Choosing the Right Vet Schools to apply to

Where should I apply for vet school?

First things first, if you complete the curriculum at any accredited veterinary school, you will earn you DVM, you will be a veterinarian. I know it’s easy to get caught up in rankings, but in my opinion those are of little consequence. Having said that, don’t apply to all 28 veterinary schools and just pull a name out of a hat to see which one you will attend. Research and thought is needed when choosing what veterinary schools you should apply for. Here I think are some important factors:

Residency:
If you are a resident in a state that also has a veterinary school, I highly recommend you apply there. Residents are typically allotted more spots in each class and their tuition is less. Therefore, your chances are usually greatly improved and you save several thousand dollars a year in tuition over non-resident students. So, please do yourself a favor and apply to where you have residency.

Connections:
Say you have worked with a veterinarian that graduated and has connections to Cornell’s vet school. Obviously, it can help quite a bit if that veterinarian writes you a letter of recommendation for that school. Also, if you do your undergrad studies at a university that has a veterinary school, apply to it. The more people you know at the university you are applying to, or the more people a mentor of yours knows is a tremendous advantage.

Specialties:
So you’ve dreamed of being an equine veterinarian, then look around at schools that have lots of equine cases and veterinarian specialized in equine medicine. Although at all veterinary schools, you will learn how to treat all species of animals, some do have better facilities and faculty for certain areas of veterinary medicine.

That feeling:
Go visit any perspective veterinary schools. Do you like the staff, faculty, facilities, and current veterinary students? Every veterinary school may have it’s own “personality” pick one that fits yours. You will spend 4 years at this place, working harder than ever before. You want to be in a place you like.


At the end of the day, you just need to research the schools, as well as yourself. Determine what attributes are most important you, and find a school that fits that mold. Talk to alumni, visit the school, read up on their faculties and mission statement. All that being said, remember that a DVM is a DVM. I see a lot of student that are dead set on one school, and if they don’t get in there then the dream is over. While I hope that all of you apply and are accepted to your dream schools, I encourage you to keep an open mind to all options. The truth is every veterinary school is excellent and will train you to be great doctors.

How many schools should I apply for?

I admit that I am probably not qualified to answer this question, but I can give my opinion. I don’t think a student should apply to more than 3 schools. First, you need to research each school so you can impress that school with your knowledge in interviews and application. You want to show that each school is important, and this is the vet school for you because…. You don’t want to appear as someone that is just happy to get in just any place. Veterinary schools want quality students, students that want to be at their particular school. I mean it’s not unlike a guy trying to pick up a girl. If he hits on every girl in the room, he’s unlikely to get any of them. Also, applying to veterinary school can get expensive. Applications are expensive, and no sense spending thousands of dollars applying everywhere when your chances are best at only two or three.

What is Ross University?

Most people are familiar with the veterinary schools found in the US, but there are some options abroad as well. Ross is probably the most well known, that’s why I gave it a separate post. Read it here.