DVM programs and the pandemic

Pre-Vet & Veterinary Medicine
1

I am wondering what impact, if any, the COVID pandemic will have on admissions to DVM programs.

On the one hand it seems to me that becoming a veterinarian is a major investment of time, effort, and money. People who take this on as a calling must be very committed to it. This would seem to imply that anyone with a sufficient commitment to apply to a DVM program would not be deterred by a pandemic that will hopefully be fading away by September as people get vaccinated.

I have wondered if some people might have decided not to attend veterinary school starting this past September resulting in more applicants for the following year.

I have also wondered if the relatively high cost of DVM programs plus the weak economy would reduce applicants.

Does anyone actually know whether admissions will be more difficult, less difficult, or about the same as normal this year?

I do see one upside that interviews will be done on-line, reducing or eliminating the need to travel to interviews. Otherwise, I am wondering whether there will be any impact of the pandemic on admissions to DVM programs.

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I can tell you about my son’s program. He is a first year at Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine. Their applicant pool was about the same as in previous years and they ended up with their largest class ever (124) because more people accepted than expected. My son is an ambassador for the vet school and says that it looks like admissions were about the same as a normal year and for the coming year they are expecting it will be about the same. They have dropped the GRE, added the CASPER test and are doing ZOOM interviews and breakout rooms. He has been happy with the program this year. Classes were hybrid with at least one lecture in person each week and labs meeting in person and the ability to go in after hours in person to the anatomy labs. In some classes he actually liked the on line better. He got very close to his lab group since those were the people that he saw in person the most. I know that he does wish that he could get to know others in the vet school better but knows that will come next year.

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