Selection Procedure

Admission to the professional program in veterinary medicine is granted by the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine through the Associate Dean for Professional Programs upon recommendation of the Selections Committee. The Selections Committee is composed of faculty members in the College of Veterinary Medicine appointed by the Dean.

The College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) views the selection of students into the professional curriculum as its most important priority and responsibility to the veterinary medical profession, Texas A&M University, the CVM, and to the applicants each year.The selections process for the incoming classes to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University is designed to answer three critical questions:

1. Does the applicant have the personal characteristics and motivation required to be a veterinarian?
2. Can the applicant successfully complete the professional curriculum?
3. How can the selection process fairly and equitably reward an applicant's academic and professional preparation for a career in veterinary medicine?

Academic Performance

The selections committee uses a point system to evaluate applicants for admission to the program. There are 300 points possible, of which 180 are based on academic performance. Of these 180 points, 120 are determined by GPA. The overall GPA, the science GPA and the GPA for the last 45 hours are worth 40 points each. The remaining 60 points are determined by the applicant's score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The analytical portion is currently an essay type exam and is scored on a scale of 1 to 6. This score is converted to a maximum value of 25. The selections committee looks at a standardized test such as the GRE as a way to evaluate applicants without the variability introduced by different colleges, majors and loads carried by students. Academic performance is heavily weighted because it is a predictor of academic success as well as being a reflection of the applicant's work ethic and determination, characteristics that are necessary in a successful veterinary practitioner. The admissions committee may set minimum criteria in categories in addition to GPA. These standards must be met before the applicant can advance to the next step in the selections process.

Professional Preparation Criteria

The remaining 120 points are based on professional preparation criteria. Included in this group are criteria that can be quantified from the application, such as academic rigor and course loads (24 points), veterinary experience (16 points) and animal experience (12 points). Academic rigor and course loads are based on the rigor of the institution where the student did the majority of his or her undergraduate work, whether or not they took honors courses, the number of credits averaged per semester, and the average number of science courses carried per semester. These criteria are used to evaluate how well prepared the student is for the heavy loads required in veterinary school. A student from a junior college carrying 12 credits per semester is probably not as well prepared to carry the 20+ hours per semester required in the professional curriculum as one who went to a rigorous four year college and carried 16 credits per semester with three science courses.

Animal and veterinary experience is considered to evaluate the applicant's personal qualities and motivation to be a veterinarian.

Animal experience includes caring for and handling animals in a kennel or animal shelter. It also includes any other experience that was not under the direct supervision of a veterinarian, such as FFA and 4-H projects. Veterinary experience is hours spent working under the direct supervision of a veterinarian, whether in a clinical or research environment, paid or volunteer. Applicants must have more than 50 hours worth of veterinary experience in order to qualify for an interview.

Points are assigned based on the number of hours worked and the variety of environments in which the hours were obtained. These two experiences are scored separately, so applicants should obtain experience in both areas. For example, an applicant who worked for a veterinarian should include time spent cleaning stalls or cages as animal experience and time spent with the veterinarian as veterinary experience.

Other Factors

Texas law requires that socioeconomic factors also be considered. This includes factors such as whether or not the applicant was the first in his or her family to attend college, whether English was the primary language spoken at home, if the applicant had to work to support the family while in high school or was responsible for the care of a sibling. The points assigned for these factors account for less than three percent of the total 300 points.

Qualifying for an Interview

The above criteria are scored for each applicant, and the scores are added together. The applicants are then ranked based on their total score. Once it is determined how many interviews will be conducted, interviews are scheduled.

Interviews are structured in the Multiple Mini Interview(MMI) format. Applicants will participate in a series of short interviews. Each mini interview is typically 6-10 minutes in duration, with two interviewers at each station. Applicants will move through a series of stations. The full circuit of mini interview stations will take approximately an hour to complete. The MMI format is designed to increase fairness to applicants as well as increase the reliability and measurability of characteristics such as communication skills, critical thinking, problem solving, empathy, and ethics.

Final Selection

The selections committee members who do each interview are also responsible for evaluating that applicant's extracurricular activities, leadership experience, personal statement and letters of evaluation. Extracurricular activities and leadership experience are evaluated to determine the applicant's ability to work with other people, an essential personal characteristic for a veterinarian.

Evaluations are an important part of the selections process and should be completed by individuals other than family members who have known the applicant for an extended period of time. The applicants are strongly encouraged to read the questions that are asked on the evaluation form and select as evaluators those individuals who can provide the most thorough answers to the questions. One evaluation must be completed by a veterinarian. The veterinarian should address what the applicant did while working for him or her. They should also honestly evaluate the applicant's strengths and weaknesses.

Once the interviews are completed, the weight of the different criteria may be altered to give more weight to criteria that show the applicant is prepared for the rigorous professional curriculum (rigor) and to criteria that can be assessed only by the interview. GPA scores are recomputed to include fall semester grades, the total score is obtained and acceptance letters are sent out to the top 122 in-state students based on their score. The next segment of applicants on the ranking are selected as alternates. These students will be offered a spot if one of the applicants originally offered a seat in the class declines the offer.

If you have any additional questions regarding the selections process, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

The Office of the Dean
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843-4461
(979) 862-1169

E-mail DVM Admissions