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Michigan State University

Admissions Contact Information

Phone: 571-353-9793
Email: admiss@cvm.msu.edu
Address: 784 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824
Website: http://cvm.msu.edu/

Background Information

 

  • When was the school founded? The veterinary school at MSU was established in 1855 as the nation's first agricultural veterinary school. 

  • What is the mission of the institution? The mission of the College of Veterinary Medicine is to develop a diverse academic community that fosters scholarly activity and encourages exemplary human qualities in order that the art and science of veterinary medicine may be imparted to students, expanded by research, and extended to the public for the benefit of animal and human health to meet the changing needs of Michigan, the nation, and the world. 

  • What is the campus/city like? MSU is located in Lansing, which is the capital of Michigan. The city's population is 114,297 making it the sixth largest city in the state. MSU is a member of the Big Ten Conferences and is known as the pioneer land grant college. It is the only university in the nation with three medical schools. 

  • Is it a public or private University? MSU is a public university. 

  • Do they have any special programs? MSU has quite a few different levels of special programs for preparing students for veterinary school. They have pre-college preparations for high school students such as the Spartan Youth Programs and a layout for what high school students should be doing now to get into vet school. They also have programs for undergraduates such as veterinary technology programs, enrichment summer programs and the pre-veterinary medicine college program. They also have the veterinary scholars admission pathway which is admission avenue for students who wish to complete a bachelor's degree consisting of advanced, scholarly studies in concert with their entry to the four-year professional veterinary medical degree program. This is a leg-up for students already attending MSU to get into the veterinary school. 

  • Do they have any special facilities? The campus consists of 170,000 square-feet of office, teaching, and research space, as well as the veterinary teaching hospital. Examples of facilities are  The Matilda R. Wilson Pegasus Critical Care Center, The Animal Cancer Care Clinic, The Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH), Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, The National Food Safety & Toxicology Center, The Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center, and The Training Center for Dairy Professionals. 

​Ranking​

  • U.S. News and World Report Ranking: #9 (3.4/5.0 scale)

  • Accreditation: It was given full accreditation status and the next site visit is schedule for 2019. 

​

​Required Coursework
- College Algebra and Trigonometry (or pre-calculus or calculus) 

- Physics I and II

- Inorganic Chemistry I with lab

- Organic Chemistry I and II

- Biochemistry

- Introduction to Biology I and II

- Genetics

- Eukaryotic Cell Biology

- Microbiology with lab

- Animal Nutrition

- Two courses in arts and humanities

- Two courses in social sciences

- One course in english

​

​Coursework Criteria​

  • All required coursework must be completed by the Spring Semester of the year of matriculation with a grade of 2.0 minimum. Half of the science required courses need to be completed at the time of application with a grade of 2.0  minimum. 

​Veterinary Program​

  • How many years is the program? The veterinary program at MSU is four years. 

  • What is the start date? Orientation is August 23rd and 24th. The first day of classes is August 27th.

  • What is the average class size? 120 

  • What concentrations are offered? Small Animal Medicine, Large Animal Mixed, Equine, Dairy, Food Animal, Agricultural, Exotics, and Zoological.

  • What other degrees are offered? Along with offering a DVM, they offer dual degree programs for the following: DVM-MS in Food Safety, DVM-MS in public health, DVM and MS or PhD. They also have graduate education programs in Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology, Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Science, Food Safety, Large Animal Clinical Science, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physiology, and Small Animal Clinical Science. 

  • What are the residency placement options? There are residency placements at various universities and clinics through the nations, but a many of them occur at the MSU vet school. 

  • What is the NAVLE pass rate? 96%

  • What is the retention rate? I was unable to find information on the retention rate at the MSU veterinary school. The overall retention rate of the entire university is 91%, so I would expect the veterinary school to be above this rate. 

  • What are some student activities? They have many clubs on campus for veterinary students such as the aquatics club, the animal behavior club, animal welfare judging team, canine club, Christian veterinary missions fellowship, companion animal club, equine club, and the feline club.

  • What professional development do they offer graduates? In an effort to continue our land-grant mission, the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine partners with the wider community to provide research-based educational programming and specialist veterinary extension services. They also have a summer food systems fellowship program which is meant to provide veterinary students interested in a career as a veterinarian in the food animal industry with the opportunity to become exposed to the food industry. There are multiple symposiums through the year for alumni and other veterinarians in the area, such as the equine laparoscopy symposium. 

  • What academic support programs do they have? They have counseling services for a variety of reasons, student health insurance, and childcare options. They have also have testing services meant to help students succeed in the program and prepare them for the NAVLE exam. There are mentor programs with faculty and older students. 

  • What is the curriculum? The curriculum at MSU is split up into 4 different phases. Phase I is considered normality and consists of the first two semesters. Phase II is the abnormality courses and is the third/fourth semester. Phase III is called intervention and prevention, during semester five. Phase IV is over semesters 6,7,8 and 9. It involves clerkships and elective clerkships.  

​Admissions General Information​

  • Professional Application Service:  VMCAS

  • VMCAS Deadline: October 2nd

  • Do they have a supplemental application? Yes, they have a supplement application that is sent via e-mail the week of October 8th. It costs $75. 

  • Do they have interviews? No, they do not have interviews. However, it has been released recently that they will begin doing mini-interviews for the next application cycle. 

  • Are AP credits accepted? AP credits are accepted to fulfill requirements in the arts and humanities, social scinces, and english.

  • Do they require a pre-professional curriculum? They do not require a pre-professional curriculum. However, many different schools have a pre-veterinary emphasis that helps make students more competitive for admissions. 

  • ​What professional test do they accept? They accept the GRE.

Admissions Statistics (2011)

General Statistics 

# of in-state applications received per year - 238

# of out-of-state applicants per year - 646

# of students accepted - 120

% of applicants accepted - 13.6%

% of in-state students enrolled - 65.8%

% of out-of-state students enrolled - 34.2%

% female - 87.4%

% male - 12.6%



GPA Statistics

Required cumulative GPA - 2.0

Avg. cumulative GPA of admitted students - 3.56

Avg. last 45 credits GPA of admitted students - 3.72

Avg. science GPA of admitted students - 3.54

 

GRE Statistics

Avg. verbal score for admitted students - 155

Avg. quantitative score for admitted students - 154 

​Subjective Review Components
As typical with most Veterinary schools, MSU uses the components of the VMCAS and supplementary applications to determine admissions. MSU also has a two step process that is composed of the Scholastic Indicator Score (SIS) and then the file review.

​

- Scholastic Indicto Score = this is a calculated value based upon an applicants science GPA, last three semester GPA, GRE scores, and the completion of a bachelor's degree prior to matriculation. You can actually calculated your estimated SIS scores by going to the following website: http://cvm.msu.edu/student-information/dvm-program-admissions/scholastic-indicator-score-calculator. A competitive applicant score is 800 or higher. 

 

- Next, two CVM faculty go through the supplemental application and the VMCAS application materials. They review five non-academic criteria that are breadth and depth of animal and veterinary experience, agricultural background or food animal experience, diverse background, research experience, and socio-economic challenges or hardships overcome. 

- Much of this information will come from your supplemental application essays, so make sure to fill them out to the best of your abilitiy. Do not leave things blank unless you absolutely don't have any experiences in that area.

- They also recommend having 150 hours of veterinary experiences, but the average student admitted has over 870 hours at the time of matriculation.

 

- Final selection for admission is based upon an applicants combined SIS score and the immpresiveness of the non-academic criteria. 

Tuition and Fees

  • In-state tuition = $27,048

 

  • Out-of-state tuition = $53,244

 

  • Is there an enrollment deposit required? Yes, there are two enrollment deposits. One is $500 and it is the intent to enroll form and the second fee is $50 for the MSU professional application. These fees are credited to your first year's tutition. They are due by April 15th and are not refundable. 

 

  • Residency status options = Any student that is classified as out-of-state who believes he/she should be classified as in-state under the regulations listed on their website should submit a letter explaining why the student believes that he/she is domiciled in Michigan. They must also provide evidence to support his/her claim.

 

​Funding Options​

  • Grants-in-aid - There are a limited number of need-based college grants available. They are applied for through the financial aid process. There are also some state grants depending on the state you reside within. 

 

  • Fellowships - In each of the departments in the veterinary school there are a limited number of fellowships for exceptional students. In the small animal clinical department they have the international surgical training, which provides students with a one-year training position to work with international veterinarians centering around surgery and the supporting disciplines. There are also many different summer fellowships for students interested in research, such as the Special MSU endowed summer research fellowship with a $4000 stipend. 

 

  • Scholarships - There are scholarships offered through the Veterinary College at MSU. These scholarships are dependent on financial need, academic standing, and the wishes of the donors of the scholarships. Students can only apply after being admitted and many of them are meant for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students. There are also local, state, and national organizations that are offered for students at MSU and students are notified of these awards throughout the year through their email and portal. Last year, CVM was able to award approximately $600,000 in scholarships to more than 200 students.

 

  • Assistantships - There are graduate student assistantships that start at $15,000 per annum for a half-time assistantship. These are very limited. 

 

  • Military Funding - The U.S. Army offers a variety of scholarships for veterinary students. If you are interested in the military, they will pay for your entire tuition in exchange for four years of service as a veterinarian. They also pay for all of your books/fees and you get a $1907 per month stipend. Once you start school you are a Second Lieutenant and after you graduate you are promoted to a Captain.

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