First vet school in NJ is ready for 2025 inaugural class

🐶 New Jersey's first veterinary school is ready for students

🐱 Applications are now being accepted

🐶 The inaugural class will begin in September 2025

GLASSBORO — There are only 34 veterinary schools in the United States, but there is about to be a 35th as one in New Jersey prepares to welcome its inaugural class in the fall of 2025.

The Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine at Rowan University in Glassboro is the first and only veterinary school in New Jersey.

Ground broke two years ago on the school, and construction continues on schedule.  Admissions applications are now being accepted. The first class would enter in September 2025, said Dr. Matthew Edson, dean of The Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine.

He said the application process for medical school is difficult but probably more so for veterinary students because there are fewer than three dozen such schools in the country.

What does Rowan look for in an applicant?

Academic achievement is super important.

“Students have to prove to us that they can handle the rigor of a very, very difficult doctoral program. But we are very keen here on not just looking at academic performance. We really want to look at the entire applicant and make sure that they’re not just a good DVM student, but they’re going to be a good DVM, a good veterinarian, and a professional serving the community afterward,” Edson said.

Non-academic factors are just as important to the admissions application, too. Some of those might be experience in the animal realm, and understanding the vet profession, work history, volunteer history, and proof that a person is a well-rounded individual beyond academics alone, Edson explained.

The application process includes many questions about the individual candidate other than just grades and GPA (grade point average). They explain all those pieces of their personal life on the application, and that’s part of the decision-making process as to whether that individual is granted an interview.

Edson said the school scores an in-state pool and an out-of-state pool and then a certain number is chosen from each pool to get selected for an interview.

The Inaugural Class

“Our first class will be 70 students. 50% of those would be in-state New Jersey residents and 50% would be out-of-state, and then our class size will grow over the next few years to 90 in a class, still 50% New Jersey and 50% out-of-state,” Edson said.

Looking at the applicant statistics from the past few years in New Jersey, there have been about 280 residents apply to go to vet school. Rowan is only taking 35 students its first year, which just goes to show how competitive vet school is, Edson said.

What will the program teach?

Veterinary school is a four-year program. In the first year, students will learn all the “normals.” That means normal physiology, normal anatomy, and the normal characteristics of animal behavior, Edson said.

“The second year is really when we focus on all the “abnormals” so we talk about all the diseased states that we see and then the third year is usually making abnormal normal again. We talk about treating those things to bring the animal back to a normal state,” Edson said.

Then the fourth year is a clinical year, which is usually 12 months but it’s 13 months at Rowan. During that year, students work with clinics alongside other licensed veterinarians, learning to put all those skills to work before they graduate.

The Cost

Veterinary school is expensive. Most students rely on graduate loans to help pay for it. Rowan University wants to help lower that cost for New Jersey residents.

Edson said in-state tuition for veterinary school is $37,500 a year and out-of-state tuition is $58,500 a year.

“It’s a significant savings to go to New Jersey’s vet school if you’re a New Jersey resident. It’s still expensive, but it is a lot less expensive than many of the out-of-state options that they’ve had in the past,” Edson said.

Excitement

There is so much excitement knowing that Rowan University will be home to the first and only veterinary school in New Jersey, Edson said.

“I think it means a lot to all of us who are New Jersey veterinarians who had to leave home to go to vet school. Many of us had great experiences doing that, but we were also out-of-state students. It was really expensive and we had to live far away from home. That’s not an easy thing to do especially when you’re transitioning into a difficult academic program,” Edson said.

The ability to have that here to save on cost for New Jersey residents is important, and the ability to expand services in the southern part of New Jersey to clients and pet owners who would not have access to this sort of thing is also important since Rowan is opening a teaching hospital, Edson said.

Advice for First-Time Vet Applicants

For those applying to Rowan’s veterinary school as a first-time applicant, Edson said it’s important for the individual to present themselves as a holistic candidate. The entire applicant is looked at, not just grades.

“If you can show us that you are academically capable of being successful in the program, we look at the rest of the person beyond that. All of your life experiences, things that you may not think are important,” Edson said.

For example, students who are waiters and bartenders know how to communicate with people. Edson said it’s not just about pets. They have owners too and the school wants to see how students will interact with the clients that they’ll have later and the people they’ll be in school with, he said.

Advice for Those Who Don’t Get Accepted

For those who don’t get accepted to vet school on the first try, that’s not uncommon because not many schools in the nation have a veterinary program, therefore it’s extremely competitive, Edson said.

Applications can be found here.

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