Pets have come to mean so much to some people and just the thought of the pets being hungry, lonely, falling sick or worse, dying doesn’t sit well with pet owners. This is why you would see a pet owner spend a lot of money on pet food, toys and healthcare. Healthcare for their pets is as important to them as that of human beings. What then is their healthcare without those in charge? Who are those in charge if they don’t pass through the proper academic channel to get certified? This is where Veterinary and Veterinary schools come in. The lives and healthiness of our pets depend most times on how good the Veterinary doctor is, Vet doctor for short.
To think that there are only thirty (30) accredited veterinary schools in the entirety of the United States. Every year, the number of applicants surpasses the number schools can admit. This is exactly where we come in, to guide you and make your search easier. This article contains the list of the easiest Vet Schools to get into, how to get into them, the general requirements and every other thing we can find on Veterinary medicine.
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What is Veterinary Medicine?
Veterinary medicine according to Wikipedia, is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, control of diseases, disorders and injuries in animals. It also deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutrition, medications and product development. Some of the duties of a Vet doctor are:
• Testing for and vaccinating animals against diseases.
• Lecturing animal owners about general care, medical conditions and treatments.
• Prescribing medications.
• Examining animals to diagnose their health problems.
• Treating and dressing wounds.
• Performing surgery on animals.
• Operating medical equipment, such as x-ray machines
• Euthanizing animals, in case of extreme cases.
Types of Veterinary Doctors
A Vet doctor works the same way a physician works, just that a Vet doctor works on animals instead of human beings. We have different types of Vet doctors, some of them are:
i. Companion Animal Veterinarians
Just as the name denotes, they work with animals regarded as pets (Cats, Dogs, Birds, Rabbits) and generally work in private clinics and hospitals.
ii. Food Animal Veterinarians
They work with farm animals (Pigs, Cattle, Sheep, Goats) which are raised as food sources. They may also advise farm owners and managers on feeding, housing and general health practices.
iii. Food Safety and Inspection Veterinarians
They inspect and test livestock and animal products for major animal diseases, enhance animal welfare, provide vaccines to treat animals, conduct research to improve animal health, design and administer animals and public health programs for the prevention and control of disease transmissible among animals and between animals and people. They also enforce government food safety regulations.
Average Salary of Veterinary Doctors in the United States
It is a very lucrative field and overall job prospects are good too. Veterinarians have $99,250 as their median annual wage, the lowest 10% earn less than $60,690 while the highest 10% earn more than $164,490.
How to Become a Certified Veterinarian in the United States
To become a certified veterinarian, you must have completed a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) at an accredited Veterinary school. A veterinary program lasts for four (4) years. Getting admitted into a vet school in the United States is quite competitive, coupled with the fact that they have only 30 accredited vet schools, thereby making the number of applicants outnumber the number of admission places.
To get into a vet school, you must have a bachelor’s degree in programs where you must have gone through some science, mathematics, humanities and social science courses. To increase your chances of being selected, you must have a high GPA, GRE scores, work experience and references.
Qualities like compassion, problem-solving skills, communication skills, patience, perseverance, decision-making skills, a strong sense of responsibility are important to thrive in the field.
General Requirements for Prospects to Study in Vet Schools in the United States
Although, every school has specific requirements, written below are the requirements common to all the vet schools.
• A bachelor’s degree, as explained above.
• A CGPA ranging from 3.0 to 4.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Personal statement.
• Work experience, at least 100 hours. It could also be from voluntary work
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores.
• Letters of Recommendation.
• All the necessary coursework mandatory by your school of choice.
Easiest Vet Schools in the United States to Get Into
We already know getting into a vet school is very competitive in the United States, which is why this article is tagged “Easiest Vet Schools in the United States to get into”. This is because after going through all the criteria needed to get into different vet schools we have been able to find out schools that have really flexible ones. Below are the reasons we tagged easiest:
• Acceptance rate: For these schools, their acceptance rate has been considered higher than other schools
• Fees: Their fees are considered more affordable than other schools. Tuition for veterinary schools are considered expensive but these schools have lower.
• Scholarship opportunity: Irrespective of your nationality, there are scholarship opportunities for everyone.
• GPA: You do not have to have a high CGPA to get admitted, as long as you meet all other requirements. Even though, having a high one is an added advantage.
Below is a list of five (easiest) Vet School to get into in the United States:
i. Tuskegee University
ii. Oregon State University
iii. Oklahoma State University
iv. Western University of Health Sciences
v. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
i. Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University has been named a black college. Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) is the only veterinary medical program located on the campus. Statistics says it had educated more than 70% of the country’s African-American Veterinarians. For one semester, the tuition is about $20,585.
ii. Oregon State University
This university only accepts the number of students they know they can academically cater for because they believe in creating valuable opportunities for real-world learning. The yearly tuition is about $26,688 for residents and $51,375 for non-residents
iii. Oklahoma State University
This University is one of those schools that accepts low GPA, they accept GPAs as low as 2.8 on a 4.0 scale. Their acceptance rate is about 70% too. On the rank of schools that deliver value for the cost of education in veterinary medicine, Oklahoma State University ranks first. Yearly tuition for in-state students is about $23,890 and out-state students is about $50,260.
iv. Western University of Health Sciences
This school also accepts low GPAs. It is also one of the best-equipped vet schools in the country to aid students learning. The tuition to study veterinary medicine is about $55,575.
v. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
This school is known for its innovative resources and facilities. They also have a division for student disability resources. The yearly tuition for both residents and non-residents is about $24,938.44.
