February 21, 2020
College of Veterinary Medicine discontinuing GRE requirement for admissions
The Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine is dropping the Graduate Record Examination as a requirement of its application process beginning with the 2020-2021 application cycle.
At the January 2020 College of Veterinary Medicine faculty meeting, voting constituents elected to adjust the admissions procedures, including elimination of the GRE as a requirement of the college's comprehensive application process.
Callie Rost, assistant dean for admissions, led the discussion amongst the members of the admissions committee. Faculty members on the committee represent each of the three departments in the college: anatomy and physiology, clinical sciences, and diagnostic medicine and pathology. The committee explored options that ultimately led to a unanimous agreement for the removal of the GRE scores from the application process, both as a requirement and as a consideration.
"The K-State College of Veterinary Medicine takes a tremendous amount of pride in our student success," Rost said. "We look for ways to continuously improve upon the veterinary medical profession, and we believe that factors such as veterinary experience, community engagement and situational awareness can be better predictors for the adjustments that are necessary to be successful in our professional program than standardized scores."
Rost said the admissions committee found the GRE to be a poor predictor of academic success, acclimation and adjustment to the rigor of the professional program. The GRE has traditionally failed to provide meaningful documentation of a positive correlation between scores and pass rates for the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination. Furthermore, Rost said empirical evidence suggests the GRE has historically been biased toward certain contemporaries.
"We feel the time is right to reconsider the selection parameters for our admissions process," Rost said. "Given the college's mission for diversity, inclusivity and excellence in the classroom, we believe this is a step in the right direction for our program, our students, our graduates and for the entire veterinary medical profession."