Preprofessional

Preprofessional programs provide guidance, mentoring, and advice for students who plan to enroll in professional programs upon their graduation from St. Mary's College.

Preprofessional / Pre-Vet / Graduate School Preparation

Graduate School Preparation

Congratulations on considering or choosing veterinary medicine as your future career field! These resources will aid you as your start to prepare for your journey after graduation.

The Application

Primary Application through VMCAS (open May/June – October)

  • The application is submitted online. There are pages of questions about grades, experiences, etc.
  • You should have strong GRE scores from April or before.
  • Submit a personal statement- a one-page statement about why you want to go to veterinary school.
  • In most cases, you will submit the names and emails of the people who will write your letters of recommendation. VMCAS will then send submission instructions to those people. If one of your letters is a committee letter, enter information for your HSAC advisor– they will submit the letter through VMCAS.
  • Check that VMCAS has received your transcripts. Students have had their applications held up because their transcripts didn’t arrive at VMCAS. It is your responsibility to follow up on your application and find out if it is complete.
  • Student’s legal profiles are critical. Even small citations on your record may come back to haunt you during the application process. The VMCAS application may not ask explicitly about your legal record, but when given the opportunity to provide “other information,” do so and explain the circumstances.

Secondary Applications, if applicable (July – Fall)

  • Some vet schools may ask you to fill out a secondary application.
  • These secondary applications may involve more questions, statements, and an additional application fee.
  • The schools may expect that secondary applications will be returned in as little as 2 weeks. Get them back as soon as possible to demonstrate your commitment to attending veterinary school.
  • Some vet schools may request the secondary application at the same time as the primary application. These schools will have this information available on their websites.
Committee Letter of Recommendation

Pre-Vet students may decide if they want to go through HSAC or not. Most vet schools require letters of recommendation from two different veterinarians who you have worked with, along with either a single letter from a faculty member or a letter from HSAC. If the school only requires a single letter from a faculty member, it is generally fine to submit a committee letter in its place.

Applying without HSAC assistance is fine, but we encourage students to take advantage of what HSAC can offer– a composite committee letter with input from many supportive voices and participation/practice with a mock interview. Students may build files with HSAC and decide at any time to apply independently or with our assistance.

Interviews
You will be invited for interviews in the early winter to spring. Review your mock interview feedback before going to vet school interviews.
Funding
Resources for Pre-Veterinary Students:

GRE

The admissions test for veterinary school is the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) revised general test. Veterinary schools do not currently require any GRE subject tests. Learn more about the GRE

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