Does UC Davis Vet school spot applicants GPA points from more difficult schools?

Pre-Vet & Veterinary Medicine
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My D is a high school junior who will apply to college for the Fall of 2020 for a pre-vet major with the hope of eventually going to Vet school. She has a 3,6 and a 1080 SAT. Her reach schools are UCR, UCI, UCD, and Cal Poly SLO. The other schools she’ll apply to are Cal Poly Pomona, Chico, Fresno, Long Beach, Fullerton, and Northridge.

I see that the average GPA at UCD for vet school admitees is 3.65. I think that she could get this GPA at a CSU. However, if she got into UCR or UCI and only got a 3.35 GPA, would UCD consider this equivalent to a 3.65 GPA? In other words, would UCD add 0.3 (or any amount) to a GPA from a more difficult school?

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Seriously? No Vet school is not going to give applicants an extra bump for attending a “perceived” more competitive school.

**From the UCD website FAQ:
Does it matter where I obtain my undergraduate degree?
No, but it will be necessary for you to take the required prerequisite courses, and you will need to provide evidence that you can handle a rigorous upper division science curriculum. It would be to your advantage to select an institution that offers the required courses plus additional upper division science courses as part of an undergraduate degree program.

The overall GPA for Vet school admits at UCD for 2018 was 3.7. Your D should go to the school where she has the best chance for a competitive GPA, access to Animal related volunteering/Research and able to prepare for the GRE. If the CSU’s is where she thinks she can succeed, then that is where she should consider attending.

Some UCD Vet stats:

https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/admissions/application-statistics-class-2021

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Totally agree with Gumbymom. Vet schools look at all the colleges equally. She should go where she can get the best GPA, that has all the prerequisites, that gives good access to Animal experience/research, and that she can go to with the lowest debt because vet school is expensive!

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Sorry about the typo regarding the quote about “Does it matter where I obtain my Undergraduate Degree?” It mentions UMass in the body of the text but the same philosophy can be applied to any undergraduate school. I copied and pasted part of a different quote, but the advice is still there. She should attend the best fit school and where she can excel regardless of name/prestige/perceived difficulty.

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Thanks @momocarly and @Gumbymom! I appreciate your advice. I kind of had the feeling that a Vet school was not going to spot points from a more difficult undergraduate school. (My background is engineering, and I know some companies will favor graduates from some more prestigous schools over others, and excuse slightly lower GPAs from the top engineering schools. However, this does not seem to apply to Vet school admissions)

It does seem a bit ironic that if you are “lucky” enough to get into a “reach” school as a biology major, and you avoid getting weeded out in the first year, you could still end up with only B’s or C’s as the students in the top 15% of the class pick up all of the A’s. Then you’ll end up with a great degree from a great school, but with a GPA that is not good enough for Vet school. (I recently talked to a Junior at UCR who told me that half the class is weeded out before their Junior year, and that students camp out at the library and study 24 hours straight during finals week. I’d rather my D go to a school where she is in at least the top half of the class to have a chance at getting A’s in at least half her classes).

I think my D’s “best” school would be Chico, Fresno, or Cal Poly Pomona for Animal Sciences. (I think Cal Poly SLO might be too competitive if she was lucky enough to get in).

  • Are there any other CSU’s she should consider? (e.g. Stansilaus for Biological Sciences or Humboldt for Zoology?)
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I would look at Humbodlt State, San Francisco State (Biology/Zoology option) and San Diego State (Biology/Zoology option).

She does not have to major in Animal Science/Zoology to fulfill the Vet school requirements. I would also look at the WUE schools and the are many with the Animal Sciences and related majors at these schools.

https://wuesavingsfinder.wiche.edu/search-results.php

1 Like
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Thanks!

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Hello, @Gregmacd - while I am not familiar with UC Davis specifically, I did want to point out a few misconceptions and pitfalls of many pre-vet students. Also, I am not trying to discourage your daughter from pursuing veterinary medicine but I do like to educate pre-vet students on what vet med entails. (For reference, I am a third year veterinary student - almost done!!!)

One of the biggest issues facing recent veterinarians is the student loan debt. The average student loan debt for 2017 graduates was $144,000. And over 25% have debt above $200,000. The average starting salary for 2017 grads was only $73,000. To put the debt to income ratio into perspective, I will never pay off my student loans. My only salvation are income based repayment options that will enable me to survive every month. And I can only hope that this debt burden I face does not prevent me from buying a car or purchasing a house in the future. The main contributing factor for the outrageous student loans is that vet school tuition just keeps on rising. As an example, in 2000 in-state tuition for vet students at Kansas State University was $5,674 per year. Now in-state tuition at K-state is pushing $25,000. Nearly a 450% increase in 18 years! And K-state is not alone - this is occurring at every vet school in the nation. (I just happen to have numbers for k-state.)

Luckily the job opportunities for veterinarians are plenty. From private practice, corporate practice, research to government - the job opportunities are basically endless.

If you are not aware, vet school admission is based on state residency. More seats are available to in-state residents than non-residents. In addition, it is generally cheaper to go to your in-state vet school. (there are a few special caveats but I will not go into that here…) Thus, I would highly recommend you daughter attend an in-state school for undergrad and plan on attending her in-state school for vet school (if she has one.) Planning on attending her in-state vet school even it’s not her dream school will help with heart ache and financial ruin later. I’m not trying to sound harsh, but having realistic expectations now will help with vet school planning in the future. (My parents never discussed college expectations or budget. I had planned to attend a certain school since 13yrs and needless to say that didn’t quite align with the pocketbook.) Plus, as long as she attends an AVMA accredited vet school, it really does not matter where she goes. Don’t get fooled into believing the US News vet school rankings. They don’t mean anything as most veterinary schools opt not to participate.

As a HS Jr, it may be possible for your daughter to begin shadowing a local veterinarian. That would be the best way to understand the field and know if it is something she truly wants to pursue. While veterinary medicine is treating animals, the majority of the vet’s time is spent with humans. In reality, vet med is a people job not an animal job. Tending to and caring for the animals typically falls to the support staff of the vet clinic.

I would also recommend that she choose an undergrad major in college that enables for a back-up plan. I did not get accepted into vet school on my first attempt and I was thankful my major enabled me a great job opportunity outside of vet med. (If majoring in AnSc or biology, what job opportunities really exist that will allow her to be self sufficient upon graduation that she would enjoy doing?) Also, keep in mind that her major can be ANYTHING as long as she completes the pre-reqs. So if she would like to major in accounting/art/English she could.

Best luck to your daughter on the road ahead. It may be a long and tough road but hopefully it will be worth it.

Let me know if you or your daughter has any further questions. I would be happy to answer them.

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@chestie69 Thanks for the info and congrats on making it to the 3rd year of Vet school! I heard that Vet school does not have a great ROI from https://vetschoolbound.org/how-much-will-my-veterinary-education-cost/

We are California residents, and unfortunately UC Davis only cuts us a $13k break over the 4 years for being a resident, so UC Davis will still cost $245,855. I did notice that if my daughter is able to gain residency in Utah or Nevada, UC Davis will still cost the same, but WSU will only be $182,490 and Oregon will only be $173,700, which is still a lot, but maybe slightly more affordable.

Although one could major in anything, a Cal Poly Pomona student told me she neutered a pig on the 1st day of class.

  • Do you think Animal Science at a school with hands on working with animals be better than a school that just offers a biology major? (I’m also concerned with her being weeded out with the pre-meds majoring in Biology)
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@chestie69
Is this the “income based repayment options” payment plan that you referred to:
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven

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@chestie69: You wrote that “Tending to and caring for the animals typically falls to the support staff of the vet clinic.”

In our experience over many decades as animal owners that has never been the case.

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@Gregmacd I do know of several CA residents that have opted to go OOS as it was not much/any more expensive than UC Davis. I do not know how difficult it would be to gain residency, but Washington State does contract with many western states (as you pointed out) so that may be a good option. (http://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/residency)
The link you provided is what I was referring to with regarding loan repayments. Basically, I will pay 10% of my discretionary income towards my loans every month. After 20 years, my loans are forgiven but the amount forgiven is taxable thus I will owe Uncle Sam a large sum.

@Publisher Of couse animal owners provide their pets with the loving care on a daily basis but in the scope of a veterinary hospital, veterinarians provide very little hands on nursing care. Think about it like human med. You have doctors and then nurses followed by supporting staff. Which one does the blood draw, IV catheter and bandage changes? (Probably not the doctor) Vet med has a similar setup. Veterinary technicians usually perform nursing tasks in the veterinary setting. I think one misnomer is how much a people job being a veterinarian entails. I find many want to go into vet med to “escape” humans and unfortunately that just isn’t the case.

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@chestie69: I think that you may have misunderstood my prior post in this thread. My point is that over many decades involving several hundred vet office visits in a few different states, our dogs were always treated by the vet, vet student interns or in the presence of the vet if performed by an intern or staff member…

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Sorry, also forgot to address your question about the major:

I have always been small animal focused. Animal Science focuses more on large animal and production medicine. Whether ANSc is a good major, I feel it depends on your daughter’s goals and interest. (Is she interested in large animal, can she see herself as a farm production manager or similar career as a “plan b” option?) I also agree with your assessment of biology regarding pre-meds and in reality an undergrad degree in biology does not afford many decently paid career plan b opportunities. I struggled with choosing a major but ultimately settled on biochemistry as I loved and excelled at chemistry freshman year. I entered school as “pre-vet undecided” and choose my major sophomore year after deciding on what I liked and didn’t like. I would not choose a major just because it offers “hands on experience”. When I applied to vet school, we were not allowed to include experiences that were part of a class. If we received educational credit then we could not count it towards our experience hours.

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@Publisher I agree that during appointments/office visits the veterinarian should be and is present. Heck, that’s what you are paying for - the vet’s assessment of your animal and knowledge. However, I would be shocked if it’s the vet that is actually drawing blood, preparing the animal for surgery, taking radiographs or even cleaning the teeth for dentals as that is not an efficient use of their time. I’m not saying they can’t do those tasks but they should instead be using their time to diagnose disease or perform surgery.

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@chestie69 Thanks for the advice! She likes her dogs and she likes horses, so I’ll have to discuss “plan B” options with her. She did mention that she’d be happy with being a Vet tech, which I understand is a 2-year degree. (I come from the engineering world, and it seems almost impossible to get an engineering degree that would prepare you for an engineering technician job, but I know little about Vet tech careers)

  • Are there pre-Vet majors where one could get a 4-year degree and work as a Vet Tech if they decide against Vet school?
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There are bachelor degrees in veterinary technology (veterinary technologist=4yr vs veterinary technician=2yr ) but generally it is recommended that if you want to be a vet then you should not become a licensed/registered vet tech. However, I will say there are at least 3 licensed/registered vet techs in my vet class so I’m not sure where that recommendation originated but it is frequently cited. Also, most states do not require one to be a licensed/registered vet tech. Most vet techs receive on-the-job-training instead of an official education. However, I do believe CA is one of the states where techs do have to be licensed/registered (ie graduate from an approved program and take a board exam.)

I do think one important part is for your daughter to understand the difference in jobs between vet and vet tech. Thus, I would highly suggest shadowing/assisting in a vet hospital prior to committing to vet school.

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Chestie is giving you great advice. My son is working as a vet tech during the summers for an equine vet. He had training as a vet assistant in high school and was certified but has had no trining other than one-the-job as a vet tech. Texas does not require vet techs to be certified. I don’t suggest going the vet tech route since they have to be certified in CA. The classes for vet tech don’t transfer to most 4-year colleges. My son is majoring in animal science. He was torn between biology and animal science but felt that He could find an animal science job he would be happy with as a plan B. (He wants to be equine). Some days he wished he had chosen biology and then he looks at his pre-med gf’s work!

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@chestie69 Thanks!

I’ll look further into the veterinary technology 4-year degree. D originally said that she only wanted a 2-year Vet Tech degree, but I was originally thinking that she’d need a 4-year degree if she also wanted to be a Vet. (Sometimes D says she wants to be a Vet and other times she says she wants to be a Vet Tech.) D signed up for a volunteer program with the Animal Shelter, but I don’t think it involves working with a Vet, so D is also looking for summer jobs working directly with a Vet. So hopefully D can get a job/ volunteer expeirence to help her decide). Anyhow, it’s good to hear that at least 3 other licensed/registered vet techs made it to Vet School. Do you know if they have 2-year or 4 year degrees?

I recently saw that Pierce College claims it has “… the most successful two-year Pre-Veterinary Science program in the State of California. … As of today (October 2018), 278 Pierce alumni have applied and been accepted into graduate schools of veterinary medicine. … Our students have been accepted at UC Davis, … Oregon State University, Washington State at Pullman…” http://www.piercecollege.edu/departments/agriculture/preveterinary.asp However, I’m assuming these students spent more than 2-years to get the Vet school prereqs, which I assume normally take 4 years to complete.

Anyhow, I’m thinking that a 4-year degree in veterinary technology or Animal Science might be the best for her, since it might create several “plan b’s”, which might include the option of working as either a Vet tech or going on to Vet school.

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@momocarly Thanks!

I think my D wants to do what your S did - get some training as a vet assistant in high school, decide if she wants to be a Vet or Vet Tech, and work with horses. The Animal Science major sounds like a good one, because he can either go to Vet school or have several other “plan b’s”. Yes, I’m concerned that if D goes straight for a 2-year vet tech degree, but then wants a 4-year degree, she might be starting over, so Animal Science or a 4-year Vet technologist degree might be the best.

I’m also looking for a program that accepts my D as a qualified student that they try to graduate rather than weed out. I majored in mechanical engineering at Drexel. Most of my classmates, including myself, had no idea that we signed up for a giant weedout program, where only a small fraction would graduate with an engineering degree. Many had a GPA below 2.0 by the end of Freshman year, which prevented them from transferring out of the school, so they were forced to switch to another major, like business. (It’s a lot cheaper for a school to educate someone in buisness, than mechanical engineering).

I’d like to say that I survived by working hard, but there were a lot of shenanigans to survive such as (1) only enrolling in classes with the higher grading professors, (2) taking non-engineering classes just to get an easy “A”, (3) deferring some lower division weedout courses until senior year, (4) taking some upper division courses (where they mostly gave “A’s” or “B’s”) that didn’t have prereqs during Freshman and Sophomore years to balance out the “C’s” and “D’s” of the weedout courses, (5) taking weedout credits at a different school and then transferring them in for credit only to avoid getting a “C” or “D” in them at Drexel, (6) taking classes at night where they mostly gave “A’s” or “B’s” to the employees who needed a minimum grade to get reimbursed by their employer, (7) hunting down back tests and solution manuals, etc. Despite surviving with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, the school was just a miserable experience of constant study and a lack of sleep, which still has me bitter at the school and unrecommending it to friends and relatives. Just hoping my D does not enroll in a similar school.