SPECIAL ADVISING AREA
Academic Preparation
Becoming a competitive vet school applicant means having strong academic and research skills. All natural science majors complete original research, and our small general science courses give you the support you need to achieve your academic goals.
By the time you apply, you’ll have developed a resume of academic accomplishments that will set you apart.
Small Class Sizes (Even in the Sciences)
Consider our general biology sequence. The lecture component of the course is taught by a faculty member with a terminal degree (no TA’s here), and the course consists of approximately 25 students. These students then meet in the lab, taught by the same faculty member to ensure quality and curricular cohesion. Peer-to-peer tutoring is provided to further ensure academic success.
This commitment to small class sizes, access to faculty, and academic support extends throughout your pre-vet requirements.
So when the times comes for a letter of reference, you’ll have long-standing and close relationships with faculty who can speak directly to your strengths and research accomplishments.
Warren Wilson College sent me into the world with a work-hard, can-do attitude. When I secured a coveted job on the College Farm, I learned the mechanics and philosophies of food animal production. I castrated piglets, worked cattle chutes, managed breeding programs, milled grain, and milked our only dairy cow. This daily work blended into my biology curriculum, where I would learn about estrus synchronization in class in the morning, then actually perform the procedures in the afternoon. Warren Wilson College solidified my dreams of becoming a vet, and I am now enrolled in veterinary school at Colorado State University. Warren Wilson prepared me to be successful in a veterinary career not only with its academics and work experience, but with its close-knit community.
Lauren Olenke, '09, Biology major
Distinguishing Your Application
Warren Wilson provides distinctive advantages for pre-vet students, especially those interested in large animal care. With multiple animal species on the farm, including horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, you’ll supplement your classroom learning by practicing veterinary practices directly with animals.
In addition to learning traditional vet practices like weighing animals, giving shots, castration, and weaning, you will also experience incidental animal emergencies, including antibiotic treatment or broken bones. You’ll develop your confidence working around animals and emerge equipped for graduate school.
And with a variety of animal-related non-profit organizations in Asheville, you will deepen your experience through your community engagement.
Your application could highlight:
- your recent publication completed in partnership with your faculty advisor, highlighting the quality of your research experience;
- your service experience through our Community Engagement Program at Horse Sense of the Carolinas, where you worked with horses on therapeutic equine interventions;
- and work experience on our Farm Crew, where you inoculated cattle, assisted in the lambing process, and planned and participated in artificial insemination with our pig and cattle herds.
