Atlanta, Georgia is a city with a strong veterinary community. However, the only Veterinary School in Georgia is in Athens, which is the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine (UGA CVM), and it’s very close to Atlanta.
The school is also the 7th best vet school in the United States by U.S. News and World Report, out of the 33 vet schools accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
In fact, their excellence in research made them to be among those advancing the world’s first honeybee vaccine, they are also the first in the country to develop a bee medicine program.
But before you’re admitted to this vet school, you must first enroll and graduate from any of the Pre-vet schools in the United States, beautifully, UGA CVM also provides pre-vet programs.
Requirements for Vet Schools in Atlanta
Here are some requirements to be enrolled in veterinary education in Georgia;
- Applicants must have a minimum Cumulative GPA of 3.0
- All transcripts must be submitted to the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS)
- Applicants must provide three electronic letters of recommendation and submit them to VMCAS.
- Applicants must have at least 250 veterinary experience hours
- GRE is no longer required, but the Admissions Committee will consider GRE scores if they are submitted.
Pro Tip: you don’t need to major in biology or animal science to be admitted to any vet schools in Atlanta, Georgia, whether you major in Business, or any liberal arts program, you’re welcome to apply, as long as you meet all the prerequisite course requirements.
Note that the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine doesn’t accept veterinary technician courses to fulfill prerequisite requirements.
Prerequisite courses include;
- English, humanities or social studies, general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and advanced biology courses.
Tuition Fee and Financial Aid for Veterinary Schools in Georgia
It’s worth noting that UGA College of Veterinary Medicine is regarded as the third least expensive of all U.S. vet schools in cost to attend.
- Tuition Fee:
- $17,514 (in-state students)
- $47,176 (out-of-state and international students
During your 3rd year, you’ll pay a little bit higher tuition because students will attend courses/rotations in the fall, spring, and summer which comprises 3 semesters.
So in-state students will pay $26,271 while out-of-state students will pay $55,892.
Note that the tuition fee doesn’t cover other fees, you still need to pay room, board, books, transportation, miscellaneous, etc.
To help ease the burden of these fees, they provide some scholarships to students based on some criteria like academic achievement, clinical proficiency, leadership, community involvement, and leadership.
You’re still allowed to take out a loan.
You can learn more about this.
Key Takeaway
You can see there are no vet schools in Atlanta except for UGA CVM which is in Athens very close to Atlanta. Just like every other vet school in the United States, UGA CVM is very competitive, with an acceptance rate as low as 2.9%.
So even though their minimum GPA is 3.0 you should be aiming at least 3.5 because in 2019 the average GPA for accepted students was 3.69.
