DVM Application FAQ

Yes. There are two prestigious scholarships awarded to incoming veterinary students: The Charles E. and Viola G. Bardsley Scholarship and the Dr. Elton Mac Huddleston Rural Veterinarians Scholarship. These scholarship programs are awarded to incoming first-year veterinary students. Other CVM scholarships are available for students to apply beginning in the fall semester of their first year. To learn more about these scholarship programs and other CVM scholarships, please visit https://www.vetmed.msstate.edu/admissions/scholarships.

MSU CVM communicates almost exclusively through email and our MSU CVM applicant portal. Please be sure that you are receiving email correspondence from MSU CVM before and after you have submitted your application. If you are not receiving emails from MSU CVM, please email us at admit@vetmed.msstate.edu.

All applicants must apply through the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). The VMCAS application is available online at https://vmcas.cas.myliaison.com/applicant/login beginning late-January, the year before you intend to enroll. The deadline for submission of application and all application materials is mid-September and will be stated on the VMCAS website. 

Yes. You must submit an original, official transcript from every college or university you have attended. Transcripts must be submitted directly to VMCAS. Visit “Sending Official Transcripts to VMCAS” for more information.

Even if grades from one college or university are reported on a later transcript, you must submit an official transcript to VMCAS from every college or university attended. If not, VMCAS will not verify your application which will render your application incomplete.

Yes. Official transcripts can be requested through the Office of the Registrar at “Requesting a Transcript”. 

Current applicants should initially submit all transcript(s) to VMCAS. Final official transcripts will be requested if you are invited to be part of an entering class.

Yes. AP and IB credits must either appear on your official college transcripts and be equivalent to the appropriate college-level coursework or your institution's Registrar's Office must provide us with an AP/IB Certification listing the AP/IB credit and the equivalent college-level course it fulfilled. If AP/IB credits are not listed on your official transcript, contact your institution's Registrar's Office to have an AP/IB Certification sent to admit@vetmed.msstate.edu. 

Yes. A portion of MSU CVM supplemental application is located within the VMCAS application. The other portion, the course evaluation, is located within MSU CVM applicant portal.  You will only see the portion of the supplemental application in VMCAS if you have selected to apply to our program.

Yes. MSU CVM requires a non-refundable $60 processing fee. Within 24 hours of selecting Mississippi State University in the VMCAS portal, you will receive an email from admit@vetmed.msstate.edu with instructions on creating a MSU account to pay your supplemental application fee and monitor your MSU DVM application. This application fee is a required portion of your application, and your application will not be reviewed until we have received payment. If you do not receive an email from us within 24 hours, please contact us at admit@vetmed.msstate.edu.

No. All letters of recommendation (LORs) are submitted electronically to VMCAS.

MSU CVM Admissions Committee reviews three letters of recommendation (eLORs). Applicants will be asked to list the names of the three recommenders in MSU CVM supplemental application. MSU CVM Admissions Committee serves the right to review other recommendations beyond the three listed, if so needed. 

MSU CVM requires that at least one LOR be completed by a licensed veterinarian who is listed in one of your VMCAS experience categories. Family members cannot be used as recommenders. The remaining two LORs can be completed by licensed veterinarians, researchers, professors, employers, or other individuals who can attest to the candidate’s qualities evaluated on the LOR form. The key is not “who” the recommender is, but how well the recommender knows the candidate with regard to the qualities assessed on the LOR form. 

No, MSU CVM does not require the GRE General Exam.

Interview notifications are sent between mid-December to early January. All applicants will be notified at this time whether or not they have been granted an interview. If you do not receive any information from us by early January, please contact us at admit@vetmed.msstate.edu.

The class is typically chosen in late February and is notified immediately thereafter. Notifications are sent via your MSU CVM portal.

Yes. The MSU CVM Admissions Committee creates a list of alternate candidates that are ranked based on their residency pool which are Mississippi (resident), West Virginia (contract) , and At-large (non-resident). Alternate candidates are pulled from their appropriate residency pool as a position becomes available.

The class size is typically 116-118. 

MSU CVM applicant pool typically increases each application cycle. With the 2025-2026 application cycle, MSU CVM received over 1800 applications. The Mississippi pool usually has ~115 applicants, with the remaining applicants being non-resident and contract applicants.

No. Prior to the final acceptance for admission, each successful applicant must enter a contract with the MSU CVM in which the applicant agrees and obligates himself/herself to pay the tuition, fees, and expenses applicable to the applicant's resident or non-resident status that exists at the time the applicant submits their VMCAS application. In addition, the applicant must agree and obligate himself/herself in the contract to continue to pay the tuition, fees and expenses during the applicant's entire MSU CVM DVM education experience that are applicable to that same initial status determination, thereby waiving any right to petition for a change in residency status for the purpose of calculating tuition. 

An admitted applicant’s status will not change for his or her entire MSU CVM veterinary medical educational period.