The number of people applying to veterinary college has jumped for the third straight year amid a government prediction of rosy job opportunities in the veterinary industry through 2026.
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges reported Nov. 21 that 7,507 individuals applied for admission to nearly 40 DVM programs through the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). The number increased by 6.1 percent from the same period a year earlier and represented a 12.8 percent rise from the 6,658 who applied to veterinary schools in fall 2014.
If past trends hold, about half of the new applicants will end up enrolling.
VMCAS serves as a clearinghouse for applications to 29 of the 30 U.S. veterinary schools — Texas A&M University is an exception — and to an assortment of colleges in Canada and abroad.
The 7,507 prospective students applied to an average of 4.88 schools each.
Those who graduate with a doctor of veterinary medicine degree likely will have employers clamoring after them. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts an 18 percent jump in veterinary job opportunities from 2016 to 2026, compared with average growth of 7 percent for all occupations.
“Veterinary medicine offers a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities in many different sectors of the profession, including clinical care, food security, public health and biomedical science,” said AAVMC’s CEO, Andrew T. Maccabe, DVM, MPH, JD. “Our responsibility to promote global health and well-being continues to grow, and it’s encouraging to see that we have a deep and talented pool of applicants who are willing to rise to the challenge.”
The government report, available at http://bit.ly/2A0H4ZC, found the median pay for a veterinarian in 2016 was $88,770 a year, or $42.68 per hour.