Where to apply with a lower GPA??? Help.

[Hopefuldogtor21]

Hi! I am a junior at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, applying for vet school this cycle. I previously attended a community college for my associates, graduating with a low gpa. On to UTK, I struggled my whole first year, academically, and am still wanting to apply for vet school. Does anyone have any insight on where to apply for an applicant that has a low gpa. I know some schools do their cumulative gpa’s differently, look at the last 45 hours, etc. I have over 4000 hours in vet med experience, clubs, good last 45 hours gpa and good LOR’s.. just looking for some encouragement and advice here!!

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[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Island schools
MSU I believe does not consider GPA as long as your cumulative is above a 3.0
WSU is very competitive school, however, the lowest accepted GPA in any given year is around a 2.5-2.8. I know a second year who believes he had the lowest GPA for his class and was an OOS student.
I can't speak for other schools and I'm sure many are very dependent on the rest of your application (so you could post your stats in the What are my chances? subforum, if you would like a better analysis)

 

[DVMhopefulof???]

I also have a low cGPA but good 45 units as well. You need to apply to schools strategically and look for schools that focus more on your good parts of your application than your bad (MSU is a good example). I would avoid schools that looks more at the Cumulative GPA (like Cornell, Texas A&M, etc.) If you had a situation as to why you didn't do so well like I did then you can incorporate that into your essays and how you grew from it. In my personal opinion, I am will not be applying to schools like WSU, OSU, Texas A&M because they are incredibly hard to get into as an OOS even with an average GPA. Like CoffeeQuestionMark said, you would get better guidance if you posted your stats.

 

[EngrSC]

I had multiple acceptances this cycle with a 3.06 cumulative and 4.0 last 45 (also had diverse experiences and great LORs). I was accepted to LMU, LSU, Oklahoma State, VMCVM, UGA, Penn, KSU, and Iowa State. I declined interviews fo Tufts and UMN. And I was waitlisted at Mississippi State, Michigan State, Purdue, and Oregon State!

It’s do-able! Just make sure the rest of your application is strong

 

[kmgh1019]

I had multiple acceptances this cycle with a 3.06 cumulative and 4.0 last 45 (also had diverse experiences and great LORs). I was accepted to LMU, LSU, Oklahoma State, VMCVM, UGA, Penn, KSU, and Iowa State. I declined interviews fo Tufts and UMN. And I was waitlisted at Mississippi State, Michigan State, Purdue, and Oregon State!

It’s do-able! Just make sure the rest of your application is strong

Would you mind sharing some of your experiences??

 

[EngrSC]

Would you mind sharing some of your experiences??

Sure. Most of my veterinary experience was working in a small animal private practice that blended conventional medicine with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I also worked and/or shadowed in small animal ER, a low cost clinic, ambulatory equine and large animal, internal medicine, and in an exotics, avian, and wildlife hospital. No research experience.

Animal experience: volunteered and fostered with a cat rescue for a few years, volunteered at a wildlife center, and volunteered with a therapeutic riding group for disabled children.

Other animal things that I classified as volunteer but not animal experience: family adoptions director for a non-profit dog rescue (I processed all incoming applications), founding member and applications director of another non-profit dog rescue, and caseworker for a non-profit that provides funding directly to veterinarians for dogs in need of non-routine treatment that the owner can’t afford.

And I’ve spent the last 10 years working as an engineer in the defense industry