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Pre-Veterinary Information

The following links may provided information for those individuals seeking general information about Veterinary programs. In addition, below these links, you will find the homes pages for some of the Veterinary programs around the country, and below that the general requirements for veterinary programs.

Here are some home pages for various Veterinary Schools around the country.

General Pre-Requisites for Veterinary Programs.

These deal with CSU's program. Most schools have these same requirements. However, there is some variability, and you should probably contact the school(s) you are interested in for further information.

The Veterinary Medicine program leads to a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree. The training consists of a minimum of 68 semester hours of pre-professional studies followed by four years of professional studies at Colorado State University or some other veterinary medicine school. Each year 60 Colorado residents are accepted to CSU.

The following requirements are established by the CSU School of Veterinary Medicine. A grade of "C" or better is needed in all required courses. If you are interested in applying to any of the other 26 veterinary medical schools, you must contact them directly to find out their specific pre-requisites.

Biology: Genetics (Biol3832-4). Please note this course has General Biology I (Biol. 2051 and Biol. 2071) as well as General Biology II (Biol. 2061 and Biol. 2081) as prerequisite courses. These courses also satisfy the requirement for a laboratory course in Biology.

Chemistry: Biochemistry (Chem. 3810-4). Please note this course has the following pre-requisites: General Chemistry: Chem 2031-4 and 2038-1 and Chem. 2061-4 and 2068-1. Organic Chemistry: Chem 3410-4 or BOTH Chem. 3411-4 and Chem 3421-4. These courses also satisfy the requirement for a laboratory course in Chemistry.

Physics: College Physics (Phys. 2010-4 and 2030-1). This course has as a prerequisite College Trigonometry, Math 1120-3.

Statistics: Intro to Statistics, Psych 2090-4.

English Composition: At least English 1020-3

Arts and Humanities/Behavioral and Social Sciences: At least 12 semester hours in any of the following courses: Art, Dance, English, Foreign Language, Music, Philosophy, Speech, theater, Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology.

Not Required, but HIGHLY recommended: Cell Biology (Biol. 3611-3), Human Anatomy (Bio. 3244-4), Microbiology (Biol. 3654-4), Nutrition (Chem 2300-3) and Computer Science (Math 1350-3).

Undergraduate Degree: In 1996, approximately 85 per cent of those accepted had baccalaureate or higher degrees. In addition, only 20 percent of the Colorado resident applications were accepted. You would be wise to plan on earning a degree. Your academic program should satisfy, simultaneously, three sets of requirements: (1) those set by the college, (2) those set by the department in which you are majoring, and (3) those set by the veterinary schools of you choice. This advising material deals with the latter requirements. You must meet the requirements in effect when ENTER veterinary medical school. For the other requirements, consult the schedule of courses and your major department.

Application Procedure: Applications for CSU can be obtained after August 1 from the Office of the Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523. Thirteen of the vet med schools participate in the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS), but CSU does not. For information about VMCAS, contact: AAVMC, 1101 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 710, Washington DC 20005. Telephone (202) 371-9195 or Fax at (202) 842-0773.

The completed application must be returned to CSU by October 1. Qualified applicants should have a "B" average on a minimum of the 45 most recent, consecutive semester hours. In 1996, the average GPA was 3.64. The General Aptitude section of the Graduate Record Examination is required and the results must be received by October 15. The average GRE scores were 526 on the verbal, 617 on the quantitative, and 640 on the analytical section in 1996.

Early Admission: You may request consideration for early admission if you are a Colorado resident and meet the following criteria: GPA of 3.80; minimum of 45 credits completed; GRE score of 1750 or greater. If you are not admitted in the early cycle, you will be considered in the regular admission cycle. WICHE applicants will only be considered in the regular admissions process.

Experience: Veterinary Medicine schools usually take into consideration if you have had some experience working in a veterinary medicine practice. Some schools require that one letter of recommendation come from a veterinarian. you may be able to earn academic credit while you are gaining this experience; check with the Center for Internships and Cooperative Education at (303) 556-2892.

Questions: The Pre-veterinary Advising Office in Fort Collins, is always willing to answer questions. Their phone number is (790) 491-7185. they are open 8:00 to 11:00 AM , from 12:00 to 2:00 PM and from 3:00 to 5:00 PM during class days.

 

Questions? Please email me

This page last revised on June 4, 2003 by Dr. Charles A. Ferguson

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