What should I do? (WCVM/ UCVM)

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HopefullyOptomistic

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Hello - I have gotten myself into a predicament. I am currently a 4th year science student in Alberta and I have struggled with my study habits all of university. I started off first year with a low 2.5 GPA, but I have managed to pull my GPA up to a 3.0 as of this current moment. I do want to pursue veterinary medicine but I'm not sure if it is possible because of my grades as my biggest hinderance. I have years of experience working in a veterinary clinic and volunteering at animal rescues. Looking at UCVM, I know that in the 10 required courses, a min 3.0 is required but my average GPA for the 10 required courses is 2.68. I guess regardless I do still need to pull up my GPA - but do you think that it would be worth it to redo some of the 10 required courses in order to apply to UCVM? Or would it be best to just only focus on pulling up my GPA with the hopes of entering WCVM?

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Hey, come join us on the WCVM/UCVM c/o 2021 thread! Bunch of us applying to both schools are there.

In the meantime I'll type up a response here, but it will take a few minutes so bear with me (on my phone).
 
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I can't remember if UCVM averages grades or if they do grade replacement. If they do grade replacement I would highly recommend retaking several of the prerequisites. Regardless, your grades are definitely on the lower side of the spectrum. Do you know your percentages, instead of the 4 point GPA? I have the % interview cutoffs basically memorized so we could figure out how much improvement you need to make.

Since Alberta is the most competitive province you will have a rough time (especially with the changes to UCVM). In regards to WCVM, you would have a way higher chance of getting in if you are willing to move and gain residency in Saskatchewan. The cutoff grades for interviews are several % lower there than they are in Alberta. You have to be living there (NOT in school) for 12 months before the December 1st deadline. So this would be a measure to try after you do some GPA fixing. WCVM also has 1/3 of their admissions average being your best full time year, so if you can pull off a 90%+ year that will really help you out.

If your grades are lower, you will really have to have a strong non-grades application. You mentioned lots of small animal experience, but what do you have for large animal? WCVM in particular wants to see some large/production animal knowledge/experience as well as leadership experience.

As a BC resident I have never considered UCVM and thus don't know their admissions quite as well as WCVM. @awesomenessity and @SARdoghandler are first year students there, do you guys have some knowledge to share/add?

It certainly isn't impossible, but it will take some work. If it makes you feel better, my 1st year of undergrad was even lower than yours (77%, so I think a 2.4?) and I have managed to fix it enough to be *theoretically* past the interview cutoff. The best year being 1/3 really can save you.
 
A few more things to add:

That thread I asked you to check out? They have one for every year of applicants. There is a poster who was on here for years (though haven't seen her in a LONG time) named @LeilaFay who was in a similar predicament. IIRC she ended up doing 2 bachelor degrees, applied 7 times, and moved, but she got in. You might want to read through those threads and see what she had to say.

Without knowing %s I can't be sure, but I suspect you will have to continue taking classes to either do the prereqs or start a new degree. You could always work on the prereqs so you can apply to UCVM while an Alberta resident, and then if you are unsuccessful there try gaining residency in a less competitive province to apply to WCVM?
 
A few more things to add:

That thread I asked you to check out? They have one for every year of applicants. There is a poster who was on here for years (though haven't seen her in a LONG time) named @LeilaFay who was in a similar predicament. IIRC she ended up doing 2 bachelor degrees, applied 7 times, and moved, but she got in. You might want to read through those threads and see what she had to say.

Without knowing %s I can't be sure, but I suspect you will have to continue taking classes to either do the prereqs or start a new degree. You could always work on the prereqs so you can apply to UCVM while an Alberta resident, and then if you are unsuccessful there try gaining residency in a less competitive province to apply to WCVM?

Thank you for your kind reply. I'm not sure what my %s are and how to go about calculating those. Sadly, most of my experience is with small animals. I've been trying to think through the past couple of days what I should do and what are potential paths I could take on my way to veterinary medicine. It's really starting to become overwhelming!
 
UCVM doesn't really use percentages for cutoffs for interview anyway, it's always based on GPA :) I would definitely look into retaking some classes to boost up that prerequisite GPA for either school. I believe WCVM actually weighs grades more heavily than UCVM, but you'd have to do some poking around. I know that UCVM's admissions office is super helpful, so they might have some advice for you as well!


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Hello! Just wanted to add that if you have over 150 credits that WCVM will take off your first year. Im graduating this year from an Animal Bioscience degree and will be taking another year of post-bachelors open studies to get rid of that first year (my average was an extremely low 58% :lame:, I blame my toddler ;)). WCVM converts GPA to % so I would email Heather in admissions and ask her any questions, she is SO nice. I'm sure she would be able to clear up any questions and she always provides really in depth answers.
 
Hello - I have gotten myself into a predicament. I am currently a 4th year science student in Alberta and I have struggled with my study habits all of university. I started off first year with a low 2.5 GPA, but I have managed to pull my GPA up to a 3.0 as of this current moment. I do want to pursue veterinary medicine but I'm not sure if it is possible because of my grades as my biggest hinderance. I have years of experience working in a veterinary clinic and volunteering at animal rescues. Looking at UCVM, I know that in the 10 required courses, a min 3.0 is required but my average GPA for the 10 required courses is 2.68. I guess regardless I do still need to pull up my GPA - but do you think that it would be worth it to redo some of the 10 required courses in order to apply to UCVM? Or would it be best to just only focus on pulling up my GPA with the hopes of entering WCVM?

Okay, I'm a bit late to the boat here, but here's some advice based on your current situation. It might be a bit blunt, but hopefully it's super honest as to what I think would be most helpful for you to hear right now.

Somewhat disagreeing with what people have said above BUT. Unless it is only your first year holding you back, I do not think that you should be looking at WCVM. That's not my UCVM bias, it's an honest representation of chances of getting in. Unless you pull your GPA significantly above 3.0, I'm pretty sure the cut off for interviews (even if you moved to Saskatchewan or Manitoba) will be well out of reach. WCVM places a super strong emphasis on grades as a deciding factor of whether or not you get in when compared to UCVM. So I think aiming for UCVM will be a more attainable goal for you (again, unless that whole dropping your first year if over 150 credits is going to make a big GPA difference).

That said, retake some of your pre-req courses. Get a tutor! The only reason I passed OCHEM-II was because I got a really good tutor. There's no shame in it, and getting the grade in those classes will give you a good shot at getting an interview. Basically, if you make the grade cut-off and have some good experience and LOR, you have a pretty good shot at getting yourself an interview spot! My pre-req GPA was pretty low (I don't know exactly what it was, but I wanna say maybe in a 3.2ish range? With my overall GPA being a 3.8 ish). And people with 3.0 GPAs have been offered interviews in the past! To help with that, get experience volunteering with large animal vets! UCVM loves seeing that and it would also probably help pushing you up for that interview spot! And once you get that interview, it's worth like 60% of whether you get in whereas the interview is weighed much less heavily at WCVM. It make take some time to build that GPA and experience, but I did essentially 6 years of university before getting into vet school. You still have so much time to get yourself a strong application! You can do it, if you can just get that pre-req GPA above a 3! Like @awesomenessity said, contacting admissions is also a great way to go! They are awesome!

Now, this may not make me super popular but I do feel the need to say it: You might need to take a long, hard look at why your GPA is lower. It sounds like this year you've done a whole lot better recently since you've been able to pull up 0.5 of a grade point, and that's awesome! But honestly, the first year of vet school is ROUGH. It is all -ologies and science classes that are so much more than anything you'll ever learn in undergrad (and apparently it doesn't get better in later years). UCVM does take some of the edge off because we get to start our clinical skills in first year but it is so much harder than undergrad ever was. I don't know your situation or whether there were extenuating circumstances adding into the lower GPA and all of those are perfectly valid to take into consideration as to why your GPA might have been lower to start off with. But I posted my GPA numbers above. And right now, I am doing okay in vet school. Mostly B's. But the harder subjects - especially anatomy and physiology - are a massive struggle. I have a C- to a C ish right now in physiology, pending our latest midterm. My greatest claim to fame in anatomy is that at least I haven't failed any tests. Solid D there. And no matter how hard I work, I can't seem to pull up above that point because there is just so much that you need to know and no time in which to learn it. I wanted to bring this up because I also struggled (again, GPA 3.2 = struggled for me) with the pre-req courses, even with getting a tutor for some of them. And if it weren't for really great friends like @awesomenessity helping me in evaluating my study habits and improving them, I might actually be failing things. I just don't want you to work really hard to get your grades up and then get hit by the train of the beast called vet school. I am absolutely not saying that you can't do it! On the contrary, I'm rooting for you! But vet school is so, so difficult. You need to be ready. And I really wish someone had told me to take a hard look at my work ethic and studying techniques through my hard university courses because I feel like it would have made me a better person going into vet school, and better prepared. I don't even know if this massive paragraph makes any sense, but I really hope it does and gives you goals, not making you scared to go for them!

Wow this turned kind of long and ranty. TL;DR: Re-take pre-reqs, get some large animal experience to help with getting an interview, have a good long look at why your GPA is the way it is and whether you need to evaluate your study/learning habits to make your long term goal of succeeding through vet school a reality!

Again, we're rooting for you!
 
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UCVM doesn't really use percentages for cutoffs for interview anyway, it's always based on GPA :) I would definitely look into retaking some classes to boost up that prerequisite GPA for either school. I believe WCVM actually weighs grades more heavily than UCVM, but you'd have to do some poking around. I know that UCVM's admissions office is super helpful, so they might have some advice for you as well!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Hello! Just wanted to add that if you have over 150 credits that WCVM will take off your first year. Im graduating this year from an Animal Bioscience degree and will be taking another year of post-bachelors open studies to get rid of that first year (my average was an extremely low 58% :lame:, I blame my toddler ;)). WCVM converts GPA to % so I would email Heather in admissions and ask her any questions, she is SO nice. I'm sure she would be able to clear up any questions and she always provides really in depth answers.

Okay, I'm a bit late to the boat here, but here's some advice based on your current situation. It might be a bit blunt, but hopefully it's super honest as to what I think would be most helpful for you to hear right now.

Somewhat disagreeing with what people have said above BUT. Unless it is only your first year holding you back, I do not think that you should be looking at WCVM. That's not my UCVM bias, it's an honest representation of chances of getting in. Unless you pull your GPA significantly above 3.0, I'm pretty sure the cut off for interviews (even if you moved to Saskatchewan or Manitoba) will be well out of reach. WCVM places a super strong emphasis on grades as a deciding factor of whether or not you get in when compared to UCVM. So I think aiming for UCVM will be a more attainable goal for you (again, unless that whole dropping your first year if over 150 credits is going to make a big GPA difference).

That said, retake some of your pre-req courses. Get a tutor! The only reason I passed OCHEM-II was because I got a really good tutor. There's no shame in it, and getting the grade in those classes will give you a good shot at getting an interview. Basically, if you make the grade cut-off and have some good experience and LOR, you have a pretty good shot at getting yourself an interview spot! My pre-req GPA was pretty low (I don't know exactly what it was, but I wanna say maybe in a 3.2ish range? With my overall GPA being a 3.8 ish). And people with 3.0 GPAs have been offered interviews in the past! To help with that, get experience volunteering with large animal vets! UCVM loves seeing that and it would also probably help pushing you up for that interview spot! And once you get that interview, it's worth like 60% of whether you get in whereas the interview is weighed much less heavily at WCVM. It make take some time to build that GPA and experience, but I did essentially 6 years of university before getting into vet school. You still have so much time to get yourself a strong application! You can do it, if you can just get that pre-req GPA above a 3! Like @awesomenessity said, contacting admissions is also a great way to go! They are awesome!

Now, this may not make me super popular but I do feel the need to say it: You might need to take a long, hard look at why your GPA is lower. It sounds like this year you've done a whole lot better recently since you've been able to pull up 0.5 of a grade point, and that's awesome! But honestly, the first year of vet school is ROUGH. It is all -ologies and science classes that are so much more than anything you'll ever learn in undergrad (and apparently it doesn't get better in later years). UCVM does take some of the edge off because we get to start our clinical skills in first year but it is so much harder than undergrad ever was. I don't know your situation or whether there were extenuating circumstances adding into the lower GPA and all of those are perfectly valid to take into consideration as to why your GPA might have been lower to start off with. But I posted my GPA numbers above. And right now, I am doing okay in vet school. Mostly B's. But the harder subjects - especially anatomy and physiology - are a massive struggle. I have a C- to a C ish right now in physiology, pending our latest midterm. My greatest claim to fame in anatomy is that at least I haven't failed any tests. Solid D there. And no matter how hard I work, I can't seem to pull up above that point because there is just so much that you need to know and no time in which to learn it. I wanted to bring this up because I also struggled (again, GPA 3.2 = struggled for me) with the pre-req courses, even with getting a tutor for some of them. And if it weren't for really great friends like @awesomenessity helping me in evaluating my study habits and improving them, I might actually be failing things. I just don't want you to work really hard to get your grades up and then get hit by the train of the beast called vet school. I am absolutely not saying that you can't do it! On the contrary, I'm rooting for you! But vet school is so, so difficult. You need to be ready. And I really wish someone had told me to take a hard look at my work ethic and studying techniques through my hard university courses because I feel like it would have made me a better person going into vet school, and better prepared. I don't even know if this massive paragraph makes any sense, but I really hope it does and gives you goals, not making you scared to go for them!

Wow this turned kind of long and ranty. TL;DR: Re-take pre-reqs, get some large animal experience to help with getting an interview, have a good long look at why your GPA is the way it is and whether you need to evaluate your study/learning habits to make your long term goal of succeeding through vet school a reality!

Again, we're rooting for you!

Thank you all for your replies, I really appreciate you all for taking time out of your day to reply to me. I will definitely be taking the advice to talk to admissions and bump up my pre-requisite courses. Studying has always been a struggle for me, and I used to always think it was because I never learned how to study - in high school, I never had the need to study to do exceptionally well, so these bad habits carried into university, thinking that it would still work for me. Apparently not, given my first year GPA. I feel that I still fight a lot with getting myself to sit down and focus... my mind seems to wander pretty easily. Hopefully I can keep myself focused for these upcoming years! Thank you all again!
 
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