Admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine is granted only for the fall semester of each school year and only on a full-time basis. A prescribed number of student spaces is planned for each class, and the formal application material with all supporting credentials is required of each applicant.

The Faculty Committee on Admissions and Scholastic Standing is responsible for determining the application procedure and for selecting the entering class in the professional curriculum. All pre-professional requirements must be completed by the end of the spring semester before fall matriculation in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Formal VMCAS applications must be submitted no later than October 3rd, 2011 at 12:00pm NOON (Central Daylight Time) for possible matriculation into the fall '12 semester). Applications must be submitted through the Veterinary Medical Colleges Application Service (VMCAS). Along with the VMCAS application materials, an LSU SVM supplemental application must be completed and submitted directly to the LSU SVM Student Affairs Office as well as all official undergraduate/graduate transcripts, GRE scores and letters of recommendation. Please visit the application instructions for more details on the application process. Students reapplying must submit a completely new application for each application period.

Students admitted and enrolled in the school must be capable of satisfactorily meeting all requirements of the curriculum in veterinary medicine. Eligible candidates are chosen to be interviewed by members of the Faculty Committee on Admissions and Scholastic Standing and are carefully selected to ensure that they are properly motivated, competent to undertake the rigorous courses of professional study, and capable of meeting the demands of a professional career.

Academic and non-academic qualifications are considered in the selection process. Selection for admission is based on the sum of the objective and subjective scores. The exact combination of each component to the total score may vary slightly from year to year and is determined by the admissions committee and the dean. Please see the above chart for the exact overall scoring breakdown. What does it take to be a competitive applicant? Interested applicants should visit the "Previous Class Statistics" to get a better idea of what it will take to be competitive in the applicant pool, with regards to the objective information below.

OBJECTIVE EVALUATION - 65%

The objective evaluation is based on scholastic achievement and standardized test scores. All official transcripts of college course grades are examined to determine scholastic achievement. The total objective score is derived from:

• • Required Course GPA - (29%)
  • Last 45 Credit Hour GPA - (18%)
  • General GRE score - (18%)

SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION - 35%

The subjective evaluation of applicants is based on non-academic qualifications considered relevant to the determination of the applicant's prospective performance in the veterinary medical curriculum and in the practice of veterinary medicine. Motivation, maturity, attitude, interest, and other characteristics will be evaluated for all qualified candidates, along with work experience, familiarity with animals, and reference information submitted in support of the application. These qualities are evaluated by two separate committees. The first committee reviews the supporting documents (autobiography, letters of recommendation, transcripts, work experience, and familiarity with animals). The second committee evaluates the individual through a personal interview. These appraisals result in an average subjective score which is added to the objective score to produce the total numerical evaluation of the candidate. Through this process, the professional judgment of several faculty members is included in arriving at a final decision of recommended students for the Class of 2015. The total subjective score is derived from:

• • Folder Reviews - (15%)
  • Interviews - (10%)

FINAL EVALUATION / SELECTION

The final decision rests with the Dean of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. The Faculty Committee on Admissions and Scholastic Standing makes its recommendation to the Dean who then finalizes the offers of admission.

Note - Under exceptional circumstances, a limited number of applicants not selected under the above criteria may be admitted. Factors to be considered by the Faculty Committee on Admissions & Scholastic Standing include undergraduate experience, GRE score, advanced academic work, work experience, or participation in special educational programs, as well as those special attributes possessed by the applicant that add to the cultural, educational, and/or geographical diversity of the entering class.