Atlantic Veterinary College Information Session

1. Jack MacDougall – Professional Schools Program Coordinator • Areas Discussed: * General Information on the College • * Atlantic Canadian Residency • * Evaluation of Applicants • - Academics • - GRE • - Interview • - Animal/Veterinary Experience • - Extracurricular Activities • * Application Process and Deadlines • This session is prepared in the most part, for potential Atlantic Canadian applicants or the Academic Advisors of potential Atlantic Canadian applicants. If there are international applicants present please inform me and I can point out slight differences for you. Atlantic Veterinary CollegeInformation Session

2. * the AVC accepted its first class in the fall of 1986 The AVC offers * a four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program * M.Sc. Programs * Ph.D. Program * the admission process for the four year program is designed to select applicants considered most likely to succeed in the program * each year 60-63 students are accepted into the first year of the four year program * The 60-63 seats are divided into 5 applicants pools - 16 Nova Scotia residents • 13 New Brunswick residents • 10 Prince Edward Island residents • 3 Newfoundland residents • 18 -21 International residents

3. A resident of the Atlantic Provinces is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident: • whose last attendance at high school was in a school in the Atlantic Provinces; or • b. whose last province of residence for twelve (12) consecutive months during which time the student was not attending a university or college full-time was one of the Atlantic Provinces; or • c. for whom the permanent home address of the applicant’s parent, foster parent, or guardian is one of the Atlantic Provinces. • Applicants that only meet one of the above criteria will be asked to provide additional information in order to prove Atlantic Canadian residency. • It is recommended that applicants gaining residency in order to apply from an applicant pool should plan to start their residency by August 1. As well they will be required to submit a photocopy (front and back) of their provincial drivers license and health card with their application package. • applicants must complete the section of the undergraduate application form where they indicate where their parents permanently reside, as well as the section indicating where they attended high school

4. Evaluating Applicants for Admission * Academics 50% * GRE General Test 5% * Interview 30% * Animal/Vet Experience 10% * Extracurricular Activities Points 5 %

5. Academic Requirements (50) * 30% based on the average of the four biological science prerequisite course requirements * Genetics * Microbiology * Two Animal Biology’s There has been a proposal made in which applicants will not be eligible to be considered for the program if the average in the four biology courses for admission was calculated at less than 70%. (for Sept/2013 admissions) * 70% based on the average in the remaining 16 prerequisite courses * 2 Math courses (one being statistics) * 3 Chemistry courses (one being Organic Chemistry) * 1 Physics course * 2 English courses (1 being Composition)  * 3 Humanities and/or Social Sciences courses * 5 Elective courses from any area

6. PREREQUISITE CRITERIA Rigour Applicants must complete the prerequisite requirements while taking a course load of at least 9 credit hours excluding laboratories (a minimum of 3 courses), in any given fall or winter semester, or in any two consecutive summer semesters of study. 2. Age of credits Science prerequisites earned over 6 years prior to the date of application will normally not be considered among the 10 prerequisite science requirements. 3. Science courses Those used in the calculation must be considered “core” courses, eligible to be used towards a science degree at the home institution. Such courses must include a lab component with the exception of mathematics, statistics and genetics courses. 4. Animal Biology courses (minimum average proposed for 2013 admissions) Examples of animal biology courses include: first year general biology, vertebrate anatomy, vertebrate histology, vertebrate physiology, vertebrate zoology, molecular biology, or cell biology. “Animal Behavior” is not acceptable in this category.

7. 5. Graduate courses In order to assess all applicants based on the same criteria, the use of graduate course grades in the academic average of prerequisite courses will not be permitted if an undergraduate grade for an eligible course is available. 6. Repeated courses The first-attempt grade for a prerequisite course will be used if no other course is eligible to count as that specific prerequisite. Candidates therefore must not take the same course or a similar course over as an attempt to improve the grade in a prerequisite requirement. Rather, candidates who want to improve their academic average must take a different course that would count as an eligible prerequisite. A different course would cover significantly different material or the same material at a higher level. 7. International Baccalaureate (IB) or Academic Placement (AP) Courses IB and/or AP courses can be used to meet prerequisite requirements when credit has been granted from the university where the student attended and in situations where the student would otherwise not meet the prerequisite requirements for the program.

8. 8. The Admissions Committee discourages taking web-based laboratory courses to meet prerequisite course requirements. Please Note: Applicants who complete the 20 prerequisite courses but not under the conditions specified above as the result of an exceptional circumstance(s) may submit a detailed letter outlining their exceptional circumstance(s), justifying why their application should be considered. This is only for unusual cases where the application would not otherwise be considered.

9. GRE (5) • Applicants write the GRE General Test • 3 Categories in the test • * Verbal • * Quantitative • * Analytical Writing • The percentile score in each category is averaged to give a GRE raw score • From this raw score, applicants are ranked within their applicant pool • * highest 20% - 5/5 • * next highest 20% - 4/5 and so on • If the test is written more than once, the highest one day test result is used • The deadline for official GRE results is December 15th but we do accept late official results no later then February 28th at no penalty to the applicant.

10. applicants contact www.gre.org to arrange their GRE General test • The UPEI institutional code is 0941. The test can be completed at the test centre of your choice • Some test centres offer a computer based test, others the paper based test. Both are acceptable • Students that wish to write the paper-based test at UPEI must submit the GRE registration form, fee and a written request stating they wish to write the paper based test at UPEI (10778) to the address listed on the registration form • The web address for the registration form; https://web1.gre.org/GreWebReg/ • Atlantic Canadian applicants can also complete the computer-based general test in Halifax, NS (902) 422-8378 or St.John's, NF (709) 737-3400.

11. Interview (30%) • * The interview is structured to assess non-cognitive abilities such as, innovative thinking, confidence, integrity, communication, sound judgment, adaptability and resilience. • * It is a behavioral style interview where you might be asked how you handled a situation , or hypothetically how you would handle a situation. • * There are normally 3 interviewers, one of which is the Chair of the Admissions Committee who sits in on each interview • * The interview is about 45 minutes in length • * Many applicants not interviewed previously are quite nervous. This has an impact on their interview performance. • - consider participating in a mock interview if this is available at your university • - consider arriving the night before or early the day of your interview. This will help you to become familiar with where you will be interviewing and may help relieve stress. I can assure you that we will do our part to make you feel at ease and make it a positive experience.

12. Animal/Vet Related Experience (10%) • * Evaluated by 2 members of the admissions committee on Animal/Veterinary experience completed within the last 5 years • * A contact name and telephone number or e-mail address for each experience must be • indicated • * The maximum number of experiences an applicant may list in their application permitted is 10. There is a limit of 100 words in describing each experience • Point form is preferred • Points are given only for experiences up to the time your application is submitted • Applicants are to explain their experience fully and in detail as marks are only given on what is written in the application • Animal experience with a vet is rated higher than animal experience without a vet • An in-depth experience receives more points

13. Experience in a wide range of animal or veterinary areas receives more points than in just a few areas. • Most applicants volunteer in order to gain animal/veterinary experience. It’s advised potential applicants keep a daily log while completing an animal/vet experience to make completing the application easier and to maximize points to be awarded in this area.

14. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES(5) • * Evaluated by 2 members of the admissions committee on Extracurricular Activities that are non-animal or veterinary related and completed within the last 5 years • * A contact name and telephone number or e-mail address for each activity must be • indicated • * The maximum number of experiences permitted to list in the application is 10. • Applicants are limited to 100 words to describe responsibilities for each experience • Point form is preferred • Points given only for activities up to the time your application is submitted • Applicants must explain their role in the extracurricular activity fully as marks are only given on what is written. • Experience in a wide range of activities receives more points than in just a few areas. • Include work experience

15. The Process and Deadlines November 1 - Application Deadline * submitted application to include 1) UPEI undergraduate application form (http://www.upei.ca/registrar/3_prof_degree_dvm) 2) $50 Application fee ($75 for International Applicants) 3) DVM Supplementary Application 4) Transcripts from all universities attended in sealed envelopes or arrangements to have the transcripts sent directly to the UPEI Registrar’s Office * applications are to be post-marked by this day * no late applications are accepted * letters of recommendation are not required or accepted * applicants re-applying from the previous year must submit all of the above but are not required to submit transcripts if they have not completed further courses since the last time their final transcript was sent. If unsure contact us. * if re-applying but you did not apply the previous year, all documents including transcripts must be submitted again

16. Notification of Application and Initial Review After your application has been received but before Christmas, the Registrar’s Office completes an initial review and reminds applicants of future deadlines by email. It is important to list the email which you use most frequently. December 15th– Deadline for the submission of the Official GRE score February 1st – Deadline for official transcripts (if enrolled in fall semester courses) January 15th – February 15th The Registrar’s Office completes another evaluation of those applicants who had not submitted an official GRE score at the time of the initial review and/or were enrolled in courses in the fall semester. Averages are re-evaluated. Another email is sent informing these applicants on the status of their application. If the official GRE result and/or transcript is not submitted at the time the applicants file is being re-evaluated, the applicant is informed that the missing documents are to be submitted by February 28th in order for them to be considered for the program.

17. March 1 • Ranking reviewed by the Admissions Committee • Ranking is out of 55 which includes • the average in the twenty prerequisite courses to date (50) • points awarded from the applicants GRE result (5) • Special cases are discussed among the Admissions Committee. The committee also decides where the cutoff point for interview from each rank list will be • The intention is to invite twice as many applicants as there are seats available • Letters follow to all applicants • For Atlantic Canadian applicants invited for an interview, interviews begin in early May and run until late May or early June. • For those not receiving an interview the reason why can be • - A low average in the 20 prerequisite courses • - A low GRE result • - A combination of the above • - Problems with application (e.g. missing prerequisite courses, incomplete file)

18. May - Interviews • June 1 • *deadline for final transcripts for interviewed applicants enrolled in the winter semester. If graduating applicants send a final transcript after their degree has been conferred. • * Academics are re-evaluated using grade results from the winter semester • The Admissions Committee meets to go over the final ranking which is the combination of all the components of the application (Academics, GRE, Interview, Animal/Vet Score, Extracurricular Score). • Letters are sent to all interviewed applicants shortly after Admissions Committee meets • Feedback can be given to interviewed applicants who are not accepted. This is limited to informing the applicants whether they were above or below average in the 5 categories of their DVM application (average in the 20 prerequisite courses, GRE, interview, animal/vet score, extracurricular score) as compared to others in their applicant pool. • If any deadline listed above falls on a weekend, the deadline will be extended to Monday