THE 7 CARDINAL

RULES EVERY
APPLICANT
SHOULD KNOW
WHEN APPLYING
TO THE VIRMP
GPA
LOR
Research
Experience
LOI
Where to apply
Contact

AUTHOR

Chris Olmo
Sep. 2019
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Chris Olmo is a graduate of the University

of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. He
completed his rotating internship at Purdue
University. He is currently a 2nd year resident in
Diagnostic Imaging at Iowa State University.

Chris Olmo

What is the VIRMP?

The Veterinary Internship Residency Matching

Program, or commonly referred to as the
“VIRMP”, is a very interesting application process
for selecting veterinarians for advanced training.
For many applicants, this is the first (and probably
the only times) in your life when you will be
applying for a job (i.e. internship) but may never
visit the job-site, never have an interview, and
may never speak to your boss before receiving an
offer letter. Sounds crazy, right? Well, this is what
you should expect from the VIRMP.
How does the VIRMP work? In a nutshell, you will
submit your completed application electronically
to the VIRMP. The VIRMP then allows you to
select the programs you want to apply to. Each
of these programs will receive your application
from the VIRMP. You then rank those programs
you applied to from most to least preferred. The
program will also rank their top applicants.
Keep in mind you do not have to rank each place
you applied to, and if you do not rank them you
will never be matched with them. These rankings
then go into a very complex algorithm that tries
to match programs and applicants. Check out
more information about the VIRMP process here.

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Why the VIRMP
Many students are interested in pursuing
additional training for veterinary school. I was
in your position not too long ago and went
through the same process. Whether you want
a mentored internship in order to feel more
comfortable before entering private/emergency
practice, want to meet minimum requirements
for residency applications, or are applying for
residency, there are some key features that will
maximize the chances matching to the program
of your choice.
The beauty of veterinary school is that you have
time to feel out your interests, develop passions
and mold them. However, the reality is you do not
have much preparation time if you want to pursue
an internship/residency. Whether you realize it or
not, preparing for internship/residency starts the
moment you start veterinary school.
Before I give any advice, a fair question is who
am I? Well, a few years ago I was very much like
you, learning about the VIRMP and preparing to
The 7 Cardinal Rules
1. Grade point average (GPA) and class
rank
This is perhaps the most important component
in any application. Programs weigh this
HEAVILY. While it may not directly reflect your
knowledge, it is a reflection of your dedication
to didactic coursework and your overall body of
work during veterinary school.
When comparing the two, class rank is more
important because of the large variation
between grading systems between different
veterinary schools. Class rank helps account for
those variations. For example, a 3.5 grade point
average at veterinary school A may put you in
the top 10% of your class, whereas at veterinary
school B it is within the top 20%.
Aim to be within the top 15-20%. This will put
you in a competitive applicant pool based on
grade/class rank.
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apply. How to approach the match application
process and how to be successful in the match
was not very well-explained early in veterinary
school . Like you, by reading and discussing with
classmates I developed a better understanding
of the application process known as the “VIRMP”.
During my last year of veterinary school, I applied
to small animal medicine and surgery rotating
internships through the VIRMP. I was fortunate to
land my top choice at an academic institution. I
went through the VIRMP again when I applied for
a residency in diagnostic imaging and was grateful
to have earned a residency position.
My goal is to share my insight on the VIRMP
and give advice about how to put together a
competitive application, improving your chances
of landing that internship/residency of your
choice. These are the 7 cardinal rules every
applicant should know.
If your GPA is suboptimal, do not worry. There
are plenty other ways to try to make your
application stand out. But keep studying and try
to bring it up and aim for the “A”. Keep in mind
that a “B” hurts a GPA, and a “C” really does
damage. The top applicants are above the 3.5
GPA range.
While GPA is important, it is also important to
have a well-rounded personality and strong
teamwork skills. Be humble, share your study
material, share your knowledge and share
your resources. Others will return the favor.
Be a good classmate and you will develop
relationships that will last a lifetime.
 2. Letters of Reference (LOR)
Many programs select their candidates based on
application alone. Letters of reference are critical
in getting to know the applicant’s character and
work ethic without speaking to them.
The VIRMP asks for a minimum of 3; they will
accept up to 4. More is NOT better. It is better
to have 3 strong LOR than 4 average LOR;
3 strong LOR carries just as much (or more)
weight than 3 strong LOR with a decent 4th.
Choose who will ask for your references
wisely - make sure you have good rapport
with these individuals.
Letter of Recommendation coming from
individuals that are/have been affiliated with
that program you are applying to can be very
valuable. For example, a clinician that you
did their residency or previously taught at an
The 7 Cardinal Rules
institution you are interested in applying to.
This may help if you are specifically interested
there but is not necessary.
Make sure to get letters from specialists in your
area of interest if you are applying for a specialty
internship or residency. For example, if you are
interested in dermatology, at least two of your
letters should come from a dermatologist.
If applying for rotating internship, a variety of
high-quality letters is what you should aim for.
Strong letters from an internist, criticalist and a
dermatologist is anecdotally better than three
letters from dermatologists.
Ask those writing your letters well in advance,
do not wait until a few weeks before! Give them
ample time to construct a well-written LOR. My
rule of thumb is at least 3-4 weeks before the
application due date.
Always thank those that wrote letters on your
behalf, small gifts (i.e. chocolate), thank you
cards are all appropriate.
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3. Research
This is a difficult topic to address but I must
be honest; research experience really adds a
powerful punch to your application. Especially
if you are a primary or secondary author on a
published paper. If you have research, try to
submit it to the journal for review before the
application due date; in this case you can say on
your application “submitted to Journal of.”
The reality that not a lot of us like research.
In my opinion, research depends on the type
of program you are applying to. For example,
if applying to a very competitive academic
institution with a big research focus, then
having research is highly desirable. On the flip
side, if your program is much more clinically
oriented, then research experience may be
given much less weight.
If you have a research opportunity, take advantage
of it, especially if it may lead to a publication.
Research can only help your application.
4. Experience
Quality is better than quantity. Some applicants
will take the quantity approach to add to their
application numerous small things without
anything significant. I highly discourage this
approach. Admission committees tend to read
right through these applicants.
Pick things that are important to you and
invest in those. If your school does not have an
exotic/zoo medicine club and you’re interested
in this field, then perhaps start one.
If you like surgery or shelter medicine, consider
high volume neuter/spay externships such as
the Humane Alliance.
Consider volunteering at veterinary abroad
programs such as World Vets.
Opportunities are limitless, find stuff that
you are passionate about. The admission
committee will take notice.
 5. Letter of Intent (LOI)
A good letter of intent may catch the attention
of the admission committee but it is unlikely to
be the deciding factor. Conversely, a bad letter
of intent can be detrimental to your application.
Be succinct. You are allotted about a page, but
do not feel obligated to fill every character. If
you make your point with less characters then
leave it as such, do not add fluff.
A good letter demonstrates these components:
i. Tell the admission committee why you are
in an internship or a specialty. Remember
most people are filling out one application
that will be sent to multiple programs,
so you cannot address their program
individually, but you can generalize (i.e.
something to the effect of “I have chosen
to pursue a small animal rotating internship
in academia because I love to teach,
The 7 Cardinal Rules
and this type of program lends me the
opportunity to interact with and teach 4th
year veterinary students on their clinical
rotations”).
ii. Clearly states your long-term career goals.
(i.e. I have chosen to pursue an academic
residency because I love teaching and
research; my goal to become a diplomate
of the American College of Veterinary
Surgeons and remain in academia).
iii. Do not restate things already mentioned in
the CV/resume but draw from experiences
that were important to you and use this to
show strong candidacy.
Directions on how to submit your standardized
letters of reference of shown here: VIRMP
Content Video
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6. Where to apply?
A common perception is that academic
programs provide superior training and place
more interns into residencies as compared
to private practice programs. This is not
necessarily true. There are many private
practices that have a well-established
internship program which place a lot of interns
into residencies. To name a few, Animal Medical
Center (AMC) in New York, Angell Animal
Medical Center in Boston and VCA West Los
Angeles Animal Hospital reportedly have strong
internship programs.
Do your research on the programs. Read
the job summary located in the program
description on the VIRMP. Pay special
attention to the number of weeks spent on
difference services. If you are interested in
cardiology but the program allots minimal
elective time to rotate through cardiology,
then it would be wise to consider elsewhere.
Contact previous and current interns or residents
and ask for their feedback on the program.
Beginning with the 2015-2016 intern class,
the VIRMP has been surveying interns after
the completion of their year. See what the
previous interns had to say by reading the
VIRMP Survey Results
Apply where they have a strong program
in your area of interest. For example, if you
are interested in neurology, make sure the
programs you are applying to have a strong
neurology team, and if they offer a residency
program, inquire about whether they plan
on taking a resident during your residency
application cycle.
Not all schools use the VIRMP. Ophthalmology
no longer uses the VIRMP and you must apply
to schools individually. UC Davis, Colorado
State and Purdue do not use the VIRMP for the
diagnostic imaging residency. There can also be
many others so make sure to check. If you are
interested in these programs, be sure to know
their deadlines and applicant requirements as
they may be different from the VIRMP.
 7. Should I contact the programs I applied
to?

This is a tough question, the short answer is that it
depends.
i. For most small animal rotating internships,
the understanding is that neither applicant nor
committee contact each other. But this is not
always the case. Some programs may contact
you, and if they do, then fantastic. The majority
of programs will not reach out to their applicants
no matter how interested.
ii. Some internships will state an interview is
preferred.
iii. Residencies are also variable. Some expect
you to contact them and set of an interview
despite not explicitly stating this. Other
programs will contact you if they are interested.
Some programs do not interview at all. My
recommendation is to contact the program if
you are interested in their residency. Moreover,
you should try to interview 1-2 months before
your application is due as some programs have
limited interview dates and spots.
- Some people do an on-site interview, others
do a skype interview due to time or cost
constraints. Both are generally acceptable and
are program-dependent.

Summary

There is no special trick to matching but early preparation is key. Keep your grades high, engage in
extracurriculars, participate in research, and form strong relationships with your clinicians. Importantly,
research the programs and apply to those that align with your career goals. Good luck on your VIRMP
applications!

Reference

1. VIRMP Content Session. VIRMP. Retrieved from https://www.virmp.org/Content/videos/SLOR/SLOR.html

2. VIRMP Information. VIRMP. Retrieved from https://www.virmp.org/Home/VIRMPInfo
3. VIRMP Survey Results. VIRMP. Retrieved from https://www.virmp.org/Survey/Results

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