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Vet School Interviews 2026-27: Formats, Dates and Questions

How vet school interviews work this cycle, school by school, with the dates still ahead for fall 2027 entry.

Vet schools interview in one of three ways: an MMI of short timed stations (UC Davis, Texas A&M, Virginia-Maryland), a behavioral or panel interview of about 30 to 45 minutes (Florida, Ohio State, Auburn), or not at all (Cornell, NC State, Georgia). The VMCAS deadline for fall 2027 entry was September 15, 2026 and has passed. US invitations and interviews run from about October 2026 to March 2027. VMCAS hasn't posted dates for the next cycle yet.

Start your free weekHow vet school practice works

Dates for 2027 entry

  1. January 21, 2026

    The 2026-27 VMCAS application opened. You could fill in the first three sections.

  2. May 7, 2026

    The Program Materials section opened, so you could pick schools, answer their questions and submit.

  3. September 15, 2026

    The VMCAS deadline, 11:59 p.m. Eastern, has passed. An application marked Undelivered could be corrected and resubmitted until October 1.

  4. October 15 to December 1, 2026

    Canadian deadlines for domestic applicants. Atlantic Veterinary College's October 15 deadline has passed. Still ahead are Montréal on November 1 (university or out-of-province applicants), Calgary on November 30, and WCVM and OVC on December 1.

  5. October 2026 to March 2027

    US interview season. Tennessee typically told residents about interviews in early to mid-October, and typically tells nonresidents in early to mid-January. UC Davis holds its MMIs on December 3, 4, 7 and 8, and Texas A&M on December 9. Virginia-Maryland interviews in person on January 16-17, 2027 and virtually on January 18-25, 2027. Mississippi State usually interviews from late January to mid-February, Illinois in February, and Missouri between December 15, 2026 and March 15, 2027.

  6. January to May 2027

    Canadian interviews. OVC holds virtual interviews for international (VMCAS) applicants in January and for domestic applicants in May. Calgary holds its online MMI on March 13, 2027, after an essay on March 12.

  7. April 15, 2027

    Under AAVMC's acceptance date policy, member schools cannot require you to decide on an offer before April 15 (some schools outside the US are exempt). Missouri wants acceptance materials by 5 p.m. on April 15, 2027, and OVC gives international applicants who applied through VMCAS until April 15 to accept.

  8. May to June 2027

    Canadian offers. Calgary's timeline puts initial offers in mid- to late May, OVC releases domestic decisions in mid-June, and WCVM usually finishes its process before July 1.

School-by-school guides

Each guide covers the school's interview format, how it picks who to interview, how the interview counts toward offers, and practice questions, with links to the school's own pages.

United States

Acceptance rates, applicant counts and entering-class GPAs by school: Vet school acceptance rates by school.

MMI, panel or no interview: formats by school

Each school sets its own format, so check the admissions page of every school on your list.

Multiple mini interview (MMI)

An MMI is a circuit of short, timed scenarios, each scored on its own.

  • UC Davis: An MMI on Kira Talent, a video platform, with a circuit of up to 10 stations, each with several minutes of dialogue with one rater. About 240 applicants are invited and the MMI is mandatory. The school's timeline and FAQ pages say the MMI is virtual, though its criteria page also says MMIs cannot be conducted remotely, so confirm with the school.
  • Texas A&M: A virtual, asynchronous MMI of about one hour. You get up to two minutes to prepare and four minutes to answer each question. This cycle's MMIs are on December 9, 2026.
  • Virginia-Maryland: MMIs, a series of timed scenarios: in person for Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia candidates, and virtual on Kira Talent for out-of-state candidates.
  • Arizona: A virtual supplemental assessment, to complete within ten days of an invitation. Some applicants are then invited to an Applicant Visit Day that includes MMIs.
  • Calgary: An online MMI, with a written essay the day before.

Behavioral and panel interviews

Many schools use a single interview with one or more faculty members, often with behavioral questions about your past experiences.

  • Florida: A 45-minute behavioral interview on Zoom with a two- or three-member panel.
  • Ohio State: A 30-minute interview with behavioral and situational judgment questions.
  • Auburn: A 30-minute virtual interview with members of the Admissions Committee.
  • Mississippi State: A traditional interview of about 30 minutes with a panel of two or three.
  • Illinois: A behavior-based interview on a single day in February with a team of interviewers.
  • WesternU: A 25-minute one-on-one interview on Zoom, with general and behavioral questions.

Schools that do not interview

These schools hold no admissions interview. Georgia phones one or more of your references instead.

  • Cornell, Iowa State, NC State and Wisconsin: Each states on its admissions page that it does not interview DVM applicants.
  • Georgia: No applicant interview, but the Admissions Committee calls and interviews one or more of your references.
  • Colorado State: Its MMI is canceled and no longer a requirement.
  • LSU: Decides each year whether to interview, and held no interviews for the 2024 to 2026 cycles.

No interview still means scrutiny. At schools that do not interview, your essays, experience descriptions and letters carry the weight an interview would.

How much does the vet school interview count?

Where a school interviews, the interview is often a large share of the final score.

  • Ohio State: 50%. The interview is half the final admissions score. File review and grades decide who is invited.
  • Virginia-Maryland: everything. All pre-interview ranking scores are set to zero at the interview, and admission offers are based on interview results.
  • OVC: 35%. The interview score is combined with the admissions average, which counts for 65%.
  • Mississippi State and Atlantic Veterinary College: 30%. At AVC the interview is based on your animal and veterinary experiences.
  • Illinois and Tennessee: 25%. Texas A&M weights its MMI at 20% to 25%.

What do vet school interviewers assess?

Schools that interview say they score personal qualities, not science knowledge.

What schools list

Communication, ethics and teamwork come up again and again.

  • UC Davis: Communication, teamwork, ethical and critical decision-making, empathy, honesty and reliability.
  • Texas A&M: Communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy and ethics.
  • Virginia-Maryland: Communication, ethical and moral judgment, managing team and self, problem-solving and critical thinking, creativity, resiliency and cultural bias.
  • Florida: Teamwork, integrity, maturity and problem-solving.
  • Tennessee: Interviewers may evaluate motivation, maturity, experience with animals, knowledge of the profession, leadership potential, critical thinking and potential to contribute to the profession.
  • Auburn: Communication, depth and breadth of your experience with veterinarians, and professional potential.

The profession's own competencies

AAVMC's CBVE 2.0 framework sets out the abilities a new veterinary graduate needs, in nine domains and 32 competencies. Several of its non-clinical domains match the qualities schools list above.

  • Communication. Including difficult conversations such as financial decisions and end-of-life care, like palliative care and euthanasia.
  • Collaboration. Working as a leader or team member, and inclusivity and cultural competence.
  • Professionalism. An ethical approach, reflecting on your own actions, and attending to wellbeing.
  • Financial and practice management. Weighing financial factors in personal and business decisions.

Animal and veterinary experience hours

Your experience is both a screening factor and the raw material for interview answers. AAVMC says most schools have no required minimum of veterinary experience hours, but some do.

How VMCAS sorts your hours

VMCAS records experiences by type, and you cannot count the same hours twice.

  • Veterinary experience. Activities supervised by a veterinarian.
  • Animal experience. Hands-on work with animals with no veterinarian involved, such as 4-H, livestock farms, humane societies, zoos and kennels.
  • Other types. Research, employment, volunteer work and extracurricular activities are separate entries.
  • Family pets. AAVMC says most schools want organized experience beyond pet ownership. OVC and AVC say pet ownership does not count as animal experience.

What schools ask for

Requirements range from none to several hundred hours.

  • Minimums: Auburn requires at least 500 hours of experience, including clinical work with one or more veterinarians. UC Davis requires at least 180 hours of veterinary experience by the September deadline.
  • Recommended: Penn Vet sets no requirement but strongly recommends at least 600 hours of veterinary experience.
  • No minimum: Ohio State, Florida, Illinois, Virginia-Maryland, Colorado State, OVC and AVC.
  • Special tracks: WCVM's agriculture-focused seats need 1,000 hours of commercial food animal experience. Montréal's farm-animal practice profile needs 500 hours of farm-animal work experience plus 35 hours of observation placements with veterinarians.

Shadow more than one vet. AAVMC suggests it because a vet at a large clinic may have a very different job from one in a small, mixed animal practice. Be ready to say what each experience taught you.

Are vet school interviews online or in person?

Many vet schools now interview online, but some still bring you to campus.

  • Online: Florida and WesternU interview on Zoom, and Tennessee in a live virtual meeting with faculty. Auburn, OVC and Calgary also interview online.
  • Kira Talent: UC Davis and Texas A&M run their MMIs on Kira, and so does Virginia-Maryland for out-of-state candidates. Texas A&M's is asynchronous, so no interviewer is live with you, and it takes about an hour with no travel.
  • Recorded video first: Tennessee may ask some nonresidents for a short self-recorded video answering 3 to 4 questions. Those it picks are then invited to the live virtual interview.
  • In person: Virginia-Maryland runs in-person MMIs for Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia candidates. Montréal interviews only some applicants, in French, virtually or in person depending on the profile.

How do you prepare for a vet school interview?

Start with your own file, then practice the formats your schools use, out loud and timed.

  • Know your experiences cold. For each one, have a short story about what you did, what went wrong and what you learned about the profession.
  • Practice ethics scenarios. Work through cases on cost of care, euthanasia, suspected neglect and a colleague's mistake. Weigh the animal, the client and the team before you decide.
  • Prepare behavioral answers. Panels ask about times you worked in a team, handled conflict or failed. Answer with a specific situation, your action and the result.
  • Know the profession. Read up on debt, burnout and wellbeing, One Health and access to care, and be ready to say why veterinary and not human medicine.
  • Rehearse the format. For an MMI, time a short read of the prompt and a few minutes to answer. For a recorded interview, practice speaking to a camera with no feedback.

Example question: An owner cannot afford the surgery their cat needs. What do you do?

Example question: Tell us about a time you disagreed with a supervisor.

  • Why veterinary medicine: How to answer "Why veterinary medicine?" in a vet school interview or VMCAS essay: a 4-part structure, 3 example answers, weak answers to avoid and follow-ups.
  • Best interview prep: Vet school interview prep compared: free AAVMC and advising resources, coaches (BeMo, Inspira, Prehealth Advising), AI tools (Confetto, Intervly) and prices.

Practice questions

35 vet school interview questions by type, each with what it tests and how a strong answer is built: Vet school interview questions.

Frequently asked questions

Do all vet schools interview?

No. Cornell, Iowa State, NC State and Wisconsin do not interview DVM applicants, Colorado State has canceled its MMI, and Georgia calls your references instead. LSU decides each year and held no interviews for the 2024 to 2026 cycles.

What is a vet school MMI?

A multiple mini interview is a circuit of short, timed scenarios, each scored separately. UC Davis describes a circuit of up to 10 stations on Kira Talent, and Texas A&M gives up to two minutes to prepare and four minutes to answer each question.

What questions are asked in a vet school interview?

Expect questions on your motivation and experiences, behavioral questions about past situations, and ethical scenarios. Ohio State uses behavioral and situational judgment questions, and Virginia-Maryland scores ethical and moral judgment.

When do vet school interviews happen?

In the US, mostly from October to March after the September 15 VMCAS deadline. UC Davis interviews in early December and Mississippi State usually from late January to mid-February. In Canada, Calgary interviews in March and OVC in January (international applicants) or May (domestic applicants).

How many veterinary experience hours do I need?

AAVMC says most schools have no required minimum of veterinary experience hours, but check each school. Auburn requires at least 500 hours, UC Davis 180, and Penn Vet strongly recommends at least 600.

Are vet school interviews online?

Many are. UC Davis and Texas A&M run their MMIs on Kira Talent, a video platform, Florida and WesternU use Zoom, and Tennessee holds live virtual interviews. Virginia-Maryland holds in-person MMIs for Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia candidates and virtual ones for out-of-state candidates.

Do out-of-state applicants interview differently?

At some schools. Virginia-Maryland interviews out-of-state candidates virtually and in-state candidates in person. Tennessee may ask some nonresidents for a short self-recorded video before inviting them to its live virtual interview, and typically notifies nonresidents in January, about three months after residents.

How do I prepare for a vet school interview?

Know each of your experiences well enough to tell a short story about it, practice ethics scenarios such as cost of care and euthanasia, prepare behavioral examples about teamwork and conflict, and rehearse the format your schools use, timed and out loud.

More vet school guides

Applying to more vet schools? How other schools interview and who gets in:

Sources

Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.

  1. AAVMC: VMCAS Applicant Guide, 2026-27 cycle (PDF) · read October 24, 2026
  2. VMCAS Applicant Help Center: VMCAS Application Cycle Dates · read October 26, 2026
  3. VMCAS Applicant Help Center: Experiences · read October 24, 2026
  4. AAVMC: Pre-Vet FAQs (PDF) · read October 24, 2026
  5. AAVMC: CBVE 2.0 Competency Framework (PDF) · read October 24, 2026
  6. UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine: Criteria for Admission · read October 24, 2026
  7. UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine: Application Process and Timeline · read October 24, 2026
  8. UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine: Frequently Asked Questions · read October 24, 2026
  9. Texas A&M CVMBS: DVM Selection Process · read October 24, 2026
  10. Texas A&M CVMBS: DVM Application Deadlines · read October 28, 2026
  11. Virginia-Maryland CVM: DVM Evaluation Criteria · read October 24, 2026
  12. Virginia-Maryland CVM: Requirements and Prerequisites · read October 28, 2026
  13. Virginia-Maryland CVM: Important Dates and Deadlines · read October 28, 2026
  14. Virginia-Maryland CVM: Frequently Asked Questions · read October 28, 2026
  15. University of Arizona Veterinary Medicine: Selection Overview · read October 24, 2026
  16. University of Florida CVM: DVM Admissions Criteria · read October 24, 2026
  17. Ohio State CVM: Professional DVM Program Admissions · read October 24, 2026
  18. Auburn University CVM: Application Information · read October 24, 2026
  19. Mississippi State CVM: Selection of the Class · read October 24, 2026
  20. Veterinary Medicine at Illinois: Admissions · read October 24, 2026
  21. Western University of Health Sciences CVM: Your Interview · read October 24, 2026
  22. University of Tennessee CVM: Admissions Procedure · read October 24, 2026
  23. University of Tennessee CVM: DVM Timetable · read October 24, 2026
  24. University of Missouri CVM: Important Application Dates · read October 24, 2026
  25. Penn Vet: How to Apply · read October 24, 2026
  26. Cornell University CVM: How to Apply · read October 24, 2026
  27. Iowa State University CVM: Selection Criteria · read October 24, 2026
  28. NC State CVM: Admissions FAQ · read October 24, 2026
  29. University of Georgia CVM: DVM Application Review · read October 24, 2026
  30. University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine: DVM · read October 24, 2026
  31. Colorado State University DVM Program: Application Review Process · read October 24, 2026
  32. LSU Vet Med: DVM Dates and Deadlines · read October 24, 2026
  33. University of Guelph OVC: DVM Program Application · read October 24, 2026
  34. University of Saskatchewan: Veterinary Medicine Admissions (WCVM) · read October 24, 2026
  35. University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: Admission Timeline · read October 24, 2026
  36. UPEI Atlantic Veterinary College: Understanding the DVM Admissions Process · read October 24, 2026
  37. Université de Montréal: Doctorat de 1er cycle en médecine vétérinaire · read October 24, 2026