VETERINARY STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP

The Mike Dunn, DVM Veterinary Student Scholarship created by Becky Godchaux, will award two students entering a United States veterinary school in Fall 2024 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.

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.”

THIS SCHOLARSHIP IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS.

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 posted timeframe below.

HOW TO APPLY:

Complete the application form on the VIN Foundation website 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?
- 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.
Submit the application
Have a letter of recommendation uploaded from a mentor or personal/professional reference, due by October 15, 2023 at 6pm PT. You as the applicant are responsible for sending the recommender the Letter of Recommendation page link. Note, the recommender must provide the same email for you in their form submission, as you do on the scholarship application

Note: based on feedback some of the information has been updated, make sure to review the updated timeline, rules, and personal statement parameters.

TIMEFRAME:

August 15, 2023 – 9am PT: Scholarship opens for submissions.

September 15, 2023 – 6pm PT: Scholarship closes for submissions (or when 300 submissions have been accepted, whichever comes first).

October 15, 2023 – 6pm PT: Letters of recommendation due.

December 1, 2023 (Updated): Applicants moving past phase 1 were notified. Emails have been sent to all applicants from scholarship@vinfoundation.org

March 15, 2024: Second phase finalists notified.

April 15 – May 25, 2024: Upon showing acceptance into eligible schools, third phase finalists invited to video interviews.

May 25 – June 15, 2024: Two awardees and runner ups notified.

July 1, 2024: Deadline for awardees to accept scholarship.

July/August 2024: VIN Foundation makes initial semester tuition payment to the eligible veterinary school awardees chose to attend.

RULES:

The $280,000 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.
Scholarship is restricted to first-year veterinary students admitted for Fall of 2024 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 at time of award not exceeding $170,000 for the duration of the program.
Only the first 300 applications will be accepted for consideration.
AI tools are not allowed to be used for application questions and personal statement.
Each applicant must have a letter of recommendation submitted by October 15, 2023 at 6pm PT in order to be eligible for this scholarship, the applicant is responsible for sending their recommender the Letter of Recommendation page link.
If an applicant is chosen as a finalist, a video interview is required along with proof of acceptance into 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.

QUESTIONS:

Email: scholarship@vinfoundation.org

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.