What can I do

[WhippetGood]

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Hi everyone I have read so many threads regarding pre-vet and would like to share my stats to see what are my chances of getting into vet school or what I can do to get in. I really want to be a vet.

GPA = 2.15 overall. I will be finishing in June which will be my 5th year
GRE scores V= 350, M = 400, A = 4

Worked in a small animal hospital since 18.

So what do you guys thinks and what should I do in order to get accepted?

 

[sumstorm]

Honestly, you are going to have a difficult time.

My personal opinion is that your best bet is to find schools that will offer 'grade forgiveness.' I would then relocate to the state of whichever of those schools you prefer, retake EVERY pre-req and excel, and study like crazy for the GRE's. Apply primarily to schools that offer either forgiveness or alternative eligibility, siting your excellent recent record. You will also need to insure that both your vet and animale experience includes both breadth and depth.

 

[twelvetigers]

Yeah, that sort of GPA/GRE warrants a complete re-do, no matter how much experience you have.

I almost wonder if this is a joke? A bit too nonchalant seeming to be serious.

Regardless... if you think this is what you really want, you'll need to figure out a way to have your previous grades not count, because 5 years of classes at a 2.15 is not coming up to a 3.0 for anything.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I agree with sumstorm that gaining state residency for a state with a vet school with grade-forgiveness is your best bet. Before you do though, really think about why it is that you've done so poorly academically. Is it a lack of focus? Is it a learning disability that's gone undiagnosed? Is it an instability in your life? Is it just that science is not your thing? Before you embark on a fresh start, I'd figure out whatever your problem is and take care of it. It will be a waste of time and money if you just keep making the same mistakes. You'll have to retake all of your pre-reqs, but I think doing that and excelling will be much easier than excelling some more with even tougher courses to bring up your gpa.

find an excellent tutor for your gre's who can diagnose exactly where your problems spots are and can help you overcome those.

Beyond those academic qualifications which you'll want to bring up to at least mediocre/average range, you'll want to figure something out that will wow adcoms. If you've been working at the SA practice since you were 18, there's probably not too much for you to get out of that practice as a pre-vet. Make a nice, happy farewell with the clinic and make sure you stay in touch with the vet there so you can get a rec once you're ready to apply. Then branch out to other types of practices, whether it be LA, Lab, Exotics, Zoo, Wildlife, etc... Remember, there are plenty of applicants with solid GPAs and GRE scores with hundreds/thousands of hours of experience in multiple fields.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I almost wonder if this is a joke? A bit too nonchalant seeming to be serious.

I kinda thought this too. There seems to be quite a few non-prevet pre-health trolls wandering in our little happy world. Perhaps it's Brody or animalrights in disguise...

But to the OP, if you're serious, best of luck. One thing I also say to people with A LOT of work ahead who's already quite a few years in, is to consider why you want to be a vet. After talking about how much work/time/money is up ahead, several people have come to the conclusion that maybe becoming a registered vet tech is more worth it for them. You can still be in the same clinic atmosphere, and people who make a career out of being a vet tech can do pretty amazing things.

 

[david594]

I agree with Minnerbelle, but if you really want it, and think you can do it, then this might be an option to consider for you:

http://www.rossu.edu/veterinary-school/academics/vetprep.cfm

 

[Perfbird]

Yikes, I'm going to be a bit more frank than those above me, you probably have 0 chance as is of getting into any veterinary schools. Most US vet schools have a minimum GPA requirement of 2.5 or 2.75 for general and science classes, meaning you will not even be considered for acceptance with such a low GPA. Some schools have a minimum GRE requirement, though the minimum I'm not sure of. But considering your percentiles must be in the low 20s, have to say that's not going to cut it for vet schools. Hopefully you understand why that is; after all vet school is extraordinarily difficult academically and requires a huge amount of time and study skills. Just because you have experience or 'really want to be a vet' doesn't mean you can hack it in vet school, you'd only be hurting yourself and depriving someone who has proved themselves academically from a spot in school. They want people who will learn well and have book smarts and common sense, who will thus be a good addition to the profession.

They look closely at your undergrad career because it is an indicator of how you will do in vet school - can you properly balance work, school, community work and life? They want to see a well rounded person, and trust me they have a lot of really good people to pick from! You need to make yourself stand out in every aspect.

Before you do though, really think about why it is that you've done so poorly academically. Is it a lack of focus? Is it a learning disability that's gone undiagnosed? Is it an instability in your life? Is it just that science is not your thing? Before you embark on a fresh start, I'd figure out whatever your problem is and take care of it. It will be a waste of time and money if you just keep making the same mistakes. You'll have to retake all of your pre-reqs, but I think doing that and excelling will be much easier than excelling some more with even tougher courses to bring up your gpa.

👍 I really agree with this, because you can apply all you want but it would be a huge waste of time and money. You need to be honest with yourself and evaluate 'Am I really a competitive applicant?' And when you realize that yeah, the stats are looking pretty bad, why are your grades and GRE so poor? You can evaluate and then decide what to do - retake all your classes and CHANGE so you do really well? Get a tutor, stop working at a clinic to focus on academics, etc. Or maybe you can move to Texas and do the Fresh Start program, heehee.

 

[lailanni]

Unless you have some super secret weapon, you have a very small shot at a US school without re-taking the pre-req classes and really doing well in them.

I'm sure someone will point out that it is possible to get in with less than a 3.0, but that's hardly the norm and not very pragmatic to pin your hopes on.

Not retaking the classes with a 2.15, the Caribbean is your best bet. Caribbean schools do have a higher drop rate, it is more of a weeding out against the people who can't take the academic rigor - or so I've heard. However they do make good vets, the ones I have met have been just as good as any US schooled vet.

You could also consider tech school, good techs are always needed.

 

[Caninerepro]

I can tell you what I did in a similar situation. I waited 5 years, while getting an MBA from another school. Then I went back to my old school which had a grade forgiveness program after 5 years. Reapplied for admission and started over with a 0.0 and credit for all courses I had a C or above in. I then went back and redid my BS, ending up with a 3.4 time 2 through. Took the GRE, got like a 1390 total, and did a MS program, where I got a 4.0. I still did not get into my home school where I did the BS/MS, but did get into Cornell, WI and MN. So 4 years and $50,000.00 down I am now a first year at an American Vet School. For me the cost and the loss of wages will be worth it, but you have to be willing to give up EVERYTHING you know to do this thing called vet school. 👍

 

[OtakuVet]

I agree with sumstorm that gaining state residency for a state with a vet school with grade-forgiveness is your best bet. Before you do though, really think about why it is that you've done so poorly academically. Is it a lack of focus? Is it a learning disability that's gone undiagnosed? Is it an instability in your life? Is it just that science is not your thing? Before you embark on a fresh start, I'd figure out whatever your problem is and take care of it. It will be a waste of time and money if you just keep making the same mistakes. You'll have to retake all of your pre-reqs, but I think doing that and excelling will be much easier than excelling some more with even tougher courses to bring up your gpa.

find an excellent tutor for your gre's who can diagnose exactly where your problems spots are and can help you overcome those.

Beyond those academic qualifications which you'll want to bring up to at least mediocre/average range, you'll want to figure something out that will wow adcoms. If you've been working at the SA practice since you were 18, there's probably not too much for you to get out of that practice as a pre-vet. Make a nice, happy farewell with the clinic and make sure you stay in touch with the vet there so you can get a rec once you're ready to apply. Then branch out to other types of practices, whether it be LA, Lab, Exotics, Zoo, Wildlife, etc... Remember, there are plenty of applicants with solid GPAs and GRE scores with hundreds/thousands of hours of experience in multiple fields.

I completely agree with this. Its extremely hard to get into any accredited school with below a 3.0. And even now a days I think it will be harder to get into Ross or St. George's because many people with far above 3.0s that dont get into the American vet schools go there as a last resort. But my suggestion to you is to find out what is making you get this gpa, just as said above. Ive had problems that have gone undiagnosed for years but since Ive gotten a little bit extra time on tests and the unnecessarily stressers in my life Im proud enough to say that I will get my 4.0 this semester as I promised myself. Also think your experience and think of whether or not you like science. One of the things that interested me in vet med is that constant education. I can imagine here that alot of the vet students are students to the core. And if school isnt for you as in regular school (bachelors, associates), I would find it hard for you to enjoy a career in veterinary medicine. Finding a tutor can open your eyes to your mistakes but also help you become a better student! So furthermore, my advice to you is to either evaluate whether you even like science, find a place where you can get grade forgiveness and start over with a major you love with your pre-reqs. =D Dont worry, if it was meant to be it will come eventually even if it means going to the islands. St. George's is pretty and Im always willing to talk about it.

 

[dgm]

Just popping in to say I love your name, OP! It cracks me up.

 

[WhippetGood]

Thanks to those that have replied and I see that I am getting mixed reviews and am also considered to be a JOKE or even an animal activist. Why would this be considered a joke? I am asking people for their opinion for the situation that I am in.

Thanks, caninerepro you are giving me some hope but I also value the input of others and really wanted to see where I stand before reconsidering if I should be doing something else. If I were a animal activist I dont see the point in me posting my stats to have people lambast me. Dont you think I would say something along the lines of its cruel to have animals as pets?

Yes there are circumstances that have prevented me from performing at my best. I understand that grades are a huge factor but I just wanted to see what others have done if they were in the same situation. Its people like caninerepro that are giving me hope that its still possible if I try hard enough. If I truly cannot make it at least I gave it a try. Thanks again for everyone's input. I will have a lot of thinking to do.

 

[SaintSamson]

Interesting post.

I'll be very honest from my standpoint. Your chances at the moment are pretty much negative.

Sadly, my transferring GPA is less than yours. Due to undiagnosed problems, I struggled with college at first, but I hate quitting, so my struggle last 2.5 years. I have flipped thing around, but this is not an easy path.
With a poor GPA and GRE: you must be prepared to give up every extra curricular you can think of. Even cleaning house. ( I never go out to party, to the bar, to just 'hang out'. I go to work, I study, I horseback ride once a week, and my dog and I go to agility class once a week. That is it. And when things get more intense, I will work less and cut out my extra curriculars.)
I recommend retaking the GRE (maybe try a GRE prep course?) and trying to retake some pre-reqs. Also, the suggestion of moving to a state where the IS has grade forgiveness is a good idea.

 

[OtakuVet]

Thanks to those that have replied and I see that I am getting mixed reviews and am also considered to be a JOKE or even an animal activist. Why would this be considered a joke? I am asking people for their opinion for the situation that I am in.

Just to help clearify on the reasons why people may think of it as a joke is because on this forum there has been alot of trolls recently. So its not a personal attack on you, its just there has been a lot of not so nice people around here before. I hope that you don't feel like you would be eaten alive here. They really are a somewhat nice bunch of people. 😉

 

[Caninerepro]

Its people like caninerepro that are giving me hope that its still possible if I try hard enough. If I truly cannot make it at least I gave it a try. Thanks again for everyone's input. I will have a lot of thinking to do.

Wait What?????? Caninerepro giving someone HOPE???? 😱😱😱 No couldn't be, he is a real A-Hole!! Hey listen, people don't have to take things as far as I did, and yes in hindsight I may have done a bit more than I really needed to. TBQH, I was afraid to apply earlier on in my progression (possible committment isues?), so I did the MS because it was offered to me. Also, it only took 2 years to redo my BS, plus a year for the unneeded but very fun MS I did at Colo State. I have heard that 45 recent credits of nailing upper division science classes and a good GRE will give you a decent chance somewhere, if you are willing to not be pickey where. But yes, there does need to be a dramatic and marked change (3.8+ I would imagine) for the ad coms to see the change in you. Also Otakuvet, please remember to have SOME fun before you get into vet school. Now as for once you do get in: fun, what is fun -- I am too busy studying!

 

[eventualeventer]

On Caninerepro inspiring someone: Holy cow, is there a Santa Claus too? You're going to make a believer out of me. 😛

 

[jpeterman13]

So here's my $0.02. There is no way of going about this without completely re-doing everything, which has already been covered in the above posts. But grade forgiveness will only go so far. If the courses fall within a certain time frame, they will be counted. Schools have different policies, for example UIUC's grade forgiveness applies to your freshman year grades as long as you didn't take any pre-req's your freshman year, but they also have a petition to delete grades that are more than 6 (????) years old. It sounds to me that you have been going to school for 5 years, so most likely, a majority of those grades will still be looked at even if you retook them.
The thing is that you now need to prove to them that you CAN HANDLE vet school. Even if you apply to Ross, I don't know how well it would work out right now. It's not a 'sure thing' as some may think and people do get rejected every semester because the admissions committee do not feel that they can handle the curriculum. I know one of my friends got rejected with a 2.7Cum/2.6 Science/ 960 GRE, but she denied the offer to go to vet prep (I don't really know why) Follow david594's advice and check out the vet prep program, that would be your BEST bet.
Maybe move to a state with a really high IS acceptance, and if they had a grade forgiveness, that would be perfect. There is hope, there always is. And this is coming from a kid who got a 2.0 cum after his freshman year, so I've been through the whole "there is no hope" phase.
FYI, noone said that you were an animal rights activist, they were refering to the person with sn animalrights who was on here a few months ago and was obviously here to stir up trouble. and then there is brodiatrist *cue scary music*. People here are nice. Good thing you didn't post something like this in the pre med forums...those people are cruel!!!!
Good Luck!

 

[zeebra44]

I kinda thought this too. There seems to be quite a few non-prevet pre-health trolls wandering in our little happy world. Perhaps it's Brody or animalrights in disguise...

HAHA! This cracked me up...

To the OP, if you really want to be a veterinarian, don't give up...either apply to a school outside of the US or try retaking some classes/the GRE to raise your stats. And if that's not working out for you, you could also become a LVT..point being, there are other options besides becoming a DVM if you want to be part of the career field.

 

[OtakuVet]

Wait What?????? Caninerepro giving someone HOPE???? 😱😱😱 No couldn't be, he is a real A-Hole!! Hey listen, people don't have to take things as far as I did, and yes in hindsight I may have done a bit more than I really needed to. TBQH, I was afraid to apply earlier on in my progression (possible committment isues?), so I did the MS because it was offered to me. Also, it only took 2 years to redo my BS, plus a year for the unneeded but very fun MS I did at Colo State. I have heard that 45 recent credits of nailing upper division science classes and a good GRE will give you a decent chance somewhere, if you are willing to not be pickey where. But yes, there does need to be a dramatic and marked change (3.8+ I would imagine) for the ad coms to see the change in you. Also Otakuvet, please remember to have SOME fun before you get into vet school. Now as for once you do get in: fun, what is fun -- I am too busy studying!

Oh Silly Caninepro...you thought that once I got my acceptance I wouldnt get on the high horse of fun? I mean come on I am an Otaku (anime-fan) what I did once I got my acceptance were: Drink, party, drink some more, did a bunch of community service, went on a joy ride with friends, aced a couple of exams and came back happy as a log. Now that thanksgiving is over I cant watch any more anime...and I cant do my joy riding anymore...but Im done with school on the 7th. So dont worry I have less than two months to act like a complete fool (when you are friends with a bunch of guys what else can you be?) . All in good manner of course. ;D

 

[Minnerbelle]

Thanks to those that have replied and I see that I am getting mixed reviews

what mixed reviews...? i think everyone here has been on the same page all along. almost everyone, if not everyone, is saying that it can be done if you put a hell of a lot of work into it... caninepro is pretty much telling you he did what everyone else suggested. getting a fresh start with all of your pre-reqs and more or less doing them all over.

Why would this be considered a joke? I am asking people for their opinion for the situation that I am in.

as explained earlier, there have been a few pre-allo people here who have been stirring up trouble. in the pre-allo forum, there are always a bunch of trolls who go around either saying "i have a 4.0, super high MCATS, and i published a first author paper that was on the cover of science. what are my chances" or "i have a 2.0, awful MCATS and not much extracurriculars. what are my chance"

they do either of these things just so all the other mean pre-meds can start yelling at them and get all riled up. we thought that maybe that's what a pre-med troll was trying to do in the pre-vet forum. really, this has nothing to do with you. sorry for the confusion.

 

[WhippetGood]

Minnerbelle is going to be an AWESOME vet.

 

[jpeterman13]

Minnerbelle is going to be an AWESOME vet.

tell us something we don't know 😉 haha

 

[Caninerepro]

Hey there is a topic on here somewhere where those of us that got in last year all posted our stats so people could compare and see where they stood for the next cycle. But this is what I just posted on the MN list. Info is from the MN admissions guide:

One other thing I did find were the stats from 2008. 1153 applicants for 90 seats (93 actual) -- good odds trust me! This year we have 97 actual class members, out of 99 acceptances that were reserved seats. 2 people deferred until next year, and I am pretty sure there will be one more of the 97 that will roll back to the next class (she has been really sick all semester). There are also 2 people who rolled back from the class of 2012 in the 99# seats . They do not count in the admissions total quota for next year, but also notice that although MN says they only accept 90 for each class 90 + 2 does not equal 99. We 13'rs are the largest class on record. We have two PhD's (an invertebrate embryologist and a biochemist) and I am not sure how many MS's -- I myself have the only MBA in the class, along with an MS. I am not bragging, but might as well give y'all an insider's perspective. Mean required course GPA was 3.53, with a range of 3.01 - 4.0. Recent (last 45) mean GPA was 3.64 with a range of 2.95-4.0 mid 50% 3.45 to 3.80. GRE mean 1170, verbal 520 quant 650 mid 50% respectively 450-570 and 610-700. My stats: 3.40 undergrad, 4.0 graduate, last 45 3.83: GRE 690 verbal 710 analytical. My MBA was actually done before I got my BS -- don't ask, it is complicated.