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The University of Wisconsin

Admissions Contact Information

Phone: 608-263-6266
Email: oaa@vetmed.wisc.edu
Address: 2015 Linden Dr. Madison, WI 53706
Website:http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/dvm-students/prospective-students/


Background Information

  • When was the school founded? The first class graduated in 1987.

  • What is the mission of the institution? The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) offers a four-year professional degree program leading to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree. The goal of the professional curriculum is to provide each graduate with a broad veterinary medical education and the skills necessary for the profession.

  • Is it a public or private University? Public

  • Do they have any special programs? – they have the FAVeMedS program which address the national problem of a shortage of food animal medicine. This program seeks to specifically identify first-year undergraduate students from Wisconsin that are highly academically qualified and motivated pursue a career in food animal medicine. They also have a pre-veterinary club that is meant for students who are interested in learning more about veterinary medicine within the community of a student organization.

  • Do they have any special facilities? Some of their special facillities are the Frank and Evelyn Fryer Radiation and physical Rehabilitation Clinic. They have  multiple labs dedicated to veterinary medicine related research. They have the veterinary medicine building, the diagnostic laboratory, the teaching hospital, and a dairy farm.

​Ranking​

  • U.S. News and World Report Ranking: #5

  • Accreditation: ​Yes, they are accredited. 

​Required Coursework

- General Biology or Zoology (4 or 5 credits)​

- Genetics or Animal Breeding (3 credits)

- General and Qualitative Chemistry (8 credits)

- Organic Chemistry (3 credits)

- Biochemistry (3 credits)

- General Physics (6 credits)

- Statistics (3 credits)

- English Composition (6 credits)

- Social Sciences or Humanities (6 credits)

 

​Coursework Criteria​

  • Students can have up to (4) four outstanding required courses left to take but no more than two outstanding courses can be taken in the spring term prior to enrollment in the program. All required course work must be completed by the end of the spring term prior to enrollment in the program. All required courses must have a minimum grade of C (2.0) or better to fulfill the requirement. Applicants become ineligible if they receive a grade less than 2.0 (C) in a required course.

​​Veterinary Program​

  • How many years is the program? 4 years

  • What is the average class size? 80

  • What concentrations are offered? They have tracks in equine, food animal, small animal, companion animal, large animal, mixed animal, and the non-practice track.

  • What other degrees are offered? DVM, DVM/MS, DVM/PhD, graduate programs, DVM/MPH, and DVM/certificate of global health. 

  • What are the residency placement options? Wisconsin has many different residency programs available for students who want to pursue further education/training beyond their DVM. Such examples are the small animal surgery residency program, diagnostic imaging residency training program, zoological medicine residency program, anesthesiology residency training program, residency training in comparative ophthalmology, and the large animal surgery residency program.

  • What is the NAVLE pass rate? 100%

  • What is the retention rate? 98%

  • What are some student activities? They have many clubs on campus for veterinary students such as the aquatics club, the animal behavior club, canine club, companion animal club, equine club, and the feline club. There are many research opportunities for students interested in that. In addition to academic organizations, students also have access to all of the fun activities of the general Wisconsin University student body. There is always something going on and lots of sports events. The area of Madison is also gorgeous and home to a lot of activities for students to relax and do something other than study.

  • What professional development do they offer graduates? Throughout the year Wisconsin-Madison Vet school has professional development opportunities such as the 4th annual health sciences teaching symposium and the building a foundation for inter-professional education. They hold many different open houses and conferences throughout the year which are a good opportunity for students to network with staff, potential employers, and prominent research figures. This is all in addition to the office that is dedicated to helping veterinary students succeed after they get their degree.

  • What academic support programs do they have? They have a very extensive child care program that helps parents find daycare, education for their children, and funding. They also have programs that provide students who are income eligible to receive child care help with certain expenses in order to help the children receive high quality care and to help the students complete their degree. They also have counseling services, professional development services, financial aid assistance, tutoring centers, and mentor programs.

  • What is the curriculum? The curriculum for the four-year veterinary medical degree program (DVM) consists of 157 semester credits of course work. The first three years contain two semesters each. The fourth year begins soon after the third year finishes in May and is 12 months long, made up of a minimum 47 credits of course work, which is based primarily in the veterinary medical teaching hospital and clinic and includes four weeks of vacation.

​Admissions General Information​

  • Professional Application Service:  VMCAS

  • VMCAS Deadline: October 2nd

  • Do they have a supplemental application? Yes, they have a supplemental application that is sent out to applicants in November. The fee is $56.

  • Do they have interviews? No, they do not have interviews. 

  • Are AP credits accepted? Yes, AP credit must appear on official college transcripts and be equivalent to the appropriate college-level coursework.

  • Do they require a pre-professional curriculum? No, they do not. 

  • ​What professional test do they accept? GRE

Admissions Statistics (2013)

General Statistics 

# of applications received per year - 1208

# of out-of-state applicants per year - 1019

# of students accepted - 87

% of applicants accepted - 7.2%

% female - 69%

% male - 31.0%



Resident GPA Statistics

Avg. cumulative GPA of admitted students - 3.65

Avg. last 45 credits GPA of admitted students - 3.73

Avg. required credits GPA of admitted students - 3.66



Non-resident GPA Statistics

Avg. cumulative GPA of admitted students - 3.7
Avg. last 45 credits GPA of admitted students - 3.79
Avg. required credits GPA of admitted students - 3.84



Resident GRE Statistics

Avg. verbal score for admitted students - 156

Avg. quantitative score for admitted students - 158 

Avg. analytical score for admitted students - 4.4



Non-resident GRE Statistics

Avg. verbal score for admitted students - 158

Avg. quantitative score for admitted students - 162 
Avg. analytical score for admitted students - 4.6

 

Subjective Review Components

The review for applicants admission is determined by the SVM Admissions Committee is composed of faculty from the school. The Admissions Committee looks at a wide range of abillities and experiences in order to pick out the best students who will serve society as veterinarians.  

 

They look at the following academic factors:

1. Cumulative GPA

2. GPA of required courses

3. GPA of last 30 credits

4. GRE scores

 

Preparatory experiences and personal characteristics:

1. Three letters of recommendation (highly recommended to be from veterinarians)

2. Written statment describing your professional goals and interests (supplemental application) 

3. Description of work experience and pertinent extracurricular activities

4. Aspects of diversity

5. Special circumstances that may have affacted the applicant's record

 

In some cases, if there is additional information needed by the committee to determine an applicants admission there might be a requested interview from the Dean and Committee. 

 

Tuition and Fees

  • In-state tuition = $19,055

 

  • Out-of-state tuition = $25,899

 

  • Residency status options = Yes, students can request to have their residency status changed if they are now considered a resident of Wisconsin. In general, you must be a bona fide resident of Wisconsin for at least 12 months prior to enrollment to be eligible for in-state tuition.

 

​Funding Options​

  • Grants-in-aid - Yes, 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 - Yes, there are multiple research fellowships available for students interested in pursuing research in veterinary medicine. There are also many fellowships which vary by how long, how much money, and who can apply. An example would be the Mentored Research Experience or the TL1 Training Program for ICTR at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

  • Scholarships - Yes, In order to be eligible for scholarships, loans or awards offered by the SVM, it is necessary to submit completed financial aid information to the Student Financial Aid Office by the appropriate deadline. Scholarships range from $100 to $5,000 per award with more than $150,000 awarded each year. The specific eligibility requirements, deadlines and applications are distributed each fall to students enrolled in the SVM. National, state, institutional and private scholarships, loans and awards are also available.

 

  • Assistantships - They do have assistantships available to a select number of students but there was very little information on their website about this opportunity. There are stipulations about doing an assistantship and how many credits you are required to be completing in your DVM/PhD/MS degree.

 

  • 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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