Zelda 2021
Veterinary Medicine:
Common prerequisite, accepted student statistics & specific school details
Common Prerequisites for Veterinary School
You don’t have to be a science major to apply to vet school, but it will make your life a bit easier mainly due the high volume of science courses required. Although I did have have an occasional non-science/prevet major apply to vet school, their curriculum was packed with a higher volume of humanities courses required for a BA degree thus leaving less room to take more advanced science courses. Having said that, study what you love. If you love English then study English. Being true to who you are is important. You will certainly stand out as an applicant, and this can work to your advantage. Take SPANISH! This will be incredibly beneficial skill to have as an applicant. Many students will take a 1-2 year gap year before they apply thus allowing more time to fit in the additional science classes required for their particular list of schools. (FYI: Average age of first year vet school student is 23/24 yrs.) Click here for VMSAR (Veterinary Medical Schools Admissions Requirements) for 2022-23, Prerequisite Chart, the summary chart.
Basic List of Prerequisite to Prepare for and Apply to Vet School (check each school for specifics)
Two Introductory Biology Courses (labs required)
Four Chemistry Courses (labs required)
Two Introductory Physics Courses (labs required)
Two English Courses (must contain a writing component)
One Introductory Statistics Course/Math course (Some schools require 2 math in total)
One Introductory Biochemistry Course (lab optional)
One Introductory Genetics Course (lab optional)
One Microbiology Course (Most schools require 1 class + lab, but there are a few that require 2 classes.)
Intro to Psychology or Sociology if you are planning to take the MCAT
At least 3 upper level Biology courses (ex: Physiology, Animal Science, Animal Nutrition, Genetics)
Public Speaking (many require 1 class)
Animal experience is broken down into two parts: 1) Animal experience, 2) Vet experience (under the supervision of a vet). Quality matters over quantity.
Aim for at least 600+ hours working with a diverse group of animals (small animals, large animals, farm/cattle/ranch animals, exotics) however vet school administrators articulate that competitive applicants can have between 1200 and 2000 hours of animal experience including 150-180+hrs with a vet. Cornell says successful applicants have between 300-400+ hrs. of vet experience. Don’t get overwhelmed with the total number of hours. Seek quality hours over quantity of hours. Seek out positions where you can gain experience over a longer period of time then pretty soon the hours will add up.
Check out this link for an article discussing the subject of required hours of animal experience per school.
3+ letters of recommendation (1-2 from vet that you have worked with)
TESTS:
GRE or MCAT test. (Only the following schools require GREs now: Oklahoma, Ross, Tuskegee, Davis, Georgia, Western.)
You need to determine what additional science classes you will take, so consider the following: 70% of vet schools require biochemistry, 44% require genetics, 34% require microbiology, 17% require cell biology, 13% require physiology, 12% require anatomy and 10% require animal nutrition. (Based on the AAVMC chart)
Although vet schools share common prerequisites, there are many outliers. Beyond the normal science prerequisites, here are some additional courses that you might need to plan for. Out off the 59 AAVMC member institutions (US and abroad) listed, 10 require public speaking and only 6 now require Animal Nutrition (Auburn, NC State, OK State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Bristol recommends it). Many schools are commenting that having research experience is increasingly important to them. It is your responsibility to research and know the specific requirements at each school you are applying to and this chart will help.
Although the following courses are not ‘required’ for vet school, the AVMA recommends the following courses as a way to get a “leg up” when you enter vet school. I am not advocating taking all of the following courses, but I am strongly suggesting that you take at least some them: upper-level anatomy & physiology, zoology, microbiology, animal science/animal production, nutrition, and histology courses. (This list it taken directly from the AVMA Veterinary Admissions 101 website.)
In reality, some of these courses will not be part of the normal undergraduate science curriculum and will require that you take them either online or at a larger institution in the summer or during a gap year. Taking more advanced sciences can have two distinct benefits: 1) provide a smoother transition to graduate school coursework in years one and two, 2) demonstrate a willingness to go beyond what is expected of you. Going the extra distance to take a class not required demonstrates a commitment to education that could be a distinguishing factor to an admissions committee. Since it is very competitive to get into vet school, I would encourage you to go the extra mile and take every advantage to not just complete the bare minimum prerequisites but go beyond. I would encourage you to keep a detailed spreadsheet of all the individual school requirements so you can make a 4-5 year plan to accomplish all prerequisites before matriculating. Some vet schools will articulate an appropriate substitute class for some required courses so make sure you check their website for specifics.
How competitive you are for vet school? Many schools will articulate exactly how they break down the admissions criteria for reviewing applications. Many clearly outline in-state vs. out-of-state timelines, quotas and criteria for selection. Several articulate how important the last 30 or 45 credits hours are in the review process and most publish class profiles. Check out a few schools to see how competitive you look: LSU, Texas A&M, Cornell.
Statistics: For the 2020-2021 application cycle, there was a 19% hike in vet school applications with 10,273 students applying. For the 2021-2022 cycle, the number stabilized a bit with 10,834 students applying to vet school representing a 5.5% increase in applications over the previous year. Students on average applied to 5.37 schools in 2021.
GRE, MCAT & Casper for 2023 Cycle for AVMA Accredited schools
COVID has changed everything…..even the GRE. By my last count, only 6 AVMA schools required the GRE: Oklahoma, Ross, Tuskegee, Davis, Georgia, Western. Illinois is test optional. Both LSU and Auburn dropped their testing requirements for the 2022-23 cycle. Calgary requires the MCAT. The following schools require Casper: Iowa, Kansas, Lincoln, Long Island, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Queensland, Montreal, Florida, Guelph, & Melbourne.