It now takes more than good grades to get a chance to become a great veterinarian at this P.E.I. college
AVC changes admissions policy to put less emphasis on marks, more on life experience
Students at Atlantic Veterinary College still need good grades to become great vets, but from now on, the school says life experience will play a larger role in the people it selects to study there.
Up until now, academic achievement held the most weight in the application process for the Charlottetown-based college, accounting for 60 per cent of a potential student's score.
If their grades were high enough, applicants would qualify for an interview that counts for another 20 per cent, with the remaining marks coming from a behavioural aptitude test.
"Essentially, the entire decision on whether or not an applicant would get an interview came down to their academic score," said Dr. Anne Marie Carey, the AVC's dean of academic and student affairs as well as a member of the college's class of 2006.
"But there's a lot more to being a successful veterinarian. So yes, we want to select a successful vet student, but we also want to select someone who's going to be a successful veterinarian."
Starting this fall, the college is lowering the percentage that academics weighs for admission to 40 per cent, and will add a test worth 20 per cent that will gauge things like a candidate's compassion, empathy, teamwork and integrity.
If they score well on both of those, applicants will get an interview that's worth 30 per cent and write a personal essay for the remaining 10 points.
"Because we only interview based on [grades], there are people who would likely make exceptional veterinarians that we're just not even getting to meet and see," Carey said.
"My hope is, by introducing this earlier in our process, we'll get to see a different range of applicants and people will have an opportunity to really shine."
'People are more than their grades'
Current vets-in-training seem to like the changes.
Danielle Harmon, a second-year student at the college on the UPEI campus, said she always strived for academic perfection throughout her schooling, but has since come to realize that grades aren't everything.
"I feel like people are more than their grades, and so looking at a more holistic view and non-academic aspects of an applicant is very beneficial," she said.
Being a veterinarian is a very personable job. You are talking to people… although you are treating their pets.— Danielle Harmon
"Being a veterinarian is a very personable job. You are talking to people… although you are treating their pets. And so looking at someone as a whole is the right move."
Harmon's classmate, Sam Berube, agrees. He said the admission changes will lead to a more diverse group of students who can bring different perspectives to the table.
"I really am excited to see it draw in more people who have a varied and diverse life experience," Berube said.
"One of my favourite things about AVC is the community and that, when you get a lot of us in a room together, we usually all have different pieces of knowledge that fill in the gaps."
Carey said the AVC's new process is the same one being adopted by a number of other academic specialties, such as medical and nursing schools and pharmacy programs.
UPEI's Senate has adopted the vet college's changes, and they'll be officially in place for the 2025-26 application cycle.
"Academics tells a portion of your story… but there's a lot that's missing from that picture," Carey said.
"I'm certain there are candidates who can still handle the rigour of this program — who may not have been among our top-ranked academic candidates — that are still going to shine as vet students and veterinarians."
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With files from Sheehan Desjardins