Completion of the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee
admission to the professional curriculum. Because of limited
facilities and the amount of support available to the College of
Veterinary Medicine, the number of students who enter the professional
curriculum each year must be restricted. Recently, there have been
approximately three qualified applicants for each place available in
the entering class. The mean grade-point average of the applicants
selected has been about 4.4 (A = 5.0), and the mean number of
preprofessional hours completed has been near 120 semester hours. This
level of competition is expected to continue. Most applicants who are
admitted have a considerable amount of experience with and exposure to
animals and the veterinary profession, as well as records of strong
participation in community and extracurricular activities.
Application materials for the professional curriculum are available
from the Office of Admissions and Records, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign,
10 Henry Administration Building,
506 South Wright
Street, Urbana, IL 61801, between September 1 and December 1. No
application materials will be mailed after November 15. (New students
enter the College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall only.)
All items submitted by the applicant (application form, fee,
self-evaluation form, courses to be completed form) must be received
in the Office of Admissions and Records by 5:00 p.m. December
1. Letters of evaluation are also due December 1. All other required
supporting credentials, such as transcripts and Veterinary College
Admission Test (VCAT) results, must be received by February 1 for the
application to be complete and the applicant considered for
admission. Final grades for the fall term prior to enrollment must be
on the transcript submitted for the February 1 credentials deadline,
or consideration will be terminated. The application must be
accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of $30, which is used
partially to cover the cost of processing the application for
presentation to the Admissions Committee.
An optional early notification deadline is available only for
out-of-state students who have completed 60 or more semester hours by
the end of the summer preceding application. All components of the
application must be received in the Office of Admissions and Records
by November 1.
Requests for additional information should be directed to the
Office of Admissions and Records by mail, by telephone at (217)
333-0302, or by visiting the office at
177 Henry Administration Building
Building. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 to
4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments are recommended.
(Subject to Change)
Because of the size and quality of the applicant pool, only a few
highly qualified applicants have been admitted with the minimum of 60
hours in recent years. Therefore, all students are urged to structure
their programs to qualify for a bachelor's degree within the normal
four-year period.
In addition to submitting official transcripts of all
collegiate work attempted, applicants must also provide official
scores from the Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT). These scores
will be sent to the Office of Admissions and Records from the private
organization administering the examination: Psychological Corporation,
555 Academic Court, San Antonio, TX, 78204. The examination is offered
at various locations nationwide during the fall and winter each
year. Information on arranging to take the examinations is available
in the application packet for the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Letters of evaluation are required from three persons who can
evaluate the applicant's experience and ability relating to
professional and scientific study. Two letters should be from college
instructors or academic advisers. A letter from someone who can attest
to the applicant's interest in veterinary medicine is highly
desirable. A student who is currently enrolled in graduate school must
include with the application a letter from the student's graduate
adviser delineating current status in graduate school and the likely
completion date of the graduate program.
Applicants are expected to demonstrate potential for
contribution to and advancement of the profession. An interview may be
required by the committee as a means of supplementing information
obtained from the materials submitted.
Preference is given to residents of Illinois. Nonresidents
with superior qualifications may be admitted. A very limited number of
highly qualified foreign students may also be admitted.
The professional program of the College of Veterinary
Medicine is accessible to qualified persons, and such persons will not
be denied admission on the basis of disability. A qualified person is
one who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to
admission and participation in the educational program of the
college. During their course of study, students treat animal patients
while under the supervision of veterinary faculty members. Such
clinical duties may not be waived since they are an essential part of
the educational program. The technical standards of the college (as
well as the veterinary medical profession) require that the safety of
both animal patients and veterinary students be protected. The student
will not cause a health or safety hazard to the animal patients or to
other persons.
(Subject to Change)
Applicants are currently ranked on the basis of a 100-point scale,
with the allocation of points distributed among the following
criteria:
Seventy points--from grade-point averages determined from official
college transcripts and from Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT)
results. The cumulative grade-point average, science grade-point
average, and total number of graded science hours completed, in
addition to the scores earned on the VCAT will most likely be used to
allocate these points. (If a standardized test is taken more than
once, the highest of the two most recent test scores will be used. The
VCAT scores must be for tests taken during the current or preceding
year's application period.) A limit of 60 hours has been imposed in
the graded science hours category.
Thirty points--allocated by the Admissions Committee on the basis of
information submitted with the application and letters of
recommendation indicating the applicant's knowledge of, motivation
toward, and experience with the veterinary profession; evidence of
leadership, initiative, and responsibility; animal contact and
experience; and extracurricular factors influencing personal
growth.
As many as eight bonus points may be given to applicants for
ancillary factors that have influenced academic performance;
consistently heavy course loads; the quality of courses or course
sequences; and significant improvement after a "poor start. " Bonus
points are recalculated each year for applicants who reapply.
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