VETERINARY MEDICINE
An
abiding interest in animals is the most obvious requirement for someone aspiring
to be a veterinarian. There are 75,000 active veterinarians in the United
States; the majority of them find employment in the private sector, as an owner
of a solo practice or as an associate in a group practice. There are veterinary
talent shortages in the areas of food safety, in governmental work, and for
non-practice (academic and research), certified specialist, and rural
practitioner veterinarians. Employment at zoos,
breeding farms, racetracks, humane societies and animal welfare organizations is
also possible. Involvement of veterinarians in all aspects of animal research is
increasing. Veterinary schools are looking for a more diverse applicant pool
than they have in the past.
There are twenty-eight veterinary schools in the United States; they enroll a total of 10,300 students each year. All of the schools have a preference for accepting applicants who are residents of the state in which the school is located. Most schools have contracted with states (usually without a veterinary school of their own) to accept a limited number of students from the contracting state and all accept a limited number of non-resident, non-contract "at-large" students; there are approximately 450 such "at-large" positions in veterinary schools in the United States at the present time. Competition for admission to veterinary school varies tremendously from school to school; some routinely receive a number of applications equal to ten to twenty times the number of positions in their entering class; others have fewer than five applicants for each first year position. A total of 2,570 students gain admission to veterinary school each year from a pool of about 4,500 applicants. Female students make up 80% of the students enrolled in veterinary school; by 2010, women will become the majority of practitioners. Minority enrollment has increased steadily in the last several years and stood at 10% of the total enrollment in 2004. Over 90% of the graduates from veterinary schools in 2003 received job offers or had procured opportunities for continuing education before graduation; 87% of veterinary school graduates in 2003 had educational debt; median indebtedness was $ 74,046 at the time of graduation. The average gross income for new graduates was $ 46,300 per year in 2002. Average income for all veterinarians is $84,000 per year; 65-70% of veterinarians’ earnings in 2001 came from treating pets; spending on pet care rose to $ 11.1 billion in 2001, from $ 6.9 billion in 1991 and the market may bear higher veterinary fees than what it currently does. Mean annual expenditure on veterinary care by dog-owning households exceeded $ 250 in 2001.
Additional information can be obtained from the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1931 North Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173-4360; phone 800-248-2862; http://www.avma.org/care4pets/.
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, 1101 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 710, Washington DC 20005-3521, phone 202-371-9195, http://aavmc.org is another excellent resource.
The Pre-Veterinary Newsletter at http://www.vet.cornell.edu/admissions/inquiry.htm is outstanding.
Anyone who is seriously considering applying to veterinary
school should obtain a copy of the book “Veterinary Medical School Admission
Requirements in the United States and Canada”, which is available from Purdue
University Press, phone
800-247-6553. This book is the
official American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges handbook and it is
updated each year, with the new edition available in August; total cost is
around $ 20.