Is there a veterinarian in the barn?
KENNETT SQUARE -
According to two veterinary
students from the University
of Pennsylvania, with the
cost of education in the
Commonwealth at its
present level, going into
large animal practice is
almost impractical
“The freshman class can
expect to pay $6670 per year
for their education,” says
Michael Burton, Wellsboro,
who is in his senior year at
Penn. “Depending on the
practice a veterinarian goes
into, he can make a good
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living For instance, in the
city a small animal vet can
do well because people are
willing to pay for work done
on their pets In that in
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problem - sentimentality is
the thing ”
On the other hand, Burton
points out, a farmer is only
able to pay a certain medical
fee for his stock - any animal
costing more than that goes
to market.
So, says Burton,
veterinary students find
little monetary incentive to
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go into large animal practice
because the best op
portunities he in small
animals.
According to both Burton
and Mary Sommer, another
senior veterinary student, it
takes a determined in
dividual to become a
veterinarian
“One out of 10 students
who applies gets accepted,”
says Burton “It is sup
posedly easier to get into
medical school because
there are more med schools
in the nation.”
Dr Richard McFeely,
associate dean for New
Bolton Center, supports
Burton’s statement
“Many students apply
several years in succession
before they are accepted,”
he says. “They often go on
for further schooling in the
meantime.” As a result, it is
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not uncommon tor persons
with masters or doctoral
degrees to be taking first
year classes in the
veterinary school.
Why is it so tough to get
into vet school’
Part of the problem lies in
the fact that there are only 21
veterinary schools in the
nation, and for the most
part, students must attend
the school in their region.
In the Northeast there are
only two vet schools - one at
Penn and one at Cornell.
Pennsylvania residents have
virtually no choice but to
attend Penn if they choose to
practice veterinary
medicine. About 70 per cent
of Penn’s student body is
from the Commonwealth,
and two-thirds of all
veterinarians in the state
graduated from Penn.
In recounting his own
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experiences with applying to
vet schools, Mike Burton
notes that he was lucky - he
was accepted by Penn m his
second attempt.
“That’s a rare story,” he
points out ’
Mike did not only apply to
the University of Penn
sylvania, however He also
applied to schools out of
state and found the results
discouraging
“They all wrote back
saying that if there was one
in my state I shouldn’t
bother applying with them ”
“Some school don’t even
bother sending an ap
plication if you’re from out
of state,” notes Mary
Sommer.
But, amazingly enough,
the requirements for en
trance into veterinary school
are not that stringent.
“You should have a good
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undergraduate grade point,”
notes Burton. “And, there
are some basic
requirements such as a few
minimum bio courses. But,
you can major in almost
anything as an un
dergraduate - the president
of our class is an English
major.”
And, what are the chances
of getting a job after
graduation 9
Excellent. Although the
veterinary school grad can’t
always get the exact job he
or she had m mind, there are
more jobs available than
there are veterinarians, and
chances are high that the
graduating vet will locate a
job.
Mary Sommer and her
husband are typical
examples. They met m
veterinary school and are
now graduating with the
hopes of going into large
animal practice. While they
have no fear of being unable
to locate a position, they
know that finding two rural
positions close to each other
could be difficult. As a
result, they will do some
shopping around before they
accept job offers.
“We’ll have to be
flexible,” Mary says.
Mike Burton has a more
out-of-the ordinary mterest.
He prefers to work with
exotic animals and has
hopes of locating a position
in that area of animal
medicine.
When asked the per
centage of graduating
veterinarians who set up
their own practices, Mary
and Mike replied that
perhaps one or two students
in each graduatmg class
may be able to do so, but that
the cost is prohibitive.
At this point, the School of
Veterinary Medicine of the
University of Pennsylvania
is concerned for its well
being. State appropriations
were severely cut last year.
Monies appropriated by the
State this year are the same
amount as three years ago.
Unless more operating funds
are found, tuition, which
increased $lOOO this year,
will continue to rise and the
school could be forced to
trim down an already
austere program or possibly
lose faculty, and thus,
quality.
103