Applicant Selection Procedure

Candidates should demonstrate an ability to handle coursework that is preparatory for the professional-level veterinary curriculum. This includes high academic performance trends in advanced biomedical and/or animal science courses in context of other application materials. Demonstrating the ability to handle a rigorous course load and/or workload while maintaining good academic performance supports the candidate's ability to manage academic and non-academic responsibilities.

Other coursework can support a candidate's career goals, interests, and general education. There are no preferred majors. Completion of a degree(s) is not as important as demonstration of strong academic success in advanced coursework. A bachelor's degree is not required for admission.

Veterinary experience includes experiences under the supervision of a veterinarian while animal experiences includes work with animals not with a veterinarian. Candidates are encouraged to seek some experience (paid, voluntary, or observational) in an area related to their career interest. Experience provides an opportunity to understand the veterinary profession, learn about career fields, gain skills and first-hand exposure, and build relationships with mentors or those who may provide positive letters of evaluation.

No minimum number of experience hours is required. Candidates have been admitted with no experience to well over 10,000 hours. The average number of experience hours is approximately 2,000 because of this wide range; however, 100-300 hours is an appropriate goal for a new applicant.

For assistance in classifying experience, visit the VMCAS Experience Help Center. 

Candidates should include non-veterinary, non-animal experiences and affiliations in their application. This includes experiences related to previous employment, extracurricular activities, research, and community volunteering. These experiences provide more insight to the candidate's skills, interests, goals, and values. Candidates should focus on post-secondary education experiences; however, it would be appropriate for candidates to include significant, impactful multi-year secondary education experiences (e.g., scouts, 4-H, FFA, band, etc.) if they are important to understanding the candidate's identity. 

Applicants who have had careers outside of veterinary medicine should include this information in their application also. 

For assistance in classifying experience, visit the VMCAS Experience Help Center. 

Essays provide the opportunity to share meaningful information about a candidate's personal journey to a career in veterinary medicine as well as their understanding of the profession related to their career goals and interests.

Candidates should carefully provide answers that address prompts, review their writing for completeness, messaging, spelling and grammar, and provide individualized insight about themselves. 

Essay responses must be the original work of the candidate. Use of a third party service or artificial intelligence for generation of essay responses is prohibited. The Office of Veterinary Admissions and Student Success reserves the right to rescind an offer of admission or dismiss a matriculated student from the program if it is found that a candidate has misrepresented themselves, provided false information, or has not responded through their own original narrative in the application. 

Letters of recommendation should provide additional perspective about the candidate unique from information entered into the application. High quality evaluations are rich in insight to the candidate's readiness or abilities as a student, a colleague, a veterinarian, a professional, an employee, etc. 

LSU Vet Med Applicants are required to have 3 electronic letters of recommendation submitted through the VMCAS. One letter of recommendation must be from a veterinarian. Candidate's can submit up to 6 letters. Quality of letters is more important than quantity. All letters provided will be reviewed. We recommend one letter from a veterinarian, one from an academic source, and one from an employer; however, candidates may select other sources that provide diverse perspectives. 

Letters of recommendation provided directly to our office instead of through VMCAS will not be considered. Evaluators must submit their recommendation by the VMCAS application deadline.