WELCOME TO THE VMCAS APPLICATION!

Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) simplifies the process of applying to veterinary programs. By using VMCAS, applicants are able to complete one application via our online website and send one set of documents to our centralized service. VMCAS will verify transcript entry for accuracy, calculate GPA’s, and provide the application to applicant designated veterinary programs.

VMCAS is sponsored by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). Applicants use VMCAS to apply to a vast majority of AVMA/COE accredited colleges in the United States and abroad.

VMCAS collects, processes, and delivers application materials to veterinary colleges designated by the applicant, and responds to applicant inquiries about the application service. This service is the data collection, processing, and distribution component of the veterinary admissions process for colleges participating in VMCAS.  VMCAS, however, does not take part in the admissions selection or advising processes.

Twenty-nine (29) of the thirty (30) U.S. veterinary institutions participate in VMCAS, along with two (2) Canadian, two (2) Scottish, one (1) British, one (1) Irish, one (1) New Zealand,  two (2) Australian, and two (2) Caribbean veterinary institutions.  Application material deadlines, prerequisite courses, and other aspects of the admissions process differ from school to school. Applicants are responsible for being informed of all instructions provided by VMCAS and the associated member colleges. Questions about using VMCAS should be directed to the VMCAS Student and Advisor Hotline via phone (617) 612-2884 or e-mail (vmcasinfo@vmcas.org).

Important website links

THE APPLICATION CYCLE:

The VMCAS application cycle runs from May 11, 2016 to September 15, 2016. Applicants cannot create an account or submit documentation to VMCAS prior to the opening date.

NOTE: The 2016-2017 VMCAS application cycle opens on May 11, 2016 and closes at 11:59 PM EST September 15, 2016.

  • VMCAS goes live: May 11, 2016 at 1:00pm EST
  • Get S.E.T. for Verification Date: August 15, 2016
  • VMCAS Application Deadline: September 15, 2016 11:59pm EST
  • AAVMC Acceptance Deadline: April 15th, 2017

AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

VMCAS will NOT determine if an applicant is eligible to apply to a program. It is the applicants’ responsibility to understand the application requirements of all applicable program(s) to which the applicant is qualified. Please note that VMCAS will accept all application payments regardless if the minimum program requirements are met. Refunds are not granted under any circumstance, including to applicants who did not meet a program’s minimum requirements to apply.

VMCAS makes every attempt to provide applicants with pertinent information about how to complete the VMCAS application. Schools rarely make changes to requirements during the application cycle. Please be sure to monitor the VMCAS website and College Descriptor Pages for important information throughout the application cycle.

BEFORE CREATING AN APPLICATION:

The following steps are highly recommended BEFORE applying:

1. Read and understand all VMCAS Instructions, FAQs and the Professional Code of Conduct. All applicants are responsible for understanding this information BEFORE starting the VMCAS application. Applicants will be required to attest their understanding and agree to all policies prior to submitting the application.

2. Determine the types of references required by your selected veterinary programs (ie. academic, clinical, veterinarian, etc.). Contact potential evaluators to ensure they are willing to complete a recommendation on your behalf and within the allotted timeline.

3. Request official copies of transcripts be mailed to you in order to aid in the completion of the transcript entry portion of the VMCAS application. Please note that these CANNOT be the same transcripts sent to VMCAS.

4. Compose your personal essay in a separate program. Please note VMCAS has a character limit of 4,500 characters, including spaces and line breaks.

5. Determine your veterinary programs’ requirements regarding prerequisites, standardized tests scores, supplemental applications, foreign evaluations, etc. and ensure you meet all minimum requirements.

EMAIL ADVICE

To ensure that you receive email notifications from VMCAS, you should designate VMCAS as a “Trusted Source” through your email provider. This is usually accomplished by adding our “From Addresses” to your address book, contact list, or Safe List. Add the following email addresses for the e-mail subscriptions you receive:

How to white-list sender addresses:

The following is a list of links to instructions from the most common email providers on how to avoid having valid emails sent to your Junk or Spam folders:

For more information on how to white-list email addresses for providers not mentioned above, click here

WEB BROWSER SUPPORT:

VMCAS supports the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. The application uses Cookies, JavaScript and Pop-up windows, so please be sure all are enabled within your browser. (The default setting is “on” so it is unlikely that you will need to make any changes.)

Browser vendors recommend users stay up to date on the latest version of the browsers and we recommend the same for the optimal application experience. If you experience an issue, please contact our Customer Support team for assistance.

To check if your browser is up-to-date, please visit WhatIsMyBrowser.com.

 

SUGGESTED APPLICATION PROCESSING TIMELINE:

Below we have outlined a suggested timeline to keep in mind when completing the application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply as early as possible.  Please note that processing times vary throughout the cycle and each veterinary programs’ deadline requirements differ, therefore this timeline may not apply to every applicant.


Prior to Start of the Application Cycle

  1. Research veterinary programs, prerequisite requirements, program information, and other requirements.
  2. Begin narrowing down and selecting programs you may be interested in researching.
  3. Focus on finishing outstanding courses or other prerequisites at this time.
  4. Begin reaching out to potential letter of reference authors.
  5. Begin gathering your demographic and academic information, which will help speed up the process of completing your application.

At Least 3 Months Prior to the September 15th Deadline

  1. Begin the VMCAS application.
  2. Inform evaluators of the process and confirm that they have agreed to participate.
  3. Complete the Colleges Attended and Evaluations section immediately so that references and transcripts have ample time to be received by VMCAS.

At Least 10-12 Weeks Prior to the September 15th Deadline

  1. Request that transcripts be sent directly to VMCAS from all schools previously attended.
  2. Confirm that evaluators have received the online evaluation request via e-mail.
  3. Request additional copies of transcripts be sent to you directly so that you may begin the transcript entry process.
  4. Begin drafting your personal essay.

At Least 6-8 Weeks Prior to the September 15th Deadline

  1. Monitor application for receipt of transcripts and evaluations.
  2. Follow up with VMCAS regarding any missing items.
  3. Complete the application and submit to VMCAS.

At Least 4-6 Weeks Prior to the September 15th Deadline

Monitor your application status regularly and follow up on any incomplete or undelivered statuses until the application reaches the final VERIFIED status.

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Q: How early should I start the application process?

A: APPLY EARLY! To ensure your application is verified on time, ALL MATERIALS should arrive at VMCAS to complete your application at least four weeks prior to your earliest deadline. Once your application is considered COMPLETE, it can take up to FOUR WEEKS for it to be verified.

Q: What do I do if I have applied before?

A: Re-application accounts are available in the 2016-2017 application cycle.  Please refer to the section titled “Re-applying to VMCAS” for additional information and next steps.

Q: When will the VMCAS 2016-2017 application cycle open?

A: Applicants will be able to create an application for the VMCAS 2016-2017 application cycle on the afternoon of May 11, 2016.

Q: How can I look up various veterinary programs’ admissions requirements?

A: Use the School Information links on the VMCAS information hub to obtain school-specific information.

Q: When is the VMCAS Deadline?

The VMCAS application deadline is 11:59PM EST on September 15, 2016. After this time, you will not be able to submit your VMCAS application to any participating programs. This is also the deadline by which all letters of reference and required official transcripts must be received by VMCAS.

Q: What happens if VMCAS does not receive all my application materials by the deadline?

VMCAS will not process materials received after September 15th. If you have required materials which have not been received by VMCAS by September 15th, your application will remain incomplete. Each veterinary program has it’s own policies regarding incomplete applications, so applicants  who missed the VMCAS deadline are encouraged to contact the school(s) directly for additional information and next steps.

Q: How do I make sure I receive email notifications from VMCAS?

 A: To ensure that you receive email notifications from VMCAS, you may need to designate us as a “Trusted Source” through your email provider. This is usually accomplished by adding our “From Addresses” to your address book, contact list, or Safe List. Add the following email addresses for the e-mail subscriptions you receive:

How to white-list sender addresses:

The following is a list of links to instructions from the most common email providers on how to avoid having valid emails sent to your Junk or Spam folders:

For more information on how to white-list email addresses for providers not mentioned above, click here.

Q: Which browser can I use to access the VMCAS application?

A: VMCAS supports the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. The application uses Cookies, JavaScript and Pop-up windows, so please be sure all are enabled within your browser. (The default setting is “on” so it is unlikely that you will need to make any changes.)

Browser vendors recommend users stay up to date on the latest version of the browsers and we recommend the same for the optimal application experience. If you experience an issue, please contact our Customer Support team for assistance.

Q: How do I tell if my browser is up-to-date?

A: To check if your browser is up-to-date, please visit WhatIsMyBrowser.com.