what is a good gpa while in vet school?

[Unchainedmelodies]

Hello,

I am a VM2 at a school that only has 2 years of didactics. my GPA currently isn't great, I got some C's in first year and i'm working really hard to get my GPA up so that I can be competitive for internship or residencies. Everyone in my class keeps saying not to worry because we will have 2 years of basically A's and B's in clinics but im scared it wont be enough. So i just want to know to those who had 2 years of clinics or even one year of clinics, did your GPA move up a good amount? also what even is a good GPA for vet school? most of my friends are in the same boat as me because our course work is accelerated (due to the only 2 years in didactics) and we have around 3-4 exams a week, but I just wonder what is considered good. thank you!

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[JaynaAli]

Honestly class rank is more telling than GPA because some schools have more grade inflation than others. A GPA of 3.2 at my vet school was very much middle of the class (around 50th percentile), while at the school I did my residency at, a 3.2 would have been bottom 20% of the class.

Don’t worry about the number so much and just keep doing the best you can. I think a pretty common cutoff for a lot of internship and residency programs is a 3.5, but that’s not universal by any means. I got both an internship and a residency with a 3.2 and a higher GPA might have made things easier, but it was not a complete barrier.

 

[pp9]

It can also depend on what specialty you are interested in, as some are much more competitive than others. A 'good' GPA in vet school is whatever GPA you need to pass. A competitive GPA for residency is typically above a 3.0 with a higher class rank.

To add on to what Jayna said, there is definitely grade inflation at certain schools, and grade deflation at a few. Having graded clinics will absolutely help you in the match, assuming you do well. There are some of us out here that only got 9 grades for all of vet school, if that helps put things into perspective.

 

[VIN-Foundation]

also what even is a good GPA for vet school?

Whatever GPA you need to stay in school and graduate.

When I was in veterinary school it was 2.25 ... our saying was "2.25 to survive".

 

[DVM882029]

There are some of us out here that only got 9 grades for all of vet school, if that helps put things into perspective.

9 grades??? please explain. Mind boggled

 

[pp9]

9 grades??? please explain. Mind boggled

Mega courses on the quarter system, and only having 9 didactic (graded) quarters in vet school. We had one pass/fail quarter in both first and second year for clinics, and then started clinics in the fourth quarter of third year. 4th year clinics were also pass/fail.

 

[DVM882029]

Mega courses on the quarter system, and only having 9 didactic (graded) quarters in vet school. We had one pass/fail quarter in both first and second year for clinics, and then started clinics in the fourth quarter of third year. 4th year clinics were also pass/fail.

That's wild

 

[EB73674]

Some of us don't even have grades, just pass/fail and then class rank. Which don't get me wrong, my class rank is also not great lol. But I've passed all my classes (fingers crossed) and my quality of life is SO much better now that I'm much less worried about my GPA. My understanding also is that, while grades/class rank are important, connections and recommendations from faculty mean quite a bit as well!

 

[Minnerbelle]

Don’t obsess about the gpa and just do your best, that’s really all you can do.

Know that how well you do on your intern year and/or specialty intern year probably has a much bigger effect than whatever middle of the road gpa you have when it comes to clinical residencies. Also ensuring that you can get excellent LORs goes a long way stating that at minimum you are a good team player, professional, excellent communicator, and at least competent if not excellent clinically.

Being at the bottom of your class is bad, and being at the top of your class is excellent… but you can only control so much. Only 25% of your class can be in the top quartile… and it may just not be in the cards for you no matter how hard you try. Try to be in the top half of the class if you can.