The best vet schools in the U.S. – 2024

Veterinarians play a crucial role in society. Besides keeping our furry friends healthy and happy, they also conduct research, work to improve public health, and inspect animal and farm facilities for compliance with health standards.

Many people have dreamed about becoming veterinarians since they were very small. Unfortunately, veterinary school is very, very expensive. And while veterinarians make good money, it can be hard to know how much student debt is just too much.

To help you make an informed decision, mitigate your student loans, and become a financially secure doggy doctor, we’ve ranked the best veterinary schools by value for money.

This guide will help you become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD – they’re the same) without breaking the bank.

The best veterinary schools – by value

The vet schools below provide the optimal combination of high earnings and low average debt at graduation. For more information on our ranking methodology, see the section below this list.

Programs we couldn’t rank

Unfortunately, not all degree programs have disclosed data to the NCES.

While complete data on economic outcomes is available for the 22 vet schools above, others are missing data. Vet schools with incomplete data that we therefore couldn’t rank include:

• University of Arizona
• University of California, Davis
• University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign
• Virginia Tech / University of Maryland (they share a vet school)
• Cornell University
• Midwestern University
• Oklahoma State University
• Lincoln Memorial University
• Long Island University
• Texas Tech University

Vet school accreditation

To become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, you must attend a vet school accredited by the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) All vet schools mentioned in this article are accredited.

How many vet schools are there in the US?

There are 32 AVMA-accredited vet schools in the US. A 33rd program, at Utah State University, is scheduled to open its doors in 2025, assuming it receives a letter of reasonable assurance from the AVMA.

The AVMA also accredits some vet schools abroad, notably in Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and the Caribbean.

The 2 vet schools in the Caribbean – Ross University in St. Kitts and Nevis and St. George’s University in Grenada – are particularly popular among American students. However, they are considerably more expensive.

How much does vet school cost?

The average (mean) debt at graduation for American veterinary colleges, according to the NCES, is an eyewatering $165,740, even after financial aid.

This makes vet school a considerable financial investment. While you can earn a lot of money as a vet, you will probably spend a long time paying off your student loans.

Roo, a veterinarian staffing platform, explains that the standard veterinarian debt repayment plan takes about 10 years, paying $2,000 to $4,000 per month.

However, lenders can also opt for the SAVE debt repayment plan, which foresees 25 years of debt repayment, provided that you devote 10% of your discretionary income to loan repayment.

How much do vets make?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for veterinarians is $119,100 per year, or $57.26 an hour. Vet jobs are expected to grow 20% by 2032, which is much faster than average.

Meanwhile, according to NCES, the average gross early-career earnings (4 years after graduation) for people who went to a veterinary college is $101,764 per year.

If we assume you pay $3,000 per month in student loans, this will leave you with about $5,500 a month early in your career according to NCES salary data. Unfortunately, you’ll still need to pay your taxes and rent.

So, is vet school worth it financially?

If you want to be a vet, you’re probably in it first and foremost because you love animals. Nevertheless, it’s smart to ask yourself if vet school is a wise decision financially, given its expense.

Generally speaking, an investment in a DVM degree will eventually pay off – despite the student loans – thanks to veterinarians’ high average earnings.

Just remember: as long as you have a DVM from an accredited college and a license to practice, it doesn’t matter very much for your career where you went to vet school. Therefore, you should choose the cheapest vet school you get into. This will hopefully be a local university that offers you in-state tuition.

While some vet schools we list above have lower-earning graduates, this is as much a function of the state they work in after graduation as anything else. Vets in Mississippi earn less than vets in California.

Comparing vet school to other advanced degree programs

Many doctorate-level programs are better value than vet school.

The average debt-to-earnings ratio for vet schools is 1.65, which makes it a slightly worse investment than physical therapy school, law school, pharmacy school, or an MBA.

Below, we compare an investment in veterinary school with other programs that require a doctorate or master’s degree.

We included debt and salary figures from the NCES, which collects data on average earnings of degree holders 4 years after graduation (regardless of their job). We also provide earnings data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which collects data on median earnings for individual professions throughout workers’ careers.

Note that our debt-to-earnings ratio uses early-career NCES data. This puts medical schools at a disadvantage, as many doctors are still completing their residencies 4 years after graduation.

How to get into vet school

Vet school is notoriously competitive, and getting in will require you to plan ahead as an undergraduate student.

1. Take the pre-requisite bachelor’s-level courses. While each vet school has slightly different requirements, pre-reqs normally include biology with lab, chemistry with lab, genetics, biochemistry, physics, statistics, humanities, and English. Choosing an undergraduate major like biology can help you cover all the pre-reqs for getting into vet school.
2. Maintain a high GPA. While vet schools may designate a much lower minimum grade point average, most successful applicants have a GPA of around 3.4 to 3.8, with 3.7 being the most common average GPA for the vet schools in this article. Most colleges will look at your science GPA and last semester GPA separately from your cumulative GPA.
3. Log hours observing a vet and get experience with animals. Start out by volunteering at a humane society or join your college’s 4H club. In addition, you will need to log supervised hours observing a veterinarian. Consider getting a vet-adjacent job while you’re in college. These experiences are a must-have for vet school, so don’t put this off.
4. Get leadership experience. While not a strict requirement, your resume will shine if you can snag a leadership position in a pre-vet club, student government, or some other group. Vet schools will also be looking for evidence of strong communication skills, which leadership experience can provide.
5. Get great letters of recommendation by impressing your professors. Go to office hours, work with a professor on an undergraduate research project, and be an active participant in class discussions so your professors can write you strong letters of recommendation. Conducting supervised research will look especially good on your resume.
6. Apply to vet school via the VMCAS. The VMCAS is the unified platform for applying to vet schools. This is where you’ll submit your transcripts, resume, letters of recommendation, personal statements, observation hours, etc.

Where do veterinarians work?

You may be surprised to learn that not everyone with a DVM works in a veterinary clinic! According to the BLS:

• 83% of veterinarians work in veterinary services
• 10% are self-employed
• 2% work for the government
• 1% work for social advocacy organizations
• 1% work in education

The concept of “veterinary service” is itself quite broad: while many veterinarians treat cats and dogs at clinics in their local communities, others work in animal hospitals, make visits to farms, or work in shelters.

Other veterinarians conduct research, especially in public health, food safety, animal medicine, virology, and parasitology.

Yet others work in public health or public policy with government agencies like the Center for Disease Control or the Food and Safety Inspection Service.

After acquiring experience as a vet, you could even end up working as a consultant or a professor.

How to become a vet

We have written a detailed page about how to become a veterinarian. However, the gist goes like this:

1. Get an undergraduate degree
2. Get experience working with animals and observing vets
3. Go to vet school – most vet programs take 4 years
4. Pass the NAVLE exam
5. Get state licensure

Final thoughts

Becoming a vet is a long, arduous process, but if you possess academic stamina and you aren’t too afraid of student loans, a DVM can lead to a rewarding career.

Just remember, vet school is a big financial decision, and you don’t want to take out more money in loans than you need to. For most, this will mean going to whichever vet school offers you the lowest price.

Not sure vet school is right for you, but you’re still interested in a healing profession? Check out our list of the best-paying jobs in healthcare. There are more jobs than just “doctor!”

If you’re still determined to plough on and become a veterinarian, we wish you all the best. The world needs you!