Are you in your final year of secondary school and hoping to become a vet at a French-speaking university in Belgium? You are the first year group affected by the reform. From the 2027 academic year, access to veterinary medicine at the universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Belgium’s French-speaking higher education system) goes through an entrance exam, before the first year even starts. This article is about French-speaking higher education, whether you are a Belgian, Dutch-speaking or international student; Flanders has its own separate entrance exam for veterinary medicine, held in Dutch in early July. Here is what changes, what we already know and how to prepare.
What the reform says
In July 2026, the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation adopted a decree introducing an entrance exam (concours d’entrée et d’accès) for the bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine. This decree of 9 July 2026 replaces the 2016 decree, which organised selection at the end of the first year.
In practice, veterinary medicine joins the competitive exam that ARES (Académie de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur, the umbrella body for French-speaking higher education) already runs for medicine and dentistry. To start the first year in September 2027, you will need to pass this exam in August 2027.
The reform applies to the four universities that offer the bachelor’s in veterinary medicine in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: ULiège, UNamur, UCLouvain and ULB.
Until now: selection at the end of the first year
Until 2026, students living in Belgium could enrol freely in the first year of veterinary medicine. Selection came later, through a competitive exam at the end of the first year. Only students ranked high enough received a certificate allowing them to continue.
Each year, 276 certificates were issued across all the universities, while 605 students had enrolled in the first year in 2024. Many students passed their exams without getting a place, after a full year of hard work.
Non-resident students (those who do not live in Belgium) were already limited: a quota governed their enrolment, with a lottery when there were too many applicants.
The veterinary entrance exam: what we know
A competitive exam, not a simple pass mark
Reaching a minimum score is not enough. Each year the Government sets a number of places per programme, and only the best-ranked candidates may enrol. The number of places for 2027 has not been announced yet, for veterinary medicine or for medicine and dentistry.
The same tests as for medicine and dentistry
According to ARES, the exam is the same for every candidate, whichever programme they choose. It is a single written exam, marked out of 160, in two parts:
- science subjects: biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics;
- communication and critical analysis of information: reasoning, analysis and argumentation on the one hand, the ability to communicate with ethics, empathy and respect on the other.
A separate ranking for veterinary medicine
When registering, each candidate chooses a single programme (medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine) and a single university. Candidates are then ranked separately for each programme. You cannot be ranked in both medicine and veterinary medicine, so think this choice through before you register.
Dates, registration and fees
- The exam takes place once a year, between 16 and 31 August. The 2027 date has not been set yet.
- Registration is online only, on the ARES platform, in the spring.
- From 2027, registering for the exam costs €50.
- You can sit the exam at most twice over a five-year period.
What about non-residents?
The lottery is being scrapped for veterinary medicine. Non-residents take the same exam, and at most 20% of the admission certificates in veterinary medicine can go to them (15% in medicine and dentistry).
Already in your first year?
Students enrolled in the first year in 2026-2027 still follow the old system: the end-of-first-year competitive exam takes place one last time in June 2027. The universities have transition rules, for example the option of sitting the entrance exam in August 2027 if you do not succeed. They vary from case to case, so check with your faculty and with ARES.
What this changes for your preparation
Until now, future vets prepared during their first year, alongside their university courses. From now on, preparation happens during the final year of secondary school, alongside your lessons and exams. It therefore takes more independence and organisation.
A few pointers to get started:
- Take stock of your foundations in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. The exam covers end-of-secondary material, but not every study track covers it in the same way.
- Plan over several months. There is only one session a year: a study plan that starts in the autumn avoids cramming everything into the summer.
- Practise the format: a long written exam, under time pressure. Mock exams in real conditions are the best way to get used to it.
- Do not neglect the second part. Reasoning and communication count towards the overall mark just as much as the sciences.
- Have a plan B. With a limited number of places, a good mark does not guarantee admission: knowing which other studies would appeal to you eases the pressure.
You will find study method tips in our article 5 tips to pass your university entrance exam, and an overview of the other admission tests in Entrance exams in Belgium: what are they?
Parents: how to support your child
For a final-year student, earning the CESS (the secondary school diploma of the French-speaking Community) while preparing for a competitive exam is demanding. Your main role is to help keep up the pace: a realistic schedule, protected study weekends and time to unwind.
Talk about the choice of programme too. Because rankings are separate, your child has to choose between medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine when registering. University information sessions and open days help with that decision.
Getting support
The universities run preparatory courses, and other options exist. At My Sherpa, Admissio prepares students for the ARES exam, in small groups in Brussels or online, with mock exams. Its programmes cover the tests shared by all three fields, veterinary medicine included: discover our medicine, dentistry and veterinary exam preparation.
To close a specific gap, in chemistry for example, our coaches also give private lessons, at home anywhere in Belgium or online. An educational advisor chooses the coach according to the subject and your goal.
The exam rules may still change before August 2027. The reference remains ARES, on its website mesetudes.be.
