Admissions FAQs

No. Undergraduate students from Texas A&M receive no preference in the selection process for our veterinary program.

Our program supports and promotes a range of applicants from various undergraduate schools and degree plans.

The VMBS has formed formal partnerships via a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with four Texas A&M University System universities to further the study of veterinary medicine across the State of Texas. The four universities are Prairie View A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University–Kingsville and West Texas A&M University.

For more information, visit our Texas A&M University System Partner MOAs page.

Completing prerequisite courses remains the minimum admissions requirement, regardless of the undergraduate field of study.

Undergraduate studies with an intensive focus on science and mathematics not only provide an excellent foundation on which to build the science of veterinary medicine but also introduce students to the academic rigor required within a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) curriculum.

However, choosing a field of study that holds a particular interest for an individual student may facilitate outstanding scholastic performance and complement the required prerequisite courses.

See our Prerequisites page and our Eligibility Requirements page for more information.

Animal nutrition courses that meet prerequisite standards are listed on our Prerequisites page. These listings include acceptable animal nutrition courses by correspondence/online from Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University and Purdue University.

Education counselors have access to numerous resources, such as information regarding admissions, prerequisite courses, cost of attendance (COA), scholarships and financial aid, and other topics.

Our staff can also answer specific questions and can be reached at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.

Candidates successfully matriculate into our program each year with community college course credits on their transcripts.

Please visit our Prerequisites page for a list of accepted prerequisite courses from many universities. While the list is extensive, it’s not exhaustive.

For questions regarding acceptable coursework from other institutions, please contact our admissions office at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.

Admissions consideration prefers traditional course completion over online courses, especially for classes including a laboratory component.

Visit our Prerequisites page for all prerequisite information. Please note: By the application deadline, applicants must have completed, or be enrolled to be completed by December of the application year, Organic Chemistry I with lab, Physics I with lab, and Biochemistry I. See our Eligibility Requirements page.

Students with academic backgrounds that include anatomy, physiology, biology, microbiology, and other foundational science courses tend to transition and perform successfully in the DVM professional program.

Undergraduate programs involving animal handling, husbandry, or genetics also serve the DVM professional student well.

Visit our Prerequisites page for all prerequisite information for community colleges in the state of Texas (Texas Common Course Numbering System), as well as for other four-year universities in the state of Texas.

The TMDSAS website also has course equivalencies listed. If you do not find your course in either location, contact us at via email admiss-dvm@tamu.edu and provide a syllabus for the course to be reviewed for acceptability.

Visit our Prerequisites page to see updates as they occur.

To meet the high academic performance standards in the DVM Professional Program, any required coursework taken more than 10 years ago must be retaken.

Individuals who feel they may qualify for an exception due to continued education or work environment may appeal. Please contact us at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.

Yes. Information about touring our facilities can be found at the Visit the VMBS page.

Applicants who are offered admission or alternate admission status are invited to participate in our DVM Program Visitation Day. The event is held in College Station each spring.

Texas A&M veterinary students have opportunities:

• to perform research in the Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program (VMSRTP),
• study abroad in South Africa (Education Abroad),
• learn with the Veterinary Emergency Team (VET), and
• become a member of one of over 35 student organizations (SAVMA).

During the final year of the curriculum:

• students learn in the only Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) in Texas,
• in private practices during their externships, and
• through rotations with the Houston SPCA and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) (Curriculum).

Texas A&M is consistently ranked as an affordable university, providing a high level of value at an affordable price. To help anticipate your expected expenses, including tuition, fees, books, room and board, and other miscellaneous costs, the university has estimated the COA.

More information can be found our Financial Aid & Scholarships page.

Numerous scholarship opportunities exist throughout our veterinary program. The welcome packet each new/incoming student receives contains information regarding scholarship opportunities. More information can be found our Financial Aid & Scholarships page.

All application components and deadlines are listed on our Application Deadlines page.

Note: Texas A&M VMBS DVM Professional Program offices close at 5 p.m. on the deadline. Questions submitted too close to this time may not be resolved in a timely manner.

Application requirements can be found on our Eligibility Requirements page.

See Apply Now! page includes information about the application process, and links to more information such as financial information, applicant workshop videos, and more.

See our Eligibility Requirements page.

The VMBS has no formalized early admissions program for the DVM degree.

Students who complete prerequisite requirements prior to completing a bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply.

Yes. While admissions process considers much more than grades, our Admissions Statistics page contains from student cohorts recently admitted into the program. Although the application pool varies each cycle with each new set of candidates, the statistics for students matriculating into the DVM professional program remain fairly consistent.

Ensure you meet minimum Eligibility Requirements before submitting an application.

Of course, the best way to evaluate your competitiveness is to apply. We look forward to receiving your application!

Yes. It’s important to realize, however, that it may become difficult to separate hours when/if animals are also considered pets.

Sometimes, an animal in training may also be considered a pet. For example, time spent training a horse or dog might overlap with more casual or play times. Therefore, candidates should commit to separating, as best as possible, “pet-focused” activities from “training” hours.

Yes, you may count bee experience like ownership of a pet.

As indicated in the TMDSAS Veterinary Guidebook information for Animal Experience, you may count 100 hours of pet ownership per species (with a maximum of two species) toward your Animal Experience.

You should include a brief description of the experience (500-character limit).

Foster animals are considered similarly to pets.

As indicated in the TMDSAS Veterinary Guidebook information for Animal Experience, you may count 100 hours of pet ownership per species (with a maximum of two species) toward your Animal Experience.

You should include a brief description of the experience (500-character limit).

All veterinary students enroll in foundational science courses and courses focusing on clinical and professional skills during the first three years of the DVM professional program.

• In the second year, students may select specific elective classes targeted for career-focused areas, including exotic animal medicine.
• This flexibility increases during the third year, during which additional courses are offered for those with an exotic animal medicine focus.
• The final clinical year of the veterinary curriculum allows students to choose clinical rotation experiences (both on and off campus) with an emphasis on exotic animal medicine.

No. Research experience is not a prerequisite. Candidates having research experience are encouraged to share those details.

Time devoted to general husbandry care—including handling, feeding, cleaning, or otherwise providing animal welfare—qualifies for general animal hours.

Performing specific duties directly aligned with research protocol is distinct. While overlap might exist, candidates are expected to responsibly estimate when one interactivity ends, and another begins.

Veterinary Experience and Animal Experience are described on our Eligibility Requirements page. vetmed.tamu.edu/dvm/admissions/eligibility.

Applicant Workshop videos may also help.

“Veterinary Experience” is hours spent working under the direct supervision of a veterinarian, whether in a clinical or research environment, paid or volunteer. Therefore, please put it in the “Veterinary Experience” section of your application. Visit the TMDSAS Veterinary Guidebook information for Animal Experience for more information located under the “Veterinary Supervised Experience” section.

• “Employment Experience” should be non-animal care employment.
• DO NOT list veterinary supervised or animal experience under “Employment!”
• Failure to put experiences in the proper place will result in the applicant not receiving proper credit for the application.

It does not.

Experience with a veterinarian should always go under the “Veterinary Experience” category of your application. It will be clear, from that section, the type of experiences you have completed. Please see the TMDSAS Veterinary Guidebook information for Animal Experience “Veterinary Supervised Experience” and “Employment” for distinctions.

• “Employment Experience” should be non-animal care employment.
• DO NOT list veterinary supervised or animal experience under “Employment!”
• Failure to put experiences in the proper place will result in the applicant not receiving proper credit for the application.

Please note that the supplemental application asks for the UIN and then notes this is for Texas A&M University students only.

If you are not a Texas A&M student, you may leave this spot blank. You do not need to place your TMDSAS number or other university identifier in this spot. This is required of Texas A&M students for security reasons.

The supplemental application question about animal experience is asked in such a way as to gain additional details about your animal experiences. Please make sure to be as thorough as possible in answering the question.

If it is before the deadline and you are able to access your supplemental application, please make sure that you have hit the submit button on the final page.

If you still do not see it cleared on your VMBS Admissions Dashboard, and you are a re-applicant, please also confirm that the TMDSAS ID you used was the same as in previous years (it should not be a new one) and that the email is the same as well.

If these are not the issue, please contact us at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu

On your VMBS Admissions Dashboard, click on “Instructions on How to Pay” in the upper right.

If you have completed the payment, save your receipt. It can take up to two weeks for us to process the payments.

Note: The supplemental application fee is nonrefundable. Please save your emailed receipt with a time stamp from Flywire as proof of payment. Additionally, please confirm the fee was subtracted from the card you used for payment.

Usually, this means there is a mismatch between your TMDSAS email, TMDSAS ID, or name and the one you entered in the supplemental application.

Please check that the correct information is present in your VMBS Admissions Dashboard Supplemental Application, and if not, make a correction. If you are still receiving the error, please contact us at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.

Note: Corrections may take overnight to show, as we batch-run changes in the evenings. If a different error is seen on the “TMDSAS Linked to User” location on the VMBS Admissions Dashboard, please contact us.

There is an additional fee for the supplemental application.

• That fee is paid via Flywire.
• This nonrefundable fee is due by the same deadline as the TMDSAS and supplemental applications each year and is a requirement for the application packet to be reviewed.
• Put your TMDSAS number on your payment when asked.

• If you were offered and completed an interview, this will be updated over the month of December.
• It will take time for us to receive the interview packets from KIRA Talent^TM for scoring purposes.

• The Casper assessment must be completed prior to the deadline for the TMDSAS application.
• It is offered by a third party, Acuity Insights ^TM, and the testing dates are set by that third party.
• Please make sure to take one of the tests offered well ahead of the deadline.
• Also note, applicants should sign up for a Casper assessment three business days prior to testing.
• Finally, make sure you note the test time and time zone.

• Your TMDSAS application can take up to four weeks to be transmitted to Texas A&M.
• We will match your Casper score to your application after the TMDSAS application is transmitted.
• If, after your TMDSAS application has been transmitted to Texas A&M, you still do not see your Casper assessment cleared, contact us at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.

• No, the Casper test can only be completed once per cycle.
• It does need to be taken fresh each cycle, though.

Visit How to Prepare for Casper for information such as computer requirements and practice test information.

• Information regarding evaluations can be found on our Selection Process page and on the TMDSAS Letters of Evaluation page.
• Support for evaluators can be found on the TMDSAS Evaluators page.
• At least one evaluator must be a DVM.
• All evaluations must be completed by individuals other than family members.
• Evaluations are due on the application deadline.

Your three GPAs—overall, BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math), and the last 45-hour GPA—are calculated and transmitted by TMDSAS.

More information can be found at on the TMDSAS Coursework page by clicking on “GPA Information.”

To calculate your last 45-hour GPA:

• Start with the last semester you attended college and count back until you reach the semester in which your 45th hour lands.
• Include the hours from the semester in which the 45th hour lands.
• The total could equal exactly 45 hours, but it could also be up to 60 hours.
• Total (+) your grade points, and
• divide (÷) by your total hours (45 to 60 hours).

Please work with TMDSAS to correct any perceived errors in your three GPAs. Once a correction is made, please contact us at 979.862.1169 or admiss-dvm@tamu.edu to apprise us of the correction.

See the After Submitting link in TMDSAS for changes that can be made after submission.

Other than those allowed, no changes can be made to the TMDSAS application or the VMBS Supplemental Application after final submissions.

Please ensure that your email is set to receive emails from dvmadmissionsnotification@tamu.edu.

• Note: This is a “no-reply” email.
• Questions may be sent to admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.

The email you received is a reminder to all applicants about the deadline for completion of these prerequisites so individual applicants can make sure to enroll in courses accordingly. If you have met the requirement, then no further actions are required.

The MMI format is designed to increase fairness to applicants, as well as to increase the reliability and measurability of characteristics such as communication skills, critical thinking, cultural competency, problem-solving, empathy, and ethics.

Applicants are given scenarios at six different stations, which are graded by a total of 12 individuals (two per station).

Benefits of asynchronous MMIs include:

• a decrease in travel costs for applicants,
• the ability for reviewers to watch and score videos multiple times (increasing score reliability),
• a proven increase in interrater reliability,
• a decrease in bias by using a rubric, and
• the ability to decrease scorer fatigue by rating applicants over an extended time period, rather than two to three days.

• Applicants are allowed to have note cards or paper and a writing utensil such as a pen or pencil.
• Use of any form of assistance, including AI, smart glasses, other internet modalities, or another person is prohibited.
• Applicants who are suspected of having assistance will be removed from consideration for admissions.

While your first attempt at admission may not be successful, don’t hesitate to try again! Many candidates matriculate into the program after more than one attempt.

We offer a workshop during the spring semester for candidates to review their scores in specific areas of the application. This workshop provides information from the average scores of the incoming students from the previous admissions cycle, and members of the admissions committee are available to provide insight for strengthening areas related to your application. The workshop is intended to help prospective candidates identify areas for improvement and focus on the tools necessary for success in the next admissions cycle.

If the VMBS Admissions Dashboard is showing a prerequisite deficit, please email us at admiss-dvm@tamu.edu to check why this is occurring. The course may need to be reviewed for acceptability.

Some students enter post-graduate studies, including master’s programs. Others retake specific courses to achieve better grades. It is important to remember that retaking a course does not erase the original grade from your transcript.