Graduation date/licensing

[mawgs]

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I’m currently applying to internships through the VIRMP. Many of them start in early June, and under prerequisites list that you must be able to obtain a state license before the start of the program. I finish school in the beginning of May, but don’t graduate until the 15th of June. Am I not eligible for licensing until June 15, meaning I can’t apply to many programs?

 

[KCgophervet]

I would contact the programs you're interested in directly. There may be some leeway.

 

[JaynaAli]

I agree with kcoughli, contact the programs.

I know for me, I graduated early May and despite submitting my state application 2 days later (literally the day the paperwork was finalized through the school), it still took almost 6 weeks for the license to be approved. Mine was approved two days before my internship started. A couple of my internmates didn't get their licenses approved until the end of our first week, and it was fine, they just couldn't sign off on anything on their own. With that said, June 15 is a pretty common start date for internships so if you can't apply for your license until after that date plus the processing time with the state boards, it could be an issue for some programs. But maybe other programs don't leave interns alone immediately so they can work around it. Just contact them and ask.

 

[SocialStigma]

My internship started in late June (I think around June 22-24) and my license did not take effect until July 1st, because they needed proof of my DVM degree to process the application and my graduation ceremony was June 12th. All of my classmates were in the same boat and everyone's internship program was understanding - we just couldn't write our own scripts and had to practice under a licensed DVM until July 1st. Shouldn't be an issue for most internship programs anyway because the first few weeks-months you will be shadowing other vets.