VMCAS GPA Calculation: Getting Into Veterinary School in 2026

The Most Competitive Field in Medicine

There is a common misconception that students who can't get into medical school go to veterinary school instead.

Statistically, the exact opposite is true.

There are over 150 Allopathic Medical Schools in the US. There are only 33 accredited Veterinary Schools in the United States.

Because the number of seats is so incredibly limited, getting into Veterinary School is statistically harder than getting into Medical School. All applications are routed through the VMCAS (Veterinary Medical College Application Service) portal.

The VMCAS GPA Buckets

Because the competition is so fierce, VMCAS slices your transcript into highly specific buckets to look for weaknesses. They calculate:

Overall Cumulative GPA

Science GPA: (Strictly Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Math is usually excluded or placed in a separate "Quantitative" bucket depending on the school's preference).

Last 45 Credits GPA: This is a massive lifesaver. Because pre-vet students often struggle early on, VMCAS automatically isolates your most recent 45 credits. If your last 45 credits average a 3.9, many vet schools will overlook a disastrous freshman year.

The Prerequisite Problem

The most difficult part of the VMCAS application is the prerequisite variability.

If you apply to Medical School, the prerequisites are uniform across the country (1 year Bio, 1 year Chem, 1 year Orgo, 1 year Physics).

Veterinary schools have wild, highly specific prerequisite demands.

One school might require Animal Nutrition.

Another might require Avian Biology.

Almost all require Microbiology and Biochemistry.

If you decide to apply to Vet School late in your college career, you will likely have to spend an entire extra year (Post-Bacc) just to track down and complete the highly specific animal science prerequisites required by different programs.