Veterinary Pre-veterinary coming off disability

[Catalystik]

Ok so basically I had a rough time in hs and was outed as the hs rape and domestic abuse victim, I was in beta club and held various volunteer positions and almost got killed by an ex boyfriend (school shooter material that I didn't date very long) and I worked full time. At 18 I was transient and working and at 20 I was in college doing well getting good grades, then I ended up in another abusive relationship, I got cushings while on a sports team, my father died and I coped with extensive bullying and cyber bullying especially at the college. I kept my grades up. Then in fall 2013 a prank was played on me and I ended up hospitalized and it triggered an issue and lead to six more hospitalizations and I tried to work and do school in between things.
My question is if there's an upward trend in grades, (even at my lowest point still above a 2.0 and I had to take sports/exercise/fitness classes with the athletes all messed up) can I explain away my situation in the future? I can get good letters of recommendation from a top veterinarian who was head of his chapter and I have experience working with horses on a ranch. I have been meeting with medical professionals since 2013 and have been on disability since 2013 and have slowly been recovering and I had to withdraw once due to being on the wrong meds that got me sicker and one doctor wants me seeing an opthomolic neurologist. I also worked and volunteered in the education department and husbandry departments of the aquarium. Do you feel I'm too old to be pursuing veterinary at 29 with maybe a specialization if I'm a sophomore? I'll be retaking precalc then calc not because I failed, but because I last saw alg 1 in 2011 and statistics in 2012.

Pre-veterinary coming off disability

1) My question is if there's an upward trend in grades, can I explain away my situation in the future?
-I have been meeting with medical professionals since 2013 and have been on disability since 2013 and have slowly been recovering and I had to withdraw once due to being on the wrong meds

-I can get good letters of recommendation from a top veterinarian who was head of his chapter

-I have experience working with horses on a ranch.

-I also worked and volunteered in the education department and husbandry departments of the aquarium.

2) Do you feel I'm too old to be pursuing veterinary at 29 with maybe a specialization if I'm a sophomore?

1) Yes. You can explain that you had a prolonged illness and that it took time to diagnose and treat properly. Specifics are not required. If you have sophomore status now, that gives you several years to bring your GPA up into a competitive range. But once you begin your GPA repair, it won't look good to have additional relapses. So get your condition well-controlled before attempting this path. Three uninterrupted years of excellent grades will demonstrate that you have the academic capability to survive in the intense academic environment of vet school.

2) Twenty-nine or thirty-nine is not too old to start toward your goal. Be sure to read SDN's Pre-Vet Forum threads to get an idea of additional expectations for Extracurriculars and necessary Letters of Recommendation.

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[BC_89]

With what sounds like a couple more years of courses, you can easily explain rare - circumstantial events that now no longer reflects the "you" of then with your upward (hopefully) trend in grades. I cannot speak in detail about admins within the Veterinary Program(s), but I can say that at the age of 30 with current disabilities from my military service, age is just a number and I'm just now starting my professional program come August. I even joke to my kids that it'll be a contest of who does better on their homework (them or me).

Put in the work with an upward trend in grades and focus on your current talents (ie jingling, shodding, and taking care of horses and staying active in school). Best of luck