Veterinary Medical
School Admission
Requirements
Veterinary Medical
School Admission
Requirements
2018 EDITION FOR 2019 MATRICULATION
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL COLLEGES
PURDUE UNIVERSITY PRESS | WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
Please be aware that the admission requirements described in this book are subject to change by individual institutions without prior notice. Additionally, while VMCAS has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book, VMCAS is not liable for any misrepresentations of a colleges requirements. The provisions of this book do not constitute a contract between any applicant or student and the colleges of veterinary medicine.
COPYRIGHT 2018 BY THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL COLLEGES.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Compiled by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges;
Tony Wynne, Editor, Director of Admissions and Recruitment Affairs
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-55753-817-8
ePub ISBN: 978-1-61249-531-6
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-61249-532-3
ISSN: 1089-6465
ACCEPTANCE DATE POLICY
In order to grant member schools enough time to complete their admissions processes and to give applicants enough time to consider all offers of admissions, no AAVMC Member Institution will require any applicant to make a decision about admission or financial aid before April 15 of each year. If April 15 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the date will be shifted to the following Monday.
To ensure applicants are awareness of this policy, each Member Institution will attach a copy of this policy to all admissions offer letters.
This policy does not apply to:
Institutions outside the U.S. that do not participate in VMCAS
Offers of admission for non-VMCAS applicants to institutions outside the U.S.
Offers of admission for matriculation that is other than August or September
PROCEDURE
The Executive Director will investigate all complaints about alleged violations of this policy and report any findings to the chair of the Admissions and Recruitment Committee.
First Offense: If a Member Institution is found to be in violation of the policy, the Executive Director will send a Warning Letter to the Dean and Admissions Director of the institution and inform the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.
Second and Subsequent Offenses: If a Member Institution is found to be in violation of this policy after a Warning Letter has been issued, the Executive Director and the chair of the Admissions and Recruitment Committee will report their findings to the Board of Directors and make a recommendation for additional penalties. Penalties may include monetary fines and exclusion from participation in VMCAS for a specified period of time.
Approved by the AAVMC Board of Directors
November 10, 2014
CONTENTS
Congratulations on your decision to prepare for a career in veterinary medicine. Veterinary medicine is an exciting and rewarding career that provides a diverse array of options for contributing to the health of animals, people, and the planet.
Published annually by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), this Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements (VMSAR) publication helps prospective students consider an important mix of factors when preparing for a veterinary medical education, including cost, financial aid, special programs, standardized tests, the AAVMC Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS), and the various colleges and schools residency admissions requirements.
Where to apply and attend will be one of your initial decisions, and its an important one, but all of these American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)-accredited schools offer great programs. Each one can start you on a rewarding path filled with choices and opportunities. Animal clinical care is an important and popular option in veterinary medicine, but veterinarians also contribute to global health in many other ways, including through careers in public health, research, and specialty practice. You also can prepare yourself for scientific and administrative careers with pharmaceutical, nutrition, and biomedical health corporations, or work in state and federal government. Augmenting your professional degree with advanced graduate work can lead to faculty positions in higher education.
Our profession offers many opportunities beyond the time-honored practice of providing clinical care in general practice.
Like other health professions, the pursuit and achievement of a veterinary medical education represents a substantial investment of time, effort, and financial resources. Cost-saving strategies include focusing on in-state veterinary medical schools or states that offer in-state tuition as part of special agreements with neighboring states. Other strategies include focusing on areas of greatest need, such as rural veterinary practice where loan repayment options might be available.
More information can be found on individual college and school websites or on the AAVMC website at ) or by calling VMCAS at (617) 612-2884. The Veterinary Student Engagement System (VSES) is a useful tool as well.
Perhaps no other medical career provides such a broad base of biomedical training and leads to so many different areas of opportunity. The choices can seem overwhelming, but this guide is a great place to start, and step by step, your path will become clear, as it did for me. In my own case, a veterinary medical education led me to service as an officer in the United States Air Force, work in a mixed animal practice, in public health as an official with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and now, as the chief executive officer of the AAVMC.
All of us at the AAVMC wish you luck and success as you prepare yourself for service in this extraordinary profession.
Dr. Andrew Maccabe
AAVMC Chief Executive Officer
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) is a non-profit membership organization working to protect and improve the health and welfare of animals, people, and the environment by advancing academic veterinary medicine. The association was founded in 1966 by the deans of the then-existing eighteen colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States and three in Canada. During the 1970s and 1980s, AAVMCs membership expanded to include departments of veterinary science in colleges of agriculture, and in the 1990s to include divisions or departments of comparative medicine. In 2008, AAVMC began accepting non-accredited colleges and schools of veterinary medicine as affiliate members.
Today, AAVMC provides leadership for an academic veterinary medical community that includes all thirty colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States; nine departments of veterinary science; eight departments of comparative medicine; all five veterinary medical colleges in Canada; thirteen accredited colleges of veterinary medicine in Australia, Grenada, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, St. Kitts, the United Kingdom, and six affiliate members.
A Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine student checks out a horse with advice from her professor. Photo courtesy of Andy Cunningham of the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
MISSION
AAVMC provides leadership for and promotes excellence in academic veterinary medicine to prepare the veterinary workforce with the scientific knowledge and skills required to meet societal needs through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.