Veterinary Schools - Admissions and Costs

Admissions and Costs

Admissions practices, requirements and difficulty vary widely among veterinary schools, and from nation to nation. Generally speaking, gaining admission to a veterinary school is highly competitive, due to the small number of places available. Most AVMA-accredited institutions in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States share a common, online application system, known as the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). Many colleges belonging to VMCAS have additional, individualized application requirements as well, and admissions standards are quite high. Admissions standards in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa also vary widely. Many veterinary schools limit admission to students from their area, state or country. For example, 25 of the 28 veterinary schools in the US are public universities, and by law may set aside relatively few places for out-of-state residents. Other countries have similar schemes. For example, in India, federal law requires that each veterinary college set aside 15 percent of its places for students coming from other parts of India. The Veterinary Council of India (a body of the federal government), conducts the All India Common Entrance Examination, and the top scorers on the exam are placed throughout India.

The cost of attending veterinary school also varies tremendously. The value of the national currency, the cost of veterinary school relative to the cost of living or median national income, the existence and amount of governmental education subsidies, the existence and amount of financial aid to students (from public or private sources), and a number of other factors combine to influence the cost of attending veterinary school. In countries where a veterinary degree is a professional degree taken as a second degree, governments may not subsidize veterinary school attendance to the degree that they do an undergraduate college education. In the United States, the average tuition was US$15,676 for residents in the 2006-2007 school year, and $28,861 a year for non-residents. Average cost during the same period of fees was $3,482 (residents) and $4,452 (non-residents), room and board $8,964 (residents and non-residents), and books and equipment $2,043 (residents and non-residents). In Canada during the same time period, average resident tuition was C$5,651 and average non-resident tuition $32,942. Resident and non-resident fees were C$719, resident and non-resident room and board C$6,493, and resident and non-resident books and equipment C$1,712.