The Merck Animal Health Diversity Applicant Fee Assistance Program, administered by Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), will provide a limited number of fee waivers to qualified applicants to have one additional designation fee waived. Qualified applicants include those who are from groups that are underrepresented in veterinary medicine (URVM), first-generation college students, and Pell Grant eligible students.

You may be eligible for a secondary application fee waiver. A very limited number of fee waivers are available through this program and the deadline for requesting a fee waiver is August 14, 2025 or once the allotted funds are exhausted. Please wait to request a fee waiver until you are prepared to submit your application as the fee waivers will have an expiration of 14 days from the date of approval.

Your request for a waiver must be received before you submit your VMCAS application. If granted, you will receive a waiver equivalent to one "secondary school" fee ($132).

If you apply to more VMCAS schools, you are responsible for an incremental fee of $132 for each additional designation. This fee assistance program is applied to the VMCAS application fee only. You are still responsible for any supplemental application fees.

Disclaimer: Applicants who report false information or submit forged/falsified documents may be in danger of having their VMCAS 2026 application canceled by VMCAS.

Merck Fee waiver requests will be processed every Monday and Thursday. Questions, contact Brooklind Norman at Bnorman@aavmc.org.