The KSU College of Veterinary Medicine

Even though I am just a freshman, as a student studying Animal Science/Pre-Vet, it is nearly impossible not to stop and take stock of the amazing College of Veterinary Medicine facilities on campus. First established in 1905, KSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine has undergone extensive changes in last 100+ years, both structurally and educationally. It is hard to believe that the first graduating class (only seven people), who were all men, from the college only had to have a high school diploma to qualify for admission. It wasn’t until 1932 that a female would earn a degree in vet med from K-State. What a long way the school has come since then! The ratio of males to females in the field has flipped as well… vet med had always been a predominantly male field until the last decade or so. Not only that, but the admissions requirements have changed too. Even for those that can meet the requirements, the current acceptance rate at KSU’s vet school is listed online as a whopping 8.5%.

The college has many criteria for their potential students; they expect to see glowing experience records, community service, impeccable grade point averages, letters of recommendation, and top-notch interview skills. Needless to say, there are a set of steep requirements to even be considered as a student at the college. However, K-State does offer a special program – their Early Admission Program. This program has its own set of requirements – one of which is a 29 or higher ACT score. Applicants apply their senior year of high school and may earn themselves an interview for the program. If, so they will be interviewed and told if they have been accepted or not within a few weeks. Being admitted into this program essentially “reserves” a seat in KSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, so the students will not have to compete against the thousands of other applicants after completing most of their undergraduate degree.

There are yearly and semesterly requirements that must be upheld by the members of this program including a 3.3 GPA in K-State science classes, fifty hours of community service per year, fifty hours of shadowing or veterinary experience a year, involvement in a non-veterinary related club, attending nearly all the meetings for either Veterinary Voyagers or Pre-Vet Club, and more. You may be thinking… “wow, she seems to know a lot about this program,” and that would be because I was inducted as one of the 2019-2020 Early Admission Program students this year. In my opinion, whether students choose to apply to vet school traditionally or are blessed enough to be able to be an Early Admission student, K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine is a great place to be!