Preparing for admission to veterinary school
Admission to veterinary schools is extremely competitive, so it is important to obtain advising from the PPHS coordinator to plan an individually appropriate and competitive academic plan.
Key factors considered by veterinary school selection committees are based on the following:
- Grades (both science and non-science, and in an upward-trending trajectory).
- Strong performance on the MCAT or DAT.
- An “in-house” interview, recommendation, and letter of evaluation from the SPU PPHS committee.
- Health-related clinical experience with a support letter.
- Other support letters highlighting extracurricular, leadership, and service experience.
- Research experience (strongly encouraged).
- A strong interview with the veterinary school admissions committee.
These recommendations are for students desiring to enter veterinary medicine as a profession and to earn a doctorate in veterinary medicine (DVM).
Application to veterinary medicine schools begins with submitting a “primary application” in the summer before the application year. Students seeking admission to these graduate programs need to complete a bachelor’s degree in any field, plus the following prerequisite coursework:
- General Biology (15 credits)
- General Chemistry (10 credits)
- Introductory Inorganic Chemistry (5 credits)
- Organic Chemistry (15 credits)
- Physics (15 credits)
- PHY 1101, 1102, 1103 or 1121, 1122, 1123
- Animal Physiology (5 credits)
- Vertebrate Biology (5 credits)
- Genetics (5 credits)
- Microbiology (5 credits)
- Biochemistry (10 credits)
- Mathematics (5 credits)
- Including a course in calculus
- Statistics (5 credits)
- Nutrition (5 credits)
- Preferably an animal nutrition course
Total 105 credits
Note: Additional courses in English composition, humanities, and social science may be required by individual veterinary medical schools. Other recommended courses include speech (public speaking), English literature, economics, psychology, and history. Check the requirements of the individual schools that interest you.