Do you love the animals and you want to be a veterinarian, but you are worried about your grades? Do you want to know besides the GPA what are other requirements are needed? Don’t miss this article because we explain it all. Let’s see What Is A Good GPA For Vet School?
Many universities have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.5 or higher for veterinary school but it would vary on the university and on where is it located. See below a few universities and their different GPA requirements:
| University | GPA |
| Auburn | 3.7 |
| Colorado State | 3.6 |
| Cornell | 3.7 |
| Iowa State | 3.6 |
| Kansas State | 3.6 |
| Lincoln Memorial | 3.3 |
| Louisiana State | 3.8 |
| Michigan State | 3.4 |
| Midwestern University | 3.2 |
| Mississippi State | 3.7 |
| NC State | 3.7 |
| Ohio State | 3.4 |
| Oklahoma State | 3.5 |
| Oregon State | 3.6 |
| Purdue | 3.5 |
| Texas A&M | 3.7 |
| Tufts | 3.8 |
| Tuskegee | 3.3 |
| UC Davis | 3.7 |
| University of Florida | 3.7 |
| University of Georgia | 3.7 |
| University of Illinois | 3.6 |
| University of Minnesota | 3.6 |
| University of Missouri | 3.7 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 3.6 |
| University of Tennessee | 3.7 |
| University of Wisconsin | 3.6 |
| Virginia Tech | 3.5 |
| Washington State | 3.7 |
| Western University | 3.3 |
As is shown above, a few universities accept until 3.2 GPA. In addition, you should know that the GPA is not the only requirement at the moment of submitting your application for Vet school, you also need: varied animal experience, recommendations letters, a personal statement, and take the Graduate Record Exam or GRE. See below for more details about each one:
- Varied animal experience: when you apply to a vet school varied animal experience is a must. You have to have proof evidence of how many hours of experience do you have working in veterinary clinics, it doesn’t matter the size of the clinic, whether it is a zoo, stable, wildlife rescue, or animal shelter but the experience must be in all areas such as basic activities, assisting with procedures or treatments.
- Recommendation letter: the recommendation letter is one of the most important things in the application for vet school due to it would evidence the relationship that you made during your college and your jobs because those are the ones that would write the recommendation letter. Your professors, partners, or bosses.
Depending on the application will vary the number of recommendation letters but the average is three letters per student. The letter should explain the areas where you would like to specialize, such as leadership roles, animal care, animal handling, or communication skills. The format and the method of submitting the letter will vary on the university.
- Personal statement: This part is where you must put all your efforts. In the statement you will be able to place the details about your interest in being a vet, your history, your education, why should they accept your application, and how hard had you worked preparing yourself for this new adventure.
- Take the Graduate Record Exam or GRE: the GRE is an exam that is required in the admission process to the universities. The test evaluates verbal, written, quantitative and other components. If you obtained a high GRE punctuation you can compensate for a low average GPA.
Other requirements can improve and make to looks more attractive your application are the courses in the area science or of animal management and handling, Laboratory research, and Wildlife/conservation.
How the students can have a high GPA?
First, you need to be sure about what your is interest in life, you must be sure about what do you want to be in life and therefore what are you going to study… I recommend you start thinking about your career at the moment that you start high school. Once you were sure about what career are you interested in, you should look for the universities that offer that career and what are the requirements of that university; remember that the requirements will vary per university and state.
Once you were sure about your future career, the university, and the university´s requirements, those are the tips that you should know to work for have a good GPA and keep it during your high school years:
1. Organize your classes, your study time, and your relaxing time.
2. Be focused on your objective (that is your high GPA) and don’t get distracted.
3. Turn in your assessment on time.
4. Don’t miss any classes.
5. Don’t take classes that you don’t need.
6. Always sit near the teacher and let them know that you are there, present, interesting, and participating in all their classes.
7. Prioritize your studies and you have to work, just do it part time.
8. Don’t give up and any class. If things are going bad just work harder and inverts more time studying.
9. Join class groups such as science, math, or any other classes.
10. Ask for a tutor and ask him/her constantly feedback.
11. Take care of yourself by eating well, drinking water, and sleeping during the appropriate hours.
12. Study with high-GPA partners.
13. Go to the library and study with past tests, it always helps.
14. Always keep in mind how to calculate your GPA.
15. Use all the tools available in your school, not just the internet. The information that is in the encyclopedia, is always worth it.
How to know that I have a good GPA?
The calculation and letters grades will vary on the university and the state, but the most common calculation is the “Total number of grade points earned divided by the total number of credit hours attempted”. Once you have the calculation of your GPA, this is the most common letter grades scale:
| Average | Letter |
| A | 4.0 |
| A- | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3 |
| B- | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2 |
| C- | 1.7 |
| D | 1 |
| F | 0 |
Now that you know what a good GPA for vet school is and what others requirements you need to improve your application process, you are ready for a start. Remember to keep focus, work hard, and let´s the adventures beings.
