Ask Vetsradamus: Struggling for B’s

Posted on September 3, 2009

Dear Vetstradamus,

Before coming to vet school, I was always one of smartest people in my class and I got excellent grades. After a year of vet school, I feel like I am just in the middle of the pack. A lot of people say that grades don’t really matter in vet school. What do you think?

-Struggling for B’s

Dear Struggling,

Remember that professional schools, particularly veterinary schools, have the luxury of selecting an elite subset of applicants and primarily select applicants with nearly impeccable academic credentials. Therefore, even being around average among such a select group of peers is impressive. The importance of grades in veterinary schools depends in large part on your plans after school. I certainly have seen that grades do not predict the quality of the graduate or the competence of the veterinarian. In fact, some of the best veterinarians I know graduated in the middle of their class. What is more important than the scores you are getting on exams is your ability to apply what you are learning to the real world scenarios you will eventually encounter.

For most jobs after veterinary school, no one will ask or care about your grades and rightfully so. However, grades and class rank are used when weighing applicants for certain post-graduate positions, especially internships and residencies. That being said, a stellar CV and letters of recommendation can help to strengthen an applicant with average grades. So you should identify your goals and use your experiences in vet school to prepare you for them. I think you will find that a slightly lower grade point average will not prevent you from being able to reach your ultimate goals. However, if you are internship and residency bound, it may take you more work.

-Vetstradamus