The competition to become a veterinarian has gotten more intense.
As of early October, just under 7,500 people had applied to at least one of the 39 institutions that use the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges reported that the pool of 7,498 applicants, who are vying to enroll in fall 2018, is 6 percent larger than last year’s group and 12 percent more than the 6,663 who filed in 2015.
The veterinary college application period is not over. While the Sept. 15 deadline was extended to Sept. 29 because of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, about 100 Puerto Rico residents already in the pipeline were given until Oct. 13 because of Hurricane Maria.
“The hurricanes posed some serious logistical problems for our applicants, mainly in the areas of submission of the application, receipt of official transcripts and letters of recommendation,” said VMCAS director Tony Wynne.
The data show that the 7,498 prospective DVM students, looking to improve their chances of acceptance, applied to an average to 4.88 veterinary schools or colleges. The total number of applications, 36,554, rose by 7 percent.
Two universities — Lincoln Memorial and Midwestern — launched DVM programs in 2014, creating about 200 first-year seats and giving students more educational options.
The rise in veterinary college applications “suggests increased interest among students in pursuing careers in veterinary medicine,” said AAVMC’s communication director, Jeffrey S. Douglas.