New Jersey does not have a college of veterinary medicine. New Jersey residents who wish to become doctors of veterinary medicine obtain their professional education at one of the colleges of veterinary medicine
after completing prerequisite course requirements. There are only 30 accredited
veterinary schools in the United States, and three states have two schools (California,
Tennessee, and Alabama) in addition to AVMA accredited foreign veterinary schools
in Canada (5), Australia (4), West Indies (2), Scotland (2), and one each in
England, Mexico, the Netherlands, Ireland, and France.
Admission to
veterinary school is based on a combination of grades (usually a GPA of greater than 3.0 to even be considered), letters of
recommendation from professors and veterinarians, and performance on
standardized tests (see below). To prepare for admission to a veterinary college, the student must have acquired a strong scientific and liberal arts background. Most veterinary colleges require at least one, often two, semesters of the following undergraduate subjects: biochemistry, biology, English, general chemistry, genetics, microbiology, and physics. In addition, some will also require courses in statistics, physiology, and even public speaking. The undergraduate program should also provide a broad and diversified background of experience enabling students to achieve their full potential as an individual and a member of society. All of the colleges do require that the applicants have experience working with veterinarians in clinical and/or research settings, and some require documentation of the amount of time spent in veterinary practice and/or research. Graduate Record Examinations are required by most colleges of veterinary medicine, usually taken in the spring or summer before the student applies for admission. Veterinary Aptitude Tests are required by a few schools. Since the prerequisites do differ among the colleges, applicants must check with the individual schools regarding specific course and test requirements.
Most colleges of veterinary medicine require a minimum of three years of university-level study prior to admission. Most successful candidates for admission have completed a bachelor of science degree in biological, animal, or agricultural science programs. However, colleges of veterinary medicine do not dictate where or in what degree program applicants should be enrolled for preprofessional study. Most veterinary colleges recommend, however, that applicants pursue a baccalaureate degree in the area of their second choice of vocation. That way if the candidate is not admitted to a college of veterinary medicine, the time spent in preparatory studies may be applied to careers in related sciences, such as human medicine, animal science, biology, biotechnology, laboratory animal science, medical technology, or wildlife biology.
The Veterinary Medical Education Act of 1971
The Veterinary Medical Education Act of 1971 provided for contractual agreements between the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) and out-of-state colleges of veterinary medicine for the acceptance of New Jersey residents who are and have been residents of the state of New Jersey for 12 consecutive months. Under the terms of the act, the colleges receive a substantial subsidy toward educational costs in return for a number of guaranteed reserved seats for New Jersey residents. However, the level of funding for the program is determined annually in the state budget and the number of seats available has fluctuated over the years.
In fall 2009, the State of New Jersey had contractual agreements with the following colleges: Tufts University (Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine), Oklahoma State University, and Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, for a total of 8 contract seats. However, further cuts in the budget for the program were made and the program has been discontinued.
Even
without the contract program in place, qualified School of Environmental and Biological Sciences/animal science program graduates
over the past 10 years have had a success rate of 70 percent to 100 percent acceptance for
those applying to veterinary schools, which is higher than the nationwide
average of less than 50 percent acceptance for qualified students from states without
a school of veterinary medicine. Most colleges of veterinary medicine also admit out-of-state residents without specific contracts, but they charge very high out-of-state tuition. Noncontract veterinary schools such as those at Cornell University, Colorado State University, University of Florida, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, The Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University, University of Tennessee, Western University of Health Sciences (California), and foreign AVMA accredited programs at Prince Edward Island (Canada), University of Edinburgh (Royal [Dick] School of Veterinary Studies, Scotland), and University of London (Royal Veterinary College, England), and Ross University in the West Indies have admitted students from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
Further information on application procedures and the Veterinary Medical Education Contract Program are available in the Department of Animal Sciences, Bartlett Hall.
