High-achieving students with an interest in food animal veterinary sciences will now have an expedited pathway for admission at the College of Veterinary Medicine (Vet Med) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
A new program allows animal sciences majors to gain early acceptance at Vet Med if they maintain a 3.5 GPA, complete livestock-related courses and experiences, and plan to become food animal veterinarians.
“It’s more important than ever for highly trained veterinarians to keep livestock herds safe and healthy. It’s a critical need for the livestock industry. This is one way we can help support students with that interest, and we're really excited about it,” said Anna Dilger, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.
Rather than applying to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at Illinois during the fall of their senior year, students with a demonstrated interest in food animal care can apply to the new early acceptance program in the spring of their sophomore year. Dilger says early acceptance allows students to focus on completing their undergraduate degrees with less stress and more attention to courses that will prepare them for the livestock industry.
“The classes our students take in their junior and senior years — like beef production and livestock feeds and feeding — are really designed to make them better practitioners in the context of food animal production,” Dilger said. “They’re not going to get that type of training in vet school, but they will be better prepared as future veterinarians for the workforce.”
A handful of other veterinary schools across the country offer early acceptance to enrolled undergraduates, but few focus on food animals.
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