Personal Statement and application essays

The personal essays are a chance for you to stand out from the hundreds of other applicants being considered. In addition to the personal statement on the common veterinary school application form used by 27 of the 28 schools, many schools require
supplemental applications that will require further essay writing.  If your GRE scores or grades are borderline, your essays may be  your chance to interest the admissions committee enough to earn you an interview.   Additionally, many of the interview questions will be based on the content of your essays.   This is your chance to address any problem areas in your application, demonstrate that you will be a successful student, a good doctor and a contributor to the veterinary profession, and have something unique to add .

Veterinary Grades

A strong candidate for veterinary school has an overall GPA of 3.6 or higher with at least that GPA in the pre-requisite coursework.  Many schools will not accept pre-requisite coursework in which the grade is lower than a C-.  There is a lot of student angst concerning GPAs and admissions standards.  While it is true that grades do not tell the entire story about an applicant, they are an important tool for admissions committees to assess your potential success as a veterinary school.  Aim for a 3.8 or higher, if possible, with high grades in all of your pre-requisite courses.  If you are having trouble in a particular class, get help as soon as you realize you need it.  While a single poor grade can be explained, a trend of low grades signals to an admissions committee that you may not have the academic perseverance or skill needed to succeed in veterinary school.

Why do you want to go to veterinary school?

If you are considering veterinary school, the very first question you need to ask yourself is “Why do I want to go to veterinary school?”  In formulating your answer, ask yourself the following questions: What drew you to the profession in the first place?  What draws you to it now?
What career path do you envision for yourself?  How does having a DVM degree help you to achieve that goal?  Is there a particular discipline within veterinary medicine that interests you ?
What makes you want a professional degree in animal medicine rather than an advanced degree in another field such as biology, animal sciences, ecology, biochemistry or another scientific dicipline?  
Have you considered other careers working with animals such as farm manager, veterinary technician, ecologist, educator, behaviorist, for example?

Veterinary Introduction profession

A doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM or VMD) degree can be a passport into a wonderful array of professional opportunities in the medical sciences.  Veterinarians are able to work with a large variety of species in a diverse array of jobs ranging from clinical practice to research to wildlife conservation to academia to government and regulatory medicine, to name just a few.   That said, veterinary medicine is not for everyone who is interested in working with animals.  It is the aim of this guide to prompt you to consider the major issues and consider if a veterinary medical education is right for you, and to help you be a successful applicant if you chose to apply.
What follows is not meant to be an all-inclusive guide; rather, it is a starting point for further exploration and planning your undergraduate education and extra-curricular experiences in preparation for admission to American veterinary schools.