Veterinary medicine is increasingly appreciated as a discipline that requires knowledge, skills and abilities which are acquired through experiences and settings both inside and outside the classroom.
To prepare applicants for holistic review that will equally evaluate their personal characteristics and academic readiness for the veterinary professional program, the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) will institute a competency-based admissions process or CBA in the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. CBA is an approach to admissions that employs processes intended to determine each applicant’s ability to demonstrate a core set of entry-level competencies needed to succeed in veterinary school and within the veterinary profession.
We believe this approach will allow the admissions committee to assess all facets of their personal and professional attributes which contribute to their growth towards becoming a competent veterinarian. This "competency-based" approach also provides candidates greater flexibility, for example, by substituting laboratory experience gained, while employed, for laboratory and or course requirements taken in school, or by substituting online courses that free up time to pursue interests that enhance the applicant's level of maturity and readiness for the medical profession.
In addition to the competency-based admissions approach, the VMCVM will retain a set of pre-requisite courses that must be completed with a grade of C- or better, by the end of spring semester prior to matriculation.
The Admissions Committee will use the entire application to ensure that the candidate has demonstrated reasonable accomplishment of all of the identified competencies; this includes the VMCAS application, academic record, roster of experiences, letters of recommendation, the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine’s resiliency essay, situational judgement test, written and verbal communication with the Admissions Office, and Multiple Mini Interview.
Competency-based admissions will become effective with the class entering in 2025 (2024-2025 application year).