Stuck on the ECE Waitlist? What to Do While You Wait

If you have passed the QSE but have no Evaluated Clinical Experience (ECE) seat yet, you are in the most common holding pattern in PAVE. The AAVSB warns that you should expect a wait and that passing the QSE does not guarantee a place, but it publishes no wait times. The wait does not have to be dead time: you can sit the NAVLE, keep your PAVE file active, apply to every open program on time, and prepare for the clinical year itself.

This article is part of our series on the PAVE Evaluated Clinical Experience. Facts are as of October 2026. navleexam.com is not affiliated with AAVSB, AVMA, ICVA or PSI. Where this article touches on immigration or employment, it is general information, not legal or immigration advice; rules change, so check with the official bodies linked below.

Why There Is a Wait

The AAVSB's application page says: "Due to a high volume of applicants, please expect a waiting period for acceptance into an Evaluated Clinical Experience (ECE). Please understand paying associated fees and passing the Qualifying Science Exam (QSE) does not guarantee placement in an ECE." Its handbook adds that not all accredited schools take non-students for clinical rotations, that some do so only irregularly, and that each school sets its own criteria. You arrange the place yourself.