Veterinary Scholarships for College Students
If you plan to enter the fields of veterinary medicine when you finish college then look into veterinary scholarships for college students from the Saul T. Wilson Scholarship Program. This veterinary scholarship program is sponsored by the USDA-APHIS, and is available to students who are already in college, and already enrolled in a program that will lead to veterinary medicine upon graduation.
In order to qualify for the Saul T. Wilson Jr. Scholarship Program, you must be a citizen of the United States. You must already be enrolled as a student in a college or University that is accredited and located in the United States. You must be a fulltime student, and your academic standing must be good. If you are an undergraduate, you must have already completed two years of either pre-veterinary study or another biomedical science study for these scholarships. If you are a graduate student, you must have completed up to, but not more than one year of a veterinary medicine curriculum.
When you apply for the Saul T. Wilson Jr. Scholarship Program, you must agree that if you win a pre-veterinary scholarship under this program that you will work for USDA-APHIS during summer and holidays while you are attending school. While performing your duties, you may work with livestock and poultry, in a veterinarian capacity. These tasks may include observation, routine medical procedures, scheduling and performing tests, tagging animals, keeping records, and other tasks associated with veterinary science. This gives you the opportunity to get real world experience in the veterinarian environment before you finish school.
The deadline for applying for the program is March 1st of each year, and the scholarship benefits are available to winners of the veterinary scholarships for the following fall semester. When you apply, you must include your resume, your college transcripts, and a letter of acceptance into a graduate program, if you have already been accepted, three recommendation letters, an essay, and any documentation concerning your service with the United States Military, if this applies.
Winners of the veterinary scholarships will receive $5000 per year if they are under graduates or $10,000 per year for graduate students. These funds are to be used to pay for tuition, fees, books, and tutors, if they are needed. Additionally, the winners will be paid for the work that they have agreed to do for the USDA-APHIS during the summer months and holiday seasons while attending school, and an opportunity for full time employment upon graduation.
When you accept your veterinary scholarship, you must agree to work for APHIS for one year for each year that you received the award while in school. If you fail to meet this obligation after your graduation, you will be required to reimburse the USDA-APHIS for the entire amount of your scholarships for veterinary through this program.
Considering the amount of the veterinary scholarships for college students offered with the Saul T. Wilson Scholarship Program, the real world experience gained while you are still in school, and the opportunity for employment upon graduation, even after your work obligation has been fulfilled, these are definitely scholarships for veterinary students worth considering if a career in veterinarian medicine is your goal.