The VCAT®, or Veterinary College Admission Test, was a standardized test designed specifically for evaluating veterinary school applicants. The exam was one of the tools used to assess candidates’ academic ability and knowledge, with the goal of predicting how successful they would be in graduate school. The VCAT® was comparable to other graduate-level standardized tests like the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), which is used law school applicants; the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which is used medical school applicants; and the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), which is used prospective pharmacy students. The VCAT® was eventually phased out in 2003.
The Psychological Corporation, which was founded in New York in 1921 James McKeen Cattell, the president of the American Psychological Association at the time, administered the VCAT®. Pearson’s Assessment & Information group, which specializes in education assessment tools, owns the Psychological Corporation. The veterinary test from the Psychological Corporation consisted of 300 multiple-choice questions with one point awarded for each correct answer. Biology, general and organic chemistry, reading comprehension, quantitative capability, and verbal skill were the five areas of testing. There was a sixth section, but it served as the test’s experimental portion and was therefore not scored.
Most VCAT® questions had four options, labeled A through D. However, a few of them had more than four. The VCAT® took an average of three and a half hours to complete, including breaks for lunch and rest.
The veterinary exam was offered twice a year, in October and November, with a January offering on occasion. Test takers had to register for the exam on the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) website and pay a $50 fee. The VMCAS, like the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), used VCAT® scores as one of the components to create streamlined reports for veterinary school applications. Undergraduate transcripts and letters of recommendation, which are required components of any college or university application, are also included in the VMCAS report.
The Psychological Corporation announced in April 2003 that the VCAT® would be phased out. The test officially ended on June 30, 2003, but the organization continued to provide transcript reporting services until June 30, 2008. Veterinary schools accept the MCAT or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as of 2011, the latter being the general standardized test for graduate school admission.