VETERINARY STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP
The Mike Dunn, DVM Veterinary Student Scholarship created by Becky Godchaux, annually awards two students entering a United States veterinary school up to $35,000 each per year for a total of up to $140,000 each for four years. This scholarship is restricted to veterinary students who are committed to practicing companion animal veterinary medicine.
The 2026 scholarship will open July 28, 2025 at 5pm PT, sign up below for updates. Please note, the 2026 scholarship is restricted to ONLY veterinary students starting veterinary school for their first year in Fall 2026.
This website has the most up to date information.
Animal lover Becky Godchaux’s appreciation for dogs started as far back as she can remember. It began with bringing home stray dogs, and by age ten she was given her first dog, Bogalie, who followed her everywhere. Becky is known by many for her dogs, “my dogs are my comfort place, and I can’t help but to smile every time I am with them.” The idea for this scholarship grew out of Becky’s love for her dogs and her appreciation for her local veterinarian, Mike Dunn, DVM.
Mike has been Becky’s veterinarian for the lifespan of seven dogs, and throughout has offered personal communication and helpful knowledge with honest and compassionate care. A 24-year companion animal practice owner, Mike is humbled to have the scholarship named in his honor, “I am still in shock with Becky’s level of generosity. It is so nice to know that we, as veterinarians, make such an impact on people’s lives.” Named veterinarian of the year multiple times over in Marathon, Florida, Mike credits strong work ethic, compassion, and the ability to improvise combined with his love for the profession for his fulfilling career.
Becky’s goal with this veterinary student scholarship is to encourage more veterinarians like Mike. As Becky says, “the happiness of my dogs is only as good as their health, and that is dependent on good veterinary care.” Becky chose the VIN Foundation as the home for her scholarship because she appreciates the approach of supporting veterinarians at every stage in their career. As Becky states, “I like the idea of these veterinary students going in with the support of the VIN Foundation, helping them through school and beyond, from mental wellness support, student debt support, and everything in between. While I am supporting the students by providing the scholarship for the school tuition, it feels good to know the VIN Foundation is providing the support of helpful programs and tools to guide them through their careers and set them up for success.”
THE 2026 VETERINARY STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION WINDOW IS OPEN:
You may sign up to be notified for updates at the top of this page, or check back for more information as the scholarship process progresses per the timeframe posted below.
THE 2025 VETERINARY STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION WINDOW IS CLOSED.
The 2026 Mike Dunn, DVM Veterinary Student Scholarship created by Becky Godchaux is open only to incoming first-year veterinary students admitted for Fall of 2026 in the United States.
2025 SCHOLARSHIP RULES:
This scholarship will award two students who apply to and are accepted to the first year of veterinary school, up to $35,000 per year each, for a total of up to $140,000 for the duration of awardee’s attendance at veterinary school, up to four years. You are encouraged to explore the VIN Foundation Apply Smarter Tool (link will be available when the scholarship opens) to help you determine the cost of veterinary school tuition and fees.
2026 scholarship is exclusively restricted to first-year veterinary students admitted for Fall of 2026 only.
Scholarship is restricted to veterinary students who are committed to practicing companion animal veterinary medicine.
Scholarship awards are to be used for tuition and fees only, paid directly to the awardees’ schools.
This scholarship only funds veterinary students who attend a veterinary school in the United States with estimated total tuition and fees (not including health insurance) at time of award, not estimated to exceed $170,000 for the duration of the program. Final decisions regarding tuition and fee caps are at the sole discretion of the scholarship committee.
Only the first 300 applications will be accepted for consideration. If you can see the “Apply for the veterinary student scholarship here” button on this page, applications are still being accepted.
AI tools are not allowed to be used for application questions and personal statements.
A letter of recommendation is required for the scholarship application to be considered complete. The recommender’s contact information must be included in the initial application submission. Once the application has been submitted, an email will be automatically sent to the recommender with a personalized link for them to submit the letter of recommendation. The applicant will receive an email once a letter of recommendation has been submitted on their behalf. Letters of recommendation must be submitted by October 15, 2025 at 11:59pm PT. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their letter of recommendation is submitted by the due date.
If an applicant is a top ranked finalist, a video interview is required along with proof of acceptance and commitment to a qualifying veterinary school based on the scholarship rules.
Scholarship recipients are required to participate in a follow-up process to help promote and evaluate the impact of the scholarship. This includes, but is not limited to, providing VIN Foundation with feedback on the scholarship application, and funding process along with supporting outreach efforts for future potential awardees.
Scholarship recipients are required to participate in VIN Foundation mentoring support programs including targeted mentoring support (mental health and financial wellness, and other programs available through VIN Foundation).
Scholarship recipients are required to show continued proof of enrollment in veterinary school.
HOW TO APPLY:
Complete the application form on the VIN Foundation website 2026 Scholarship Application page.
Include a 750 word statement, highlighting why you are the best choice to receive this scholarship:
This is your opportunity to explain in more detail why you are a deserving applicant. Tell us who you are, not just how good you are. What personality traits and goals do you have that make you the best applicant for this scholarship? Do you have unique financial needs? In short, why you?
It is recommended for your personal statement to be unique, and not the same as your veterinary school application statement.
Your statement must be in English, with a maximum of 750 words.
You will paste your statement into the submission field.
To reduce the impact of unconscious bias in judging, we suggest you omit your name and other identifying information from your personal statement. However, if your personal background or intersecting identities are key to your story, you should feel free to include them.
A letter of recommendation is required for the scholarship application to be considered complete. The recommender’s contact information must be included in the initial application submission. Once the application has been submitted, an email will be automatically sent to the recommender with a personalized link for them to submit the letter of recommendation. The applicant will receive an email once a letter of recommendation has been submitted on their behalf. Letters of recommendation must be submitted by October 15, 2025 at 11:59pm PT. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their letter of recommendation is submitted by the due date.
Scholarship applications must be submitted by October 1, 2025 at 11:59pm PT.
On Monday, July 28, 2025 at 5pm PT, the scholarship application window will open and there will be a button in place of this message with the link to the scholarship application.
On Monday, July 15, 2024, the scholarship application window will open and there will be a button in place of this message with the link to the scholarship application.
2025 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION PROCESS:
As applicants move through the application process they will receive monthly email communications starting October 2025.
July 28, 2025
The application window opens on July 28, 2025 at 5pm PT with a 300 applicants limit. If the scholarship application page is live, applications are still being accepted.
October 1, 2025
The application window will close on October 1, 2025 at 11:59pm PT, or when 300 submissions have been accepted, whichever comes first. Unless there is a notification on this webpage showing the application window is closed, the scholarship is still open and accepting applications.
October 15, 2025
Letters of recommendation are due on October 15, 2025 at 11:59pm PT. Letters of recommendation may be submitted as early as July 28, 2025.
October 15, 2025 – March 15, 2026
The scholarship committee will be hard at work reviewing the applications, and applicants will receive monthly communications during this period.
March 15, 2026
All applicants will be notified of their status. Those applicants advancing forward in the process will be notified of the necessary next steps.
April 30, 2026
For those applicants who advance, documentation of acceptance and commitment to eligible schools will be required per scholarship rules for the opportunity to advance in the scholarship process.
May 15, 2026
The top ranked applicants will be invited for a video interview. If 2 awardees and 2 alternates are not selected from amongst this group, additional applicants will be invited in the order in which their applications were ranked for a video interview, until the committee has filled the 4 positions (2 awardees and 2 alternates). Note: not all applicants will be invited to a video interview.
July 1, 2026
Awardees and alternates are selected and notified. Once awardees and alternates are confirmed, remaining applicants will be notified.
QUESTIONS:
Email: [email protected]
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
Whether or not Applicant is a winner of the scholarship, Applicant represents that any statement and other materials submitted as part of Applicant’s submission are the original work of Applicant and not copied from any other source and will not constitute defamation or an invasion of privacy or otherwise infringe upon the rights of any third party. If Applicant is selected as recipient of a scholarship, Applicant understands they will need to agree to the scholarship terms prior to any award, and grant to VIN Foundation and its affiliates the right to publish Applicant’s name and photograph, provided such use is consistent with VIN Foundation’s current or future mission.
