The Admissions & Application Process

Penn Vet has never required a certain number of experience hours or that applicants get experience in every area of vet med. While we believe that experience in the veterinary profession is crucial, we also recognize that not all have the time or ability to get all that experience and don’t judge applicants on their total number of hours or locations. Instead, vet experiences should allow for a mature view in the role of the veterinarian, an understanding into the depth of the vet profession, and a realization of the science of medicine practiced by veterinarians. The only way to get these is through vet experiences. We do not view vet experience as busy work to accumulate hours, but rather view it as career building to accumulate knowledge. While we recommend that you have 500-600 hours of experience when applying, it is really what is learned in the experience that impacts the competitiveness of an applicant.

Penn Vet has always been flexible in acceptance of references to meet our requirements of 1 Science Academic reference, 1 vet reference and 1 references of your choosing (total of 3 required). We will accept those references submitted to VMCAS from the following:

• Academic/Science References: faculty members who have taught you in class, teaching faculty members who you have worked for (T/A, Research) but haven’t taught you in class, academic advisors, etc.
• Vet References: Vets you have worked for clinically, worked for in labs, who have taught you in class, etc. While we feel that the best references come from direct work with clinical/research vets, we will accept them from Vets in other relationships if you wish to solely meet the reference requirement.
• Reference of Your Choosing: from anyone you select…your choice. We strongly recommend using another vet or faculty member. We do not recommend personal references.
• Also of Note: VMCAS accepts up to 6 references. While our requirement is only three, rest assured we will read all references submitted to the application.

The GRE is still required for this application. Although the VMCAS deadline is Sept 15, our GRE deadline has always been Oct 15 to allow applying applicants time to take (and retake) the GRE while applying. With ETS allowing for Computer Based Tests to be taken at home, and with our GRE deadline on October 15th, we believe there will be ample opportunity to take the exam. If you have any questions, you can contact us.  The GRE is only a part of our evaluation process and is not the only thing we look at.  In fact, many times strong grades, solid vet experience with excellent understanding, and strong references will overcome lower GRE scores. 

Penn Vet has always accepted online coursework from accredited colleges/universities. This year will be no different. In fact, rarely can we tell from transcripts that courses are online. In regards to Pass/Fail coursework taken in Spring, Summer, and Fall 2020, So that no student is negatively impacted by their institution's decision, Penn Vet Admissions has created the following policy in regards to Spring and Summer 2020 coursework.

If a college/university is only allowing students to take courses Pass/Fail, we will accept a Pass in any Spring, Summer, or Fall 2020 course to meet a requirement(s).

If a student has been given a choice, to (1) take a course Pass/Fail OR (2) for a grade, we will still accept the Spring, Summer, or Fall 2020 Pass/Fail course towards a requirement(s). However it must be supplemented by a letter or email (from the professor or academic advisor) sent directly to the Office of Admissions identifying what the grade in the class would have been if not taken Pass/Fail, as all Matriculation Requirements must be completed with a C or above.