UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Removes GRE Requirement

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has removed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) requirement for DVM student admissions, following a national trend across the 32 accredited veterinary schools in the United States. The requirement was dropped after a Senate Faculty vote last week and will apply to the coming admissions cycle, which opens in January, for applicants to the Class of 2028.

UC Davis joins the majority of accredited U.S. veterinary schools in making this shift after studies showed systemic bias in the GRE. It has been argued that the GRE (based on verbal, quantitative and analytical writing) does not predict student success in the sciences, as the exam does not demonstrate an applicant’s understanding of science.

Brandy McCall, director of Outreach and Admissions, says the school’s move is in line with admissions requirements trends across the country.

“We were one of the few remaining veterinary schools to require the GRE,” McCall says. “The decision reflects our commitment to increasing diversity and decreasing inequities among applicants to our DVM program.”

She points out that the GRE presented a financial barrier for some veterinary school applicants due to the high cost of the test as well as test prep courses, creating an inequity between applicants.

“By dropping the GRE requirement, the application process is no less rigorous. But we do expect that it will increase and diversify our applicant pool and contribute to a more holistic approach to look at potential students to our program,” McCall says.

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