WAMC, non-trad 1.5th time applicant with low GPA and lots of experience hours

[lizardman]

(I say 1.5th because I half applied in 2021 but decided I wanted to take some more time. I technically did submit to one school, but the app wasn't finished all the way and most definitely wasn't polished besides so I don't blame my IS at the time for tossing it out haha.)

Hey there! I'm a 25 year old that's been gap-yearing since graduating in 2020 and floating around the veterinary field and country experiencing as much as I can. My GPA definitely wouldn't be competitive for non-holistic schools, but I'd like to know whether I might have a reasonable shot this cycle before I start asking for LoRs. I also have a period of academic probation on my record, but it was my first semester ever of college and the next semester shows Dean's list so I feel like I could spin it fairly well if given the chance.

I sort of feel like I'm throwing darts at a wall with schools past a certain point and am absolutely open to any suggestions or notes but here's my current list:
-Ohio State (IS)
-Michigan State
-Virginia-Maryland (I graduated from an affiliated school and am from the area + know they're holistic)
-Iowa State
-Washington State
-Oregon State
-Colorado State (on the off chance I somehow get accepted into their prep program, I doubt there's a shadow of a chance otherwise)
-Long Island
-U. Sydney (although their biochem req is 6 credits and I'm unsure if anything I've done counts other than a 3 credit biochem of phys class)
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GPA

I have a B.S. in pre-vet tracked Animal Science from a large, well-known program. I was one class shy of a minor in LGBT studies, so I'll just call that a side concentration.

Cumulative GPA: 3.01 VMCAS, 3.11 reported by alma mater
Science GPA: 3.03 VMCAS, possibly higher depending on the school.
Last 45: Barely a 3.0, if that. I had a rough time of it for the semester preceding COVID (medically withdrew from all classes), was graded P/F for Spring 2020 because pandemic...rough time continued but scraped passes, then ended my glorious undergrad career with a C- in freshman physics. I'm retaking this course over the summer and fairly certain I can pull an A, so that'll help a tiny bit. Or more, depending on if schools average or replace.
EDIT: I calculated this out and apparently it was slightly better than I thought, like 3.2-3.3.

*My prereq GPA for some schools is somewhat higher than these numbers, more like around a 3.3.

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EXPERIENCE

This is where I think my app stands out. I'll list these reverse chronologically.

Veterinary
-1400 hours and counting as a veterinary assistant in a very unique area of shelter med that affords me a lot of cool experiences
-1260 hours working ER/ICU as a veterinary assistant and doing reception overnights. My ER was part of a larger specialty hospital and I got to care for patients after specialty surgeries/procedures/that were waiting to go to specialty and snoop around learning things. Also cared for critical care patients overnight while CCU team was gone.
-6 hours shadowing a neurology team at a specialty hospital during an interview
-530 hours at a very exotics heavy GP that also did wildlife (separate exotics wing, a couple exotics specialist DVMs that let us help with a lot of super interesting things like microsurgery and endoscopies and I got to give fluids to songbirds and things like that)
-1360 hours as a veterinary assistant and sometimes receptionist at a one-doctor GP while they built a client base from the ground up (had been open for less than a year when I started), no LVTs and usually just me and the doc there so did a lot of assisting with surgeries, QC and maintenance on Idexx machines, independent tech appointments, lab work and microscopy, etc etc
-4 hours shadowing at a different ER during an interview
-4 hour working interview at a GP
-760 hours as a veterinary assistant at high volume GP with a lot of doctors, mixed small animal and exotics (specifically the team I worked on did exotics)
-40 hours as a veterinary assistant at a GP, I helped write their new mission statement then noped out after my first week lol.
-1560 hours working as a combo VA/receptionist a very old school one-doctor mixed exotics/small animal GP hospital for 2 years while in college. It was always just me and the doc and I learned so much here but man I cannot emphasize enough how old school it was. The DVM was a huge character, he used to make it mandatory that I come to flower shows with him and do his arrangements
-~50 hours doing assistant work for an absolutely wild holistic veterinarian that rented out the clinic above occasionally and had a very hard time finding help.
-435 hours at a local SPCA, I was a veterinary intern for their S/N clinics and mostly did prep tech work and patient recovery but got my first exposure to surgery here, the DVMs were great and were happy to have us hover around while they did 30 surgeries. Also helped with vaccine clinics and client education.
-~40 hours large animal medical-themed labs in undergrad
-~50 hours hands-on small ruminant medical experience during lambing course (present for/helped with parturition and tracked lamb's development over the weeks and months following)
-150 hours as a veterinary assistant with a mobile vaccination company that provided access to cheap preventative care for underserved rural areas
-~50 hours various CE's and trainings, webinars, etc

= around 7650 hours as of now, will easily break 8k by the time I submit.

Animal
I won't write it all out, but I volunteered for my local animal shelter throughout middle and high school, helped with my mom's pet sitting company for thousands of hours growing up, pet sat independently as an adult, was involved in riding and horses for 10+ years and assisted in teaching beginner lessons, worked at an exotic pet shop for a summer, have owned many types of herps small mammals etc, fostered guinea pigs in childhood and as an adult, did some wildlife volunteer training, have fostered 7 dogs and counting over the last year or so, volunteered at science centers educating the public with their resident animals in high school, did a decent amount of lab rodent handling in college...the list goes on.

Extracurricular
High School:
-Too many things. Varsity sports, lots of volunteering at different places, horseback riding, skiing, occasional participation in theater things, honor societies, blarrrrgh.

College:
-Part of LGBT professional fraternity for 3 years, held a chair position for 1-2 years
-Pre-vet society club member x4 years, have to admit I wasn't super active though
-Hiking/trail club member

Post-grad interests: have been member of the student branch of PrideVMC for a couple years, mostly just paying dues but I like browsing their things and knowing it exists. Big road tripper/camper/sort of hiker. I bake and read and do watercolor and dip pen and ink on and off, own herps and houseplants and am into them and their husbandry. Hyperfixated on a new thing every month. Nothing crazy.

Non-Animal Work
-1000ish hours working as a student bus driver in college. I paid part of my way through my last year this way and it + my vet job(s) added up to ~30 hours/week during my junior and senior years
-Frozen yogurt shop in high school for a summer lol

Research
-950 hours in high school doing cancer research for the National Cancer Institute in a lab studying the significance of a certain transcription factor's role in breast cancer. I presented a couple posters as the primary author, did journal clubs, had my own cell culture lines and all the things.
-180 hours in a neuroendocrinology undergraduate research lab as part of a program at my university. Worked on a research project with a team studying neuron morphology in California mice when chronically exposed to a lot of coritsol. Also completed a 3-semester research course in conjunction with this.
-25 hours rabbit behavioral research in a group for a class.

AWARDS
-An absurd amount in high school for academics, varsity letter, graduated with highest honors, too many AP courses award, cancer research award via being selected for prestigious internship etc.
-Sizable merit scholarship for college, which I promptly lost via academic probation. Was in the Honors program going in, same thing.
-Not much since then. I made Dean's list one (1) semester in 2017.

_______________
ESSAY
Connected anecdotes from different clinics, themed around spectrum of care and accessibility to veterinary care for exotics species in particular, which is my main career interest. I'm usually a good writer but keep writing and rewriting parts of this and am terrified haha.


________________
LETTERS OF REC

I have 6 of these for sure, just trying to finalize who to use. I'm sure about:
1. High-up veterinary director (DVM and boarded in a specialty) of the shelter I work in. Her resume is kind of insane, she's been involved heavily in vet school academics before so I'm hoping this could have some sway, especially as I'm planning to apply to one of the schools she's strongly connected to.
2. Semi well-known exotics and wildlife specialist DVM that I worked with pretty extensively a couple years back. He's super cool, he was veterinary director of a big wildlife center and travels to do guest lectures at vet schools sometimes.
3. President of a local SPCA that I interned (spay/neuter and vaccine clinics) 2 years for in college. Her day job is as a type of writer so I figure she'd be good to use.
4. The LVT I directly reported to at my ER job, now a director of one of the ER locations.

The two in the air could be any of these, and I'm totally down for suggestions:
1.) Old man vet I worked with closely for 2 years in college. He was my first mentor so my first instinct is to use him, which I did for my 2021 app attempt. Issue here is he's...super old and a little out there with things he writes professionally and sends to people, which I have witnessed firsthand, so I'm not 100% sure his letter would be great and am sure it's gotten worse since I last saw him in 2020.
2.) Baby vet I worked with for a time at a mixed GP/exotics practice. I loved her and she was super excited to do a letter for me in 2021 but I haven't kept in touch and she's since moved on from said practice so I'm sort of nervous to reach out and not sure if hers would be more relevant than some of my other options.
3.) My boss right now, an LVT- she's manager of the veterinary support staff at my shelter.

____________________
DIVERSITY/EXPLANATION STATEMENT-ESQUE THINGS
I'm a butch lesbian which sort of works in my favor here, along with taking a decent chunk of LGBT studies courses and being involved with the community in college. Typical white girl from a middle class family otherwise.

I struggled haaaarrd with mental health (unmedicated ADHD and raging depression excerbated by dangerous living situations and family stressors) in undergrad and honestly think I did great considering. It was a massive learning curve figuring out how to beat my brain into getting up and going to work every day and doing 8-12 hour shifts that I couldn't just skip after graduation. I eventually figured it out with trial and error and changed and grew as a person in a lot of ways from 2020-23 to get there and am now confident I'd be able to handle rigorous studies again and super excited by the idea of being back in school. I'm also medicated and in therapy now which helps, but the lifestyle and mental framework changes were key. I'm hoping to get an A in my retake physics course to support this.


Congrats and thank you if you made it this far! I'd really love any advice whatsoever, this is the first cycle that I feel like I'm truly ready to give my all for and I am SO nervous.

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[JaynaAli]

Can you take some more classes as a non-degree-seeking student or some postbacc program? Your experience is obviously excellent but (as you acknowledge) your GPA is definitely the trouble spot in your app. In general, I think schools are more likely to overlook a lower overall GPA if you have an upward trend and a high last 45. As someone evaluating your app I can see your dedication to the field but I want to make sure that you can handle the academic rigors of vet school by seeing good grades in some higher level science courses. Once you’ve accumulated lots of credit hours it’s hard to shift your overall GPA but applying to places that value that high 45 (should you be able to take some more classes) might be a good option for you if you can take and do well in a few select science classes. It doesn’t hurt to roll and dice and apply now if you’ve got the money for the apps and I don't think your chances are hopeless but I’d research schools heavily and apply smart not just based upon wishes.

 

[MMLJT3]

I would consider a post bacc program or a masters degree to help with your GPA. You have a lot of good experience! Increasing your last 45 GPA is important though. Many schools will not look at your application further if your GPA does not meet their cutoff for that year. I would highly recommend using the VMCAS GPA calculator. It was really helpful for me deciding where to apply. As someone who applied 4 cycles with a lower GPA & a LOT of experience too, I think I would consider a post bacc program/ masters program to raise your GPA! The application pool is so competitive!

 

[lizardman]

Can you take some more classes as a non-degree-seeking student or some postbacc program? Your experience is obviously excellent but (as you acknowledge) your GPA is definitely the trouble spot in your app. In general, I think schools are more likely to overlook a lower overall GPA if you have an upward trend and a high last 45. As someone evaluating your app I can see your dedication to the field but I want to make sure that you can handle the academic rigors of vet school by seeing good grades in some higher level science courses. Once you’ve accumulated lots of credit hours it’s hard to shift your overall GPA but applying to places that value that high 45 (should you be able to take some more classes) might be a good option for you if you can take and do well in a few select science classes. It doesn’t hurt to roll and dice and apply now if you’ve got the money for the apps and I don't think your chances are hopeless but I’d research schools heavily and apply smart not just based upon wishes.

This is good advice, thank you! I'll definitely keep applying smart in mind. I've been diving into researching different schools and only want to throw apps at places where I have a (semi) reasonable chance at making it to a file review.

As for the post-grad credits/postbacc...I probably should have been doing this all along, but I hibernated a little over the main part of the pandemic then focused hard on getting my personal ducks in a row and performing at work up until fairly recently + wanted to be absolutely sure I wouldn't end up shooting myself in the foot. Also, I can't afford to take more than one or at most two courses outright and am leery about taking out loans before grad school. That might be silly considering the size of those loans compared to the monumental ones I might need to take out, but it feels like digging a hole deeper that I'm going to have to fall into anyway if that makes sense and I'd have a difficult time paying them back in a reasonable way on my VA salary in the first place.

I started asking for LoRs over the last couple days and have decided to try this cycle but if I don't get in anywhere, a Master's or postbacc will be my likely next step. I'm eyeballing MPH and VPH programs in particular.

 

[lizardman]

I would consider a post bacc program or a masters degree to help with your GPA. You have a lot of good experience! Increasing your last 45 GPA is important though. Many schools will not look at your application further if your GPA does not meet their cutoff for that year. I would highly recommend using the VMCAS GPA calculator. It was really helpful for me deciding where to apply. As someone who applied 4 cycles with a lower GPA & a LOT of experience too, I think I would consider a post bacc program/ masters program to raise your GPA! The application pool is so competitive!

Thanks for the input, I'm considering my options for sure! I think whatever response I get this cycle will decide my next steps. I'm trying to stay open to whatever way the wind ends up blowing and am not at all opposed to a Master's.

I just calculated it out via the spreadsheet and apparently I have a 3.01 cGPA to VMCAS. At least it's still (just barely) over a 3.0 cutoff for schools like MSU in that category, but I had no idea they didn't include P/F credits in their math. The not replacing repeated courses nudges me down a couple of points as well, but I figured that would be the case. I'm unsure if last 45 includes P/F credits or not, it would actually be better without the 2020 P/F semester

Edit: Calculated last 45 with and without the COVID semester and they're both slightly higher than my cGPA (like 3.2-3.3ish range.)

 

[MMLJT3]

Thanks for the input, I'm considering my options for sure! I think whatever response I get this cycle will decide my next steps. I'm trying to stay open to whatever way the wind ends up blowing and am not at all opposed to a Master's.

I just calculated it out via the spreadsheet and apparently I have a 3.01 cGPA to VMCAS. At least it's still (just barely) over a 3.0 cutoff for schools like MSU in that category, but I had no idea they didn't include P/F credits in their math. The not replacing repeated courses nudges me down a couple of points as well, but I figured that would be the case. I'm unsure if last 45 includes P/F credits or not, it would actually be better without the 2020 P/F semester

Edit: Calculated last 45 with and without the COVID semester and they're both slightly higher than my cGPA (like 3.2-3.3ish range.)

I became quite obsessed with calculating each GPA once I found that GPA calculator lol . I made one for each school, and it really helped me narrow down schools. I am glad you are finding it useful too. LMU is another school to look at as they are more holistic & have two classes now ( Spring & Fall). I repeated several courses to raise my GPAs and applied to schools that do grade replacements (SDSU, UMN, Iowa).

 

[ashcash118]

This is good advice, thank you! I'll definitely keep applying smart in mind. I've been diving into researching different schools and only want to throw apps at places where I have a (semi) reasonable chance at making it to a file review.

As for the post-grad credits/postbacc...I probably should have been doing this all along, but I hibernated a little over the main part of the pandemic then focused hard on getting my personal ducks in a row and performing at work up until fairly recently + wanted to be absolutely sure I wouldn't end up shooting myself in the foot. Also, I can't afford to take more than one or at most two courses outright and am leery about taking out loans before grad school. That might be silly considering the size of those loans compared to the monumental ones I might need to take out, but it feels like digging a hole deeper that I'm going to have to fall into anyway if that makes sense and I'd have a difficult time paying them back in a reasonable way on my VA salary in the first place.

I started asking for LoRs over the last couple days and have decided to try this cycle but if I don't get in anywhere, a Master's or postbacc will be my likely next step. I'm eyeballing MPH and VPH programs in particular.

I did an MPH program after my undergrad and will be starting vet school at VMCVM in the fall. I think it definitely helped to raise my last 45 GPA and helped me develop my interests in vet med a little more, especially when writing my application essays. If you have any questions about it feel free to reach out

 

[dancingvet_loading]

If you are interested in a masters degree, I would recommend LMU’s 1 year Veterinary Biomedical Science Master Program! It’s a bridge program into the vet school. I did a semester of it and was accepted for the spring cohort (will be finishing my masters degree next semester)! If you get a 3.0 or higher in the fall semester, you are guaranteed an interview with the school. You also take Vet Anatomy with the first years and if you get a B or higher, you won’t have to retake the course when you matriculate into the vet school!! You also take Parasitology with the first year vet students as well. I believe it’s a great program to consider! I even received an interview from my IS after 2 cycles! It’s been extremely helpful! Especially coming from someone who had an EXTREMELY low science GPA.