It now takes more than good grades to get a chance to become a great veterinarian at this P.E.I. college

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 5:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Students astatine Atlantic Veterinary College still request bully grades to become great vets, but from present on, the schoolhouse says beingness acquisition volition play a larger relation successful the radical it selects to survey there. 

Up until now, world accomplishment held the astir value successful the exertion process for the Charlottetown-based college, accounting for 60 per cent of a imaginable student's score. 

If their grades were high enough, applicants would suffice for an interrogation that counts for different 20 per cent, with the remaining marks coming from a behavioural aptitude test. 

"Essentially, the full determination connected whether oregon not an applicant would get an interrogation came down to their world score," said Dr. Anne Marie Carey, the AVC's dean of world and pupil affairs arsenic good arsenic a subordinate of the college's people of 2006. 

"But there's a batch much to being a palmy veterinarian. So yes, we privation to prime a palmy vet student, but we besides privation to prime idiosyncratic who's going to beryllium a palmy veterinarian." 

Starting this fall, the assemblage is lowering the percent that academics weighs for admission to 40 per cent, and volition adhd a trial worthy 20 per cent that volition gauge things similar a candidate's compassion, empathy, teamwork and integrity. 

If they people good connected some of those, applicants will get an interrogation that's worthy 30 per cent and constitute a idiosyncratic effort for the remaining 10 points. 

"Because we lone interrogation based connected [grades], determination are radical who would apt marque exceptional veterinarians that we're conscionable not adjacent getting to conscionable and see," Carey said. 

"My anticipation is, by introducing this earlier successful our process, we'll get to spot a antithetic scope of applicants and radical volition person an accidental to truly shine." 

WATCH | Atlantic Vet College amping up the value of beingness experience:

'People are much than their grades'

Current vets-in-training look to similar the changes. 

Danielle Harmon, a second-year pupil astatine the assemblage connected the UPEI campus, said she ever strived for world perfection passim her schooling, but has since travel to recognize that grades aren't everything. 

"I consciousness similar radical are much than their grades, and truthful looking astatine a much holistic presumption and non-academic aspects of an applicant is precise beneficial," she said. 

"Being a veterinarian is simply a precise personable job. You are talking to people… though you are treating their pets. And truthful looking astatine idiosyncratic arsenic a full is the close move." 

Harmon's classmate, Sam Berube, agrees. He said the admittance changes volition pb to a much divers radical of students who tin bring antithetic perspectives to the table. 

"I truly americium excited to spot it gully successful much radical who person a varied and divers beingness experience," Berube said.

"One of my favourite things astir AVC is the assemblage and that, erstwhile you get a batch of america successful a country together, we usually each person antithetic pieces of cognition that fill in the gaps." 

WATCH | High-tech caller laboratory astatine vet assemblage volition assistance support scientists investigating for carnal diseases:

Carey said the AVC's caller process is the aforesaid 1 being adopted by a fig of different world specialties, specified arsenic aesculapian and nursing schools and pharmacy programs. 

UPEI's Senate has adopted the vet college's changes, and they'll beryllium officially successful spot for the 2025-26 exertion cycle. 

"Academics tells a information of your story… but there's a batch that's missing from that picture," Carey said.  

"I'm definite determination are candidates who tin inactive grip the rigour of this programme — who whitethorn not person been among our top-ranked world candidates — that are inactive going to radiance arsenic vet students and veterinarians."