What are my chances?

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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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
    136
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Seawolf420 said:
Hey, I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what my chances are!

GRE- SUPERRR AVERAGE combined 307 (154/153)
Undergraduate GPA:3.36
Last 45: 3.9
Graduate: 3.93 (so far)
Science GPA=? probably around a 3.5 now
B.S. Marine Science, minor Environmental Science-Stony Brook University
M.S. Earth and Environmental Sciences Brooklyn College

Small animal practices, where I mostly assisted with surgeries--- ~1000hours
Small animal practices where I aided with routine care ~940 hours
Horseback riding/volunteering at a horse farm ~150hrs
Crustacean research ~250 hours

Individual research for thesis involving Microcystis aeruginosa (a cyanobacteria that is harmful to both marine and terrestrial life)
~500hours when my thesis is finished

Random experience helping a local french bulldog breeder ~150hours

Hispanic/Irish

4 Years Marching Band
4 Years Pep Band
1 Year Section leader for both!
4 years Marine Science Club
1 year Semester By the Sea Program

I had a strong upwards trajectory, in terms of my GPA. Where good stories are concerned, I certainly have one: Orphaned in late teens after my mother passed away from brain cancer, homeless thereafter. Freshman GPA (around the time of my mom's first brain surgery) ~2.65. Senior year GPA 3.93. Graduate GPA 3.93. So, I think I have a unique narrative, to convey my persistence.

Anyone who answers, I truly appreciate it!
Even if you don't have a wonderful day!
Click to expand...
What state are you a resident of and where are you applying.
 
Seawolf420 said:
Hey, I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what my chances are!

GRE- SUPERRR AVERAGE combined 307 (154/153)
Undergraduate GPA:3.36
Last 45: 3.9
Graduate: 3.93 (so far)
Science GPA=? probably around a 3.5 now
B.S. Marine Science, minor Environmental Science-Stony Brook University
M.S. Earth and Environmental Sciences Brooklyn College

Small animal practices, where I mostly assisted with surgeries--- ~1000hours
Small animal practices where I aided with routine care ~940 hours
Horseback riding/volunteering at a horse farm ~150hrs
Crustacean research ~250 hours

Individual research for thesis involving Microcystis aeruginosa (a cyanobacteria that is harmful to both marine and terrestrial life)
~500hours when my thesis is finished

Random experience helping a local french bulldog breeder ~150hours

Hispanic/Irish

4 Years Marching Band
4 Years Pep Band
1 Year Section leader for both!
4 years Marine Science Club
1 year Semester By the Sea Program

I had a strong upwards trajectory, in terms of my GPA. Where good stories are concerned, I certainly have one: Orphaned in late teens after my mother passed away from brain cancer, homeless thereafter. Freshman GPA (around the time of my mom's first brain surgery) ~2.65. Senior year GPA 3.93. Graduate GPA 3.93. So, I think I have a unique narrative, to convey my persistence.

Anyone who answers, I truly appreciate it!
Even if you don't have a wonderful day!
Click to expand...

Hey! My GPA is also average to poor (cGPA is 3.31, sGPA 3.36, last 45 3.5) but I had a little higher GRE and I’ve been interviewed at Western, invites to tufts and penn, and waitlist at Cornell so I don’t think that your GPA, esp with your super high last 45, will be too much of an issue if you apply smartly and use the explanation statement to your advantage.
If you’re worried about your GRE, you can apply to schools that don’t require them (I know Purdue is one).
You have a lot of vet hours, but it looks like they’re pretty much all small animal. With average GRE + undergrad GPA, I would recommend getting a wider breadth of vet experiences.

Good luck!! 😀
 
Hey, I was wondering if you guys could give me advice on how to proceed forward.
I am 25 years old and graduated with a 2.99 GPA from college. My GRE scores are bad as well (150 in math and 139 in verbal). I gave up at the time on being a vet due to the poor GPA so I went into funeral directing school (dont ask lol) where I currently have a 3.9 GPA after taking 14 classes. These courses dont help me out that much since they are funeral classes but there has been some classes such as Anatomys 1-3, Micro and Pathology that were included all of which I have gotten A's in. My dad is a vet and I have plenty of experience in the field working with him, at an emergency animal hospital and currently another small animal practice. I applied in 2018 and got wait listed for Lincoln Memorial, Midwestern and Virginia-Maryland. The only offer I received was to do pre-vet program at Ross (which sucks because it is another 18k on top of the already extremely high tuition). I did the math and even if I got straight A's in 8 more classes I would still only have a 3.17 GPA assuming I pull that off. My question is basically do I even have a chance to get into a vet school assuming I can spend the whole year taking classes and retaking the GRE. Looking at the volume of applicants all of these schools receive each year makes me think it might be a waste of time for me to continue trying to become a vet. My state does not have a vet school either so it makes my situation even more difficult as I have to compete for a small amount of seats in a huge pool of out of state applicants. I would love to be a vet and am willing to work hard to become one now but I want to be realistic about my situation and chances of getting in.

Note: I had a similar post asking if I should go to Ross or pursue another career but I didnt get into the specifics of where I stand at the moment in terms of academics so I just wanted some advice moving forward.
 
Hiya! If you don't receive a lot of replies here, I would suggest putting this post into the "What are my chances?" thread because it usually gets a lot of activity: What are my chances?
Not sure I have much say here since I'm currently in my first application cycle, but I think retaking classes over the next year or two and looking for schools with a more "holistic" approach to applicants may be your best bet if you're really set on the field. Also certain schools have certain GPA minimums, so make sure you look out for those as well so you don't waste an application somewhere if your GPA isn't over the cut. There are more schools that no longer require the GRE, so unless you really want to retake it and think it's worth it, it would be possible to apply there as well. I would post this into the other thread (and follow the general format provided) so that people reading your post can get a better overall idea of your application!
 
Hi,

So I am about to finish my undergrad and I'm having a sort of crisis. My GPA is quite low for a pre-veterinary major and I regret not being so diligent with my school work in the past years. I know that applying for veterinary school would have been futile especially with the GPA I currently have, so I withheld from applying. I wondered if I should do a post-bacc program to raise my academic GPA or if I should spend my time looking for an internship/shadowing opportunity. I'm spending my last semester working hard to raise what I can of my GPA but other than that, I'm unsure of my future. Any guidance?

Thank you
 
ellenprk11 said:
Hi,

So I am about to finish my undergrad and I'm having a sort of crisis. My GPA is quite low for a pre-veterinary major and I regret not being so diligent with my school work in the past years. I know that applying for veterinary school would have been futile especially with the GPA I currently have, so I withheld from applying. I wondered if I should do a post-bacc program to raise my academic GPA or if I should spend my time looking for an internship/shadowing opportunity. I'm spending my last semester working hard to raise what I can of my GPA but other than that, I'm unsure of my future. Any guidance?

Thank you
Click to expand...

We'll need to have more info to give specific advice.

- what is your overall gpa, science gpa, and ~ last two semesters? Do you have an upward trend? A 'low' gpa can mean a lot of things.

- what is your IS school?

- how much vet experience do you have?

- what post-bacc programs have you been looking at - will they help with the job market if you DON'T end up going to vet school? How much will they add to your debt?
 
ellenprk11 said:
Hi,

So I am about to finish my undergrad and I'm having a sort of crisis. My GPA is quite low for a pre-veterinary major and I regret not being so diligent with my school work in the past years. I know that applying for veterinary school would have been futile especially with the GPA I currently have, so I withheld from applying. I wondered if I should do a post-bacc program to raise my academic GPA or if I should spend my time looking for an internship/shadowing opportunity. I'm spending my last semester working hard to raise what I can of my GPA but other than that, I'm unsure of my future. Any guidance?

Thank you
Click to expand...

As somebody who had a 3.0 undergraduate GPA, and even lower last 45 and pre-req GPAs, I can tell you what I did... I am currently on my 5th time applying.

I took one year of post-baccalaureate classes (retaking 24 credits of pre-req classes I received the worst grades in). After that, I received an interview and was wait listed at U of MN(this was my third time applying). My pre-req GPA was around 3.4 with a last 45 of 3.5.

As soon as I received that wait list notification, I enrolled in an MPH program. During my 4th year of applying (MPH had just started so this was only listed as "in progress" course work), I received one interview (MSU) and was waitlisted there and at my IS (Wisconsin).

With the completion of my first year of the MPH, I am now on my 5th time applying. My pre-req GPA is around 3.5 with a last 45 of 3.75. So far, I have interviews with Minnesota and Purdue; I am waiting to hear from Illinois and MSU regarding interviews; I am waiting to hear from Wisconsin regarding admission; and I have been rejected by Cornell.

During all of this time, I have been working full-time at an emergency and specialty center. Also, I have retaken the GRE (157, 157, 4.5), and gained additional experiences.

TL;DR: Re-take pre-reqs, consider a master's degree, gain experience. I know it's very generic, but if you have any questions, message me! I would be happy to go further into detail.
 
Hello!!!

I will be applying this May and I wanted some advice on how to improve my application. I want to apply to tOSU, Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn, Missouri, Cornell.

20 year old female, Ohio resident

GPA cumulative: 6.69
Science GPA: 3.63
GRE(Q/V/W): 146/153/?-not sure of writing score yet, I just took the test a couple days ago.

Will be graduating with B.S. Zoology in winter 2019

Veterinary Experience:
Assistant at a spay/neuter clinic attached to a shelter-Assist with surgery duties as well as shelter rounds ~1,800 hours so far.
Volunteer at vaccine/testing clinics- ~30 hours
Shadowed at a small animal private practice 100 hours
Shadowed at an equine only clinic 20 hours
Ride-alongs with large animal vet 20 hours

Animal Experience:
Volunteer at Farm Animal Rescue- probably ~300 hours (did it for 2 years for 1-2 hours in the morning before I went to school/work)
Therapeutic Horse Riding Facility-volunteer- 50 hours
Animal Protective League volunteer-30 hours
Foster Mom to multiple litters of kittens and a HW positive dog-maybe like 600 hours or so-probably more because I had each group for like 3 months each
Volunteer at wildlife sanctuary-20 hours
Raised quail in high school-45 hours
Horseback riding lessons from age 6-14- 100+ hours?, I got a lesson ~2 times a month through the years

Research:
Semester long observational study on squirrel behaviors ~50 hours
Salamander distribution project ~15 hours

School Involvement:
Pre-Veterinary Club-have held officer positions
Biological Scholars Program

Awards:
Deans List all semesters
STEM scholarship
Honors college
Certified frog watcher🙂

Other things:
Volunteer at reading camps for 3rd graders during the summer
Participate in local bird count

Any advice would be great! I know my GRE sucks and I definitely will be retaking it! I want to become a mixed animal vet and work in an underrepresented area or work as a shelter veterinarian. I have found I really love working in low-income areas and helping the animals in those locations.

Thanks in advance!
 
Skimble said:
Isn't 6 right above the 3 on the keypad? I have a tablet, so I don't have a keypad anymore.
Click to expand...
A KEYPAD?!?!?! Does any computer have one of those anymore if it’s not a desktop with a full keyboard??? :laugh:
I know at least mine doesn’t even have a keypad and hasn’t since at least 2007. But the numbers are in a line above the letters like a tablet’s keyboard is
 
SkiOtter said:
A KEYPAD?!?!?! Does any computer have one of those anymore if it’s not a desktop with a full keyboard??? :laugh:
I know at least mine doesn’t even have a keypad and hasn’t since at least 2007. But the numbers are in a line above the letters like a tablet’s keyboard is
Click to expand...

Uh... my laptop has one and it's not even that old.

EDIT: Not that I use it, but it's there.
 
Seawolf420 said:
I'm in New York.
Pending accreditation I'm applying to LIU
Then also Cornell, Dublin and maybe a few others.
Click to expand...
Are you applying this next cycle? Your first post doesn't specify. If so I wouldn't hold out hope on LIU being able to accept a class that is anywhere near AVMA accrediation considering University of Arizona has been trying to get a vet school open for what over 5 years or more now and has been unsuccessful. With your experience my advice to you is apply to Cornell then apply to your cheapest options ones that allow you to switch residency ie-NC,WA, Mizzou (if you have a chance*meet their course requirments/ I don't think Mizzou takes into account post-bac courses). Apply to schools that will consider your post-bac courses as not all will. Double check your prereqs and how each school evaluates. Apply to your cheapest options. Spend some time researching different schools to apply to. Overall you seem to have a decent application. Perhaps try to gain some food animal experience if possible. Otherwise schools that account for last 45 credit GPA are good to look into.

ETA: LIU isn't even on the AVMA's list of schools to visit for accrediation purposes in the first half of 2019 and they want to accept their first class based on the article I read by this fall and be accredited*provisional until they graduate their first class. Not realistic in any way imo.
 
Last edited:
Seawolf420 said:
Pending accreditation I'm applying to LIU
Click to expand...

https://www.avma.org/professionalde.../colleges/pages/coe-upcoming-site-visits.aspx
LIU Post scores veterinary-accreditation coup
Long Island University building vet school despite staff cuts and declining enrollment

As MixedAnimals said, LIU is not scheduled for a COE visit prior to the 2019-2020 application cycle. Even if they scheduled one for June, the results won't be up till July at the earliest. That would leave only 2 months for recruitment during that application cycle. I don't see any schools opening up admissions with only 2 months remaining before the application due date, and that's if the AVMA grants provisional accreditation. The full report won't be available until March. Even then, it sounds like there are problems outside the prospective vet school that may influence LIU opening a school, regardless of what the AVMA says.
 
batsenecal said:
https://www.avma.org/professionalde.../colleges/pages/coe-upcoming-site-visits.aspx
LIU Post scores veterinary-accreditation coup
Long Island University building vet school despite staff cuts and declining enrollment
Click to expand...
A little off-topic, but... oof. I had heard a rumor abou LIU looking into a possible veterinary school, but didn't know that the school itself was in such dire straits. Have to be honest: I can't see that ending well. And, of course, there are no future plans for an actual teaching hospital anywhere.

Can we also stop using the rural veterinarian "shortage" as justification to build new schools? Opening new schools to solve a problem that, while it does exist, is a multifaceted, complex issue brought about largely by a massive difficult-to-change factor (the poor salary and lifestyle of working in those areas most in need not attracting new graduates with six-figure debts that can't be reasonably serviced on that low pay). I'm increasingly beginning to think that the only way to really tackle it is to either reform how veterinary education is done in this country, offer much better education subsidises (like, 50-100% CoA) for those wanting to practice in underserved locations, or just slashing veterinary school tuition all across the board.

Opening new schools, on its own, will not help and only further serves to drive more potential rural large animal/equine/mixed animal people into small animal practice because they can't afford to live halfway decently and still make loan payments on that sort of pay, further oversaturating the market and taking jobs away from those who actually really want to do small animal. It just exacerbates the problem that these schools are claiming to be able to solve in the first place. We already have more than enough veterinarians in this country; the issue is distribution.

Sorry for the off-the-cuff rant. It's been a long week and I'm just really annoyed by this entire thing. I wish the AAVMC would put their foot down for once.
 
MixedAnimals77 said:
Are you applying this next cycle? Your first post doesn't specify. If so I wouldn't hold out hope on LIU being able to accept a class that is anywhere near AVMA accrediation considering University of Arizona has been trying to get a vet school open for what over 5 years or more now and has been unsuccessful. With your experience my advice to you is apply to Cornell then apply to your cheapest options ones that allow you to switch residency ie-NC,WA, Mizzou (if you have a chance*meet their course requirments/ I don't think Mizzou takes into account post-bac courses). Apply to schools that will consider your post-bac courses as not all will. Double check your prereqs and how each school evaluates. Apply to your cheapest options. Spend some time researching different schools to apply to. Overall you seem to have a decent application. Perhaps try to gain some food animal experience if possible. Otherwise schools that account for last 45 credit GPA are good to look into.

ETA: LIU isn't even on the AVMA's list of schools to visit for accrediation purposes in the first half of 2019 and they want to accept their first class based on the article I read by this fall and be accredited*provisional until they graduate their first class. Not realistic in any way imo.
Click to expand...

batsenecal said:
https://www.avma.org/professionalde.../colleges/pages/coe-upcoming-site-visits.aspx
LIU Post scores veterinary-accreditation coup
Long Island University building vet school despite staff cuts and declining enrollment

As MixedAnimals said, LIU is not scheduled for a COE visit prior to the 2019-2020 application cycle. Even if they scheduled one for June, the results won't be up till July at the earliest. That would leave only 2 months for recruitment during that application cycle. I don't see any schools opening up admissions with only 2 months remaining before the application due date, and that's if the AVMA grants provisional accreditation. The full report won't be available until March. Even then, it sounds like there are problems outside the prospective vet school that may influence LIU opening a school, regardless of what the AVMA says.
Click to expand...

LIU actually already had a site visit in August 2018... that article you posted bats even mentions it 😛

They won’t know if they qualify for “reasonable assurance” until the spring though. So it’s not totally impossible they could start enrolling students during the next cycle.

LIU accreditation decision slated for spring
 
Caiter92 said:
LIU actually already had a site visit in August 2018... that article you posted bats even mentions it

They won’t know if they qualify for “reasonable assurance” until the spring though. So it’s not totally impossible they could start enrolling students during the next cycle.

LIU accreditation decision slated for spring
Click to expand...
Ooh interesting. I didnt see that in my search. But yes I also agree with @Elkhart about shortage doesn't equal opening more schools. Particularly one in the middle of a metropolis like NYC. Definitely isn't going to solve the rural/food animal issue. If you go look at the stats for my admitted year on VMCAS break down 60% was for companion animal and 20% other with only 20% admitted actually even remotely interested in rural/food practice. Of course this is only one piece not figuring in debt but regardless I digress. Also if we keep opening schools that means more graduates competing for jobs and unfortunately I think our market is more limited than medical doctors because of economic and what people are willing to do/spend currently so at what point do we have a surplus of grads without a job and a giant load of debt?
 
Caiter92 said:
LIU actually already had a site visit in August 2018... that article you posted bats even mentions it
Click to expand...

I was under the impression they would need one more site visit to get the provisional accreditation, but I also may be insane. :laugh:
 
Hello everyone,

I need some advice or any feedback. I graduated from college in May 2017. I know that I have wanted to pursue veterinary medicine for a while however I know that my current GPA (2.9) would not allow for me to gain admission into my in-state school and I know that if I can not do that then I probably won't be admitted into an out of state school. I also believe that my science GPA is probably around the same as my cumulative GPA and don't really think my last 45 hours have been any better. I have retaken some of the science courses and math courses at a community college (due to financial purposes) and did better the second time around, BUT I do not believe it is enough. I am set to take my GRE in about 2 months and know that that is also considered.


I have worked at a veterinary clinic for an accumulation of 4 years, however I was recently told that although it may count as animal experience, it does not count as hours shadowing/observing a vet. I have tried to email some of the schools and get some feedback or recommendation, but have not heard back from any of them.


I am wondering at this point due to my GPA should I apply for a master's, a certificate program, retake courses?


I would wholeheartedly appreciate any feedback from anybody facing the same situation or has been in that situation, or current students in programs about what you guys did to get to where you are! thank you so much!
 
Do you know why you didn’t do well in classes before?

Can you change that?

Are you in a good deal of debt from your undergrad?
 
prevetgirl93 said:
Hello everyone,

I need some advice or any feedback. I graduated from college in May 2017. I know that I have wanted to pursue veterinary medicine for a while however I know that my current GPA (2.9) would not allow for me to gain admission into my in-state school and I know that if I can not do that then I probably won't be admitted into an out of state school. I also believe that my science GPA is probably around the same as my cumulative GPA and don't really think my last 45 hours have been any better. I have retaken some of the science courses and math courses at a community college (due to financial purposes) and did better the second time around, BUT I do not believe it is enough. I am set to take my GRE in about 2 months and know that that is also considered.


I have worked at a veterinary clinic for an accumulation of 4 years, however I was recently told that although it may count as animal experience, it does not count as hours shadowing/observing a vet. I have tried to email some of the schools and get some feedback or recommendation, but have not heard back from any of them.


I am wondering at this point due to my GPA should I apply for a master's, a certificate program, retake courses?


I would wholeheartedly appreciate any feedback from anybody facing the same situation or has been in that situation, or current students in programs about what you guys did to get to where you are! thank you so much!
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat as you. I had a relatively low cumulative GPA by doctorate-level program standards and desperately needed a change in career and wholeheartedly wanted to be a veterinarian. My recipe is by no means a "one size fits all" plan for success, but it worked for me:

I concentrated on programs that, academic wise, only look at your last 45 hours, your prerequisite GPA, and GRE score and began to retake prerequisite classes based on common prerequisites between the schools. I know that Minnesota, Kansas State, and Louisiana State are such schools and have been told that Michigan State ends academic evaluation of your file if your prerequisite GPA is over 3.0, meaning that if you have a 3.1 you are on a level playing field with applicants with a 4.0 academic-wise - you just need to kill it in the interview and on the rest of your application. I did not apply there so I do not know this for certain; maybe someone else can clarify it for you.

Over the course of two years I took as many classes as my job would allow. I work full-time at a veterinary facility (I have relatively few shadowing hours FYI - maybe 100) so 8 hours classroom hours or so per semester/summer sessions was all I could muster with most classes being done at a local 4-year but a few at a 2-year in town for financial reasons. I likely could have taken more hours but I wanted an A in everything so I slightly scaled back to ensure I had ample time to devote to the coursework. It was still very rough at times and I had quite a few sleepless nights but it is 100% doable - I truly felt my drive to become a veterinarian powered me through times where the old me with no direction would have given up long before.

Flash forward to this application cycle: I applied to several schools that look at your whole body of collegiate work in addition to your prerequisites as well as schools that look at your last 45 hour GPA and prerequisite GPA. I knew it would be tough at the cumulative GPA schools but thought I still might have a decent shot so I applied. Lo and behold, I was rejected by all the cumulative GPA schools BUT received interview invites to the other programs.

To date, I have had two interviews, one interview to go, one acceptance, and still waiting to hear from the other program.

If I can do it, anyone can do it. You just have to be devoted to what you are doing and never give up, which I don't foresee you doing if this is truly your dream. It will require a lot of planning, looking a programs to see how they rank applicants, and then execution of your plan.

To sum it all up: I did a great deal of research, methodically re-took classes based on common prerequisites of the programs of which I intended to apply, made sure to do well in said classes, and made my GRE as competitive as possible (took 2x, first time 300, second 310).

Have you actually applied? Or just thought that your GPA would exclude you from your state school? Rejections, and badly as they hurt in real-time, give you the opportunity to see where you can get better. Most schools will provide feedback as to why you didn't gain acceptance and that can be used to bolster your application for the subsequent cycle.

Last thing - I do not think that just because you cannot get into your state school that you aren't competitive anywhere else. A lot goes into each school's evaluation process and all schools are different. Cast your net as wide as you feel comfortable doing!

Best of luck!
 
I also graduated in May 2017 and was in a similar situation. My overall gpa is a 2.82, and my science and last 45 are all sub-3.0 as well. I decided to retake one course (Organic II, which I had to anyways due to a low grade) and give the 2023 application cycle a go. I tried to apply strategically to schools that look at the highest grade for a course (vs grades averaged), consider the GRE in their decision (I scored pretty well on mine), and look more holistically at their students/more emphasis on experience hrs.

I honestly expected to be flat out rejected to all five schools I applied to because of my gpas. My plan was to then retake some more courses and again apply strategically. Retaking courses was always more appealing to me because I didn’t really want to invest the time and money required for a masters. Not that it’s a bad route by any means—I just didn’t really find a masters program that I was passionate enough about to invest in.

In the end though, I ended up receiving two interviews (Ross and Western). I was accepted to Ross (1st semester) and was waitlisted at Western. Sometimes you never know until you try. It’s definitely hard to get in with a low gpa, and you may not have the widest selection of schools... but it is possible. Honestly what I thinked helped me at Western some was that they only consider the higher grade for a course taken. I had retaken about 5 courses (4 while in school, Organic II post-Bacc) and it raised my overall gpa by their standards to a 3.0/3.1. Also, there are a lot of important factors besides just gpa. Experience, good letters of rec, and a good GRE can make such a difference!

I hope this gives you some hope at least! My stats are posted in the c/o 2023 accepted students thread if you’re interested in looking. Wishing you all the best!
 
prevetgirl93 said:
Hello everyone,

I need some advice or any feedback. I graduated from college in May 2017. I know that I have wanted to pursue veterinary medicine for a while however I know that my current GPA (2.9) would not allow for me to gain admission into my in-state school and I know that if I can not do that then I probably won't be admitted into an out of state school. I also believe that my science GPA is probably around the same as my cumulative GPA and don't really think my last 45 hours have been any better. I have retaken some of the science courses and math courses at a community college (due to financial purposes) and did better the second time around, BUT I do not believe it is enough. I am set to take my GRE in about 2 months and know that that is also considered.


I have worked at a veterinary clinic for an accumulation of 4 years, however I was recently told that although it may count as animal experience, it does not count as hours shadowing/observing a vet. I have tried to email some of the schools and get some feedback or recommendation, but have not heard back from any of them.


I am wondering at this point due to my GPA should I apply for a master's, a certificate program, retake courses?


I would wholeheartedly appreciate any feedback from anybody facing the same situation or has been in that situation, or current students in programs about what you guys did to get to where you are! thank you so much!
Click to expand...

What position did you hold at the vet clinic? Who has told you that these hours wouldn't count as veterinary experience?

If you are willing to share, it might help to know what your in state school is. Once you have your GRE scores, that will help narrow down your school search. Your re-takes at the community college will factor into your last 45 GPA and hopefully help. Would also recommend searching through the forum and compiling a list of schools that accept the higher grade/grade replacement. Grade replacement might give you the needed boost to your GPA. Best of luck to you!
 
PppermintTwist said:
Do you know why you didn’t do well in classes before?

Can you change that?

Are you in a good deal of debt from your undergrad?
Click to expand...


I don't think I applied myself and seeked out help when I needed it and was not comprehending the material. And by the time I did, it was too late to turn it around.

I am not, thankfully I qualified for financial aid and some scholarships that I only have about 8k in debt.
 
Georgethecat said:
What position did you hold at the vet clinic? Who has told you that these hours wouldn't count as veterinary experience?

If you are willing to share, it might help to know what your in state school is. Once you have your GRE scores, that will help narrow down your school search. Your re-takes at the community college will factor into your last 45 GPA and hopefully help. Would also recommend searching through the forum and compiling a list of schools that accept the higher grade/grade replacement. Grade replacement might give you the needed boost to your GPA. Best of luck to you!
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Well I have worked in the vet field for about 4 years now. At a private practice I worked as a Kennel Technician for about 2 years. Then moved to another practice where I was a receptionist for a year and I have been a veterinary assistant (my job title) for the last year. Although I have learned alot, I have not learned as much as I wanted like monitoring for surgeries, etc. I was actually told by a locum doctor that applied to Texas A&M and was rejected her first cycle. I have email the advisor at the school regarding these questions, but have yet to hear back from them. at this rate, I'm thinking of just emailing their professors lol. I am from Texas so ideally, I would love to stay here just do to it being cheaper to stay in state versus out of state. however, I honestly would go to any school that would take me and see if I can be deferred a year to establish in state tuition.
 
FutureFelineVet said:
I also graduated in May 2017 and was in a similar situation. My overall gpa is a 2.82, and my science and last 45 are all sub-3.0 as well. I decided to retake one course (Organic II, which I had to anyways due to a low grade) and give the 2023 application cycle a go. I tried to apply strategically to schools that look at the highest grade for a course (vs grades averaged), consider the GRE in their decision (I scored pretty well on mine), and look more holistically at their students/more emphasis on experience hrs.

I honestly expected to be flat out rejected to all five schools I applied to because of my gpas. My plan was to then retake some more courses and again apply strategically. Retaking courses was always more appealing to me because I didn’t really want to invest the time and money required for a masters. Not that it’s a bad route by any means—I just didn’t really find a masters program that I was passionate enough about to invest in.

In the end though, I ended up receiving two interviews (Ross and Western). I was accepted to Ross (1st semester) and was waitlisted at Western. Sometimes you never know until you try. It’s definitely hard to get in with a low gpa, and you may not have the widest selection of schools... but it is possible. Honestly what I thinked helped me at Western some was that they only consider the higher grade for a course taken. I had retaken about 5 courses (4 while in school, Organic II post-Bacc) and it raised my overall gpa by their standards to a 3.0/3.1. Also, there are a lot of important factors besides just gpa. Experience, good letters of rec, and a good GRE can make such a difference!

I hope this gives you some hope at least! My stats are posted in the c/o 2023 accepted students thread if you’re interested in looking. Wishing you all the best!
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Thank you so much for your feedback! That's what I'm currently struggling with when it comes to a decision, because I'm wondering what programs would be appealing or what route to take if I were to apply to a master's program. if you don't mind me asking, what school did you apply to that took the highest grade for a course?
 
prevetgirl93 said:
Well I have worked in the vet field for about 4 years now. At a private practice I worked as a Kennel Technician for about 2 years. Then moved to another practice where I was a receptionist for a year and I have been a veterinary assistant (my job title) for the last year. Although I have learned alot, I have not learned as much as I wanted like monitoring for surgeries, etc. I was actually told by a locum doctor that applied to Texas A&M and was rejected her first cycle. I have email the advisor at the school regarding these questions, but have yet to hear back from them. at this rate, I'm thinking of just emailing their professors lol. I am from Texas so ideally, I would love to stay here just do to it being cheaper to stay in state versus out of state. however, I honestly would go to any school that would take me and see if I can be deferred a year to establish in state tuition.
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Kennel tech likely would be animal experience, but receptionist at a vet clinic and vet assistant would count as vet experience.
And I’m not sure if any school would allow you to be accepted one cycle and then defer admission to the next class only for the reason of getting residency. Most schools will only allow deferment for extenuating circumstances.
 
BravesFan said:
I was in the same boat as you. I had a relatively low cumulative GPA by doctorate-level program standards and desperately needed a change in career and wholeheartedly wanted to be a veterinarian. My recipe is by no means a "one size fits all" plan for success, but it worked for me:

I concentrated on programs that, academic wise, only look at your last 45 hours, your prerequisite GPA, and GRE score and began to retake prerequisite classes based on common prerequisites between the schools. I know that Minnesota, Kansas State, and Louisiana State are such schools and have been told that Michigan State ends academic evaluation of your file if your prerequisite GPA is over 3.0, meaning that if you have a 3.1 you are on a level playing field with applicants with a 4.0 academic-wise - you just need to kill it in the interview and on the rest of your application. I did not apply there so I do not know this for certain; maybe someone else can clarify it for you.

Over the course of two years I took as many classes as my job would allow. I work full-time at a veterinary facility (I have relatively few shadowing hours FYI - maybe 100) so 8 hours classroom hours or so per semester/summer sessions was all I could muster with most classes being done at a local 4-year but a few at a 2-year in town for financial reasons. I likely could have taken more hours but I wanted an A in everything so I slightly scaled back to ensure I had ample time to devote to the coursework. It was still very rough at times and I had quite a few sleepless nights but it is 100% doable - I truly felt my drive to become a veterinarian powered me through times where the old me with no direction would have given up long before.

Flash forward to this application cycle: I applied to several schools that look at your whole body of collegiate work in addition to your prerequisites as well as schools that look at your last 45 hour GPA and prerequisite GPA. I knew it would be tough at the cumulative GPA schools but thought I still might have a decent shot so I applied. Lo and behold, I was rejected by all the cumulative GPA schools BUT received interview invites to the other programs.

To date, I have had two interviews, one interview to go, one acceptance, and still waiting to hear from the other program.

If I can do it, anyone can do it. You just have to be devoted to what you are doing and never give up, which I don't foresee you doing if this is truly your dream. It will require a lot of planning, looking a programs to see how they rank applicants, and then execution of your plan.

To sum it all up: I did a great deal of research, methodically re-took classes based on common prerequisites of the programs of which I intended to apply, made sure to do well in said classes, and made my GRE as competitive as possible (took 2x, first time 300, second 310).

Have you actually applied? Or just thought that your GPA would exclude you from your state school? Rejections, and badly as they hurt in real-time, give you the opportunity to see where you can get better. Most schools will provide feedback as to why you didn't gain acceptance and that can be used to bolster your application for the subsequent cycle.

Last thing - I do not think that just because you cannot get into your state school that you aren't competitive anywhere else. A lot goes into each school's evaluation process and all schools are different. Cast your net as wide as you feel comfortable doing!

Best of luck!
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Thank you for your feedback! I haven't actually. I have held myself back from it because I was scared of the rejection and instead retook some classes which I had C's in like biology 1, organic chemistry and calculus. I took biochem, however my foundation in chemistry SUCKS. Since a freshman I have always just struggled with it. I have even considered retaking it.

I also put off taking the GRE until now. My friend applied to PT school and was rejected, thanks to her Im set to take it March 30! 60 days! I've been studying for it for the last 2 months. plan on doing so up until it is time to take it. And decided to just apply this cycle. even if rejected, you are right, it would be good to know what it is that I need to improve on so I have some sense of direction and guidance.
 
SkiOtter said:
Kennel tech likely would be animal experience, but receptionist at a vet clinic and vet assistant would count as vet experience.
And I’m not sure if any school would allow you to be accepted one cycle and then defer admission to the next class only for the reason of getting residency. Most schools will only allow deferment for extenuating circumstances.
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Penn specifically allows this. It’s not much of a cost difference, but it helps.
 
prevetgirl93 said:
Thank you so much for your feedback! That's what I'm currently struggling with when it comes to a decision, because I'm wondering what programs would be appealing or what route to take if I were to apply to a master's program. if you don't mind me asking, what school did you apply to that took the highest grade for a course?
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Western! They just looked at the highest grade taken for a course. It helped to bump up my overal gpa quite a bit.
 
Hey guys!

I'm still waiting to hear back from one school, but it looks like I'll be preparing to apply again this upcoming cycle. While it's still a little early to ask for a file review, I'm curious to know why some schools suggest that applicants get their masters? Is this usually for applicants with low GPAs? I'll be graduating with my B.S. in May and am trying to figure out if I need to start looking into programs. However, I don't feel like I necessarily have a low GPA (~3.7-3.8 in all categories) .
 
cameronluna said:
Hey guys!

I'm still waiting to hear back from one school, but it looks like I'll be preparing to apply again this upcoming cycle. While it's still a little early to ask for a file review, I'm curious to know why some schools suggest that applicants get their masters? Is this usually for applicants with low GPAs? I'll be graduating with my B.S. in May and am trying to figure out if I need to start looking into programs. However, I don't feel like I necessarily have a low GPA (~3.7-3.8 in all categories) .
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It's normally for people who need to improve their GPA. I'd recommend the file review so you can understand what you can do to improve your application. While GPA is important, a lack of diverse experiences could definitely be a negative factor. Best of luck!
 
K9CRZY said:
It's normally for people who need to improve their GPA. I'd recommend the file review so you can understand what you can do to improve your application. While GPA is important, a lack of diverse experiences could definitely be a negative factor. Best of luck!
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Thank you! I have about 2,000 hours working as a small animal/exotics veterinary assistant but I'm definitely lacking in the large animal world. I'd much rather spend my time off during the summer getting some diverse experiences.
 
cameronluna said:
Thank you! I have about 2,000 hours working as a small animal/exotics veterinary assistant but I'm definitely lacking in the large animal world. I'd much rather spend my time off during the summer getting some diverse experiences.
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I would seriously recommend contacting the schools you applied to and requesting file reviews.
 
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