To attend Texas A&M’s veterinary school in College Station, applicants must meet requirements such as working at least 100 hours with a veterinarian and taking prerequisites including organic chemistry, physics and biochemistry, the school’s representatives said April 22.
The Pre-Veterinary Society at Texas A&M University-San Antonio hosted a hybrid event with an administrator and students from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in Room 131 of the Science and Technology Building.
About a dozen students attended the session in person.
The Zoom session was projected onto the whiteboards in the room.
Dr. Elizabeth Crouch, the assistant dean of admissions, said the veterinary school receives over 1,000 applications per year, making this very competitive for students applying for the college.
This means that students need to find a way to stand out in their applications.
Only 180 students get accepted into the program each year.
Applications open online on May 1 and are due Aug. 29. Fall prerequisites are due December 2025, and spring prerequisites are due May 2026.
Accepted applicants will start the fall semester after their acceptance.
Pre-veterinary students must complete several steps before they are eligible to apply to veterinary school. These steps include completing approximately 45 hours of prerequisite courses, meeting the minimum GPA requirements of 2.90, completing a minimum of 100 hours working with a veterinarian, documentation of accrued animal experience hours, developing their resume and exploring opportunities in veterinary medicine.
Students will also need to take a CASPer test, where they will respond to certain situations in writing or verbally.
“They are looking for things like your critical thinking skills, your empathy and your ethical decision making,” Crouch said.
They will also have to go through an interview process known as Multiple Mini Interviews or MMIs. Applicants will respond through a series of six scenarios, and they get about six minutes to respond.
Most of the people in the room were quickly typing notes to get as much information as possible. They were focused on everything the representatives had to say.
Students submitted questions they had before the event through a Google form made by the Pre-Veterinary Society. Kenesha Williams, third-year veterinary student, and Day Meyer, second-year veterinary student, responded to these questions.
“A veterinary student’s first year typically consists mostly of exams, but also has management projects and evaluation research,” Meyer said.
Williams said students pick a specialty track in their third year. Students choose from small animal, mixed animal (large and small), equine (horses), alternative (wildlife and exotics) and production (animal food production).
Both veterinary students use Anki flashcards, Quizlet, group study and rewatching recorded lectures to help them study. They suggested these methods to the pre-veterinary students.
“Some students might struggle with their worth and value or imposter syndrome because they might feel like others know more than them,” Williams said.
Meyer said time management is a huge struggle, but “I was able to find my people early on.” Finding his people helped him to have fun while studying.
They suggest not working during the first three years because of time management. Veterinary students usually have eight-hour days and still have to come home and study.
Veterinary students don’t pay a lot of attention to grades and their friends will even joke about it. Grades aren’t very competitive once you get into veterinary school.
Crouch said students should look at the goals and mission of the veterinary school they are thinking of attending. The cost of tuition at A&M-College Station for in-state is about $46,000 per year and out-of-state is about $65,000 per year.
Students were feeling stressed and hopeful about their future at the end of the event.
Eilleen Santiago, sophomore, president and founder of the Pre-Veterinary Society, said she hopes students “get the clarification that they’ve been wanting.” Her goal when starting the group was to see what university everyone was wanting to go to.
This is the society’s first event with a guest speaker, and members already have a few more lined up for the fall.
The Pre-Veterinary Society aims to become a student organization in the fall, said Santiago. Members want to start fundraising so they can possibly tour the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The event aimed to help students see their options and decide if the veterinary school at Texas A&M-College Station is a good fit for them.
“It’s definitely my top school,” Santiago said. “She is also planning on applying to other schools such as the University of Florida because they have an aquatics track.”
Jazmin Mascorro, sophomore and vice president of the Pre-Veterinary Society, said that the speakers’ study tips and warnings about time management were the most helpful things she learned.
“I really want to get into equine. I love horses so much,” Mascorro said. Texas A&M-College Station has an equine track, so she sees this college as a good fit for her career goals.
Mascorro’s favorite thing about veterinary medicine is seeing the transition of an animal getting better and knowing that she was able to help them make that change. “It’s life-changing,” she said.
To apply or learn more, go to TMDSAS Homepage or DVM Admissions – DVM Professional Program. Students can also email admissions with any questions they have at admiss-dvm@tamu.edu.
For information about the Pre-Veterinary Society, email esant028@jaguar.tamu.edu or visit Pre-Veterinary Society – JagSync 2.0
