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Quick question that I'm probably overthinking way too much: NC State just added another question to their supplemental application asking for our "current area of professional interest." There are lots of options, and I'm torn between choosing 'small animal (specialty practice)' and 'pathology.' I'm very interested in both, although I don't have a whole lot of experience in pathology, so it might not be a good idea to choose it since it wouldn't match my experiences. On the other hand, I don't want to hurt my chances by choosing a small animal category since that's probably what most other people will pick as well. There's also an 'undecided at time of application' option, but I wasn't sure if that would really be a good idea either. Any advice?

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Quick question that I'm probably overthinking way too much: NC State just added another question to their supplemental application asking for our "current area of professional interest." There are lots of options, and I'm torn between choosing 'small animal (specialty practice)' and 'pathology.' I'm very interested in both, although I don't have a whole lot of experience in pathology, so it might not be a good idea to choose it since it wouldn't match my experiences. On the other hand, I don't want to hurt my chances by choosing a small animal category since that's probably what most other people will pick as well. There's also an 'undecided at time of application' option, but I wasn't sure if that would really be a good idea either. Any advice?

Isn't there an essay question on VMCAS that asks about your career goals? What did you write for that?
 
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Quick question that I'm probably overthinking way too much: NC State just added another question to their supplemental application asking for our "current area of professional interest." There are lots of options, and I'm torn between choosing 'small animal (specialty practice)' and 'pathology.' I'm very interested in both, although I don't have a whole lot of experience in pathology, so it might not be a good idea to choose it since it wouldn't match my experiences. On the other hand, I don't want to hurt my chances by choosing a small animal category since that's probably what most other people will pick as well. There's also an 'undecided at time of application' option, but I wasn't sure if that would really be a good idea either. Any advice?
I decided to select what I wrote about in my VMCAS essay (small animal speciality), although I’m also interested in cattle and exotics (also mentioned in my essay). I didn’t want to put “undecided,” but I really don’t know whether they’d view that answer as a positive, negative, or neutral.
 
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I submitted on the last day and was verified on the 19th
Oh man, I submitted on the last day and I'm still not verified. I wouldn't be surprised if I had multiple transcripts but I only have one transcript
 
Oh man, I submitted on the last day and I'm still not verified. I wouldn't be surprised if I had multiple transcripts but I only have one transcript

Are you a first time applicant? That's more classes to comb through than someone who is applying for a second or third time and is only adding a handful of classes. Maybe they're doing those first to get them done faster. At any rate, don't worry! Vet schools know that verification takes a long time sometimes!
 
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Are you a first time applicant? That's more classes to comb through than someone who is applying for a second or third time and is only adding a handful of classes. Maybe they're doing those first to get them done faster. At any rate, don't worry! Vet schools know that verification takes a long time sometimes!
Yes, I am actually a first time applicant so I'm just paranoid about it! I've seen so many posts on here where people got verified in 2-3 days when they submitted on the last day. but thanks that makes me feel more relaxed!
 
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For those wishing they applied to more schools, the University of Arizona may have just received their (edit) "reasonable assurance." I received an email titled "Introducing the UA College of Veterinary Medicine." Some excerpts included: "The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine will house Arizona’s only public veterinary medicine program, and you have the opportunity to join our inaugural class." "Veterinarians find their calling in different ways. Find yours at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine." I got my bachelors from that university, so that's probably why I'm on the email list. I can post updates if anyone is interested. I believe they were supposed to receive their (edit) "reasonable assurance" judgement this week, so this may be an unofficial announcement before the big advertisement.
 
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For those wishing they applied to more schools, the University of Arizona may have just received their accreditation. I received an email titled "Introducing the UA College of Veterinary Medicine." Some excerpts included: "The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine will house Arizona’s only public veterinary medicine program, and you have the opportunity to join our inaugural class." "Veterinarians find their calling in different ways. Find yours at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine." I got my bachelors from that university, so that's probably why I'm on the email list. I can post updates if anyone is interested. I believe they were supposed to receive their accreditation judgement this week, so this may be an unofficial announcement before the big advertisement.
As of right now they’re anticipating receiving a letter of reasonable assurance. This means that they won’t have full accreditation until at least after the inaugural class graduates. That shouldn’t affect the students as far a licensure goes. They’d be in a similar situation as LMU prior to this past year.
 
For those wishing they applied to more schools, the University of Arizona may have just received their accreditation.

They don't have accreditation. They have this:

they’re anticipating receiving a letter of reasonable assurance

At this point, none of the universities trying to open a vet school have any accreditation or even preliminary assurance. Arizona's site visit was in April with unknown results at this time. They're opening applications without any sort of assurance to give students at this point.
 
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Ah, yes. I couldn’t remember that probationary term. Thanks for the breakdown!


They don't have accreditation. They have this:



At this point, none of the universities trying to open a vet school have any accreditation or even preliminary assurance. Arizona's site visit was in April with unknown results at this time. They're opening applications without any sort of assurance to give students at this point.
 
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Ah, yes. I couldn’t remember that probationary term. Thanks for the breakdown!
It’s not even probation. Probationary accreditation is when they have previously been fully accredited but the COE found major deficiencies that they need to correct within a certain timeframe to remain AVMA Accredited.
 
So reasonable assurance doesn’t really guarantee anything, but the students are somewhat protected?

It’s not even probation. Probationary accreditation is when they have previously been fully accredited but the COE found major deficiencies that they need to correct within a certain timeframe to remain AVMA Accredited.
 
So reasonable assurance doesn’t really guarantee anything, but the students are somewhat protected?
From the AVMA:
“Reasonable Assurance is not a preaccreditation action by the Council and does not confer accreditation of any kind on a developing college. Reasonable Assurance may lead to Provisional accreditation if a developing college is established according to plans presented to the Council, and if these plans demonstrate intent and a realistic plan to comply with the Standards of Accreditation. Reasonable Assurance may be renewed annually by the Council for a maximum of three years based on progress documented in biannual reports. If a developing institution granted Reasonable Assurance fails to continue to demonstrate that its plan to develop its program will comply with the Standards, or if the program significantly changes its plan without notifying the Council, the Council may withdraw the classification of Reasonable Assurance. A college granted Reasonable Assurance must offer admission to and matriculate its first class of students within three years.”

So basically, it means that the school is at a place where it’s likely it has what it needs to become accredited eventually. However, they have no students so it’s impossible to evaluate that aspect. This allows them to matriculate students in order to prove that they meet the standards set forth by the AVMA COE for a functioning vet school. If the school fails to meet those standards, then they lose that reasonable assurance. If everything goes well, then they get provisional accreditation (which is what I’m sure you meant when you said probationary). If things go well after that, they become fully accredited.
 
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That helps a lot, thank you!! I made sure to edit my original post as the language was incorrect. The UA's previous presentations did not make those distinctions very clear... It will be interesting to see how it goes as an AZ resident.

From the AVMA:
“Reasonable Assurance is not a preaccreditation action by the Council and does not confer accreditation of any kind on a developing college. Reasonable Assurance may lead to Provisional accreditation if a developing college is established according to plans presented to the Council, and if these plans demonstrate intent and a realistic plan to comply with the Standards of Accreditation. Reasonable Assurance may be renewed annually by the Council for a maximum of three years based on progress documented in biannual reports. If a developing institution granted Reasonable Assurance fails to continue to demonstrate that its plan to develop its program will comply with the Standards, or if the program significantly changes its plan without notifying the Council, the Council may withdraw the classification of Reasonable Assurance. A college granted Reasonable Assurance must offer admission to and matriculate its first class of students within three years.”

So basically, it means that the school is at a place where it’s likely it has what it needs to become accredited eventually. However, they have no students so it’s impossible to evaluate that aspect. This allows them to matriculate students in order to prove that they meet the standards set forth by the AVMA COE for a functioning vet school. If the school fails to meet those standards, then they lose that reasonable assurance. If everything goes well, then they get provisional accreditation (which is what I’m sure you meant when you said probationary). If things go well after that, they become fully accredited.
 
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Just wondering, what are the benefits of attending a school that is not yet accredited? Like, they need to recruit students in order to get that accreditation after their first class graduates. But why would anyone want to go there in the first place if the school doesn't have it yet? I'm not judging, just curious how schools like the University of Arizona (or any school for that matter) get their starting class.
 
Also, I'm looking on the University of Arizona's website - their program is 3 years instead of 4! 2 years of lecture, 1 year of clinical rotation. Thoughts on this?
 
Just wondering, what are the benefits of attending a school that is not yet accredited? Like, they need to recruit students in order to get that accreditation after their first class graduates. But why would anyone want to go there in the first place if the school doesn't have it yet? I'm not judging, just curious how schools like the University of Arizona (or any school for that matter) get their starting class.

People may not get into a cheaper option or may not get into any other option. AZ residents (and maybe some people in nearby states) might also want to stay closer to home. The curriculum at AZ is going to be a year shorter which may appeal to some people (although not to me personally bc I would not want to do vet school without breaks). There may be other reasons I didn't think of to list here but certainly I don't think they would have trouble getting students to matriculate once they have reasonable assurance.
 
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People may not get into a cheaper option or may not get into any other option. AZ residents (and maybe some people in nearby states) might also want to stay closer to home. The curriculum at AZ is going to be a year shorter which may appeal to some people (although not to me personally bc I would not want to do vet school without breaks). There may be other reasons I didn't think of to list here but certainly I don't think they would have trouble getting students to matriculate once they have reasonable assurance.

Isn't there always a risk that Arizona won't get their accreditation? For instance, if their first class does terribly on the NAVLE or something.
 
Also, I'm looking on the University of Arizona's website - their program is 3 years instead of 4! 2 years of lecture, 1 year of clinical rotation. Thoughts on this?

They're the same number of semesters as a traditional program they just don't have the summer breaks. This may not bother some people, but I know that at the start of my past two summers I really felt like I needed the break so I'm not sure I would have fared well if those had been taken away. Plus without breaks you miss out on the ability to participate in certain summer opportunities. But you do get done a year faster so there's that, I guess.
 
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It certainly seems like a vicious cycle. Cant get students because you are not accredited. Cant get accredited without students. I've been watching them work for years to get to this point, so its kind of exciting that they've made it this far. It's my plan Z due to all of the risks, but I'm sure there will be people willing to gamble.

Just wondering, what are the benefits of attending a school that is not yet accredited? Like, they need to recruit students in order to get that accreditation after their first class graduates. But why would anyone want to go there in the first place if the school doesn't have it yet? I'm not judging, just curious how schools like the University of Arizona (or any school for that matter) get their starting class.

It honestly sounds awful based on my friend's experiences in regular-semester programs. Summers really help you mentally, apparently. Plus, the inability to work ($) or get some experiences with no summer seems problematic. Also, I'm pretty sure that when you are paying summer tuition, it will end up being comparable to every other in-state price range so I'm not sure the money-saving aspect will end up being true.

Also, I'm looking on the University of Arizona's website - their program is 3 years instead of 4! 2 years of lecture, 1 year of clinical rotation. Thoughts on this?
 
Isn't there always a risk that Arizona won't get their accreditation? For instance, if their first class does terribly on the NAVLE or something.

It sounds to me like if they have reasonable assurance they are also provisionally accredited once they matriculate a class? So the currently enrolled students would be fine if they failed to become accredited. The school would have to stop enrolling new classes though because they would be terminally accredited.

 
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Just wondering, what are the benefits of attending a school that is not yet accredited? Like, they need to recruit students in order to get that accreditation after their first class graduates. But why would anyone want to go there in the first place if the school doesn't have it yet? I'm not judging, just curious how schools like the University of Arizona (or any school for that matter) get their starting class.

The best people to answer this would be students from St. Matthews (no accreditation whatsoever through AVMA/AAVMC) or LMU/Midwestern peeps who were accepted back in 2013/2014. The thing is, you don't *need* to go to an accredited school to become a US vet. You go to said school, take extra exam post-graduation, take NAVLE, become a vet. Except that the extra tests are extremely difficult and expensive. But for people, the risk is worth the shot.

Thoughts on this?

I like the thought process of it saves money for out of state students. I, however, could not imagine going through the didactics in two years. My school already runs on 24 week didactics for years 1-3 instead of 32 like a standard semester curriculum. The struggle is so real. Burn out would be rough to me.

Isn't there always a risk that Arizona won't get their accreditation?

Absolutely. Honestly, if they didn't get accreditation for whatever reason, it would be interesting to see if they just went ahead and functioned as a non-accredited school. They're going to be cheap, and if they're up front about it the fact you have to take the extra exams, they may establish that AVMA/AAVMC accreditation is superfluous.
 
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Honestly, if they didn't get accreditation for whatever reason, it would be interesting to see if they just went ahead and functioned as a non-accredited school. They're going to be cheap, and if they're up front about it the fact you have to take the extra exams, they may establish that AVMA/AAVMC accreditation is superfluous.
I don’t think that would even be an option. If you look down at some of the definitions and procedures on the AVMA page link posted, if a school has terminal accreditation then they’re not even allowed to admit new students. They basically have to stop everything and see that their current students get desirable educational outcomes, whether that’s at their school or elsewhere. But once that’s done, they’re done. The procedure must be different as a US vet school vs a foreign school, in that you probably have to involve the AVMA if you’re an American school.
 
I don’t think that would even be an option. If you look down at some of the definitions and procedures on the AVMA page link posted, if a school has terminal accreditation then they’re not even allowed to admit new students. They basically have to stop everything and see that their current students get desirable educational outcomes, whether that’s at their school or elsewhere. But once that’s done, they’re done. The procedure must be different as a US vet school vs a foreign school, in that you probably have to involve the AVMA if you’re an American school.
Yeah I don’t think they could open if they didn’t have the letter. It’s why Western sued way back when.
 
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I don’t think that would even be an option. If you look down at some of the definitions and procedures on the AVMA page link posted, if a school has terminal accreditation then they’re not even allowed to admit new students. They basically have to stop everything and see that their current students get desirable educational outcomes, whether that’s at their school or elsewhere. But once that’s done, they’re done. The procedure must be different as a US vet school vs a foreign school, in that you probably have to involve the AVMA if you’re an American school.
Yeah I don’t think they could open if they didn’t have the letter. It’s why Western sued way back when.

From a business and legal standpoint, though, I don't see how the AVMA could stop them from opening a program, unless there is a law or something somewhere stating that US schools *have* to have AVMA accreditation
 
From a business and legal standpoint, though, I don't see how the AVMA could stop them from opening a program, unless there is a law or something somewhere stating that US schools *have* to have AVMA accreditation

I think if they did try to continue admitting new classes though, that their current students might get screwed over and I can't see that going well for them?

(This assumes they got the reasonable assurance/provisional accreditation and then for some reason later weren't accredited.)
 
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current students might get screwed over and I can't see that going well for them?

It's distinctly possible. It would depend on how transparent they are with the whole accreditation timeline, I guess. If they're shady about it, I can see it blowing up in their face (like their current "we anticipate provisional accreditation" line). But if they don't get provisional accreditation, and still accept a fall 2020 class with that full disclosure, I don't think they'd have a problem filling 100+ seats. At that point its a buyer beware situation.

I'm just thinking that their current program they want to implement is an estimated tuition cost of 210k and is 3 years instead of 4. Depending on the cost of living of the area, the school would be relatively competitive price wise, even with the cost of the additional tests. Since people are willing to take the risk and go to St. Matthew's, I could see people taking the risk with Arizona. The fact it would be stateside as well would skew in their favor as well.

I just don't see how the AVMA/AAVMC could actually physically stop them from opening a program if they really wanted to. The precedent is already set for the allowance of non-accredited schools and those students being able to practice here after jumping through the additional hoops, and it's not like the AVMA has been unsuccessful in the recent past of denying schools accreditation. But I also may be way off base in that there is some law out there that requires accreditation of some sort when it's on US soil.
 
It's distinctly possible. It would depend on how transparent they are with the whole accreditation timeline, I guess. If they're shady about it, I can see it blowing up in their face (like their current "we anticipate provisional accreditation" line). But if they don't get provisional accreditation, and still accept a fall 2020 class with that full disclosure, I don't think they'd have a problem filling 100+ seats. At that point its a buyer beware situation.

I'm just thinking that their current program they want to implement is an estimated tuition cost of 210k and is 3 years instead of 4. Depending on the cost of living of the area, the school would be relatively competitive price wise, even with the cost of the additional tests. Since people are willing to take the risk and go to St. Matthew's, I could see people taking the risk with Arizona. The fact it would be stateside as well would skew in their favor as well.

I just don't see how the AVMA/AAVMC could actually physically stop them from opening a program if they really wanted to. The precedent is already set for the allowance of non-accredited schools and those students being able to practice here after jumping through the additional hoops, and it's not like the AVMA has been unsuccessful in the recent past of denying schools accreditation. But I also may be way off base in that there is some law out there that requires accreditation of some sort when it's on US soil.

If they never even get provisional accreditation sure, maybe. I dont know if there is anything that would prohibit them. But they could get provisional accreditation and then still fail to become accredited and I was talking about that scenario.

(This assumes they got the reasonable assurance/provisional accreditation and then for some reason later weren't accredited.)
 
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From a business and legal standpoint, though, I don't see how the AVMA could stop them from opening a program, unless there is a law or something somewhere stating that US schools *have* to have AVMA accreditation
There are definitely laws regarding this. At least in my home state, the board would never allow a graduate of an unaccredited US school to become licensed even if the school somehow existed and matriculates students. You have to go to an accredited school, or graduate from a foreign school and take the ECFVG or PAVES. To take the ECFVG, you have to have gone to a school on the AVMA-list of world veterinary schools, which is not a complete list of every school. If your school isn’t on the list (and I feel like the AVMA would be against adding them for some reason), then you need to get a letter from the ministry of education in your country saying that you’d be eligible for licensure in your country. You wouldn’t in this case, so no ECFVG. For the PAVES, you have to have gone to a foreign school whose graduates are eligible for licensure in that country. This wouldn’t be true in this case, so you can’t take the PAVES. So no chance at licensure.
 
If they never even get provisional accreditation sure, maybe. I dont know if there is anything that would prohibit them. But they could get provisional accreditation and then still fail to become accredited and I was talking about that scenario.

Ah, my bad! Yeah, they would be screwed, I agree. There's no getting around this.

To take the ECFVG, you have to have gone to a school on the AVMA-list of world veterinary schools

Cool. I realize that no state would allow a non-accredited graduate practice; that's not what I was saying. I mentioned the additional exams they would have to take to become licensed here. I did not realize that in order to take those tests, the graduates would have to be recognized by their country of origin of being able to practice. Definitely wouldn't happen in this scenario.

Guess we just have to wait and see if the AVMA gives any level of accreditation, and see if Arizona puts up any sort of fight if denied.
 
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Hey guys! I originally registered for 4 classes for this quarter, but I only need to take 3 to graduate of them so I am thinking about dropping one (None of them are prerequisites for vet schools). This would give me more time for an internship or to put more hours into volunteering at the zoo! Do I need to tell the vet schools this since I had all four classes included in my application since they were on my transcripts?
 
Hey guys! I originally registered for 4 classes for this quarter, but I only need to take 3 to graduate of them so I am thinking about dropping one (None of them are prerequisites for vet schools). This would give me more time for an internship or to put more hours into volunteering at the zoo! Do I need to tell the vet schools this since I had all four classes included in my application since they were on my transcripts?
VMCAS lets you edit semesters/quarters that are planned or in progress, so I would go ahead and remove that extra class :)
 
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VMCAS lets you edit semesters/quarters that are planned or in progress, so I would go ahead and remove that extra class :)
Thank you! So if I put in the grades in and refinalize, do I need to resend transcripts?
 
Also do you guys think that admissions look at our posts on here or would they not judge us on that?
 
Thank you! So if I put in the grades in and refinalize, do I need to resend transcripts?
The schools themselves will have you send in your Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 transcripts (they'll contact you when they need them), and those will reflect your current schedule. :)
 
Also do you guys think that admissions look at our posts on here or would they not judge us on that?

There very well could be school admissions officials on here. NC State is a great example. Whether or not they take that into account is totally unknown
 
There very well could be school admissions officials on here. NC State is a great example. Whether or not they take that into account is totally unknown

How would they know it's us? I'm sure they don't get special access to SDN...........right?!
 
How would they know it's us? I'm sure they don't get special access to SDN...........right?!

There are very few Illinois SDNers that don't know who I am. I've been literally asked if I'm Batsenecal will giving a tour on interview day. Admissions and the school would have no problem figuring out who I am.
 
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There are very few Illinois SDNers that don't know who I am. I've been literally asked if I'm Batsenecal will giving a tour on interview day. Admissions and the school would have no problem figuring out who I am.
You are most definitely not great at the whole anonymity thing :rofl:
 
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I had received the University of Arizona Vet med program email as well a few days ago; I looked into it and thought about applying, cause why not? Their apply now button takes you to the GradCAS application service website, but there program is not even listed on the available list. Anyone have any insight on this? Do not see any information about deadlines and such.
 
I definitely have said things that would make it easy to identify which applicant I am, and I don't mind but I just don't want to be judged by the questions I ask on here I guess if that makes sense...
 
I had received the University of Arizona Vet med program email as well a few days ago; I looked into it and thought about applying, cause why not? Their apply now button takes you to the GradCAS application service website, but there program is not even listed on the available list. Anyone have any insight on this? Do not see any information about deadlines and such.

When you’re in GradCAS you just search “Veterinary” and it comes up! Also, the deadline for 2020 admissions is November 17. There’s no application fee on GradCAS (this was a shock but unsure if they will give a supplemental fee later on) and the essays are the same exact prompts as the ones on VMCAS (is this allowed? ) plus an additional one that wasn’t anything crazy. I submitted my application already so we’ll see what happens!
 
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When you’re in GradCAS you just search “Veterinary” and it comes up! Also, the deadline for 2020 admissions is November 17. There’s no application fee on GradCAS (this was a shock but unsure if they will give a supplemental fee later on) and the essays are the same exact prompts as the ones on VMCAS (is this allowed? ) plus an additional one that wasn’t anything crazy. I submitted my application already so we’ll see what happens!
Do they still require you to submit LORs for this cycle like VMCAS/TMDSAS?
 
When you’re in GradCAS you just search “Veterinary” and it comes up! Also, the deadline for 2020 admissions is November 17. There’s no application fee on GradCAS (this was a shock but unsure if they will give a supplemental fee later on) and the essays are the same exact prompts as the ones on VMCAS (is this allowed? ) plus an additional one that wasn’t anything crazy. I submitted my application already so we’ll see what happens!
Hmmmm--really odd -- that is what I am searching and it's saying it could not find any search results. I also try looking through filters and do not even seen Arizona listed for state filters.

Still not sure what I'm doing wrong haha.
 
Do they still require you to submit LORs for this cycle like VMCAS/TMDSAS?

Yes, they require 2. They just have you put the evaluators emails in and they send them a link to it similar to how VMCAS does it. I spoke to my evaluators to make sure they got the emails and they did. Something that’s also interesting about this application is that they only really look at your pre-reqs. They only had me enter my pre-req grades on the transcript entry section instead of my entire transcript.
 
Hmmmm--really odd -- that is what I am searching and it's saying it could not find any search results. I also try looking through filters and do not even seen Arizona listed for state filters.

Still not sure what I'm doing wrong haha.

I got the link directly on the schools website and it brought me to GradCAS that way! Where it says “apply” I clicked that and it sent me to their page on GradCAS but I still had to select the program so I searched “veterinary” and it came up.
 
I got the link directly on the schools website and it brought me to GradCAS that way! Where it says “apply” I clicked that and it sent me to their page on GradCAS but I still had to select the program so I searched “veterinary” and it came up.
Figured it out! - Their Apply Now button took me to winter 2019 and spring 2020 GradCAS application site.. not the fall 2020.... lol, I had to find a different link for fall 2020 gradCAS
 
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