To you, planning ahead is a no-brainer. You donโt think twice about drafting an outline before composing an essay or scheduling a follow-up appointment immediately following a visit to the dentist. Even as you work through veterinary school applications, youโre already thinking about whatโs down the road.
Thinking ahead is particularly helpful for aspiring veterinarians like you, because preparing for program interviews takes time. Admissions committees go way beyond surface questions to gain a firm understanding of what type of student you are and what you would bring to the profession. They expect thoughtful responses.
It can be a little daunting to figure out how to prepare when you donโt know exactly which vet school interview questions youโll encounter. Before you get too worried, you should know there are a lot of common questions that nearly every program will ask.
8 Common vet school interview questions
If you simply search for the vet school interview questions past students have been asked, youโll quickly find yourself with an insurmountable list. We reached out to Jeffrey Bates, Director of Admissions at St. Georgeโs University (SGU), to help home in on some of the general questions you should expect. He even has some tips for putting your best foot forward when interview day arrives.
According to Bates, youโd be wise to prepare answers for the following questions:
1. Why do you want to be a veterinarian?
Consider this your bread-and-butter question. Every veterinary medicine program will want to delve into your motivations for pursuing a career as a vet, and they expect you to have given it some thought. Simply expressing your love for animals likely wonโt get you very far.
โThe biggest thing is to find out if the student truly knows what theyโre getting themselves into, that they truly know this is what they want to do,โ Bates says.
“The biggest thing is to find out if the student truly knows what theyโre getting themselves into.”
You may find yourself struggling to verbalize your reasons for pursing veterinary medicine. Try doing a little bit of research on what different types of veterinarians do in a typical day. If youโre interested in becoming a food safety vet, for example, you might realize youโre motivated to help combat antimicrobial resistance.
2. Why do you think you would be a good veterinarian?
When an applicant gets invited by a university for an interview, they have already made an impression on admissions committees. It means that the standards for academic record were met.
At this point, theyโre typically looking to gain a better understanding of how your personal qualities show youโre a good match for a career in veterinary medicine. When answering this question, be sure to use specific examples of the qualities outside of the classroom that would make a you a good vet including communications, technology and business skills.
3. Why are you interested in our program?
Applying to plenty of vet programs is typical. In fact, theย ย from the Association of American Veterinary Colleges (AAVMC) shows pre-vet students apply to an average of about five schools. Thereโs no harm in applying to even more, but you donโt want to do so blindly.
โWe really want to find out if a student has done their research and see that they know a little bit about the school,โ Bates says. Itโll be pretty hard to convince an admissions committee to accept you if you fail to demonstrate a solid understanding of their specific program.
โWe really want to find out if a student has done their research and see that they know a little bit about the school.โ
4. How do you plan to overcome challenges youโll face in this field?
There are a lot of different ways interviewers try to get a better sense of your ability to overcome adversity. They may ask you to walk through how you would handle a stressful situation years from now. They could even ask you to talk about what was going on during a time when your academic performance suffered a bit.
โStudents should definitely be prepared to answer that type of question,โ Bates acknowledges. โI tell students, โThatโs what the interview is for. Itโs for you to explain to us anything that doesnโt show up on paper.โโ
5. Do you recognize ethical issues you might face going forward?
Not everything about practicing veterinary medicine is straightforward. Conflicts of interest can lead to some tricky ethical decisions. You may have a client who wishes to euthanize a pet that you consider to be healthy. Or maybe you realize you accidentally gave the wrong vaccinations to a patients during a particularly crazy day.
Veterinary programs may not expect you to understand how to handle such difficult situations, but they do want to know that you recognize veterinarians sometimes face moral dilemmas. โWe ask them if they recognize any ethical issues that may come across their desk as a veterinarian,โ Bates says.
6. How have you overcome difficulties working in a team setting?
Many ofย the skillsย required to be a veterinarian are related to teamwork. Coordinating with colleagues, being socially perceptive, teaching others how to perform tasks, and engaging in active listening are all good examples.
“We want to see that theyโre able to work well with others.”
Expect to be questioned about how well you work with other individuals and what you do when you run into conflicts. โWe want to see that theyโre able to work well with others,โ Bates says.
7. What are your plans for financing your education?
As blunt as this sounds, itโs an important question. Asking about your plans to pay for your education is another way an interviewer can assess whether you truly know what youโre signing up for by enrolling in veterinary school. Bates says itโs critical that pre-vet students understand theyโll be paying off student loan debt for a while.
If you donโt yet have a firm understanding of how much different programs cost, then take a look at the ย tuition and fees for veterinary programs of your top choices. It allows you to compare tuition and cost of attendance for different programs.
8. Do you have any questions for me?
While you will be doing most of the answering, you should also come prepared with some questions of your own. โOur interviews are really set up for you to get to know us as well,โ Bates explains. โWe want students to come to that interview prepared to ask questions.โ
The interview is a great opportunity to learn more about the program. You can even ask whether itโs possible to connect with a current student to hear their perspective on vet school so far.
Tips for preparing for vet school interviews
Practicing might not make you perfect, but itโll certainly help you prepare. The more time you spend verbalizing your experiences, and not just thinking about them, the more comfortable youโll be. Itโs a good idea to enlist some help when an interview is on the horizon.
โI tell students to do mock interviews with their academic advisors, if they can, or with their friends or family,โ Bates recommends.
โI tell students to do mock interviews with their academic advisors.โ
The interview is also a perfect opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism. You should dress business casual and pay close attention to the clock. โBe on timeโbe early,โ Bates advises.
Lastly, try not to get too stressed out. Receiving an interview invitation is a sign that youโre a great candidate the program is seriously considering. Theyโre trying to learn more about you, not stump you.
โRelax and be yourself,โ Bates advises. โIf youโve been approved for an interview, youโve obviously put in a lot of work to get to that point already.โ
Ask some questions of your own
Now that you have a better understanding of the vet school interview questions youโre most likely to encounter, itโs time to practice as much as you can. Take advantage of any mock interview services available to you or even practice speaking in front of a mirror.
A great interview can help you get one step closer to obtaining an acceptance letter. Of course, you donโt want to commit to the first school that accepts you without taking a closer look at the program. Make sure youโre choosing a veterinary medicine program that can help you achieve your goals by reading our article, โ6 Things the Top Veterinary Schools Have in Common.โ
This article was originally published in January 2020. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2024.
