The Misconception of Perfection: The Academic Lead-Up to Vet School

I FAILED Ochem II, TWICE. Okay, now that I have your attention, let’s talk about veterinary school and the academic journey that brought me here.

In high school, you were told to get straight A’s and take all the advanced placement (AP) classes so that you could get into a good college. In college, you were told to continue to get all A’s, get animal and vet experience, do research, join all the clubs, have leadership roles, be well-rounded, find mentors, and then maybe you’ll get into a veterinary school. Okay, got it. Become superhuman so that you can manipulate time and be in multiple places at once to get everything done while also protecting your GPA like a tiger. Easy!

I wish I were kidding about the first part, but unfortunately, something along those lines was likely drilled into you at an early age. Sharing your dream of becoming a veterinarian was probably met with some encouragement, coupled with “that’s a lot of school” and “it’s a hard career path”.

Those comments are undermined by a degree of truth. There are currently 33 AVMA-accredited veterinary schools in the United States and 16 outside the United States, bringing the total to roughly 49 accredited schools. To put that into perspective, there are over 200 medical schools in the U.S. alone and hundreds more if you look outside of the U.S.

Veterinary school parallels medical school. After the traditional four years of undergraduate education, there are an additional four years of medical training, followed by the ability to pursue an internship and residency. Statistically speaking, getting into veterinary school is hard, but that does not mean you have to be “perfect” to get in.

Having gone through this lovely rat race and now having had the opportunity to walk other students through the process, I am creating this post to share my authentic and candid academic experience leading up to veterinary school. Spoiler alert: my grades were nowhere near “perfect,” and I also prioritized outside hobbies. The information in this post is all from personal experience, and I am sharing this in hopes of bringing some realness into the “type A+” profession we are all entering. Some of the things I am going to be sharing were things that I didn’t talk about in undergrad. They were things I was embarrassed by, and I am sure that even some people reading this who know me will be surprised to learn these things for the first time. It is easy to tether your self-worth to grades and accolades, and I walked that fine line during my early academic journey. I am by no means saying that is something I do not still struggle with in veterinary school, but I am more self-aware of these habits and can pivot accordingly.

With that being said, I am giving you an unfiltered version of my academic journey. I am sharing this as neutral information, purely for your reference. We could all take the same courses, get similar grades and experience, while still not getting into the same veterinary schools. I want my website and resources to be authentic, and when you read something, I want you to know that you are getting the full story. The real, the raw, and the vulnerable. Please do not try to compare your stats, use this post to beat yourself up, OR think that you will automatically get into vet school if you have similar or better stats. Everyone’s road is different, and there is always a way to achieve your goals. It is never too late, and at the end of the day, vet school admissions are unpredictable.

Ok, now we are ready to dive in. Let’s rewind to high school, since before then, grades didn’t really matter. I was a straight-A student in high school and was in the valedictory circle. I graduated with a 4.5 GPA and was accepted into every college that I applied to, except I was waitlisted at UCLA. I had mainly applied to California schools and was accepted into UC Berkley, UC San Diego, USD, SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, and UC Davis, to name a few. As you know by now, I chose Cal Poly SLO and loved my experience.

High school courses had come fairly easily, and college was also off to a smooth start until the lovely little COVID storm happened. My first two quarters at Cal Poly were in-person, and the spring quarter was virtual. I ended with all A’s and three (A-)’s, which left me with a 3.93 cumulative GPA. I took 16 units during the summer and got A’s in all of them, raising my overall GPA to 3.944.

The second year was also completely virtual, and that is when I started to get into the heavier science courses. I was also working full-time at my hometown veterinary clinic, gaining valuable clinical experience. That year I got B’s and B- in general chemistry, a B+ in cancer biology, and a B+ in organismal form and function. I also got a B+ in animal nutrition, which is slightly ironic now, given how much I love nutrition. Before that year, I had never smelt a “B” in my life, and I guess I just couldn’t get enough. The rest of the courses were A’s. At the end of my second year, I had a 3.76 GPA, and I was excited to be out of the general chemistry series since the saying was that if you didn’t like general chemistry, you would probably like organic chemistry. Boy, in my case, that was a wrong statement…

My third year at Cal Poly was wonderful and a hot mess all in one. I had scored a student management position at the on-campus veterinary clinic, and it was my first introduction to organic chemistry. Ochem I was a fairly mild experience, and I proudly ended the course with a B. Thinking that the second organic chemistry would also go off without a hitch, I loaded up my quarter with some extra science courses and quickly regretted that decision. Ochem II came with vengeance, and I got a D+ in the lecture portion and a B+ in the lab. I guess I can safely perform chemical reactions, so that must count for something… The rest of the courses were A’s and a B in physics I.

Knowing that vet schools do not accept a D+, I enrolled in the organic chemistry II lecture portion for the following quarter thinking that it would be better. I also naïvely decided that it was going to be easier the second time around, so I added even more units, including immunology, animal biochemistry, a physics lab, and dairy cattle nutrition. I was deceived, once again, and got a measly C-, which equated to not passing for the SECOND TIME (YIKES). I got A’s in everything else, but as you may know, vet schools do not accept a C- for their prerequisites. I would need to retake the class yet again, and those were two gnarly hits to my science GPA. Understandably, this was not my favorite situation to be in, and I was pretty frustrated with my performance.

Even though I had not done well in organic chemistry, there was not a moment when I had second thoughts about pursuing vet school. I knew that my grade in that class did not reflect my academic ability, my intelligence, or my value as a person. I also knew that it would not dictate the type of veterinarian that I would become. It was instead a road bump that I had to figure out how to overcome and deal with the consequences of retaking that class, yet again.

This situation brings up an important point. Failing a class or encountering a challenging academic experience is often a pivotal point where students freak out and contemplate giving up their dream career. According to Brené Brown’s study on human emotion, two main emotions may determine how a challenge (such as failing a class) is approached: shame vs guilt.

Approaching this situation with shame draws the focus on oneself and can become a destructive emotion. It is saying “I am stupid” or “I am not good enough”. On the other hand, guilt focuses on behavior and can be a healthy adaptive emotion. It is saying “I did something stupid” or “I made a mistake”. Those who have the ability to detach their self-worth from an external event often have an easier time pushing through. The way that a challenge is approached can create a spiral of despair or be a catalyst to an awesome story of perseverance. Understanding that your performance in one class does not make you “less than” or influence your worth or intelligence is key to resilience and mental fortitude.

I knew that Ochem was hard and realized that my study habits for that course were not effective (it took a little longer than it should have to realize that). I ended up retaking the lecture virtually through UCSD Extension and got an A. This version was accepted by veterinary schools since I had already taken and passed the in-person part of the lab. I guess the third time truly is a charm, and honestly, the online format was my saving grace. At the end of my third year of vet school, I had a 3.708 GPA and was applying to vet schools.

Here are the VMCAS stats I had when applying:

Each school calculates the GPAs (cumulative, most recent 45 semester/68 quarter, and VMCAS overall science) on its own, and while they are fairly similar across the board, there may be some slight variation. Per Cal Poly, my cumulative GPA at the time I applied was 3.708, but since I had taken Ochem twice, it was averaged differently for vet schools, and my stats ended up being:

Cumulative GPA: 3.67

Most Recent 45 semester/68 quarter: 3.47 (each retake was taken into consideration, so this GPA is easy to tank, or improve based on the classes you take)

VMCAS Overall Science: 3.53

Vet Experience Hours (working directly with a veterinarian): 4,070 hours I believe this truly was my saving grace

Research: 2 Quarters focused on dairy cattle genomics and Johne’s Disease

My senior year, I was taking some of my favorite classes and got straight A’s except for a B in physics II. Veterinary schools do not factor in your GPA from senior year since the application was already submitted in September. They just verify that you did not fail any of the prerequisites and graduated from the university. By the time I graduated from Cal Poly, I had a cumulative GPA of 3.724 and had been accepted into 6 of the 13 vet schools I applied to. I had declined interview offers after being accepted into UC Davis, so by default, those schools are listed under the “rejected” category.

School	Ranking as of 2023	Decision
Colorado State	4th in the US	Rejected
North Carolina State	2nd in the US	Rejected
Kansas State	13th in the US	Rejected
Oregon State	37th in the US	Rejected
Washington State	24th in the US	Rejected
Cornell	3rd in the US	Rejected
Iowa	7th in the US	Accepted
Arizona State	56th worldwide	Rejected
Lincoln Memorial	21st in the US	Accepted
University of California Davis	1st worldwide	Accepted
Western	86th worldwide	Accepted
Royal Veterinary School	7th worldwide	Accepted
Midwestern University	75th worldwide	Rejected
Glasgow	40th worldwide	Accepted
Minnesota	14th worldwide	Rejected

*There are currently only 49 veterinary colleges that are accredited by the AVMA, but there are other schools that are not accredited, which is why some of the rankings are higher than 49

As you can see, vet school acceptances are unpredictable. Most schools have a two-part acceptance process. The initial application screening, where applicants are ranked based on GPA, experience, and letters of recommendation, and then the interview process. I enjoy talking to people and knew that once I had received an interview offer, my chances of getting into the school were fairly high. It was the initial ranking based on GPA that was tricky, but I believe my robust experience hours, personal statement, and letters of recommendation helped boost my application. Each applicant will have different strengths within their application, so try to highlight those aspects and realize that there is no such thing as the “perfect vet school applicant”. We are all human, and imperfection is part of the human experience.

I know that this post may be overwhelming, regardless of where you fall on the spectrum. There are a lot of emotions tied to the vet school application process, and the waiting is brutal. As one of my wise mentors once said, “The best vet school is the one you get into,” and that statement still rings true. The rankings of these schools are something that should be taken with a grain of salt. The veterinary school experience is what you make of it, and at the end of the day, everyone graduates with the same degree. It is key to understand that each program has its strengths and weaknesses, so find the school that fits your needs, you’re certainly paying enough. While interviewing, understand that while they are interviewing you, to some degree, you are also interviewing them and trying to see if this school is going to be a good fit. In vet school, the perspective placed on learning should shift from learning something to pass a class to learning something so that you can implement it as a veterinarian and help save the lives of animals.  

As a personal side note, I only offer tutoring for classes I excelled in and enjoyed, which is why you will NOT be getting any organic chemistry study sessions from me! If you have struggled with organic chemistry, or are currently struggling with it, just do your best to get through it (and maybe look into the UCSD Extension program). Thus far in vet school, I have not encountered a need to recite the Friedel-Crafts Alkylation and Acylation reactions. I absolutely love pharmacology and nutrition, which is theoretically where organic chemistry would be most applicable. Know that things get better, and you will not be at a disadvantage if you do not ace the organic chemistry series. I also have all the courses I took at Cal Poly listed by quarter in THIS document. Veterinary school requirements are constantly changing, so please check with each school to make sure that you are going to meet their specific requirements. Don’t just follow the courses I took. My goal behind putting my whole undergraduate schedule in this post was to allow you to have an idea of how the courses can go together and the academic load associated with each quarter.

I hope that this post helped shine a light on the “behind-the-scenes” events that got me to where I am today. It was not a seamless road paved with straight A’s, and having some trouble with pesky pre-requisites is common. I had plenty of B’s coupled with some hard GPA hits from my lovely Ochem II experience. It is easy to feel like you are the only one struggling with a certain subject, but odds are, there are plenty of others struggling right alongside you. Reach out for help early on. This career is not a solo journey, and the sooner you can learn to take accountability for your learning and feel comfortable asking others for support, the easier things will be. This will also help prepare you for a career in veterinary medicine. It is certainly not a solo profession and being able to rely on colleagues for support, while honoring both your own and their perspectives, is crucial for success. Pride and an individualistic mindset can hinder professional growth, knowledge, and the overall well-being of your patients.

At the end of the day, everyone’s route is different, and that is a fun part of life! Seeking help and having a solid support system is key, and my goal for this website is to be that resource for you. I am here to discuss classes and help walk you through the application process to make it less intimidating. If being a veterinarian is what you want to do, with a little (or a lot) of determination and perseverance, you will find a way.

You’ve got this ♡