[alizasauras]

(Original post by BeHappy)
Ooh open days Booked Notts, Liverpool and RVC...Bristol isn't open yet.
SO EXCITED


We've missed you too, how's life?

Very stressful! EXAMS EXAMS EXAMS

[RosieH7]

potential stupid question: do nottingham send out those questionaire things to every applicant or just those who they are considering?

[beccac94]

(Original post by BeHappy)
Ooh open days Booked Notts, Liverpool and RVC...Bristol isn't open yet.
SO EXCITED

I want to go to the RVC open day but its so close to the exams that I probably wont go why couldn't they put it in July???

I can't believe how little work I've actually done over the holidays I've nearly done all my homework but I was expecting to at least have done some revision but i've done none. Admittingly I didn't do any yesterday as I was in the cattery (got paid like £35 ) I need to start some major revision next week.

Yey got 2 weeks next July booked in a safari park woop and might have Decemeber, January and February in Chester zoo when the lady confirms my dates

[jordanelouise]

(Original post by RosieH7)
potential stupid question: do nottingham send out those questionaire things to every applicant or just those who they are considering?

think its pretty much everyone!

[matty9694]

Just finished my week of lambing. I didn't see a single one born, because they were all born at about 3AM!

However, I did get to dock tails and castrate some little lambs!

I got lucky securing this placement though, because the owners were really helpful and gave me loads of reading materials and have have offered to help me get into an LA Vets and an abbatoir.

[sheepzibaa]

we started lambing today, only 3 ewes though as they are about 5 days early. oh well, 3 down 312 to go!!! and nottingham send the questionaires to everyone. oh my god, i seriously need to learn how to spell!

[sheepzibaa]

(Original post by beccac94)
I want to go to the RVC open day but its so close to the exams that I probably wont go why couldn't they put it in July???

I can't believe how little work I've actually done over the holidays I've nearly done all my homework but I was expecting to at least have done some revision but i've done none. Admittingly I didn't do any yesterday as I was in the cattery (got paid like £35 ) I need to start some major revision next week.

Yey got 2 weeks next July booked in a safari park woop and might have Decemeber, January and February in Chester zoo when the lady confirms my dates

i tried to get into west midlands safari park, but they couldnt do the dates i requested, but didnt tell me any alternative. but i thought if im going to africa for 2 weeks i probably wont need a safari park too.

[beccac94]

(Original post by sheepzibaa)
i tried to get into west midlands safari park, but they couldnt do the dates i requested, but didnt tell me any alternative. but i thought if im going to africa for 2 weeks i probably wont need a safari park too.

Really? I think I gave them enough dates to choose from seen as I gave them from August this year to August next year I'd love to go abroad but its soooo expensive so I thought safari park and hopefully 3 months in chester zoo would be way more than enough

[matty9694]

(Original post by beccac94)
Really? I think I gave them enough dates to choose from seen as I gave them from August this year to August next year I'd love to go abroad but its soooo expensive so I thought safari park and hopefully 3 months in chester zoo would be way more than enough

Did you ring up Chester zoo or did you email them?

I want to get some zoo experience in my gap year and Chester is the nearest so would love to go, but the website confuses me about work experience.

[EllHv1]

(Original post by sheepzibaa)
i tried to get into west midlands safari park, but they couldnt do the dates i requested, but didnt tell me any alternative. but i thought if im going to africa for 2 weeks i probably wont need a safari park too.

Ahh, booked my week for this October half term over a year ago! Can't believe that was the earliest viable time :L But yeah I think a week Africa does top it. By a looong shot! Very jealous!

Out of interest how far do people seem willing to travel to placements? Do people stay there for the week or arrange transport home everyday? I feel I might well be limiting myself if other people are going further afield!

[schizopear]

(Original post by EllHv1)
Ahh, booked my week for this October half term over a year ago! Can't believe that was the earliest viable time :L But yeah I think a week Africa does top it. By a looong shot! Very jealous!

Out of interest how far do people seem willing to travel to placements? Do people stay there for the week or arrange transport home everyday? I feel I might well be limiting myself if other people are going further afield!

the furthest away i've been for a placement was about 125 miles - but obviously i didn't drive there each day!

[kalouki10]

(Original post by schizopear)
the furthest away i've been for a placement was about 125 miles - but obviously i didn't drive there each day!

Furthest i have been was 100 miles, but it was in the middle of nowhere so no trains, there was also no accomodation available anywhere near it so my lovely mum drove me to and from every day! i do love her =)

[matty9694]

(Original post by kalouki10)
Furthest i have been was 100 miles, but it was in the middle of nowhere so no trains, there was also no accomodation available anywhere near it so my lovely mum drove me to and from every day! i do love her =)

(Original post by schizopear)
the furthest away i've been for a placement was about 125 miles - but obviously i didn't drive there each day!

Woah! I feel so lazy now! The furthest i've been is probably only about 10 miles, but I do have to get on a bus and then walk a while. (My mum picks me up though! )

However, I'm currently planning to do some work with donkeys in Devon and I live on the Lancs/Cheshire border, so that will be my furthest if I get it.

EDIT: That would be 236 miles!!!

[kookabura]

I've really struggled to find farm placements near where I live - both whilst applying for and at vet school.

I drove 300miles to a farm of some friends to help them with lambing before I applied for vet school - I stayed with them for a week.

Whilst I was applying for vet school I did an 80mile round trip everyday for 5 months at a farm I got a job at - it was a good job I was paid for that (not much, but enough to cover petrol costs!) I ended up shattered though from working long hours at the farm and having an hours drive at the beginning and end of every day. I also did 3 weeks at a zoo - again, drive there everyday, which was a 60mile round trip. My pig placement whilst at vet school was a bit of an improvement - 'only' a 50mile round trip.

I've just done my first clinical EMS placement, farm animal - so had to travel for that as well. Ended up travelling to Wales from RVC/London and luckily the vets found someone for me to stay with.

I dread to think how much work experience and placements have cost me in petrol, and in time! And it's not looking like it's going to improve much with the rest of my clinical placements!

[beccac94]

(Original post by matty9694)
Did you ring up Chester zoo or did you email them?

I want to get some zoo experience in my gap year and Chester is the nearest so would love to go, but the website confuses me about work experience.

I just contacted them through the website, at the bottom it says contact us. I will pm you the email address of the lady who they put me through to, you have to be 18 or over and they only have placements from october 2012 (they offer 3 month and 1 year placements. If your interested in knowsley safari park I also contacted them through the contact us bit and they have placements from January next year (only offer 2 week placements)

(Original post by EllHv1)
Ahh, booked my week for this October half term over a year ago! Can't believe that was the earliest viable time :L But yeah I think a week Africa does top it. By a looong shot! Very jealous!

Out of interest how far do people seem willing to travel to placements? Do people stay there for the week or arrange transport home everyday? I feel I might well be limiting myself if other people are going further afield!

I went from Liverpool to Rutland which I think is about 130ish miles, I stayed with my aunty. I know someone who went to ireland for lambing last year.

The furthest I went with not staying over was about 30 miles which involved 2 train journeys and a half an hour walk. Its funny how no one sits next to you on a busy train why you smell like cow

[itsjordan]

Just booked Edinburgh and Notts open days!

[EllHv1]

Wow you guys! 100 miles! :O

I'm with Matt on this one - don't think I've ventured more than a 10 mile radius! Hoping I can get some more stuff further afield in the summer then!

Btw- anyone else here booked for VetSim?

[beccac94]

Just scared off a fox trying to get my rabbit in its cage, quite surprised as we've never had one in our garden. At least I know why my rabbit was thudding at 3 o'clock in the morning the other night

[tbcl]

I'm applying for 2013. I'm a very mature student so not sure what my chances are? I suppose that's the price you pay for having a family first, I have always done things a bit arse backwards! >.<


Oh forgot to mention I'm applying to the RVC only as I am unable to relocate

[kookabura]

(Original post by tbcl)
I'm applying for 2013. I'm a very mature student so not sure what my chances are? I suppose that's the price you pay for having a family first, I have always done things a bit arse backwards! >.<


Oh forgot to mention I'm applying to the RVC only as I am unable to relocate

Being a mature applicant won't be a problem - there are a fair few older students here. Ones who have done a degree already so are 21+ rather than 18 in the first year. There are people who have done degrees plus worked elsewhere for a bit first I started here at 24, many of my friends where older 28/30+. There are also people who haven't done other degrees - and are just having a career direction change/coming to uni after having a family etc, again people who are 30+.

Your chances of getting in are more to do with the same factors everyone else is judged against - BMAT score, qualifications, work experience, interview score etc. Obviously if it is only RVC you are applying to then it is an eggs in one basket scenario, but not much you can do about that other than try and have a really good application!! BMAT scores are really important for deciding who they interview - so make sure you put some effort into that.