA was less than stellar, I made up for it by having thousands of hours in veterinary and animal experience and a wide variety of it too. I really think that helped me stand out and showed that I had a good understanding about the profession beyond shadowing. I'm a non-traditional student, so my SA vet experience wad roughly 6,000 hours total over working at 2 different clinics - along with vet hours in exotics, avian-only, and a veterinary diagnostic lab for the state of NH. Likewise, my animal experience was also in the thousands.

I would definitely get file reviews and figure out what areas of your application you can improve on. You may not be able to make a big dent in your GPA (like me, that was not a possibility), but you certainly can stand out in other areas!

Keep your hopes up! You'll get there one day. :)
 
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To my understanding, MSU doesn't look at your GPA at all once you clear the minimum. If you had a 7.0 and the average interviewee had an 8.5 or higher, that means that there are OTHER parts of your application that are holding you back because GPA isn't included in that score. (Somebody at MSU can correct me here if I'm wrong.)
Nope you’re correct on that. And all interviewees had 8.5 or higher, not just averaged
 
Nope you’re correct on that. And all interviewees had 8.5 or higher, not just averaged

My bad - it said that up there. Any idea how that is calculated? Might help OP narrow down biggest impact areas to improve on...
 
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My bad - it said that up there. Any idea how that is calculated? Might help OP narrow down biggest impact areas to improve on...
An obnoxious method where there’s different categories and the only way to get the full points for the agriculture category is to have grown up on a farm :yeahright:

MSU will do file reviews over the phone or in person though, so OP should schedule one.
 
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I only know that it was people with 8.5 or higher because I got the same email :yeahright:
An obnoxious method where there’s different categories and the only way to get the full points for the agriculture category is to have grown up on a farm :yeahright:
(But other than that I can’t remember what the categories are for the life of me)

Uh, solution... helllllooooo??? We clearly need to buy a hobby farm together. :chicken:
 
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I decided to crunch the numbers because I was curious. Based on the 77 people who have posted on the 2022 accepted applicant thread here are the average stats for successful SDNers:

Cumulative GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: 3.58
Last 45 GPA: 3.75

GRE: 312

Veterinary Hours: 2358 (<<about 1900 if you exclude people the two people with over 15,000 hours)
Animal Hours: 1686 (<<about 1200 if you exclude the only person with over 10,000 hours)
Research Hours: 650 (<<436 if you exclude the one person with over 15,000 hours)


The averages for applicants with lower than average GPAs listed in categories below... In short:
1. 2000+ more veterinary hours than average
2. ~equivalent GRE scores
3. below average animal hours
4. ~average to above average research hours
5. some have compelling personal narratives as 1st gen students or published research experience

(Note if someone was waitlisted somewhere I counted it as a rejection... Only if to simplify my life, but also because they weren't in the first cut so didn't get an outright acceptance at first go)


Below 3.00: 2 people
Average GRE 313
Vet hours: 3910
Animal Hours: 542
Research Hours: 400
Other notes of interest: only 2 people in this category (2.5% of applicants); 2 males and no females; 1 published author; 1 student had a last 45 above 3.9; neither was accepted to their IS option

Below 3.20: 7 people
GRE: 310
Vet Hours: 4825
Animal Hours: 899 (<< several people indicated they had a lot of hours here, but didn't list totals so average is likely higher than this)
Research Hours: 800
Other notes of interest: 7 people in this category (9% of applicants); 2 females and 5 males; in addition to the published author, there was also a 1st generation college student; additionally, 2 out of 4 of the students who had 3.1 or below had last 45s above 3.9


Below 3.3:
GRE: 312
Vet Hours 4608
Animal Hours: 840
Research Hours: 565
Other notes of interest: 16 people in this category (21% of applicants) - 9 females and 7 males; in addition to the above, there is another published author and another 1st generation college student

Below 3.4:
GRE: 311
Vet Hours: 4499
Animal Hours: 983
Research Hours 473
Other notes of interest: 19 people in this category (25%) - 11 females and 8 males; average last 45 was above 3.5 and about 1/3 had last 45 GPAs above 3.7

Also interesting:

75% of males who indicated acceptance on the thread had below a 3.4 (8 out of 12). For accepted females, only 14% had lower than a 3.4. So something to keep in mind when evaluating your chances compared to other applicants. This could be an effort by the schools to have diverse classes based on gender, or maybe indicates some self-selecting bias based on stated career interests (I think 4-5 of the guys expressed interest in food or large animal medicine which seems like a higher than average proportion compared to the overall vet applicant pool). It could also come down to experiences (both published authors and both 1st generation college students were male) or strong science GPAs or strong last 45 GPAs (3 out of 8 under 3.4 had last 45 GPAs over 3.9) or the specific programs they applied to... I didn't deep dive on it, but I do think it would be interesting to look into more.

Applicants on the lower end of things also applied to an average of 8 programs versus about 5 for applicants with above a 3.4.
10 out of 14 people who applied IS were accepted (the other 4 had known rejections or waitlist results)
13 out of 15 people who applied OOS were accepted to a program
10 people total were rejected from at least one OOS programs. (Note: Not all programs had offered results yet.)
I'd also be interested to go back through and see what schools students were applying to / being accepted to...
 
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I decided to crunch the numbers because I was curious. Based on the 77 people who have posted on the 2022 accepted applicant thread here are the average stats for successful SDNers:

Cumulative GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: 3.58
Last 45 GPA: 3.75

GRE: 312

Veterinary Hours: 2358 (<<about 1900 if you exclude people the two people with over 15,000 hours)
Animal Hours: 1686 (<<about 1200 if you exclude the only person with over 10,000 hours)
Research Hours: 650 (<<436 if you exclude the one person with over 15,000 hours)


The averages for applicants with lower than average GPAs listed in categories below... In short:
1. 2000+ more veterinary hours than average
2. ~equivalent GRE scores
3. below average animal hours
4. ~average to above average research hours
5. some have compelling personal narratives as 1st gen students or published research experience

(Note if someone was waitlisted somewhere I counted it as a rejection... Only if to simplify my life, but also because they weren't in the first cut so didn't get an outright acceptance at first go)


Below 3.00: 2 people
Average GRE 313
Vet hours: 3910
Animal Hours: 542
Research Hours: 400
Other notes of interest: only 2 people in this category (2.5% of applicants); 2 males and no females; 1 published author; 1 student had a last 45 above 3.9; neither was accepted to their IS option

Below 3.20: 7 people
GRE: 310
Vet Hours: 4825
Animal Hours: 899 (<< several people indicated they had a lot of hours here, but didn't list totals so average is likely higher than this)
Research Hours: 800
Other notes of interest: 7 people in this category (9% of applicants); 2 females and 5 males; in addition to the published author, there was also a 1st generation college student; additionally, 2 out of 4 of the students who had 3.1 or below had last 45s above 3.9


Below 3.3:
GRE: 312
Vet Hours 4608
Animal Hours: 840
Research Hours: 565
Other notes of interest: 16 people in this category (21% of applicants) - 9 females and 7 males; in addition to the above, there is another published author and another 1st generation college student

Below 3.4:
GRE: 311
Vet Hours: 4499
Animal Hours: 983
Research Hours 473
Other notes of interest: 19 people in this category (25%) - 11 females and 8 males; average last 45 was above 3.5 and about 1/3 had last 45 GPAs above 3.7

Also interesting:

75% of males who indicated acceptance on the thread had below a 3.4 (8 out of 12). For accepted females, only 14% had lower than a 3.4. So something to keep in mind when evaluating your chances compared to other applicants. This could be an effort by the schools to have diverse classes based on gender, or maybe indicates some self-selecting bias based on stated career interests (I think 4-5 of the guys expressed interest in food or large animal medicine which seems like a higher than average proportion compared to the overall vet applicant pool). It could also come down to experiences (both published authors and both 1st generation college students were male) or strong science GPAs or strong last 45 GPAs (3 out of 8 under 3.4 had last 45 GPAs over 3.9) or the specific programs they applied to... I didn't deep dive on it, but I do think it would be interesting to look into more.

Applicants on the lower end of things also applied to an average of 8 programs versus about 5 for applicants with above a 3.4.
10 out of 14 people who applied IS were accepted (the other 4 had known rejections or waitlist results)
13 out of 15 people who applied OOS were accepted to a program
10 people total were rejected from at least one OOS programs. (Note: Not all programs had offered results yet.)
I'd also be interested to go back through and see what schools students were applying to / being accepted to...
Wow, great stats crunching!!
 
I decided to crunch the numbers because I was curious. Based on the 77 people who have posted on the 2022 accepted applicant thread here are the average stats for successful SDNers:

Cumulative GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: 3.58
Last 45 GPA: 3.75

GRE: 312

Veterinary Hours: 2358 (<<about 1900 if you exclude people the two people with over 15,000 hours)
Animal Hours: 1686 (<<about 1200 if you exclude the only person with over 10,000 hours)
Research Hours: 650 (<<436 if you exclude the one person with over 15,000 hours)


The averages for applicants with lower than average GPAs listed in categories below... In short:
1. 2000+ more veterinary hours than average
2. ~equivalent GRE scores
3. below average animal hours
4. ~average to above average research hours
5. some have compelling personal narratives as 1st gen students or published research experience

(Note if someone was waitlisted somewhere I counted it as a rejection... Only if to simplify my life, but also because they weren't in the first cut so didn't get an outright acceptance at first go)


Below 3.00: 2 people
Average GRE 313
Vet hours: 3910
Animal Hours: 542
Research Hours: 400
Other notes of interest: only 2 people in this category (2.5% of applicants); 2 males and no females; 1 published author; 1 student had a last 45 above 3.9; neither was accepted to their IS option

Below 3.20: 7 people
GRE: 310
Vet Hours: 4825
Animal Hours: 899 (<< several people indicated they had a lot of hours here, but didn't list totals so average is likely higher than this)
Research Hours: 800
Other notes of interest: 7 people in this category (9% of applicants); 2 females and 5 males; in addition to the published author, there was also a 1st generation college student; additionally, 2 out of 4 of the students who had 3.1 or below had last 45s above 3.9


Below 3.3:
GRE: 312
Vet Hours 4608
Animal Hours: 840
Research Hours: 565
Other notes of interest: 16 people in this category (21% of applicants) - 9 females and 7 males; in addition to the above, there is another published author and another 1st generation college student

Below 3.4:
GRE: 311
Vet Hours: 4499
Animal Hours: 983
Research Hours 473
Other notes of interest: 19 people in this category (25%) - 11 females and 8 males; average last 45 was above 3.5 and about 1/3 had last 45 GPAs above 3.7

Also interesting:

75% of males who indicated acceptance on the thread had below a 3.4 (8 out of 12). For accepted females, only 14% had lower than a 3.4. So something to keep in mind when evaluating your chances compared to other applicants. This could be an effort by the schools to have diverse classes based on gender, or maybe indicates some self-selecting bias based on stated career interests (I think 4-5 of the guys expressed interest in food or large animal medicine which seems like a higher than average proportion compared to the overall vet applicant pool). It could also come down to experiences (both published authors and both 1st generation college students were male) or strong science GPAs or strong last 45 GPAs (3 out of 8 under 3.4 had last 45 GPAs over 3.9) or the specific programs they applied to... I didn't deep dive on it, but I do think it would be interesting to look into more.

Applicants on the lower end of things also applied to an average of 8 programs versus about 5 for applicants with above a 3.4.
10 out of 14 people who applied IS were accepted (the other 4 had known rejections or waitlist results)
13 out of 15 people who applied OOS were accepted to a program
10 people total were rejected from at least one OOS programs. (Note: Not all programs had offered results yet.)
I'd also be interested to go back through and see what schools students were applying to / being accepted to...
:rofl: you need to go to sleep
 
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Hello! I'm struggling on what to really do to best prepare me for getting into vet school.
CumGPA: 3.1
SciGPA: 2.8
Last 45: 3.6
I have taken a lot of psych and business classes for my minor recently which is why my last 45 is a bit higher. I'm mainly worried about my science GPA. I've gotten my fair share of C's. I'm on track to get an A or B in biochem and ecology this semester. I don't know if I should start considering a masters degree more seriously or do a post-bacc and take some higher level science classes and retake some of my C's. I looked into an online animal science masters but UF mentioned they will accept online classes but do prefer in-person classes, I assume most schools feel the same. I really want to avoid moving if possible. I just need some advice! Thanks!
 
Hello! I'm struggling on what to really do to best prepare me for getting into vet school.
CumGPA: 3.1
SciGPA: 2.8
Last 45: 3.6
I have taken a lot of psych and business classes for my minor recently which is why my last 45 is a bit higher. I'm mainly worried about my science GPA. I've gotten my fair share of C's. I'm on track to get an A or B in biochem and ecology this semester. I don't know if I should start considering a masters degree more seriously or do a post-bacc and take some higher level science classes and retake some of my C's. I looked into an online animal science masters but UF mentioned they will accept online classes but do prefer in-person classes, I assume most schools feel the same. I really want to avoid moving if possible. I just need some advice! Thanks!
I’d retake some of those Cs, especially if they’re in science prereqs. And then apply to schools who replace grades instead of averaging them. Your science gpa definitely would hurt you especially since vet school is essentially going to be all high level science classes, all at the same time. The schools want to see that you can handle taking a bunch of science classes and doing well in them. Some schools even have minimum gpa requirements for them to even look at your application. Your last 45 is strong so definitely look at places who care more about last 45, unless retaking some of the sciences bumps your cGPA up a decent amount.
 
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I decided to crunch the numbers because I was curious. Based on the 77 people who have posted on the 2022 accepted applicant thread here are the average stats for successful SDNers:

Cumulative GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: 3.58
Last 45 GPA: 3.75

GRE: 312

Veterinary Hours: 2358 (<<about 1900 if you exclude people the two people with over 15,000 hours)
Animal Hours: 1686 (<<about 1200 if you exclude the only person with over 10,000 hours)
Research Hours: 650 (<<436 if you exclude the one person with over 15,000 hours)


The averages for applicants with lower than average GPAs listed in categories below... In short:
1. 2000+ more veterinary hours than average
2. ~equivalent GRE scores
3. below average animal hours
4. ~average to above average research hours
5. some have compelling personal narratives as 1st gen students or published research experience

(Note if someone was waitlisted somewhere I counted it as a rejection... Only if to simplify my life, but also because they weren't in the first cut so didn't get an outright acceptance at first go)


Below 3.00: 2 people
Average GRE 313
Vet hours: 3910
Animal Hours: 542
Research Hours: 400
Other notes of interest: only 2 people in this category (2.5% of applicants); 2 males and no females; 1 published author; 1 student had a last 45 above 3.9; neither was accepted to their IS option

Below 3.20: 7 people
GRE: 310
Vet Hours: 4825
Animal Hours: 899 (<< several people indicated they had a lot of hours here, but didn't list totals so average is likely higher than this)
Research Hours: 800
Other notes of interest: 7 people in this category (9% of applicants); 2 females and 5 males; in addition to the published author, there was also a 1st generation college student; additionally, 2 out of 4 of the students who had 3.1 or below had last 45s above 3.9


Below 3.3:
GRE: 312
Vet Hours 4608
Animal Hours: 840
Research Hours: 565
Other notes of interest: 16 people in this category (21% of applicants) - 9 females and 7 males; in addition to the above, there is another published author and another 1st generation college student

Below 3.4:
GRE: 311
Vet Hours: 4499
Animal Hours: 983
Research Hours 473
Other notes of interest: 19 people in this category (25%) - 11 females and 8 males; average last 45 was above 3.5 and about 1/3 had last 45 GPAs above 3.7

Also interesting:

75% of males who indicated acceptance on the thread had below a 3.4 (8 out of 12). For accepted females, only 14% had lower than a 3.4. So something to keep in mind when evaluating your chances compared to other applicants. This could be an effort by the schools to have diverse classes based on gender, or maybe indicates some self-selecting bias based on stated career interests (I think 4-5 of the guys expressed interest in food or large animal medicine which seems like a higher than average proportion compared to the overall vet applicant pool). It could also come down to experiences (both published authors and both 1st generation college students were male) or strong science GPAs or strong last 45 GPAs (3 out of 8 under 3.4 had last 45 GPAs over 3.9) or the specific programs they applied to... I didn't deep dive on it, but I do think it would be interesting to look into more.

Applicants on the lower end of things also applied to an average of 8 programs versus about 5 for applicants with above a 3.4.
10 out of 14 people who applied IS were accepted (the other 4 had known rejections or waitlist results)
13 out of 15 people who applied OOS were accepted to a program
10 people total were rejected from at least one OOS programs. (Note: Not all programs had offered results yet.)
I'd also be interested to go back through and see what schools students were applying to / being accepted to...

This is really interesting to me. I only applied to one school and was accepted (my IS school). While I was average with the academic performance measures (GPAs and GRE), I also wasn't at the top of the hours list for animal experience or veterinary experience (88 and 24 respectively).

What may have set me apart from the pack is that I didn't apply right out of undergrad, I have been taking two years in a post-bacc research position. I wasn't initially thinking vetmed after undergrad and my research position helped me explore a new passion and ultimately led me to apply. If you're really worried about getting hours in, research different schools. Only during the 2017-2018 application cycle did ISU (my IS school) ask for hours. They ask for 200 hours of quality animal, veterinary and/or research experience to meet the expectations of the Admissions Committee.

Also I included a lot of hours being involved in leadership positions (ie. Editor in Chief of a campus magazine and Volunteer Coordinator for a local shelter).

Side note, I did miserably in Ochem 1 and had to retake the class after I graduated, it did bring my GPA up 0.2 points or so, so retaking classes isn't nothing.

Depending on your stats, I would take a long hard look at doing a 1 year masters or any type of masters. If your grades are the weak part, then maybe that's a good idea. If you need more experience, I highly suggest getting a research position or work in a clinic for a year, you can save money along the way while also boosting your apps.
 
This is really interesting to me. I only applied to one school and was accepted (my IS school). While I was average with the academic performance measures (GPAs and GRE), I also wasn't at the top of the hours list for animal experience or veterinary experience (88 and 24 respectively).

What may have set me apart from the pack is that I didn't apply right out of undergrad, I have been taking two years in a post-bacc research position. I wasn't initially thinking vetmed after undergrad and my research position helped me explore a new passion and ultimately led me to apply. If you're really worried about getting hours in, research different schools. Only during the 2017-2018 application cycle did ISU (my IS school) ask for hours. They ask for 200 hours of quality animal, veterinary and/or research experience to meet the expectations of the Admissions Committee.

If you were hitting the overall average GPA wise and had much higher than average research hours (2 years of full time research work would be like 8 times the average), I'm not too surprised. I'd also think that you might have better than average essays or LORs since having more life and work experience would give you and recommenders more/better material to write about. So, you end up with an overall application that comes out just fine - several categories higher than average and few lower than average.

It's also so school dependent too, depending on the admissions weight of each category for your IS. I did have an admissions person tell me for one program that she didn't care if applicants had tons of hours because that she felt even a day or two of shadowing was enough for some people to realize "hey, this is the profession for me!"

Where I feel like this is info helpful is for candidates with GPAs far below the average - it seems like tons of experience in the profession eventually becomes really hard to ignore. Applicant's experience is all over the place, but if you slap a trend line on it you can definitely see that as GPA goes down, average # of veterinary hours goes up.

So, if someone didn't get in on their first round, they should do what they can to boost their GPA up by retaking pre-reqs or taking extra classes to boost their last 45. At the same time, they should get after some vet experiences! If they are a stellar applicant in several parts of their application, they can definitely overcome some "meh" parts.
 
To my understanding, MSU doesn't look at your GPA at all once you clear the minimum. If you had a 7.0 and the average interviewee had an 8.5 or higher, that means that there are OTHER parts of your application that are holding you back because GPA isn't included in that score. (Somebody at MSU can correct me here if I'm wrong.)






I'm sure that this isn't what you want to hear, but based on the numbers you posted I think you are actually a below average applicant, especially in terms of animal experience and to some extent veterinary experience.

Not every school posts experience hours for successful applicants, but applicants with more than 1,000 hours of animal experience and more than 1,000 hours of veterinary experience seem to be the norm for schools that do post that information. Look through the admitted applicant stat thread and jot down some notes about the types of experiences that people with lower end GPAs had. My impression is that most of them had way above average veterinary hours because they worked either full time or part time for years in a veterinary setting. (Granted I haven't sat down and crunched the numbers, so maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to bet money on it.)

Also, NC State will average in the GPA of any courses that you re-take. If you retook those four courses and got A's in all of them you could potentially raise your pre-req GPA from about a 3.18 to a 3.36 for NCSU. Not a huge jump, but it would be noticeable and push you closer to the mean pre-req GPA for NCSU, which they post as 3.61. It would also push up your last 45 closer to the mean - the average successful applicant has a 3.72; if you retook 16 credits worth of courses and got straight A's you'd pull yourself up to ~3.55. Your overall GPA probably wouldn't move much, but you're not very far off of that stat anyway (3.52 for you vs. 3.64 for average applicant).

Honestly, your current GPA stats fall within the ranges given by the school for admitted in-state applicants (3.14-4.00 for cumulative GPA, 3.30-4.00 for last 45, and 2.97-4.00 for pre-reqs). Given that reality, if I were you I would be looking into what other parts of your application could be strengthened, not just your GPA. Your GPA isn't doing you any favors, but it is definitely not the only thing holding you back.

If I were you I would:

1. Get feedback during a file review with any program that will give you one. You won't know if programs didn't like your essays or if one of your LORs was garbage unless someone tells you. Essays and LORs are important parts of your application and having really stellar application materials can help you overcome a sub-par GPA. (Same goes for GRE score for programs that want them - make sure you are getting above average if you want to compensate for below average GPA.)

2. Focus on getting more experience.
First: buff up your veterinary experience in 1-2 different diverse fields if you can - more exotics, shelter med, large animal, lab medicine, etc. You have plenty of small animal already, but if that's the easiest for you to increase your hours in because you can get a job at a clinic, go for it. If I remember the admissions site, NCSU wants to see experience in at least 3 different aspects of the profession: you have a lot of hours in one area (small animal) and a small number in a second (exotics).
Second: get more hours with animals. Easiest way is volunteering at an animal shelter or working on a farm (it sounds like you may already have connections with one)

3. If you want to improve your GPA, start by retaking those 4 classes that you got a C in. You can't improve your pre-requisite GPA unless you do that, and pre-req GPA is usually it's own stand alone part of the application for schools.

4. Do a Master's if there is one that speaks to you. You could also do an undergraduate certificate or graduate certificate in a field that interests you, or delay your graduation and add a double major or a minor to your current degree program (if you are still in school). All of those things should only take about a year. You could also just take a few classes relevant to vet-med to boost your last 45 GPA without being in a degree program.

Only pursue further education, especially if you will accrue debt while doing so, if it will help you in an alternate career. Don't go just for GPA fodder, and I'd prioritize getting tons of experience over accruing debt to strengthen your application. If you go the school option, ideally choose something that will count toward your science GPA. (I think somebody on this forum was told by a program that the online UF programs don't count toward science GPA? Make sure you ask any schools you plan on (re)applying to how programs will count on your application.)

Is there a drastic difference in adcoms mind between obtaining a maters and doing a certificate? I'm in the same boat of needing to raise my GPA and get more experience. NC state offers an online animal science masters and certificate. I just didn't know if these would be good programs to consider.
 
Is there a drastic difference in adcoms mind between obtaining a maters and doing a certificate? I'm in the same boat of needing to raise my GPA and get more experience. NC state offers an online animal science masters and certificate. I just didn't know if these would be good programs to consider.

No idea - I'd call the programs you are interested in and ask!

From a purely GPA perspective, the courses for each would have the same impact as long as they were they same type of classes. But some programs might look more favorably on some programs over others in terms of rigor or applicability to vet med.

If it were me, I'd pick something that would help my career regardless of a vet school admission. I'm interested in the Public Health side of vet med, so I'd choose to do a program geared toward that. But, if you're more interested in something like, say, research, it would be better to pick something in that area.

Some examples of certificate programs offered at my post-bacc institution that might be relevant to a future career in veterinary medicine include public health, biomedical sciences, bioinformatics and computational biology, environmental GIS and biodiversity conservation, non-profit management (think animal sheltering or wildlife conservation), or business management (think managing clinics or working for corporations). There are also Master's programs in basically every science, like biology or chemistry.

Let's say, worst case scenario, you never get into vet school or you eventually decide not to go for some reason. Are any of those programs available to you (like the above) helpful in an alternate career choice that you could see yourself doing? If yes, do that program.

ETA: also consider that many certificate programs are essentially shortened versions of a 2 year Master's. It is likely that a program would admit you as a certificate candidate and then let you change to the Master's later. That might be a good option - start as a certificate student and finish the program before heading off to vet school if you get in next year. If you apply next year and don't get in, change to the Master's and finish out the whole course of study while you gear up to apply again the next cycle. Or, do the opposite... Start out as a Master's student and if you get in next cycle, apply to leave with a terminal certificate and never finish out the course of study for the Master's.
 
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Hello! Sorry if I'm doing this wrong, it's my first post. I'm likely applying next year as a MD resident, and I will be a 22 year old first time applicant.
I apologize in advance for how long this might be; just let me know and I'll delete and repost.


I'm a little worried about getting all the experience necessary to get in and uh...my GPA, haha. I had some mental health issues my freshman year of college and pretty much failed an entire semester (then immediately made Dean's list while still on probation the next semester, but I digress). I don't exactly think schools want to hear about an underdog story concerning my continued struggle with this, as the stats for depressed vet students are already high enough without them accepting me.

VA-MD, my state school, doesn't honor replaced grades; they only average with the first. Which is unfortunate, because I failed Chem then retook it with an A. I'm about to do the same for Calc this summer. It also holds GPA as 60% of the app and does not consider LoR or GRE scores, so, uh, yikes.

GRE: I believe I can make this a strong point of my application with prep. I've always been good at standardized testing. So let's assume that for this, just for kicks.

  • Cum. GPA: As of now, 3.08. Probably ~3.2-3 with the Calc grade replaced. Hoping to have it at maybe 3.3 by application cycle.
  • Science GPA: Probably around the same (3.1). Might go down after this semester, as I can't seem to scrape higher than a C in Orgo I or II. It's just not my thing.
  • Last 45 credits: Aiming to have this around 3.5 at least.
Graduating Spring 2020, Bachelors in Pre-professional Animal Science with a Minor in LGBT Studies.

Vet Experience:
None, unless you count riding lessons in the same class as an equine vet and chatting with her for awhile :whistle:
I'm planning on emailing to shadow during the summer and next year if possible, but the clinics around my school are saturated with students and realistically I can probably only get around 500 hours at the very most.

Animal Experience:
  • ~3000 hours helping with family professional pet sitting business for my entire life (most small animals and exotics, some large)
  • ~200 hours freelance pet sitting and dog walking
  • ~1200 hours equestrian (lessons, leasing, assisting with beginner lessons, care, maintenance, some showing, etc) (this ended in HS, so idk how relevant?)
  • ~350 hours exotic animal caretaker at a pet shop for a summer, helped to educate hobbyists and owners on exotic care
  • Will be ~150 hr in Animal Science labs with chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, etc.
  • Will have ~100 hr working hands on with a pregnant sheep and lambing + all checks and tests leading up to lamb, then postnatal care
  • Pet ownership all my life, pretty much any you can think of, + some dog training classes and a grooming class for personal pet.
  • ~20 hr working with California mice in a research lab.
  • ~20 hr education with exotic animals at a public science center
  • ~200 hours at least for various rescues (fostering rodents, helping adopt out dogs, farm animals, horses, etc.)

Research:
  • ~950 hours immersive research at NCI on my own independent project (effect of hormones on CEBPD transcription factor expression in different cell lines) + helping mentors with their projects (in HS unfortunately)
  • Presented 2 posters on this as first author, one at a formal lab retreat and the other at a Student Poster Day
  • ~200 hours working in a neuroendicrinology and behavioral stress lab with California mice (completed independent project in a small group with mock paper for last 100 hours)
  • Research experience program completion certification on transcript.

Non-animal employment:
I'm a shuttle bus driver for my school and work part time during the semester. Will probably have ~500-1000 hours. I know some schools take this into account? Dunno.

Extracurriculars/Awards:
  • Lots of awards in HS.
  • President's Scholarship at my school that I lost via GPA , don't know whether to put it or not.
  • Honors program at my school, but lost that as well. (Do you see a trend?)
  • Leadership position in a LGBT+ fraternity.
  • Pre-Vet Society member.
  • Possible Animal Welfare Club Service Chair.
  • Into hiking, in a club.

Essays: I'm a good writer, so this could easily be a strong point on my application with a lot of work. I absolutely love exotics and know a decent amount about them, so I could focus on wanting to be an exotic and possibly wildlife vet as well as treating small/classically domestic animals.

Sorry that this was really detailed...I think I'm mostly just looking to be told whether I should divert and enter a Master's program instead + work more on my clinical hours to get a better chance, honestly. I don't want to kill myself trying to get my stats up if there's very little chance in the first place (I'm looking at you, Academic Probation on my transcript). I'm just getting empty encouragement from people I actually know and it's not the most useful.

 
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Hello! Sorry if I'm doing this wrong, it's my first post. I'm likely applying next year as a MD resident, and I will be a 22 year old first time applicant.
I apologize in advance for how long this might be; just let me know and I'll delete and repost.


I'm a little worried about getting all the experience necessary to get in and uh...my GPA, haha. I had some mental health issues my freshman year of college and pretty much failed an entire semester (then immediately made Dean's list while still on probation the next semester, but I digress). I don't exactly think schools want to hear about an underdog story concerning my continued struggle with this, as the stats for depressed vet students are already high enough without them accepting me.

VA-MD, my state school, doesn't honor replaced grades; they only average with the first. Which is unfortunate, because I failed Chem then retook it with an A. I'm about to do the same for Calc this summer. It also holds GPA as 60% of the app and does not consider LoR or GRE scores, so, uh, yikes.

GRE: I believe I can make this a strong point of my application with prep. I've always been good at standardized testing. So let's assume that for this, just for kicks.

  • Cum. GPA: As of now, 3.08. Probably ~3.2-3 with the Calc grade replaced. Hoping to have it at maybe 3.3 by application cycle.
  • Science GPA: Probably around the same (3.1). Might go down after this semester, as I can't seem to scrape higher than a C in Orgo I or II. It's just not my thing.
  • Last 45 credits: Aiming to have this around 3.5 at least.
Graduating Spring 2020, Bachelors in Pre-professional Animal Science with a Minor in LGBT Studies.

Vet Experience:
None, unless you count riding lessons in the same class as an equine vet and chatting with her for awhile :whistle:
I'm planning on emailing to shadow during the summer and next year if possible, but the clinics around my school are saturated with students and realistically I can probably only get around 500 hours at the very most.

Animal Experience:
  • ~3000 hours helping with family professional pet sitting business for my entire life (most small animals and exotics, some large)
  • ~200 hours freelance pet sitting and dog walking
  • ~1200 hours equestrian (lessons, leasing, assisting with beginner lessons, care, maintenance, some showing, etc) (this ended in HS, so idk how relevant?)
  • ~350 hours exotic animal caretaker at a pet shop for a summer, helped to educate hobbyists and owners on exotic care
  • Will be ~150 hr in Animal Science labs with chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, etc.
  • Will have ~100 hr working hands on with a pregnant sheep and lambing + all checks and tests leading up to lamb, then postnatal care
  • Pet ownership all my life, pretty much any you can think of, + some dog training classes and a grooming class for personal pet.
  • ~20 hr working with California mice in a research lab.
  • ~20 hr education with exotic animals at a public science center
  • ~200 hours at least for various rescues (fostering rodents, helping adopt out dogs, farm animals, horses, etc.)

Research:
  • ~950 hours immersive research at NCI on my own independent project (effect of hormones on CEBPD transcription factor expression in different cell lines) + helping mentors with their projects (in HS unfortunately)
  • Presented 2 posters on this as first author, one at a formal lab retreat and the other at a Student Poster Day
  • ~200 hours working in a neuroendicrinology and behavioral stress lab with California mice (completed independent project in a small group with mock paper for last 100 hours)
  • Research experience program completion certification on transcript.

Non-animal employment:
I'm a shuttle bus driver for my school and work part time during the semester. Will probably have ~500-1000 hours. I know some schools take this into account? Dunno.

Extracurriculars/Awards:
  • Lots of awards in HS.
  • President's Scholarship at my school that I lost via GPA , don't know whether to put it or not.
  • Honors program at my school, but lost that as well. (Do you see a trend?)
  • Leadership position in a LGBT+ fraternity.
  • Pre-Vet Society member.
  • Possible Animal Welfare Club Service Chair.
  • Into hiking, in a club.

Essays: I'm a good writer, so this could easily be a strong point on my application with a lot of work. I absolutely love exotics and know a decent amount about them, so I could focus on wanting to be an exotic and possibly wildlife vet as well as treating small/classically domestic animals.

Sorry that this was really detailed...I think I'm mostly just looking to be told whether I should divert and enter a Master's program instead + work more on my clinical hours to get a better chance, honestly. I don't want to kill myself trying to get my stats up if there's very little chance in the first place (I'm looking at you, Academic Probation on my transcript). I'm just getting empty encouragement from people I actually know and it's not the most useful.

Honestly vet school acceptance isn't impossible with your GPA stats. Yours are similar to mine and I was accepted to 3 vet schools this cycle (yay!!) But something to keep in mind...this is my 3rd application cycle and I have thousands of hours of vet experience between internships and working as a bet tech full time. Bottom line: I think your vet hours are going to hold you back more than anything. Some schools even have minimum vet hour requirements before they even consider you :( So you can easily supplement your lower GPA with tons of vet hours or raise your GPA really high and have less vet hours. But unfortunately chances aren't that great if you're low in both categories :( If I were you I'd buckle down on those hours and hang the course you can do it if your advocate for yourself well at potential clinics for hiring/shadowing :) best of luck and I hope this was helpful! :)
 
Hello! Sorry if I'm doing this wrong, it's my first post. I'm likely applying next year as a MD resident, and I will be a 22 year old first time applicant.
I apologize in advance for how long this might be; just let me know and I'll delete and repost.


I'm a little worried about getting all the experience necessary to get in and uh...my GPA, haha. I had some mental health issues my freshman year of college and pretty much failed an entire semester (then immediately made Dean's list while still on probation the next semester, but I digress). I don't exactly think schools want to hear about an underdog story concerning my continued struggle with this, as the stats for depressed vet students are already high enough without them accepting me.

VA-MD, my state school, doesn't honor replaced grades; they only average with the first. Which is unfortunate, because I failed Chem then retook it with an A. I'm about to do the same for Calc this summer. It also holds GPA as 60% of the app and does not consider LoR or GRE scores, so, uh, yikes.

GRE: I believe I can make this a strong point of my application with prep. I've always been good at standardized testing. So let's assume that for this, just for kicks.

  • Cum. GPA: As of now, 3.08. Probably ~3.2-3 with the Calc grade replaced. Hoping to have it at maybe 3.3 by application cycle.
  • Science GPA: Probably around the same (3.1). Might go down after this semester, as I can't seem to scrape higher than a C in Orgo I or II. It's just not my thing.
  • Last 45 credits: Aiming to have this around 3.5 at least.
Graduating Spring 2020, Bachelors in Pre-professional Animal Science with a Minor in LGBT Studies.

Vet Experience:
None, unless you count riding lessons in the same class as an equine vet and chatting with her for awhile :whistle:
I'm planning on emailing to shadow during the summer and next year if possible, but the clinics around my school are saturated with students and realistically I can probably only get around 500 hours at the very most.

Animal Experience:
  • ~3000 hours helping with family professional pet sitting business for my entire life (most small animals and exotics, some large)
  • ~200 hours freelance pet sitting and dog walking
  • ~1200 hours equestrian (lessons, leasing, assisting with beginner lessons, care, maintenance, some showing, etc) (this ended in HS, so idk how relevant?)
  • ~350 hours exotic animal caretaker at a pet shop for a summer, helped to educate hobbyists and owners on exotic care
  • Will be ~150 hr in Animal Science labs with chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, etc.
  • Will have ~100 hr working hands on with a pregnant sheep and lambing + all checks and tests leading up to lamb, then postnatal care
  • Pet ownership all my life, pretty much any you can think of, + some dog training classes and a grooming class for personal pet.
  • ~20 hr working with California mice in a research lab.
  • ~20 hr education with exotic animals at a public science center
  • ~200 hours at least for various rescues (fostering rodents, helping adopt out dogs, farm animals, horses, etc.)

Research:
  • ~950 hours immersive research at NCI on my own independent project (effect of hormones on CEBPD transcription factor expression in different cell lines) + helping mentors with their projects (in HS unfortunately)
  • Presented 2 posters on this as first author, one at a formal lab retreat and the other at a Student Poster Day
  • ~200 hours working in a neuroendicrinology and behavioral stress lab with California mice (completed independent project in a small group with mock paper for last 100 hours)
  • Research experience program completion certification on transcript.

Non-animal employment:
I'm a shuttle bus driver for my school and work part time during the semester. Will probably have ~500-1000 hours. I know some schools take this into account? Dunno.

Extracurriculars/Awards:
  • Lots of awards in HS.
  • President's Scholarship at my school that I lost via GPA , don't know whether to put it or not.
  • Honors program at my school, but lost that as well. (Do you see a trend?)
  • Leadership position in a LGBT+ fraternity.
  • Pre-Vet Society member.
  • Possible Animal Welfare Club Service Chair.
  • Into hiking, in a club.

Essays: I'm a good writer, so this could easily be a strong point on my application with a lot of work. I absolutely love exotics and know a decent amount about them, so I could focus on wanting to be an exotic and possibly wildlife vet as well as treating small/classically domestic animals.

Sorry that this was really detailed...I think I'm mostly just looking to be told whether I should divert and enter a Master's program instead + work more on my clinical hours to get a better chance, honestly. I don't want to kill myself trying to get my stats up if there's very little chance in the first place (I'm looking at you, Academic Probation on my transcript). I'm just getting empty encouragement from people I actually know and it's not the most useful.

VMCVM doesn't even look at GRE scores. They've also said they don't require letters of recommendation anymore.

I think your GPA is fine as an IS for the school - the average is about 3.5 for IS applicants so a 3.3 isn't too far off. Your research is better than average.

To strengthen your app:
Focus on keeping a high last 45 GPA (seems to count as much as your cumulative GPA)
Focus on improving your science GPA
Consider re-taking Orgo I and II again if you think it's possible you could improve those - it's probably the only way to noticeably improve your science GPA if you've finished the other pre-reqs
Get as much as veterinary experience in as you can, but prioritize grades over experience (you can always get more experience later)

I don't think you *need* to do a Master's to get in. There are people with similar or worse GPA stats than you who have gotten in before.

If you *want* to do an MA, go for it. If you do well it will help your application, but I think you'd improve your chances just as much by, say, working full time in a veterinary setting for a year as doing a Master's. And even then, you'd only need to consider those choices if you applied and didn't get in.
 
Honestly vet school acceptance isn't impossible with your GPA stats. Yours are similar to mine and I was accepted to 3 vet schools this cycle (yay!!) But something to keep in mind...this is my 3rd application cycle and I have thousands of hours of vet experience between internships and working as a bet tech full time. Bottom line: I think your vet hours are going to hold you back more than anything. Some schools even have minimum vet hour requirements before they even consider you :( So you can easily supplement your lower GPA with tons of vet hours or raise your GPA really high and have less vet hours. But unfortunately chances aren't that great if you're low in both categories :( If I were you I'd buckle down on those hours and hang the course you can do it if your advocate for yourself well at potential clinics for hiring/shadowing :) best of luck and I hope this was helpful! :)
I completely agree with @greeneyegal92 here. My GPA stats were similarly low compared to most applicants, but I had thousands of hours in veterinary experience to compensate for it. I'd focus on getting vet experience if I were you. When I was looking to shadow, I stopped into every single clinic within an hour radius of me and handed them my resume. It took some persistence, but I eventually started shadowing at one, got hired part-time while working elsewhere, and then full-time when they really liked me. If you can, get a variety of vet experience too: SA, LA, exotics/wildlife, ect. I think it helps show that you are exposed to multiple aspects of the profession, even if you only get a day or two of shadowing at one of them.

Hope this helps! :)
 
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Honestly vet school acceptance isn't impossible with your GPA stats. Yours are similar to mine and I was accepted to 3 vet schools this cycle (yay!!) But something to keep in mind...this is my 3rd application cycle and I have thousands of hours of vet experience between internships and working as a bet tech full time. Bottom line: I think your vet hours are going to hold you back more than anything. Some schools even have minimum vet hour requirements before they even consider you :( So you can easily supplement your lower GPA with tons of vet hours or raise your GPA really high and have less vet hours. But unfortunately chances aren't that great if you're low in both categories :( If I were you I'd buckle down on those hours and hang the course you can do it if your advocate for yourself well at potential clinics for hiring/shadowing :) best of luck and I hope this was helpful! :)

Thank you! I'm really hoping I can buckle down and figure this out, I know myself and I'd probably be more than a little discouraged by taking gap years (they might really help my application though, so it could be for the best.) I don't know why I didn't start looking at clinic work earlier; I think I underestimated the number of hours people usually applied with and thought my research hours might carry me a little :( I'll definitely look around ASAP, though.



VMCVM doesn't even look at GRE scores. They've also said they don't require letters of recommendation anymore.

I think your GPA is fine as an IS for the school - the average is about 3.5 for IS applicants so a 3.3 isn't too far off. Your research is better than average.

To strengthen your app:
Focus on keeping a high last 45 GPA (seems to count as much as your cumulative GPA)
Focus on improving your science GPA
Consider re-taking Orgo I and II again if you think it's possible you could improve those - it's probably the only way to noticeably improve your science GPA if you've finished the other pre-reqs
Get as much as veterinary experience in as you can, but prioritize grades over experience (you can always get more experience later)

I don't think you *need* to do a Master's to get in. There are people with similar or worse GPA stats than you who have gotten in before.

If you *want* to do an MA, go for it. If you do well it will help your application, but I think you'd improve your chances just as much by, say, working full time in a veterinary setting for a year as doing a Master's. And even then, you'd only need to consider those choices if you applied and didn't get in.

Thanks for the suggestions! My issue with VMCVM is that they'd take my failing grades and average them with the retaken classes, so my GPA right now in their eyes is more like a 2.7. And that's...difficult to turn around at best, with over half of the application weight.

I'm actually just desperately trying to pass Orgo II with a C right now, so I don't think I'll be retaking them for fear of getting an even lower grade- I'm just really not good at it at all and all the orgo professors give wickedly hard exams at my school. I'm probably going to get an A in Microbio this semester and I still have Biochem and Gen Chem II as pre reqs, so I do have the opportunity to raise it somewhat.

Alright, thanks! I'm planning on looking into the shadowing right away. I guess I'll see how many hours I can get and where my GPA goes the next couple of semesters to decide on doing the MA program or applying straight out of undergrad. (Or I guess I could apply to both if I went the MA route on the off chance I got in vet school, technically).

I completely agree with @greeneyegal92 here. My GPA stats were similarly low compared to most applicants, but I had thousands of hours in veterinary experience to compensate for it. I'd focus on getting vet experience if I were you. When I was looking to shadow, I stopped into every single clinic within an hour radius of me and handed them my resume. It took some persistence, but I eventually started shadowing at one, got hired part-time while working elsewhere, and then full-time when they really liked me. If you can, get a variety of vet experience too: SA, LA, exotics/wildlife, ect. I think it helps show that you are exposed to multiple aspects of the profession, even if you only get a day or two of shadowing at one of them.

Hope this helps! :)

Okay I'll keep that in mind! Another of my issues with shadowing is that I don't have a car at school, so I'm going to figure out how to public transport to the clinic..which narrows my options by rather a lot honestly. I guess I really do need to prioritize the clinical side from this point on, though, so I'll figure something out.
 
@lizardman check out Michigan State. As long as you have a 3.0 in science and last 36 you’ll get your app looked at (I don’t think they care about cumulative at all for the cut off) and I believe I’ve been told they take the higher grade for retakes. And then they have a weird method of evaluating candidates for who they offer interviews to. But once you make it into phase 2 where they look at your app, they don’t care about grades anymore
 
@lizardman check out Michigan State. As long as you have a 3.0 in science and last 36 you’ll get your app looked at (I don’t think they care about cumulative at all for the cut off) and I believe I’ve been told they take the higher grade for retakes. And then they have a weird method of evaluating candidates for who they offer interviews to. But once you make it into phase 2 where they look at your app, they don’t care about grades anymore

Huh, good to know. I think I might have a legacy there, actually. I'll look into it.
 
Huh, good to know. I think I might have a legacy there, actually. I'll look into it.

The same is true for VA Tech. As long as you get an interview, your grades don't matter any more. They offer admissions spots based solely off of interview performance.
 
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The same is true for VA Tech. As long as you get an interview, your grades don't matter any more. They offer admissions spots based solely off of interview performance.

Yeah. I think for Virginia Maryland, getting an interview would be a hell of a long shot though, just based on what they weigh most heavily for applicants. I mean, of course I’ll do my best and apply, but it looks pretty grim.

Which is a shame because it’s in state, my dream school, and they set 30 spots aside for MD residents every cycle.
 
Yeah. I think for Virginia Maryland, getting an interview would be a hell of a long shot though, just based on what they weigh most heavily for applicants. I mean, of course I’ll do my best and apply, but it looks pretty grim.

Which is a shame because it’s in state, my dream school, and they set 30 spots aside for MD residents every cycle.

I think you have a better chance than you think you do! They may have a percentage breakdown for how they look at admissions, but honestly the vibe I got from the admissions staff was that they really cared about what kind of vet you'd make one day, not the numbers on your app (as in, stuff like: do you have good people skills? coping skills? a realistic sense of the profession? etc)

Looking at the numbers purely by seats available vs. applicants vying for those seats, your chances are much better at getting in as an IS student at Virginia Tech than as an out of state student at a different school (if that school also also has reserved IS seats).

For example:
If you're from MD, they interviewed 52% of MD applicants for the class of 2020 (60 out of 114). In total, 26% of MD applicants were admitted. Meaning, you only need to be more impressive on your application than about half of the people applying, and more compelling in person than about half the people interviewing who are also from MD.

Compare to Michigan state, for example, where they interviewed about 30% of out of state applicants for the class of 2021. In the end they only admitted 6% of OOS applicants because they have up to 37 OOS seats for the 600+ people who applied OOS. So, you need to be more impressive on paper than 70% of other OOS applicants, and better at interviewing than 80% of the other doing the same to get an initial offer.

Not saying it's impossible, of course, that you would get admitted out of state and not at VMCVM based on application weight of different categories, but as a rule I think it's generally easier to get into your state school if it has contract seats set aside for IS students because you are competing against a smaller pool of applicants.

Also, fwiw, if you have to wait a cycle (or even two) to get in as an IS student at VMCVM, it might be worth waiting and working to improve your application. You'll potentially save upwards of $150,000 in tuition/fees and other expenses incurred as an OOS student elsewhere. (Plus all the interest that accrues on that money over repayment, which will probably also run in the six figures.)

@Mattcj might be helpful in this conversation. I think his GPA is around what you expect yours to be after graduation and he was admitted to the class of 2022 as a first time applicant!
 
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I think you have a better chance than you think you do! They may have a percentage breakdown for how they look at admissions, but honestly the vibe I got from the admissions staff was that they really cared about what kind of vet you'd make one day, not the numbers on your app (as in, stuff like: do you have good people skills? coping skills? a realistic sense of the profession? etc)

Looking at the numbers purely by seats available vs. applicants vying for those seats, your chances are much better at getting in as an IS student at Virginia Tech than as an out of state student at a different school (if that school also also has reserved IS seats).

For example:
If you're from MD, they interviewed 52% of MD applicants for the class of 2020 (60 out of 114). In total, 26% of MD applicants were admitted. Meaning, you only need to be more impressive on your application than about half of the people applying, and more compelling in person than about half the people interviewing who are also from MD.

Compare to Michigan state, for example, where they interviewed about 30% of out of state applicants for the class of 2021. In the end they only admitted 6% of OOS applicants because they have up to 37 OOS seats for the 600+ people who applied OOS. So, you need to be more impressive on paper than 70% of other OOS applicants, and better at interviewing than 80% of the other doing the same to get an initial offer.

Not saying it's impossible, of course, that you would get admitted out of state and not at VMCVM based on application weight of different categories, but as a rule I think it's generally easier to get into your state school if it has contract seats set aside for IS students because you are competing against a smaller pool of applicants.

Also, fwiw, if you have to wait a cycle (or even two) to get in as an IS student at VMCVM, it might be worth waiting and working to improve your application. You'll potentially save upwards of $150,000 in tuition/fees and other expenses incurred as an OOS student elsewhere. (Plus all the interest that accrues on that money over repayment, which will probably also run in the six figures.)

@Mattcj might be helpful in this conversation. I think his GPA is around what you expect yours to be after graduation and he was admitted to the class of 2022 as a first time applicant!

Thank you so much for going through the trouble of posting the stats for this! It actually just totally changed my outlook? I had no idea the interview percentages for MD were so high; I think I’ll just set my sights on that, I’m pretty naturally alright at interviews and I think that part would come much more easily.

Especially since I remembered the school I’m at for undergrad actually happens to be one of the ones on the tin haha. It’s a combo of Virginia Tech and UMD. Obviously more so Tech, but we actually have a research campus of the vet school located here.

That’s a good point about the financial part as well. I’d honestly be happy to only apply to VMCVM.. I’ve visited the campus a few times. Blacksburg as a town and the way they do their curriculum with the different tracks early on and clinicals starting second year are great.

Thanks for all the help!!
 
Thank you so much for going through the trouble of posting the stats for this! It actually just totally changed my outlook? I had no idea the interview percentages for MD were so high; I think I’ll just set my sights on that, I’m pretty naturally alright at interviews and I think that part would come much more easily.

Especially since I remembered the school I’m at for undergrad actually happens to be one of the ones on the tin haha. It’s a combo of Virginia Tech and UMD. Obviously more so Tech, but we actually have a research campus of the vet school located here.

That’s a good point about the financial part as well. I’d honestly be happy to only apply to VMCVM.. I’ve visited the campus a few times. Blacksburg as a town and the way they do their curriculum with the different tracks early on and clinicals starting second year are great.

Thanks for all the help!!

No problem!

It looks so disheartening when you are first applying. Like "there are 1650 applicants but only 120 spots! I'll never get in!" But when you look at the breakdown for how many IS students get interviewed and accepted, it feels much more doable. It was definitely comforting to realize that as I was going through the process this year as an IS VA applicant. :)
 
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I think you have a better chance than you think you do! They may have a percentage breakdown for how they look at admissions, but honestly the vibe I got from the admissions staff was that they really cared about what kind of vet you'd make one day, not the numbers on your app (as in, stuff like: do you have good people skills? coping skills? a realistic sense of the profession? etc)

Looking at the numbers purely by seats available vs. applicants vying for those seats, your chances are much better at getting in as an IS student at Virginia Tech than as an out of state student at a different school (if that school also also has reserved IS seats).

For example:
If you're from MD, they interviewed 52% of MD applicants for the class of 2020 (60 out of 114). In total, 26% of MD applicants were admitted. Meaning, you only need to be more impressive on your application than about half of the people applying, and more compelling in person than about half the people interviewing who are also from MD.

Compare to Michigan state, for example, where they interviewed about 30% of out of state applicants for the class of 2021. In the end they only admitted 6% of OOS applicants because they have up to 37 OOS seats for the 600+ people who applied OOS. So, you need to be more impressive on paper than 70% of other OOS applicants, and better at interviewing than 80% of the other doing the same to get an initial offer.

Not saying it's impossible, of course, that you would get admitted out of state and not at VMCVM based on application weight of different categories, but as a rule I think it's generally easier to get into your state school if it has contract seats set aside for IS students because you are competing against a smaller pool of applicants.

Also, fwiw, if you have to wait a cycle (or even two) to get in as an IS student at VMCVM, it might be worth waiting and working to improve your application. You'll potentially save upwards of $150,000 in tuition/fees and other expenses incurred as an OOS student elsewhere. (Plus all the interest that accrues on that money over repayment, which will probably also run in the six figures.)

@Mattcj might be helpful in this conversation. I think his GPA is around what you expect yours to be after graduation and he was admitted to the class of 2022 as a first time applicant!

Hi! Im a first time applicant with an overall gpa of 3.26 abd a science gpa of 2.90 (for prereqs, not electives) and a last 45 credits of 3.54. Not my proudest moment, but i had a ton of fun in undergrad. vmcvm, msu, and midwestern were the 3 schools i got accepted into and as you can see my gpas were not impressive. I worked on experience, references and essays. I worked as a lead vet tech at an integrative small animal clinic for 4,000 hours at time of application and 450 in large animal icu. It goes to show that gpa isnt everything. Im an extremely extroverted and charismatic person and i crushed all my interviews at these schools (i also didnt really prepare for any of them either). I believe my experiences are what let me kick ass in the interviews, as i drew upon them all for my answers. These schools are more geared towards well rounded students that arent just straight a students, but charismatic, critical thinkers that can be given any situation and just run with it. Dont be discouraged, keep hope, but be realistic!!
 
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Thank you! I'm really hoping I can buckle down and figure this out, I know myself and I'd probably be more than a little discouraged by taking gap years (they might really help my application though, so it could be for the best.) I don't know why I didn't start looking at clinic work earlier; I think I underestimated the number of hours people usually applied with and thought my research hours might carry me a little :( I'll definitely look around ASAP, though.





Thanks for the suggestions! My issue with VMCVM is that they'd take my failing grades and average them with the retaken classes, so my GPA right now in their eyes is more like a 2.7. And that's...difficult to turn around at best, with over half of the application weight.

I'm actually just desperately trying to pass Orgo II with a C right now, so I don't think I'll be retaking them for fear of getting an even lower grade- I'm just really not good at it at all and all the orgo professors give wickedly hard exams at my school. I'm probably going to get an A in Microbio this semester and I still have Biochem and Gen Chem II as pre reqs, so I do have the opportunity to raise it somewhat.

Alright, thanks! I'm planning on looking into the shadowing right away. I guess I'll see how many hours I can get and where my GPA goes the next couple of semesters to decide on doing the MA program or applying straight out of undergrad. (Or I guess I could apply to both if I went the MA route on the off chance I got in vet school, technically).



Okay I'll keep that in mind! Another of my issues with shadowing is that I don't have a car at school, so I'm going to figure out how to public transport to the clinic..which narrows my options by rather a lot honestly. I guess I really do need to prioritize the clinical side from this point on, though, so I'll figure something out.

P.s. i failed organic chemistry 1, and barely passed physics 1. You def have a shot at vmrcvm!
 
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Hey there! So I don't plan on applying until probably the 2019 cycle (still need to take physics, biochem, and anything else to up my GPA), have not taken the GRE, current cumulative GPA is about 2.8 (B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, + some duel enrollment classes from high school). I just wanted to get some opinions on what I have so far.




Veterinary Experience:

Shadowed at a few different SA hospitals in high school: ~20 hours

Shadowed with a LA veterinarian high school to present: ~70 hours

Working at a SA/LA/Exotic hospital: ~2,000 hours and counting

Worked at a low-cost clinic: ~65 hours

Internship at an equine clinic: 150 hours

Working occasionally as a USEF testing technician: ~20 hours


Animal Experience:


Volunteered at animal shelter in high school: ~100 hours


Pet ownership: owned dogs, cats, livestock, and exotics my whole life

Petsitting/farmsitting since I was 9 years old. If I should just list hours for the past few years, ~150

A ton of experience working with/showing livestock and educating both kids and adults about agriculture through 4-H when I was in high school (did that for about six years, was Reporter for 2 terms, VP and President each for one term)

Worked at a pet store for 3 years, not sure how many hours

Working at a horse farm: ~300 hours

Working as a mouse caretaker in the biology department: ~55 hours

Internship at Maymont (working with livestock and wildlife): ~150 hours

I have enough CE credits to get a Category IV wildlife rehabber license in the state of VA, I just have to be associated with a current rehabber or wildlife center.

I'm also in the process of getting certified to do canine massage.

Working as a grooming assistant (current primary job): ~500 hours and counting

Other Work Experience

Assisting the secretary of Copley Science center: ~50 hours


Research Experience:

Research with Biology professor on the effect knocking out GPR56 has on the fertility of mice: 140 hours


Extracurricular Activities:

Member of Beta Beta Beta, Biology honor society

Member/Vice President of Fellowship (for 3 semesters) of Alpha Phi Omega - Theta Omega Chapter

Member of Pre-Health Society

Pre-Vet Student Mentor

President of IRIS (photography and film club)

Member of Young Democrats

Member of Macon Outdoors


Other:

4-H All-Star

Pet First Aid and CPR certified

Beef Quality Assurance certified

Human CPR and first aid

Appreciate the help!
 
Hey there! So I don't plan on applying until probably the 2019 cycle (still need to take physics, biochem, and anything else to up my GPA), have not taken the GRE, current cumulative GPA is about 2.8 (B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, + some duel enrollment classes from high school). I just wanted to get some opinions on what I have so far.




Veterinary Experience:

Shadowed at a few different SA hospitals in high school: ~20 hours

Shadowed with a LA veterinarian high school to present: ~70 hours

Working at a SA/LA/Exotic hospital: ~2,000 hours and counting

Worked at a low-cost clinic: ~65 hours

Internship at an equine clinic: 150 hours

Working occasionally as a USEF testing technician: ~20 hours


Animal Experience:


Volunteered at animal shelter in high school: ~100 hours


Pet ownership: owned dogs, cats, livestock, and exotics my whole life

Petsitting/farmsitting since I was 9 years old. If I should just list hours for the past few years, ~150

A ton of experience working with/showing livestock and educating both kids and adults about agriculture through 4-H when I was in high school (did that for about six years, was Reporter for 2 terms, VP and President each for one term)

Worked at a pet store for 3 years, not sure how many hours

Working at a horse farm: ~300 hours

Working as a mouse caretaker in the biology department: ~55 hours

Internship at Maymont (working with livestock and wildlife): ~150 hours

I have enough CE credits to get a Category IV wildlife rehabber license in the state of VA, I just have to be associated with a current rehabber or wildlife center.

I'm also in the process of getting certified to do canine massage.

Working as a grooming assistant (current primary job): ~500 hours and counting

Other Work Experience

Assisting the secretary of Copley Science center: ~50 hours


Research Experience:

Research with Biology professor on the effect knocking out GPR56 has on the fertility of mice: 140 hours


Extracurricular Activities:

Member of Beta Beta Beta, Biology honor society

Member/Vice President of Fellowship (for 3 semesters) of Alpha Phi Omega - Theta Omega Chapter

Member of Pre-Health Society

Pre-Vet Student Mentor

President of IRIS (photography and film club)

Member of Young Democrats

Member of Macon Outdoors


Other:

4-H All-Star

Pet First Aid and CPR certified

Beef Quality Assurance certified

Human CPR and first aid

Appreciate the help!
What are your last 45 and science GPAs?? Some schools don’t care as much or at all about the cumulative GPA, so your best bet would probably be those schools. And what state are you a resident of?
 
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Hey there! So I don't plan on applying until probably the 2019 cycle (still need to take physics, biochem, and anything else to up my GPA), have not taken the GRE, current cumulative GPA is about 2.8 (B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, + some duel enrollment classes from high school). I just wanted to get some opinions on what I have so far.




Veterinary Experience:

Shadowed at a few different SA hospitals in high school: ~20 hours

Shadowed with a LA veterinarian high school to present: ~70 hours

Working at a SA/LA/Exotic hospital: ~2,000 hours and counting

Worked at a low-cost clinic: ~65 hours

Internship at an equine clinic: 150 hours

Working occasionally as a USEF testing technician: ~20 hours


Animal Experience:


Volunteered at animal shelter in high school: ~100 hours


Pet ownership: owned dogs, cats, livestock, and exotics my whole life

Petsitting/farmsitting since I was 9 years old. If I should just list hours for the past few years, ~150

A ton of experience working with/showing livestock and educating both kids and adults about agriculture through 4-H when I was in high school (did that for about six years, was Reporter for 2 terms, VP and President each for one term)

Worked at a pet store for 3 years, not sure how many hours

Working at a horse farm: ~300 hours

Working as a mouse caretaker in the biology department: ~55 hours

Internship at Maymont (working with livestock and wildlife): ~150 hours

I have enough CE credits to get a Category IV wildlife rehabber license in the state of VA, I just have to be associated with a current rehabber or wildlife center.

I'm also in the process of getting certified to do canine massage.

Working as a grooming assistant (current primary job): ~500 hours and counting

Other Work Experience

Assisting the secretary of Copley Science center: ~50 hours


Research Experience:

Research with Biology professor on the effect knocking out GPR56 has on the fertility of mice: 140 hours


Extracurricular Activities:

Member of Beta Beta Beta, Biology honor society

Member/Vice President of Fellowship (for 3 semesters) of Alpha Phi Omega - Theta Omega Chapter

Member of Pre-Health Society

Pre-Vet Student Mentor

President of IRIS (photography and film club)

Member of Young Democrats

Member of Macon Outdoors


Other:

4-H All-Star

Pet First Aid and CPR certified

Beef Quality Assurance certified

Human CPR and first aid

Appreciate the help!

Despite a lot of extra-curricular strengths, your GPA is going to hold you back a lot. It will be important to get As from here on out, in pre-reqs as well as upper level science courses. Essentially, vet schools need to know that you will be able to handle the rigorous coursework and schedule. If you have a strong last 45 credit GPA, apply strategically. If you don't, I'd consider re-taking your Cs and perhaps adding more coursework when you can achieve better grades. I got in with a 2.9 cumulative, so it can be done, but you need to be strategic - and patient! - with your application.
 
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Hey there! So I don't plan on applying until probably the 2019 cycle (still need to take physics, biochem, and anything else to up my GPA), have not taken the GRE, current cumulative GPA is about 2.8 (B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, + some duel enrollment classes from high school). I just wanted to get some opinions on what I have so far.




Veterinary Experience:

Shadowed at a few different SA hospitals in high school: ~20 hours

Shadowed with a LA veterinarian high school to present: ~70 hours

Working at a SA/LA/Exotic hospital: ~2,000 hours and counting

Worked at a low-cost clinic: ~65 hours

Internship at an equine clinic: 150 hours

Working occasionally as a USEF testing technician: ~20 hours


Animal Experience:


Volunteered at animal shelter in high school: ~100 hours


Pet ownership: owned dogs, cats, livestock, and exotics my whole life

Petsitting/farmsitting since I was 9 years old. If I should just list hours for the past few years, ~150

A ton of experience working with/showing livestock and educating both kids and adults about agriculture through 4-H when I was in high school (did that for about six years, was Reporter for 2 terms, VP and President each for one term)

Worked at a pet store for 3 years, not sure how many hours

Working at a horse farm: ~300 hours

Working as a mouse caretaker in the biology department: ~55 hours

Internship at Maymont (working with livestock and wildlife): ~150 hours

I have enough CE credits to get a Category IV wildlife rehabber license in the state of VA, I just have to be associated with a current rehabber or wildlife center.

I'm also in the process of getting certified to do canine massage.

Working as a grooming assistant (current primary job): ~500 hours and counting

Other Work Experience

Assisting the secretary of Copley Science center: ~50 hours


Research Experience:

Research with Biology professor on the effect knocking out GPR56 has on the fertility of mice: 140 hours


Extracurricular Activities:

Member of Beta Beta Beta, Biology honor society

Member/Vice President of Fellowship (for 3 semesters) of Alpha Phi Omega - Theta Omega Chapter

Member of Pre-Health Society

Pre-Vet Student Mentor

President of IRIS (photography and film club)

Member of Young Democrats

Member of Macon Outdoors


Other:

4-H All-Star

Pet First Aid and CPR certified

Beef Quality Assurance certified

Human CPR and first aid

Appreciate the help!

For what it's worth, I got in to my first choice school (and only one I applied to) with a 2.8 cumulative this year. That being said, my science GPA was a 3.5, my last 45 was a 3.9, and my GRE was high. If you can bring up the other stuff, the 2.8 doesn't totally knock you out of the running.
 
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Hello Everyone!
I just recently decided to pursue vet school, and I don't plan on applying to any vet schools for 2 years but I'm now really worried about my chances of getting in. I think I just failed my physics and general chemistry courses when I was previously an A student. If I retake both of them and get A's, will they look down on my application? I've also been working as a kennel attendant and plan on transitioning to a tech assistant when there's an opening. If I bolster my application with a lot of experience will it basically cancel out the 2 retakes? Does anyone have any advice about this?
 
Hello Everyone!
I just recently decided to pursue vet school, and I don't plan on applying to any vet schools for 2 years but I'm now really worried about my chances of getting in. I think I just failed my physics and general chemistry courses when I was previously an A student. If I retake both of them and get A's, will they look down on my application? I've also been working as a kennel attendant and plan on transitioning to a tech assistant when there's an opening. If I bolster my application with a lot of experience will it basically cancel out the 2 retakes? Does anyone have any advice about this?
Depends where you apply and what your gre, and various gpa scores are. Some schools only look at the highest grade for a course, while most average the two. Some schools only care that you meet a minimum gpa requirement. If you have A’s in everything else, your gpa will likely be fine, but you will need to retake the classes.
 
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Hello Everyone!
I just recently decided to pursue vet school, and I don't plan on applying to any vet schools for 2 years but I'm now really worried about my chances of getting in. I think I just failed my physics and general chemistry courses when I was previously an A student. If I retake both of them and get A's, will they look down on my application? I've also been working as a kennel attendant and plan on transitioning to a tech assistant when there's an opening. If I bolster my application with a lot of experience will it basically cancel out the 2 retakes? Does anyone have any advice about this?
Retake them and do well in them. Some schools take the retake grade for your GPA instead of averaging them. Kansas State is one that does and Michigan State takes whichever grade is the highest. Currently Michigan State doesn’t factor gpa into their final decision and neither does university of Illinois, once you pass into the second phase for each school.
Retake those two science courses and keep doing well in all your other classes and you will be okay. Also try to get some varied experiences. Find a different vet to shadow some, and if possible try to even branch out from small animal (I assume that’s what you’re currently in) and shadow some LA if possible. Schools like to see some diversified experiences if you are able to.
 
Retake them and do well in them. Some schools take the retake grade for your GPA instead of averaging them. Kansas State is one that does and Michigan State takes whichever grade is the highest. Currently Michigan State doesn’t factor gpa into their final decision and neither does university of Illinois, once you pass into the second phase for each school.
Retake those two science courses and keep doing well in all your other classes and you will be okay. Also try to get some varied experiences. Find a different vet to shadow some, and if possible try to even branch out from small animal (I assume that’s what you’re currently in) and shadow some LA if possible. Schools like to see some diversified experiences if you are able to.
Thank you for your advice! I am working at a small animal hospital, but I plan on doing some volunteer work with a wildlife rescue near the University I'm transferring to in the fall. There aren't many large animal vets where I live currently, but I will look around when I transfer. The Uni i'm going to for my bachelor's degree (Oregon State) also has a vet school that i'm going to apply for. Will they look at me more favorably if I'm already attending OSU?
 
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