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Not every state has its own veterinary school to which you can apply as a resident. States without veterinary colleges generally have agreements with veterinary schools in neighboring states to accept a certain percentage of the other states’ residents as students.

In addition to satisfying pre-veterinary course requirements, applicants must submit test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT), or the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The test you take depends on the preference of the colleges to which you are applying. Be prepared to provide letters of recommendation, including at least one from a veterinarian.

Portrait of Two Veterinarians

Some people grow up knowing that they want to be veterinarians. Other people come to the profession later in life. Veterinarian Sally Perea (pictured) is one who was exposed to and became interested in a veterinary career at a very early age.

“My father is a veterinarian, so I grew up with a good exposure to the profession,” Perea says. “I spent a lot of time in his clinic, helping out around the office and with the animals. My favorite thing was watching him do surgery and helping out with emergencies, such as emergency cesarean sections when they would need lots of hands with the new puppies.

“The thing that interested me the most about the profession was the investigative aspect of seeing a patient, running tests, and trying to determine a diagnosis and treatment plan. It seemed to me like a career that would never be boring and would always require learning about new developments and advancements.”

Perea didn’t rule out other career options, and she spent her high-school years ensuring that she would have as many opportunities as possible for college so that she would be able to choose any field of interest. To that end, she maintained good grades and acquired experience in sports, clubs, and student government.

Jill Richardson also wanted to be a veterinarian from the time she was very young. “I was always interested in animals more than dolls or toys,” she says. “I think most veterinarians will say something similar to that.”

Richardson began preparing for her career even before high school. Her first “job” in the field was as a volunteer at a veterinary clinic.

“I was thirteen. The veterinarian I worked for was a recent graduate, and working in his clinic gave me firsthand experience with this career. I would work all day on Saturdays, mainly cleaning up diarrhea and vomit, but I also had the opportunity to monitor surgery. The first time I watched a spay, I got very queasy and had to sit down for a few minutes to regain my composure. Fortunately, I got over it.”

By the time she entered veterinary school, Richardson had worked part-time at several veterinary clinics. Her duties ranged from cleaning up to working behind the reception desk to assisting in surgery. Being able to list that kind of experience on a veterinary-school application is priceless.

As discussed in the previous section, veterinary and animal experience will play a role in determining whether you’re admitted to veterinary school. Formal experience, such as work with veterinarians or scientists in clinics, agribusiness, research, or some area of health science, is particularly advantageous.

Less formal experience, such as working with animals on a farm, in a stable, or at an animal shelter, is also helpful. Even if you don’t work for them, get to know veterinarians in your community by talking to them about the profession. They are the ones who will be writing letters of recommendation for you.

Once you are in veterinary school, you can generally expect to spend the first two years in the classroom, studying physiology, anatomy, pathology, and more. Third-year students begin to gain experience in surgery and medicine. The fourth year is spent in rotations through the different specialties as well as in large- and small-animal clinics. Elective courses taken during the fourth year may be spent in veterinary practices, gaining real-world experience; in shelters; or in zoos. Over the entire four-year period, you can expect to spend approximately 4,000 hours in classrooms, labs, and clinics. That’s approximately nine classes each quarter or semester.

Surgery resident Kendra Hearon, VMD, takes a moment to get to know her Rhodesian Ridgeback patient.

Josephine Deubler, VMD: Veterinarian of Firsts

In 1938 M. Josephine Deubler became the first woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (UPSVM). She was also the first female to earn a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, the first female member of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medicine Association, and the first veterinarian to judge Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Deubler joined the faculty of the UPSVM in 1946 and remained there for half a century. In 1971 she instituted the University of Pennsylvania Annual Canine and Feline Symposium, the first veterinarian-breeder seminars in the country, which continue to educate dog fanciers in the United States. To honor Deubler’s fifty years of service, the university named the Josephine Deubler Genetic Disease Testing Laboratory.

In the dog show world, Deubler (above with show judge Samuel Draper) was considered a “pillar in the sport,” as described by former handler and judge Peter Green. She was a noted terrier breeder and a respected show judge, and in 1977 she became the show chairperson of the legendary Montgomery Kennel Club Dog Show, the world’s most prestigious all-terrier event. She received the AKC’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and the university established the Dr. Josephine Deubler Deans Scholarship to memorialize her contributions to animals. She died in 2009.

Veterinary school is expensive. The costs for tuition, books, fees, and supplies can top $100,000 for the four-year period. The average educational debt for veterinarians was nearly $120,000 in 2010, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. New graduates often face staggering student loan bills.

AN OPEN MIND

“Always keep an open mind to opportunities out there. A veterinarian’s training is very broad. Veterinarians are very adaptable, ready learners, so the sky is the limit in terms of how we can apply our skills. Many of the skills we learn as veterinarians are translatable to other areas, things like the communications skills learned in talking to clients or the creativity required in working in a barn at three in the morning and maybe not having everything you would have if you were in a more-controlled environment. All of those skills are very easily applied to other areas that veterinarians can be very effective in.”

—Katherine Feldman, DVM