DVM Background Information Form
Admission to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program is determined by the evaluation of academic requirements, MCAT results, the information provided in the Background Information Form, three confidential referee assessments, and, when appropriate, a personal interview. The confidential assessment forms are required from three persons who, in the opinion of the applicant, will give an unbiased, informed, critical assessment of your suitability for the DVM Program.
A minimum of two of the three required references must be from veterinarians with whom the applicant has obtained animal and veterinary experience. If an applicant submits fewer than two veterinary references, his or her application will not receive further admission consideration.
Links to the Background Information Form (BIF), Reference Form and the Graduate Cohort Information Form are posted on this page.
Students who do not complete and return the Background Information Form, and sealed assessments from three referees, by the deadline of March 1, will not receive further consideration for the Program.
Please ensure that the Forms you are completing are the correct Forms for the year you are applying. Previous year's Forms remain posted for reference only and should not be submitted. Forms are updated every year and are usually posted in late Fall.
Official transcripts for students who have attended post-secondary institutions other than the University of Guelph must be received by Admission Services by the deadline date of March 1, and we encourage applicants to arrange for earlier submission of official transcripts if possible.
Applicants who have successfully completed at least three full-time semesters in a science graduate program at the time of application, may choose to be considered in a cohort separate from the undergraduate applicants. For those persons currently enrolled, all of the requirements of the graduate program must be completed by August 1.
Persons who qualify must indicate on the Background Information Form their desire to be considered in the graduate student cohort; their application will then be removed from the undergraduate applicant pool. In the graduate student cohort, selection for interview will be made on the basis of evaluation of the student's academic achievement (not a numerical score), MCAT results, Background Information Form, Graduate Cohort Information Form and four references with two letters of reference from persons assessing the applicant's skills and knowledge of veterinary medicine (using the reference form) and two letters of reference from persons familiar with the applicant's performance as a graduate student (using the reference form). One referee should be your graduate program supervisor.
Final selection will be made based on this evaluation and assessment in the interview. Normally, a maximum of five students may be selected from this cohort to fill positions in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program.
NOTE: Graduate cohort applicants must submit the Graduate Cohort Information Form in addition to the Background Information Form which must be submitted by all DVM applicants.
DVM applicants who are selected for interview will receive notification in late April of the place, date and time of the interview ONLY via their University of Guelph e-mail accounts. It is imperative that applicants check their e-mail accounts regularly during April for notification of interview.
Please note that requests for deferral of admission to the DVM program will not be permitted except by approval by the Admissions Committee due to significant medical, psychological or compassionate reasons. If you require assistance in the application process, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Deanna Lundmark
Admission Services
University Centre, Level 3
lundmark@registrar.uoguelph.ca