No particular major is required for prospective vet school applicants at La Crosse, but the heavy emphasis on science makes a concentration in one of its disciplines more convenient. The program here recommends biology, microbiology or chemistry. In addition to the standard pre-med requirements of a year in general chemistry, biology and physics, La Crosse mandates courses in statistics and biochemistry as well. Additionally, pre-vet students are afforded undergraduate research assistant opportunities in the areas of biomedicine and life science.
Students at Fond du Lac receive a list of advisable courses that will enhance their chances of acceptance to vet school. This list is dovetailed to the university's general education requirement, reflecting a desire to avoid duplication and facilitate completion of pre-professional requirements. An advanced course in English composition is suggested above and beyond a rigorous battery of chemistry, math, biology and physics. Given the school's limited size and scope, students are encouraged to take advanced classes in biochemistry and genetics at the University of Wisconsin -- Madison.
Whitewater publishes a list of minimum pre-vet requisites and subtly encourages interested students to major in biology. Pre-Vet advisers are found in the biological sciences department, though compulsory courses are spread out among the several scientific disciplines. Also among the emphases at Whitewater is preparing the students for the Graduate Record Examination, mandatory for vet school admission. Students must sit for this test no later than October of the year prior to expected vet school enrollment. Hence, applicants should seek to strengthen language and math skills during the preceding years.
Perhaps an aspiring veterinarian can be forgiven thinking that enrollment at Madison gives her an edge. After all, the vet school to which most Wisconsin students apply is located on the very same campus. Yet proximity has a price: Madison requires two semesters of organic chemistry as opposed to the one compelled by the other state campuses. Upper-level biology classes, such as physiology, are also among the necessary courses to be completed. Alternative to the undergraduate pre-vet program at Madison is the Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health program, which a college graduate can take to complete vet school requirements, or bolster a lackluster transcript.