BY: Wendy R. Carpenter

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at UPEI (The Atlantic Veterinary College) is one of the four veterinary colleges in Canada, and one of thirty—one in North America. It now has three classes of students in the four year program and will have its first graduates in 1990. Who are these students and how can you join them at the Atlantic Veterinary College?

“Bach year the procedure for selecting the new AVC class in- volves hundreds of hours of work by the Registrar’s office and our committee, which includes an- swering queries on the entry re- quirements, tallying the appli- cant marks of thirty one-semester courses, the hours of interview- ing, and follow-up.” —(Dr. Am- reek Singh, Chair, DVM Admis- sions Committee).

Each class has fifty-two seats available. Forty-one of these are reserved for students from the Atlantic provinces in the follow- ing breakdown: NB -13, NS ‘= 16, NFLD - 2 and PEI -10. The other seats are filled by Canadian (Non-Atlantic) students (1 or 2) and International students (9). Many people ask what it means to be a resident of a province. For many people ask us who have lived most of our lives in the At- lantic Region that is not a ques- tion since we cannot lose out res- idency even if we have been out of the region for several years of studying. However, those who are new to the region must have lived here for at least one year commencing on Sept 1 of the year prior to the academic year for which they are applying and must not have been a full-time student during this period.

There are thirty prerequisite courses which must be completed by every applicant, whether a mature student or not. They include: Genetics, Microbiol- ogy, Comparative Anatomy, Or-

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ganic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, Biophysics, Calculus, Statistics, Computer Science, En- glish, Humanities, and Social Sciences. These can be ob- tained at any university. No preference is put upon students from wither UPEI of NSAC. Stu- dents from other veterinary col- leges are eligible for transfer. However, they must fulfil ex- actly the same requirements as other applicants. Some trans- fers have already occured into AVC. As well, some students have transferred to institutions in the United States, for example, Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado), Cornell Uni- versity (Ithaca, New York), Pur- due University (West Lafayette, Indiana) and Tufts University (Boston, Massachusetts). Sev- enty percent of the emphasis in the application process in placed on academic marks in the re- quired courses listed above.

While a degree is not required to enter the program, many of the students have at least one degree in the following breakdown:

Bachelor’s: 65% Master’s: 6% Doctorate: 1%

There is also a category of ap- plicants called Advanced Stand- ing Candidates. This is for students which have obtained a DVM outside or North America but their degree is not recognized here in Canada. There are two students at AVC in this cate- gory. In this situation, an oral examination of the candidate is conducted to decide on the level in which the applicant should be placed. This is done by a board selected by the DVM Admissions Committee. All applicants do not succeed, however. For example,

_for this year, only one out of four

candidates was chosen.

Students are prepared for vet- erinary studies not only through

their academic achievements but also through experience with ani- mals and with veterinarians. Be- fore beginning the program, stu- dents are required to have 400 hours of farm experience and one week with either a large or small animal veterinarian (the other week to be completed before their third year.) It is preferred that the farm experience be obtained by working on a food animal farm (such as dairy, beef, swine, etc.) but experience with the aquacul- ture operation, wildlife farm or z00 is also satisfactory.

It is an expensive program with fees being greater for those outside of Canada then within Canada. The following estimates have been made by talking to the students rather than official sources:

Canadian Student (On Cam- pus)

Tuition: 2049

Supplies: 800-1000 (Micro- scope — 1250 range)

Living expenses: 4500

Canadian Student (Off Cam- pus)

Tuition: 2049

Supplies: 800-1000 (Micro- scope — 1250 range)

Living expenses: 4800-5000

International Student:

Tuition: 27500 5

Supplies: 800-1000 (Micro- scope — 1250 range)

Living expenses: 4800-5000

There are several scholarships available and there are listed in the UPEI Calendar.. The number is increasing each year as the in- stitution grows.

The application procedure and deadlines are listed in the calendar. The application pro- cess includes two essays which must be written to clarify the stu- dent’s aspirations for veterinary medicine as well as his or her ex-

periences with animals. These es- says are read anonymously by the Admissions Committee members

VETERINARY MEDICINE

and graded as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

One of the most asked ques- tions is: “What is the inter- view like?” A preliminary selec- tion is made from the total appli- cants to determine who is qual- ified to get an invitation for an interview. There students have an interview with three people representing the cross-section of the various disciplines of Veteri- nary Medicine. One of these in- terviews is the Chairman of Ad- missions who sits on every inter- view panel. Thirty percent of the applicants evaluation is based on the interview. Of this thirty, ten percent represents animal experi- ence. The remaining twenty per- cent involves non-academic fac- tors. “We are looking for stu- dents who are motivated, ma- ture, and responsible, who com- municate effectively, who can ac-

quire analytical skills, and who can develop values essential for the members of the profession. We look for applicants” inter- personal skills, and their experi- ence with and concern for the an- imals.” (Dr. Singh)

While here for the interview, AVC. student: vojunteer their time to give personal guided tours to the applicants. Coffee, tea, doughnuts, and cvokies are also provided by AVC. These tend to be consumed by the students if the applicants are not bold enough to eat them.

Since the interview is often the most remembered part of the interview process, several first— year students were asked the fol- lowing questions:

Was it what you ex- pected? ‘ :

“T didn’t really know what to expect. They made me feel very comfortable.” (Ann Allain)

“Generally. I had talked to a few people before. I did ex- pect more questions on my work experience. Most of my ques- tions were more general ques- tions.” (Eoin MacInnis)

“No, I expected them to want you to be more specific in terms of your animal knowledge. I wan’t really expecting broader—based questions.” (Larry MacEachern)

“Yes, I was fairly well pre- pared. They asked a lot of ques- tions that pertained to veterinary medicine. They wanted to estab- lish my background and I think they did.” (Gordon Vessey)

How did you feel during the interview?

“Felt like they were trying to put me at ease.” (Karen Cullen)

“Nervous but not intimi- dated.” (Don Slaunwhaite)

“Like every other vet student, extremely nervous.” (‘A Newfie’)

“Pretty comfortable.” (Jeff McCartney)

What do you remember most?

“Dr. Singh. He was very friendly.” (Dave Hamilton)

“Dr. Singh wanting me tc eat a doughnut.” (Ann Allain)

‘An overall feeling that it went well.” (Robert Kerr)

“The doughnuc aid the ques- tions I didn’t answe: the way | wanted to.” (Anne i:ving)

“The fact that the mterview- ers did the best they could to put you at ease and they expressed a lot if interest in you and also that they were quite willing to address any of your concerns.” (Larry MacEachern)

Following all of this, anxious students sit on the edge of their seats waiting to hear if they are accepted. Final word is not given until mid-July. This is be- cause many people take summer! semester courses and these marks are not received until early July. Most of the work of the Admis- sions Committee is really com- pleted by May. If information is required earlier or if nothing has been received by mid-July, the student can contact the Reg- istrar’s Office at 566-0608.

Hopefully this article has been both informative and interesting. If you have been wondering what is required to enter the veterinary program, it may seem like a lot of work but it is worth the effort! Said differently, “Let us remem- ber that the quality of the stu- dents is fundamental both to the university and to the profession. Based on what has been demon- strated by our students thus far, I have an excited feeling and great expectations of their con- tributions to veterinary medicine

down the road.” (Dr. Singh)

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