Download Veterinary School Admissions Guide as a printable PDF
Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVM’s) are dedicated to animal welfare. Veterinarians diagnose and treat diseases and injuries in animals. They also prevent the spread of disease from animals to humans. The majority of veterinarians are in private small, large or mixed animal clinical practice.
Prerequisites
Each Veterinary school establishes its own set of prerequisites. Check the websites of the schools in that you are most interested to obtain a current list of undergraduate requirements.
All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of a “C-“ or higher.
| Subject Area | Recommended Courses |
|---|---|
| General Biology* | BSC 114/115 and BSC 116/117 or honors equivalent |
| Cell Biology* | BSC 300 |
| Biochemistry* | BSC 450 |
| General Chemistry* | CH 101 and CH 102 or honors equivalent |
| Organic Chemistry | CH 231, CH 232, and CH 237 |
| Mathematics | MATH 113 (2 semesters of Math needed by some schools including Stats) |
| General Physics* | PH 101 and PH 102 or honors equivalent |
| Animal Nutrition* | BSC 497 Animal Nutrition (check bsc.ua.edu website for offerings) Can be taken online through other universities: ASI 318 (Kansas State University) ASC 378 (University of Kentucky) ANSC 221P (Purdue University) ANSI 3543 (Oklahoma State University) contact the individual university for more information about registration and fees |
| 6-14 hours of science electives: | BSC 315 (Genetics) BSC 310 (Microbiology) BSC 424 (Human Physiology) BSC 435 (Immunology) BSC 469 (Histology) |
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required for every program. Check the websites of each individual veterinary program that you are interested in to see if this is required.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
Veterinary Schools expect academic excellence. Good grades: typically, an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or better is required to be competitive.
Timeline
Freshman Year
- Get to know your Health Professions Advisors.
- Make an appointment.
- Start taking basic sciences (See chart on first page)
- Visit your professors during office hours.
- Begin getting involved with volunteer and service opportunities (campus and community).
- Look into getting involved in undergraduate research.
- Join student organizations (Pre-Veterinary Medical Association, AED, etc.)
- Start obtaining Veterinary clinical experience.
Sophomore Year
- Continue with the next sequence of courses.
- Stay involved in extracurricular activities (shadowing, volunteering, etc.).
- Consider leadership positions in your organizations.
- Visit your professors during office hours.
- Meet with a Health Professions Advisor to begin to assess competitiveness.
- Identify Vet programs that you may want to apply to.
- Develop GRE preparation plan.
Junior Year
- Fall
- Talk to Health Professions Advising about competitiveness.
- Register for the MCAT.
- Work on your personal statement.
- Obtain 3-4 Letters of Recommendation
- Spring and Summer
- Study for and take the GRE
- Schedule a mock interview with the Career Center.
- Complete Application in VMCAS.
- Continue engaging in activities.
Senior Year
- Fall
- Submit Application in VMCAS if you haven’t already.
- Wait to be contacted for an interview by Vet programs.
- Continue with activities and service commitments.
- Spring and Summer
- Talk with a Health Professions Advisor about Plan B (if necessary).
- Finish degree requirements
- Graduate.