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Veterinary Medicine Graduate Applicants 2012

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Original post by schizopear
not necessarily... :frown: has anyone noticed that no one is saying anything about graduate fees at the moment?

nottingham have said that they haven't decided yet what the graduate fees will be - veterinary medicine is currently an exemption course so only charges undergraduate fees but it won't necessarily be so next year. :frown:

if the fee increases are all due to decreased funding then they might ALL charge full graduate fees... :frown:



I suppose to an extent it depends what happens with the proposed cap on immigration. The legislation covers student visas, if the numbers of foreign students on veterinary courses is limited, it's possible that accelerated graduate entry courses won't attract sufficient numbers to run.

If there are no American or foreign students, and it costs more to teach very tiny numbers, (fixed costs like lecturer's wages, ect) it might not be financially viable to run the course for the handful of people who can afford to pay £20k a year. If they raise the fees to above £20k to make up the short fall, then the number of people who can afford the fees will decrease even further. Edinburgh and the RVC take a lot of foreign students, they may be watching what happens before they take a decision.

Just speculation.
Apparently though since they are charging £9000 a year undergrad fees universitys have to prove that there are ways for less well off students to gain a place. You never kow but they might well offer government tuition loans for funding for EQLs or graduate courses. Its probably highly unlikely but with everything going up I think there might be more chance to get a tution fee loan because realistically who can afford £9000 if that is the cheapest option in the country (assuming RVC and notts only charge this)?
Reply 42
Hello everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone had an opinion (or has heard any feedback from other people) on Edinburgh and Liverpool. I've been lucky enough to be offered places in both and am having a really hard time choosing. There seems to be such positive feedback for both unis that I can't make out a clear winner. I'd really appreciate any info at all!!
Any ideas?
Thanks :smile:
Original post by nicola123
Hello everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone had an opinion (or has heard any feedback from other people) on Edinburgh and Liverpool. I've been lucky enough to be offered places in both and am having a really hard time choosing. There seems to be such positive feedback for both unis that I can't make out a clear winner. I'd really appreciate any info at all!!
Any ideas?
Thanks :smile:


One difference i know is that with liverpool you have to go to classes from year 1 and 2 at the same time so there are clashes, but Edinburgh have a special GEP year with all the american students so you'd be around people of a similar age and it's a special year dedicated to graduates.

oh sorry i just realised have you been offered the 4 or 5 year course? oops
Reply 44
Unfortunately for my bank balance its the 5 year... in both unis! If I had gotten the 4 year, my choice would have been immediately made! :smile:
Original post by nicola123
Unfortunately for my bank balance its the 5 year... in both unis! If I had gotten the 4 year, my choice would have been immediately made! :smile:


aah which would that be then?

Well edinburgh has brand new facilities but Liverpool would probably give you a more city life then countryside life at the end rather than commuting to easter bush for 5 years. Have you visited both unis?
Reply 46
No thats part of the issue I think- Ive visited Liverpool for interview, but not Edinburgh. Im more tempted by edin, but Liverpool fees are cheaper and ive heard that cost of living is too. I would have chosen whichever one offered the 4 yr, but neither have so theres the dilemma!
How about you? Where have you applied to? Thanks for all your info by the way, its great :smile:
Original post by nicola123
No thats part of the issue I think- Ive visited Liverpool for interview, but not Edinburgh. Im more tempted by edin, but Liverpool fees are cheaper and ive heard that cost of living is too. I would have chosen whichever one offered the 4 yr, but neither have so theres the dilemma!
How about you? Where have you applied to? Thanks for all your info by the way, its great :smile:


Hmm i think if i was in your situation i would go and visit edinburgh before i made my mind up. I also saw liv on interview but not edinburgh. I got offers for the 4 year course at liv and edinburgh but 5 years at bristol (they don't do a 4 yr) but i really don't want to move too far away from London so that's why i'm going to bristol but it's still a really hard choice as the others look fab too, but it's just location for me really as i have to move with my boyfriend and doggy :smile: i'm still really curious as to what edinburgh easter bush campus is like, but realistically bristol will work better for me for personal reasons.

I think edinburgh is a lot more expensive to live, similar to london prices, so liv would be cheaper. Just depends on your preference really.

It is so hard though, i still haven't firmed on UCAS yet because i don't want to turn down the others hahah
I don't know how you guys can even afford to go to any of the places! Did you win the lottory :P I think thats my only hope :frown:
Reply 49
Hello, Im new on here :smile:

I am applying for vet med this october as a graduate. Graduated from Nottingham last year with a 1st in Animal Science which I am very proud of but I have decided I want to have a go at applying for vet school again!

I didn't do very well in my a levels, got Cs in Bio and Physics and D in chem which is a big regret of mine, thinking of resitting.

I have started getting more work experience, just a question, any one applying to RVC graduate course, do you think a weeks placement in August 2009 is too far away to count for one of the 2 weeks minimum in a vets? I think I remember them saying within the last 2 years.

Other experience I have so far is volunteering with the RDA since march once a week
1week at an open mixed farm
And just started going to a dairy farm on Saturdays which I love
Also trying to get a placement at a large animal vets

Im currently working as a temp as an animal technician in a rodent breeding unit so have experience there too

Hope I have a chance!
I would say resitting chemistry is a very good idea. Quite a few people do resit it if they got low grades first time round. I got BBC (bio, chem and maths), didn't resit, and got a grad offer. But, more and more grads are resitting a level chem and a D is a fair bit lower than a lot of grad applicants will have. You want to make sure you do everything you can to get an offer from a low grad fee uni!

In the same vein, personally I wouldn't risk if with the work experience. There are people here who have very little work experience and others with more. But there is a huge variety of people. People with masters, doctorates, who live on farms etc etc. So people have lots to offer in different ways, yes, someone might have been lacking vet work, but they have a masters degree or have run a farm for years etc. Equally, I think they do try and take into account that grads have other commitments as well, jobs, mortgages to pay, children etc etc, so can't always spend weeks doing placements. But, like I say, personally I wouldn't risk it and would be inclined to do another week if possible.

Make sure you do all the work you can for the BMAT, as they do use that as quite a big cull of people pre-interview. The ratio for applicants:interview isn't great, but interview:redface:ffer is much better. So you really do want to make your application stand out as much as possible!
Reply 51
Hi everyone,

Thought I'd introduce myself too! I'm so happy to see that there are so many other people wanting to apply at graduate level like me and finding themselves in the same position!

I'm in my first year of Uni studying Zoology, and I although I enjoy the course I know it's veterinary where my true passion lies. I've wanted to be a vet my whole life but due to low AS grades I changed my mind about a week before applying to UCAS through self-doubt and went for Zoology since they asked for lower grades.

I left Sixth Form last year with ABB in Biology, Chemistry and English Language respectively, and I know there grades aren't quite high enough for most of the vet unis but I hoped a decent degree grade (general consensus seems to be a 2.1) might mean I could apply successfully as a graduate.

I have fair bit of work experience behind me but know I need as much as possible if I have any hope in standing out, I'm even considering visiting an abbatoir which I know I would hate!!

There seems to be a lot of panic about graduate fees, I'm obviously a little slow on the uptake but how bad are they likely to be?!

Anyone that can talk to me about how they're getting on with graduate application, work experience or advice on what the unis are like to study at would be massively appreciated! :smile: (not that I'd be fussy about which uni I want to go to- I'd feel priviledged to be accepted anywhere!)
Reply 52
Original post by gina92x
Hi everyone,

Thought I'd introduce myself too! I'm so happy to see that there are so many other people wanting to apply at graduate level like me and finding themselves in the same position!

I'm in my first year of Uni studying Zoology, and I although I enjoy the course I know it's veterinary where my true passion lies. I've wanted to be a vet my whole life but due to low AS grades I changed my mind about a week before applying to UCAS through self-doubt and went for Zoology since they asked for lower grades.

I left Sixth Form last year with ABB in Biology, Chemistry and English Language respectively, and I know there grades aren't quite high enough for most of the vet unis but I hoped a decent degree grade (general consensus seems to be a 2.1) might mean I could apply successfully as a graduate.

I have fair bit of work experience behind me but know I need as much as possible if I have any hope in standing out, I'm even considering visiting an abbatoir which I know I would hate!!

There seems to be a lot of panic about graduate fees, I'm obviously a little slow on the uptake but how bad are they likely to be?!

Anyone that can talk to me about how they're getting on with graduate application, work experience or advice on what the unis are like to study at would be massively appreciated! :smile: (not that I'd be fussy about which uni I want to go to- I'd feel priviledged to be accepted anywhere!)


graduate fees are normally £18-22,000 per year. so far only RVC have said that they'll be charging normal undergraduate fees (i.e. £9,000) although nottingham and cambridge also charge cheaper fees at the moment.

bearing in mind that there is no tuition fee loan for graduates and the maximum maintenance loan isn't enough to cover even RVC's tuition fees, are you sure you want to do a zoology degree first?!

your A level grades are really not that bad... if you really want to be a vet, i'd strongly suggest that you consider dropping out of your degree now and retaking your A-levels. not having a degree is an enviable position to be in - one that i'm sure everyone else here would love to be in!
Reply 53
Original post by schizopear
graduate fees are normally £18-22,000 per year. so far only RVC have said that they'll be charging normal undergraduate fees (i.e. £9,000) although nottingham and cambridge also charge cheaper fees at the moment.

bearing in mind that there is no tuition fee loan for graduates and the maximum maintenance loan isn't enough to cover even RVC's tuition fees, are you sure you want to do a zoology degree first?!

your A level grades are really not that bad... if you really want to be a vet, i'd strongly suggest that you consider dropping out of your degree now and retaking your A-levels. not having a degree is an enviable position to be in - one that i'm sure everyone else here would love to be in!


Oh God that is a lot!! :/ No I can't say I have £80,000/£100,000 just lying around...

It just sounds so scary to drop out of what I'm doing! But you're right, I can't ignore the fact the graduate fees are ridiculously expensive. But do you reckon vet schools might still accept me if I've already done a year of another degree?

Part of the reason why I was kind of happy I was doing Zoology first was the fact that I'll have given myself a couple of years to mature before I have to deal with such intense work. I'm motivated to do well but I think being a bit older would definitely help to cope with the stress and emotional side!

The thought of dropping out and starting another degree before I've finished this one seems really scary, but then I'm (hopefully) going into something I've always wanted to do...
Also, the normal requirement for Grad applications is to have the acceptable A levels IN ADDITION to the degree (basically the degree is pointless). I honestly think the best plan would be to drop out of zoology and start applying to vet as an undergrad with tonnes of work experience (and maybe resit a module to get an A - I dont know if that will work, im scottish and we cant resit anything like you guys, so i dont understand the process!)
Reply 55
I definitely think it would be better for you to drop out of zoology and work on getting lots of work experience and retaking A levels.
I have just finished a Zoology degree but I am going to be retaking Chemistry A Level anyway because my grade isn't great :frown:
If you feel like you want a few years to mature (and I know what you mean - while I sometimes wish I hadn't done my degree I have become a lot more motivated in the process) then you don't need to apply to vet med straight away.
Reply 56
Original post by gina92x
Oh God that is a lot!! :/ No I can't say I have £80,000/£100,000 just lying around...

It just sounds so scary to drop out of what I'm doing! But you're right, I can't ignore the fact the graduate fees are ridiculously expensive. But do you reckon vet schools might still accept me if I've already done a year of another degree?

Part of the reason why I was kind of happy I was doing Zoology first was the fact that I'll have given myself a couple of years to mature before I have to deal with such intense work. I'm motivated to do well but I think being a bit older would definitely help to cope with the stress and emotional side!

The thought of dropping out and starting another degree before I've finished this one seems really scary, but then I'm (hopefully) going into something I've always wanted to do...


it wouldn't be too hard to explain your reasoning for dropping out of your current degree and that it was nothing to do with lack of commitment. i understand it's a scary thing to do though!

you could easily take a year out and retake a couple of A-level modules to pull your grades up (you're so nearly there already!) and get some extra work experience to make your application shine.

i understand your point about wanting to have time to mature and a degree is a great life experience, but there are plenty of other things you could do instead - things that won't thwart your dreams of being a vet! :wink: take a gap year and do something exciting, or just work and earn some valuable funds to help you through university.

obviously it's a big decision, and you need to think carefully about it, but seriously, rushing into doing a degree is the biggest regret of my life and a decision that might prevent me from ever becoming a vet.
Reply 57
Thank you for all the advice! I've called round all the unis this morning (except Cambridge) and found out that Nottingham and RVC charge the same for undergrads and graduates so that's OK, but Scotland unis, Bristol and Liverpool charge full fees at graduate level. Scotland won't accept resits so my only option for veterinary really would unfortunately be to drop out at the end of this year, and resit exams next year because Nottingham, RVC, Liverpool and Bristol don't judge you for resitting.

I feel REALLY bad though because my mum's just bought me a house for me to live in next year (she's charging the others rent, she's not got the spare money to literally just buy a house ha ha) and I would have to back out. Or maybe I could live there while I resat A-levels...I don't know it takes some serious thought!!

I'm going to try and visit as many vet unis as I can this summer and really try and be sure that this is what I want to do because it's a big decision to make. Thank you for all talking to me by the way, it really helps to hear other people's advice and opinions :smile:
Original post by gina92x
Thank you for all the advice! I've called round all the unis this morning (except Cambridge) and found out that Nottingham and RVC charge the same for undergrads and graduates so that's OK, but Scotland unis, Bristol and Liverpool charge full fees at graduate level. Scotland won't accept resits so my only option for veterinary really would unfortunately be to drop out at the end of this year, and resit exams next year because Nottingham, RVC, Liverpool and Bristol don't judge you for resitting.

I feel REALLY bad though because my mum's just bought me a house for me to live in next year (she's charging the others rent, she's not got the spare money to literally just buy a house ha ha) and I would have to back out. Or maybe I could live there while I resat A-levels...I don't know it takes some serious thought!!

I'm going to try and visit as many vet unis as I can this summer and really try and be sure that this is what I want to do because it's a big decision to make. Thank you for all talking to me by the way, it really helps to hear other people's advice and opinions :smile:


Just figured I would add my thoughts to what everyone else has said.

I was in a similar-ish position to you, didn't get the grades at a level, so I panicked and got an offer through clearing for animal science. Realise in my first year that I wasn't happy with this and still wanted to go down the vet route, but didn't want to waste the years time and money I had spent and drop out with all the maybes of hopefully bringing my a level grades up, hopefully getting an offer for vet school etc. So I stuck it out, finished my degree, which was hard work when I didn't really want to be there and have eventually ended up at the RVC now doing what I should have done about 6 years ago.

Whilst being a graduate does have some merits in the way that I feel more ready maturity wise and academically to do the course now. But, it was a very long winded and expensive way to get that! Equally, plenty of people do manage the 'normal' route, so it is probably just a case of hindsight.

I would agree with the others in that whilst it is a big move, I would be inclined to drop out now. You can use it to show the uni's your motivation for being a vet and how much you have wanted to do this.

As the others have already said, grad entry whilst possible, is not as easy route by any means. It is fairly easy to get an offer from a high fee uni (edinburgh dont even interview grads), but it gets very competitive when you look at Nottm, RVC and Cambridge. Hence why a lot of grads end up going back and redoing a levels after their degree anyway to try and be competitive.

You don't get any funding for a second degree, whereas you would do it you dropped out of your first one in the first year. So all you get is a maintenance loan - that doesn't even cover my accommodation at the RVC.

Also, obviously some of the uni's do graduate entry (4yr degree programs) to take into your previous degree. They are *HARD*, I would say most people in my year are teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown at the moment. Personally, if I was at the likes of Edinburgh on a 4 yr degree paying their fees per year I would have lost the plot by now. I am seriously worried about failing this year and having to resit - if I was paying £20k + per year I couldn't do that. The financial burden of doing this as a graduate should not be underestimated.

Anyway...good luck with what you decide. :smile:
Reply 59
Original post by schizopear
it wouldn't be too hard to explain your reasoning for dropping out of your current degree and that it was nothing to do with lack of commitment. i understand it's a scary thing to do though!

you could easily take a year out and retake a couple of A-level modules to pull your grades up (you're so nearly there already!) and get some extra work experience to make your application shine.

i understand your point about wanting to have time to mature and a degree is a great life experience, but there are plenty of other things you could do instead - things that won't thwart your dreams of being a vet! :wink: take a gap year and do something exciting, or just work and earn some valuable funds to help you through university.

obviously it's a big decision, and you need to think carefully about it, but seriously, rushing into doing a degree is the biggest regret of my life and a decision that might prevent me from ever becoming a vet.


Thank you for the advice :smile: So what is it you're doing right now then? Are you applying/already at Uni? I've looked into going back to a college in my University city, and have a meeting with their careers advisor next week so I can talk about the options I have for re-taking A-levels or even taking up new ones.

I'm going to have to think about it seriously, and will talk to lots of people about it over the summer. It would be a huge effort to go back to college for 1 or 2 years and then to reapply, but if I know this is what I realy want to do then I reckon it will be worth it in the end :smile: I just don't want to let anyone down by dropping out!!

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