AAVMC | VMCAS | VMCAS FAQ

These are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS).

Submitting the Application

Where do I submit my application materials?

Your VMCAS Web application and evaluations (delivered electronically), and fees must be submitted to VMCAS by October 2, 2008 Noon EDT.

Mail checks to the following address:

Veterinary Medical College Application Service
1101 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 301
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 682-0750
Toll free: (877) 862-2740

If I applied last year, do I have to start a new VMCAS Web application account?

YES. Each applicant, including re-applicants must create a new account each year. Once the application closes for the season applicants no longer have access to the application. All application materials must be resubmitted for your VMCAS application. Be sure to send materials to the appropriate location. Also, remember to request that all transcripts and test scores be sent directly to each college to which you are applying, and not to VMCAS. Send your VMCAS Web application (delivered electronically), evaluations (electronic or paper forms), and VMCAS fees to VMCAS.

What materials do I need to complete my VMCAS application?

You must have the following to complete your VMCAS application:

A completed VMCAS Web application
Fee payment. Your fee amount will correspond to the number of schools you've selected. If you are paying by check or money order, include your full name and VMCAS ID number on the fee payment. You may also pay by credit card.
Three completed VMCAS evaluations. You must submit a minimum of three electronic evaluations. Any eLOR forms submitted after the deadline will be marked with the date it was submitted. You can submit a maximum of five electronic evaluations.
Transcripts. You must send an official transcript from each postsecondary college you've attended to each of your selected colleges. Do not send transcripts to VMCAS.
Standardized test scores. Scores from any necessary standardized test must be delivered to the colleges before their deadlines. Do not send test scores to VMCAS.

Can I make changes to my application once it has been submitted?

After the application has been submitted, you will only be able to ADD designations and edit address and contact information. You will only be able to make these changes up until the deadline. ALL OTHER INFORMATION IS FINAL ONCE CLICKING THE SUBMIT BUTTON. If you need to change your contact information after the deadline, send this information directly to your designated colleges. VMCAS cannot delete colleges after an application is submitted.

Can I send in my fee payment before I deliver my application?

YES. You can send it as soon as you have created an account. If possible, VMCAS prefers to receive your payment (if by check) and paper evaluations in the same envelope. Please remember that application fees are non-refundable.

After I submit my application materials, when will they be sent to the designated colleges?

Application shipments begin a few weeks before the deadline. Once shipments begin, the veterinary colleges will receive weekly shipments from VMCAS until all applications have been delivered. Once your application has been submitted to VMCAS, it is expected to go out in the next scheduled shipment. Evaluations are not mailed out until we have all three that have been reigstered in the eLOR section.

How can I make my application process efficient?

Submit your application early!
Read all instructions in the Web application.
Verify that you have submitted all materials before the deadline.
Make sure that your transcripts and test scores are sent to the colleges and not to VMCAS.
Read the schools' descriptor pages and our Helpful Hints section.
Keep in close contact with your evaluators; confirm that your evaluations have been submitted on time.

Do I need to submit a Fall 2008 transcript?

YES. If you are enrolled in courses (electives or prerequisites) for the Fall 2008 term, you must arrange to have copies of your official Fall 2008 transcript sent to each VMCAS colleges to which you are applying. Fall 2008 transcripts must be sent by the college deadline listed on their descriptor pages.

How do I submit a transcript for the Fall 2008 term?

If you are attending a school for the Fall 2008 term, make sure to list the school in ths institutions attended and coursework sections of the application. This alerts the VMCAS college(s) that you are attending this institution during the Fall 2008 term and that they should expect to receive a transcript of these courses following the completion of the term. You may wish (but are not required) to use the VMCAS Transcript Request Form to request transcripts.

Should I wait to send my transcript to my selected VMCAS college(s) until after the Fall 2008 term if I attended that same college in the past?

NO. If you attended a college in the past and are also taking courses this fall at the same institution, you must order a copy of the transcript before the deadline and once again when you complete the fall courses.

What if I can't retrieve all of my application materials by the deadline date?

Applicants are responsible for obtaining all application materials in time to submit them by the earliest deadline of their selected colleges; this includes transcripts, test scores, fees, and evaluation forms. The application deadline date is critical for VMCAS and the VMCAS colleges. If you submit your application materials after the deadline, you will very likely jeopardize your eligibility for admissions consideration.

To find out if submitting transcripts or evaluation forms after the deadline will affect your admissions eligibility, check with each college to which you are applying.

What is a WICHE application?

You are a WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) applicant if you are a resident of Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, or Wyoming AND if you have applied for and/or received notice from the certifying office in your state that you are a duly certified applicant for the Professional Student Exchange Program. For further information, contact your WICHE State Certifying Office whose contact information is listed at http://www.wiche.edu/SEP/PSEP/cert-off.asp. Additional information about WICHE’s “cooperative admissions procedure” for veterinary medicine is located at http://www.wiche.edu/sep/psep/vetmed.asp .

Questions About Standardized Tests

How do I request that my standardized test scores be sent to the VMCAS colleges?

When you take any standardized test required for admission, you will be asked to designate where you wish to have the scores sent. Please request that all test scores be sent directly to the veterinary colleges. If applying to multiple colleges, request that your scores be sent by the earliest deadline date set by the college(s).

Can I use a past VCAT score?

The Psychological Corporation used to administer the VCAT, but that test is no longer available.

Reporting Classes and the Academic Course Work Section

Can you give me more information about the Academic Course Work section of the VMCAS Web application?

Carefully read all instructions in the VMCAS Web application. The following tips are designed to supplement and not replace those instructions.
Report all college and university courses attempted and earned exactly as they appear on your original transcript. Do not try to list courses from memory! It is particularly important to list each course prefix and number accurately. For example, if your institution uses CHEM 101 , you must enter CHEM 101 and not CHE 101 .
Begin with your earliest (oldest) transcript.
DO NOT LIST TRANSFER COURSES!
If you enrolled in a university for four years and completed a summer course at a community college between semesters, list the summer community college course after you list all courses from your primary university. In other words, report all non-transfer courses from your primary university's transcript in full before you enter courses taken at another school.
If you did not receive credit for a course (if you withdrew, received an incomplete, or failed) and the course appears on your transcript, you still must report the course in Academic Course Work section.
If you completed a course at one institution and the credit transferred to another, list the course only once as reported on the transcript of the institution where you originally completed it. You must submit an official transcript to the VMCAS college(s) for every college or university you have attended.
You must list college(s) in your Institution List before you are allowed to enter any grades for courses taken at that institution in the Academic Course Work section.
Assign a VMCAS prerequisite code for every course you have listed. The VMCAS prerequisite codes are included on the application. If a course does not match any of the VMCAS prerequisite codes, or if the course was not a required course (i.e., elective courses), select "Other" from the VMCAS prerequisite code list. VMCAS does not verify whether or not you have met the minimum course requirements for the schools to which you apply.

Do I have to report all postsecondary schools attended in the Academic Course Work section?

YES. You must list every class you have taken after high school as they appear on your transcript. If you took classes during high school for college credit, and they appear on your college transcript, then you must list them as well.

Do I need to list graduate, professional, or technical schools?

YES. You must list the school's information in the Enrollments section. List the courses taken at a graduate, professional, or technical school in the academic course work section.

Do I need to list classes that I took overseas?

If you took classes as part of an education abroad program , you should not list the international institution on your institution list. In this case, your education abroad courses will appear on your U.S. (or Canadian) institutional transcript as regular credit. If you mistakenly list your education abroad institution in Institution List, VMCAS colleges may stop processing your application to wait for a separate transcript report from that institution.

If you took classes overseas that were not part of an education abroad program , the VMCAS colleges require a foreign transcript evaluation report for each foreign institution attended. Use one of the transcript evaluation services listed below. Some schools may have slightly different policies on this; we strongly encourage you to contact the veterinary schools for more information if their descriptor pages do not provide an answer. If you fail to submit a required international evaluation report, VMCAS colleges may stop processing your application and your file will be incomplete.

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
International Education Consultants
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Phone: (305) 273-1616
Fax: (305) 273-1338
E-mail: info@jsilny.com
Web site: http://www.jsilny.com/

World Education Services, Inc.

Bowling Green Station
P.O. Box 5087
New York, NY 10274-5087
Phone: (212) 966-6311
Fax: (212) 739-6100
(800) 937-3895
E-mail: info@wes.org
Web site: http://www.wes.org/

Office of International Education Services
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and
Admissions Officers
One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 520
Washington, DC 20036-1135
Phone: (202) 293-9161

Fax: (202) 822-3940
E-mail: oies@aacrao.org
Web site: http://www.aacrao.org

How do I list transfer courses?

If you transferred from one school to another, the credits earned at the first school may appear as transfer credit on the second school's transcript. In this case, you would not associate the courses with the second school. A good rule of thumb is to associate courses with the transcript that shows the course grade and credit, and not only the credit. You must provide transcripts for each postsecondary institution, regardless of whether the credits transferred. Be sure to list all schools you attended on your institution list.

How do I report repeated courses in the Academic Course Work section?

List each time you took the course as it appears on your transcript. You should choose "Repeat Course" for each attempt (including the first) until the final attempt, when you will choose "Completed".

Do I report credits attempted or credits earned in the Academic Course Work section?

Report only credits earned. Do not report credits attempted.

What are the definitions of humanities and social science courses for the Academic Course Work section ?

VMCAS cannot determine if applicants have met minimum course prerequisites or whether a particular course fulfills a specific college course prerequisite. Please contact your selected veterinary colleges if you have questions about which VMCAS prerequisite code to use. The information below is for general reference purposes only.

Humanities courses include literature, art and music appreciation, foreign language studies, linguistics, philosophy, and religion.

Social Science courses include history, political science, archeology, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and economics.

Can I use the explanation statement to complete my personal statement?

This is not the intended use of the explanation statement. Use the explanation statement to record information that could not be listed within the web application, such as double majors, missing parental information, disciplinary action(s) which require detailed explanation. This section can also be used to provide the admissions committee(s) additional information that you consider vital to your application.

Evaluations and eLOR

All VMCAS evaluations are to be completed electronically in the Evaluations section of the VMCAS application, with the exception of multipage committee letters and composite letters.

Can VMCAS provide me with copies of my evaluations?

No. VMCAS does not provide copies of evaluations.

Can I use evaluations from previous years?

VMCAS will accept evaluations from previous years only if you or some other source provides the evaluation.

What are composite and committee evaluation letters?

VMCAS defines a composite evaluation letter as multiple letters individually signed and grouped together. A composite letter must be accompanied by the same number of evaluation forms it represents.

VMCAS defines a committee evaluation letter as a single evaluation letter signed by multiple evaluators. This counts as only one evaluation. Attach a single VMCAS evaluation form to any committee letter.

So, the only difference between a committee and composite letter is the number of official evaluation forms that are attached.

VMCAS will accept committee evaluation letters and composite evaluation letters as long as they are attached to a VMCAS evaluation form(s) and signed by the appropriate evaluator(s) or college personnel. They cannot be completed electronically. Some schools have additional policies on these types of evaluations; check with each school to which you are applying for further details.

How do I send out electronic committee letters?

NOTE: Please check with your evaluator to determine if your committee letter can be submitted within the electronic format.

Single page Committee Letters maybe submitted through the eLOR system by registering either the committee chair or a designated alternate. An email will be generated from the system directing the assigned evaluator to the evaluator portal to complete the evaluation. In the eLOR system, you would register your committee chairperson (or designated alternate) as “electronic” or “eLOR”.

Other Committee Letters must be submitted in paper form with all necessary attachments. Please click on the following link evaluation form to download the paper evaluation form which must be submitted along with the multiple page committee letter. In the eLOR system, register your committee chairperson (or designated alternate) as “other”.

How do I send out electronic Composite Letters?

At this time, the eLOR system does not support electronic composite letters. You must still submit composite letters in paper form with the necessary attachments. Please click on the following link evaluation form to download the paper evaluation form. There must be equal numbers of evaluation forms for the number of letters being submitted (i.e., if you wish to have the composite letter count for three evaluations, it must have three evaluation forms submitted). To register a composite letter in the eLOR system, you should register one “other” for each evaluation that the composite letter is supposed to represent.

Can I submit more than three completed evaluation forms?

YES. However, you can register a maximum of five in the eLOR section. Be aware that every evaluation submitted will be sent to each college you designate. For example, if you send VMCAS five evaluations and you are applying to six schools, all six schools will receive copies of all five evaluations.

Do I have to use eLOR?

Yes.

Please explain how eLOR works.

First, go to the eLOR section of the application. You must register your minimum three evaluators.

List the evaluator's information. Make sure the information is correct before sending this information. Once you've sent the evaluator's information, eLOR will automatically send an e-mail to the evaluator. This e-mail will contain a user name and password so the evaluator can access a secure section of your application to complete the form. The e-mail does not contain any evaluation forms.

Once the evaluator receives the email, they will be provided with a username and password to login and complete the evaluation.

You can monitor the status of an evaluation, including whether or not it has been completed, by logging into your application and visiting the eLOR section, even after you have submitted your application.

What do I do if my evaluator did not receive the e-mail?

Some e-mail filters designed to prevent spam e-mail may also block our e-mail. Make sure your evaluator knows in advance that they will receive the eLOR e-mail. Remember, it is your responsibility to see that your evaluator receives and completes your evaluation materials before the deadline.