Looking for advice!!!

Hi! I am currently a junior completing my undergraduate degree in the U.S. and I believe that I'm a strong applicant in most areas besides my academics/GPA.

My top choices: Edinburgh (4-year or 5-year) and Glasgow (5-year)

Current GPA: 3.21
My undergraduate degree is in Neuroscience and I get A's and B's in my neuroscience classes, which include upper-level biology classes—the problem is my vet school prerequisites.

I have 3 W's on my transcript:
Calculus I (retook; got a B+)
Calculus II (not planning on retaking)
Organic Chemistry I (planning on retaking lecture, projected to finish lab with a B+)

I also have 2 C-'s:
General Biology II (have gotten A's/B's in upper-level biologies, should I retake?)
General Chemistry II (retook; got a B)

I expect that by the time I apply in September my GPA will increase a bit, but not substantially. I was on Dean' List last year (above a 3.5 GPA for the academic year) and my low GPA is mostly due to freshman year. My grades have definitely improved since then.

Summary of other qualifications:
1000+ hours of animal experience.
~200 hours of veterinary experience (across a variety of specialties including: small animal, large animal/equine, emergency medicine, neurology, shelter medicine, dentistry, lab animal, and cardiology).
~300 hours of research (in 2 research labs at my university, study abroad research experience in Sicily).
~100 hours of volunteering outside of veterinary medicine.
Founder/President of my university's first neuroscience club.
Strong recommendation letters.
Minor (potentially double major) in classics.
Languages: English, American Sign Language, French, Italian, Arabic, Latin

Besides Edinburgh's veterinary medicine programmes, I will also be applying to their Applied Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare Msc and Neuroscience (Integrative Neuroscience) MScR as back-ups.

Is it worth it to apply to Edinburgh and Glasgow's vet med programmes this September or should I wait? Are the master's worth it? I would be more than happy to attend Edinburgh's 5-year programme, is it worth it to even apply to their 4-year programme? I guess I'm just trying to get some input and advice. Thank you!!!

Reply 1

louisvbird

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by derka

Hi! I am currently a junior completing my undergraduate degree in the U.S. and I believe that I'm a strong applicant in most areas besides my academics/GPA.
My top choices: Edinburgh (4-year or 5-year) and Glasgow (5-year)
Current GPA: 3.21
My undergraduate degree is in Neuroscience and I get A's and B's in my neuroscience classes, which include upper-level biology classes—the problem is my vet school prerequisites.
I have 3 W's on my transcript:
Calculus I (retook; got a B+)
Calculus II (not planning on retaking)
Organic Chemistry I (planning on retaking lecture, projected to finish lab with a B+)
I also have 2 C-'s:
General Biology II (have gotten A's/B's in upper-level biologies, should I retake?)
General Chemistry II (retook; got a B)
I expect that by the time I apply in September my GPA will increase a bit, but not substantially. I was on Dean' List last year (above a 3.5 GPA for the academic year) and my low GPA is mostly due to freshman year. My grades have definitely improved since then.
Summary of other qualifications:
1000+ hours of animal experience.
~200 hours of veterinary experience (across a variety of specialties including: small animal, large animal/equine, emergency medicine, neurology, shelter medicine, dentistry, lab animal, and cardiology).
~300 hours of research (in 2 research labs at my university, study abroad research experience in Sicily).
~100 hours of volunteering outside of veterinary medicine.
Founder/President of my university's first neuroscience club.
Strong recommendation letters.
Minor (potentially double major) in classics.
Languages: English, American Sign Language, French, Italian, Arabic, Latin
Besides Edinburgh's veterinary medicine programmes, I will also be applying to their Applied Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare Msc and Neuroscience (Integrative Neuroscience) MScR as back-ups.
Is it worth it to apply to Edinburgh and Glasgow's vet med programmes this September or should I wait? Are the master's worth it? I would be more than happy to attend Edinburgh's 5-year programme, is it worth it to even apply to their 4-year programme? I guess I'm just trying to get some input and advice. Thank you!!!

Hi, sorry I'm from the UK so I don't really understand all your American grades, but I can still answer your question:
If you meet the minimum entry requirements, then YES it is worth applying. You will be considered equally to other applicants. If you DO NOT meet the minimum entry requirements, then NO it is not worth applying; you will not be considered at all.

Use the university website to review if your grades meet the entry requirements or not. If you're unclear about this, then email the admissions team to ask if they would consider your application. Best of luck.

Reply 2

BelindaFlamazing

A few things to note:

•

some universities limit how many times you can apply (e.g. Nottingham and RVC will allow you to apply only twice)

•

Not all universities accept re-sits :
Edinburgh does not accept re-sits unless exceptional circumstances

•

4 year course is harder to get on than a 5 year course because there are less places. See admission stats post

•

UCAS asks for 1 reference and I don't think much importance is placed on it (mine was from an online college, where nobody has met me personally). So I am afraid strong recommendation letters will not help.

•

You can also check if you can do Access to HE course for Vet Sci (in case your grades do not allow you to apply) , as some universities will accept it.

I would suggest checking "how to apply" sections for each uni and then checking with admissions.

Reply 3

derka

Original post

by BelindaFlamazing

A few things to note:

•

some universities limit how many times you can apply (e.g. Nottingham and RVC will allow you to apply only twice)

•

Not all universities accept re-sits :
Edinburgh does not accept re-sits unless exceptional circumstances

•

4 year course is harder to get on than a 5 year course because there are less places. See admission stats post

•

You can also check if you can do Access to HE course for Vet Sci (in case your grades do not allow you to apply) , as some universities will accept it.

I would suggest checking "how to apply" sections for each uni and then checking with admissions.

Hi, thank you for your advice! When you say that Edinburgh doesn't accept resits, does this mean they will not consider the classes I retook? I looked at the page you linked and I'm still unclear on what "no resits" means, as we do not have this in the U.S. Thanks!

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 4

BelindaFlamazing

Original post

by derka

I don't know the US system, so I am afraid you will have to check with the admissions.

But generally speaking, for the UK, if you have recieved a B in biology A-levels, took a year out and sat the A-level exams again and recieved an A, this will be a re-sit. And so you A in biology will not be considered, unless you had a serious illness / family issue which disrupted your studies. Again, that is accessed on the case by case basis.