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University of Pennsylvania

Admissions Contact Information

Phone: 215-898-5434
Email: admissions@vet.upenn.edu
Address: 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Website: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/

Background Information

  • When was the school founded? The School of Veterinary Medicine was established in 1884. It was recognized that the prevention and control of animal diseases had important implications for human health and this was why the University's School of Medicine urged its creation. 

  • What is the mission of the institution? The School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Vet), an integral part of a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary university, exists to better the health and welfare of animals and humans. The synergy generated by Penn Vet’s interaction with the University community and the biomedical establishment in the Delaware Valley creates unique challenges and opportunities to excel in teaching, research and service. To fulfill this mandate, we are committed to innovative educational programs to train veterinarians and biomedical scientists; pioneer research and the discovery of new knowledge in the basic and applied sciences; and maintaining a strong commitment to specialized veterinary medical care and service.

  • Is it a public or private University? Public

  • Do they have any special programs? They have the Summer VETS program which is for both high school students and college students. It is a week long program (5 total throughout the summer) and it must be applied for. It helps provide students with a greater knowledge of veterinary medicine.

  • Do they have any special facilities? Gladys Hall Rosenthal Building, Old Quad, Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital, The Vernon and Shirley Hill Pavilion, and the Steven W. Atwood Library.

​Ranking​

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

  • Accreditation: ​They have full accreditation and their next accreditiation is set for the Fall 2016. 

​Required Coursework

- General chemistry + labs = two semesters 

- Organic chemistry + lab = one semester 

- General physics + labs = two semesters 

- Three biology courses of your choice, one of which should provide the basics of genetics 

- Biochemistry = one semester 

- Microbiology = one semester 

- One semester of calculus 

- One semester of biostats or math stats 

- Two English courses (including one composition course) 

- Two behavioral science or humanities courses (or one of each)

 

​Coursework Criteria​

  • All of the above pre-requisite coursework must be completed with a 2.0 or better grade by the time you register for classes at Penn State. 

​​Veterinary Program​

  • How many years is the program? 4 year program

  • What is the start date? August 27th

  • What is the average class size? 130

  • What concentrations are offered? Small animal medicine, large animal medicine, mixed practice medicine, equine, exotic, and zoological medicine.

  • What other degrees are offered? DVM, VMSTP, VMD/PhD

  • What are the residency placement options? Penn state matches residency placements for students through the following website. Students apply for residencies around the Nation and through the process they are matched based on location, ranking, skill level, and specialty. http://www.virmp.org/

  • What is the NAVLE pass rate? 98%

  • What is the retention rate? 98%

  1. What are some student activities? Penn State Vet School has many different student activities for veterinary students ranging from student government, to the Phi Zeta honors society, to graduate and professional school based organizations. There are also many opportunities for students to become involved with research, heavy emphasis here since they are so known for research. There are also externships and internships that students can get.

  • What professional development do they offer graduates? Continuing education at Penn Vet ranges from “Veterinary Public Health in a Global Economy: The Livestock Revolution, Sustainable Development, Zoonotic Disease” which was held in 2007, to the Penn Annual Conference, held annually for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. In addition, other CE opportunities are held during the year and can be found on our conferences and seminars page.

  • What academic support programs do they have? They have counseling and psychological services, they have an office of health education, a learning resource center, a tutoring center, and a student health center.

  • What is the curriculum? The first year and second year are spend mostly in the classroom with learning the basics of veterinary medicine. The third year becomes more interactive with such cources as Med/Surg III, Clinical Exercises, and Small Animal Block experiences. The fourth year is then spent going three rotations. 

​Admissions General Information​

  • Professional Application Service:  VMCAS

  • VMCAS Deadline: October 2nd

  • Do they have a supplemental application? Yes, there is a link on their website that you are supposed to fill out and send in conjunction with the primary application. It is due on October 2nd and according to the website the form should only take 5 to 10 minutes to fill out. It costs $75.

  • Do they have interviews? Yes, they have personal interviews with the Committee on Admissions, which are by invitation only. This is a very formal process and only reserved for the select final applicants. Interviews are scheduled during January, February, and March for those schools that conduct personal interviews. Two personal interviews are conducted: a formal interview with 2 faculty members (including an alumni member) of the committee, and an informal interview with student committee members. 

  • Are AP credits accepted? They do accept AP and IB credit for prerequisite courses as long as the AP credit has been accepted by a college or university for credit toward graduation. It should be recorded clearly on the transcript from that college or university.

  • Do they require a pre-professional curriculum? No, they only require the courses that have already been stated.  

  • ​What professional test do they accept? GRE 

Admissions Statistics (2013)

General Statistics 

# of applications received per year - 1200

# of out-of-state applicants per year - 950

# of students accepted - 134

% of applicants accepted - 11.2%

% of in-state students enrolled - 47%

% of out-of-state students enrolled - 53%

% female - 76%

% male - 24%



Resident GPA Statistics

Avg. cumulative GPA of denied students - 3.6



Resident GRE Statistics

Avg. verbal score for admitted students - 158 

Avg. quantitative score for admitted students - 157

Avg. analytical score for admitted students - not used

 

Subjective Review Components

As with most veterinary schools, the VMCAS applicant must be filled out completely and submitted by the October 2nd deadline. From this point there is the $75 processing fee to Penn State and a short supplemental. 

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There are also personal interviews that are held throughout January, February, and March. The Committee on Admissions considers all factors presented in the applicant's file. The most important factors are academic abillity, apparent familiarity with the profession and sincerity in interest, recommendations of academic counselors, science faulty and veterinarians, GRE scores, character, personality, and general fitness/adaptabillity for a career in vet med. They don't have a lot more information about this process than the basics. 

 

Tuition and Fees

  • In-state tuition = $35,878

 

  • Out-of-state tuition = $45,878

 

  • Is there an enrollment deposit required? Yes, there is a $500 deposit that is added to your tuition. It is due by the end of April. It is non-refundable. 

 

  • Residency status options = No, in order to be considered a resident of PA, you must have lived in the state for 12 consecutive months prior to matriculation. When a student is accepted as Out-of-State, he/she will remain as an out-of-state student for the entire four years.

 

​Funding Options​

  • Grants-in-aid - Yes, there are grants available to students on the local and national level through the FASFA. In addition Penn has a no loan policy in which all eligible students receive a loan-free aid package, regardless of family income level. This is meant to help widen the access for qualified students to attend Penn. So there are opportunities to received non-loan based funding from Penn State.

 

  • Fellowships - Yes, there are a select number of fellowships available. However, some of them appear to be fellowships appear to be for people who already have their VMD or DVM. There is however the NIH/Merck Fellowship available for select students during the summer. However, I don’t believe that any funds are given to students for participating.

 

  • Scholarships - Yes, The majority of our Scholarships are based on academic merit, financial need, and class year. Examples are the Opportunity Scholarship with is the amount of $12,000 over the four years and it is awarded to a first-year students based on academic merit, financial need, and donor interests. This is regardless of the state residency. There is the American kennel Club Scholarship which can amount to $5000 to $15000 as a one-time, renewable grant. There is the Lois F. Fairchild Scholarship awarded to third-year students with an interest in veterinary public service.

 

  • Assistantships - Yes, there are assistantships available to students attending Penn State Graduate school programs, including the veterinary school. There are three types of assistantships; quarter-time, half-time, and three-quarter time. Depending on the classification of each assistantships determines the amounts of stipend available plus a grant-in-aid.

 

  • 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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