So I did extremely poor my first three years of high school due to a mix of issues with serious illness in family and my general irresponsibility and lack of hope for my future. I had a 1.7 GPA my junior year and ended up graduating with a 3.0. I completed 32 credits in an online high school my senior year which was absolute hell to do but I wanted to at least have some chance of getting into school. I want to become a veterinarian but I am worried that I won’t even get into a college because of the classes I failed in the past. I also don’t want them to think that I’m just willing to wait until the last minute. I got a 34 on my ACT but I don’t think this will be enough. A school I am looking at, Eckerd, is my absolute dream school (even though there is a 0% I could get it probably) and they have no application requirements. After looking into it the average GPA there for applicants who are accepted seems to be around a 3.4 which puts me much lower. Do you think that schools, even if it’s not my top choice, will look at my grades and see the sudden jump as something that they should reject me for my past failures? Or do you think that they will see that I’m trying to improve and that I have it in me to succeed? Would I even deserve to go when there are people who work harder than me?
To be honest, your best bet is to go to community college and then apply to 4-year universities. You have already proven that you are intelligent by earning a 34 on the ACT – now prove to colleges that you can use that intelligence for good and do well at a CC. You will have time to demonstrate your passion for becoming a veterinarian, and you can also build a list of strong EC’s.
As for if you can get into Eckerd or not, I have no clue. With a 3.0 GPA, you can likely get into many colleges – that said, it doesn’t sound like your 3.0 GPA is your cumulative GPA, and I don’t know what your classes were. CC is still my suggestion, and it will give you time to learn how to work harder and be prepared to actually try in school.
Plenty of people deserve to go a good school, but you have to prove it just as everyone else does. I wish you the best of luck!
Thank you for responding! And 3.0 is my cumulative GPA. I probably should have specified that. My cumulative my junior year was 1.7, when I graduated it was 3.0.
Even with a 4.0 senior year a 1.7 cannot be increased to a 3.0.
What do you mean you completed 32 “credits” senior year?
I mean I completed 32 credits online senior year? I don’t think that is too confusing. I completed 32 credits worth of classes, which raise my GPA to a 3.0. I completed classes ahead of schedule to earn more credits. Each credit affects GPA. Credits are what affect GPA, a two semester long course is one credit a one semester long course is half a credit, etc… Not sure where the confusion is.
Probably the fact that 32 credits sounds kind of impossible? That would be four times the maximum credit load at the high school I went to.
Well we went to different schools. My school had no maximum credit load, as soon as you finished a course you got a new one. It only took me 1 1/2 weeks to finish semester long courses and 2 1/2 to finish year long ones. I worked hard to get all of those done. I guess it seems like a lot but I was more than capable.
I think that a 3.0 plus a 34 on the ACT should probably get you into a decent 4 year university. Obviously it won’t get you into an Ivy League school, and your in-state flagship public school is also likely to be out of reach (maybe depending a bit on what state you are in). However, a 34 on the ACT plus the ability to pull yourself together like that senior year makes it look like you have the potential to do well, and I think that there will probably be mid-tier schools that will take a chance on you.
I think that you should go ahead and apply to Eckerd, as well as other “decent but not too selective” universities, and see what happens. If you don’t get in then community college plus a transfer is another option. Either way, you do have time to overcome your academically challenged past.
Now, once you get to a decent 4 year university, if you want to do on to veterinary school then you will need a VERY good GPA in university (as well as taking appropriate prerequisites and showing appropriate ECs). However, veterinary schools and graduate schools won’t look at your high school record at all.
Eckerd has a high acceptance rate, and a very good reputation for accommodating non-traditional and older students (my husband’s BFF earned his degree there as a middle-aged man). Where do you live, and what are your financial constraints?