Embryo Veterinary School

Just thought Id let people know about this.

Basically its a weekend course in Devon that gives you hands on experience with farm animals i.e. sheep, cows, horses, pigs, poultry. People seemed really enthusiastic about vet medlink/vetsim so I thought Id let everyone know what was out there.

Its by no means going to teach you everything you need to know but its a really gd start, for any age, where you do things like discuss job options within vet med, learn how to handle animals (e.g. tip sheep/age them by their teeth), theres a practice interview by a retired RVC admissions tutor, dissections and loads of other stuff. Plus its run by a vet, a farmer and a retired admissions tutor so they really know what theyre on about and cut out all the crap we often get told. Plus theres always students on hand to get their opinions etc.

I went on the course in September and it is so much fun!!!! The group is no bigger than 15 so u always get enough one on one time. Its really worth doing and the vet thats in charge is solely a large animal vet (mainly cows) and is great at sorting work exp placements, either with him or the local dairy farm! Its well worth a look, the next courses are in Feb and April. If anyones interested, the website is www.embryovets.com

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Reply 1

emuron

Not that im disputing the benifit someone would get from such a course but when you look at the costs...

Embryo Veterinary School Website

Course Costs

We have decided to offer different pricing options to meet different student needs.

Option 1 - £420.00

1. Lunch on Saturday and Sunday and refreshments throughout the three days.
2. Dinner on Friday and Saturday.
3. All transport to and from farms. All accomodation.
4. Course handbook and stationery.
5. Stethoscope, thermometer, disposable overalls and gloves.
6. EVS polo shirt.
7. Written assessment and follow-up support.

Option 2 - £320.00

All the above but without accommodation. EVS will provide local B&B details. This also includes transport to all farm sites and to and from the lecture rooms in the morning and evening from your B&B accomodation.

Option 3 - £300.00

Same as option 2 above but EVS will not provide details of accomodation or transport to the lecture site in the morning and evening. It will include all transport to all farm sites during the day. This is suitable for students who live locally and parents can provide the extra transport.

There is excellent B&B type accommodation in the surrounding district that we can recommend or sort for you. This will range from £15 each for two sharing upto £45 for single rooms.

The Padbrook Park hotel offers B&B for £50 and this is where Dr Andrews stays.

For a small fee we will arrange to pick up students from local airports, train, and coach stations.

Is it really worth it?

Will this replace good relavent work experience?

Now I would of loved to go on a course like this (before I sent in my application) but not everyone can get the money of 300 pounds or more to get on a course. I went on that Vet one at nottingham which cost me more then 250 pounds. Which one would you say is better? (assuming youve been on both)

Im not having a go at you but when you have to pay vast amounts of money to get on these courses it shows that something in the system is wrong. Kinda elitest if you will.

Does anyone know if these actually are considered for applications? Besides knowledge which you gain which would help your applicaiton, do unis put you in a higher bracket cause you've attended these courses?

As I say im not disputing if these courses are good, its just 300 pounds is alot of money to me...

Reply 2

xxnikkixx

Tiny Tiger was only letting people know about it! If you think its 2 expensive then dont go on it! It sounds like a very worth while thing to do if you can spare the money and people who have not yet applied to vet school use this forum so they may benefit from it more than those of us that have already applied!

Reply 3

Hailz88

i know loads of people find these courses really useful, i personally have never been on one due to time and money issues.
obviously knowledge you get from these courses will help you in your application, but having it on your application does not increase your chances, because that would make the admissions process unfair. its a question always asked at open days and the answer is always the same, that they will view someone who has been on the course exactly the same as someone who hasn't, it will be other parts of their application that will make them stand out.

Reply 4

emuron

xxnikkixx

Yeah I know Tiny Tiger was just letting people know about it, which is why I put " Im not having a go at you "... I was just looking for other people's views on things like this, like VetSim... are they worth it in the long run?

I see the benifits you can get from them, pratical knowledge and such like, but this is probably aimed at people who are in Vet Schools now - Have they offered you any advantage say over people who don't go on em?

I basically want others view on if these are worthwhile in the long run.

Reply 5

tiny_tiger

Hi guys, I know its a lot of money, took me several months to save up enough money to go on it and I only work Saturdays at £4.80 an hour! But I would actually say its slightly better than vetsim/vet medlink as its a smaller group size and much more hands on. No it doesnt replace work exp but thats not what its designed to do, its designed to prepare future vets for things the proffession has to offer. I learnt so much when I was there. It is a lot of money but when you're there it really is worth it! The reason it costs so much is that you stay in a really nice hotel and have good facilities during practicals and discussion and top rate people who are there to help you.

I am by no means saying it is for everyone, Im just letting people know whats available as its fairly new. As I said, it took me months to save up but it was worth it in the end. If people judge that its too much money then fair enough, I can see where you're coming from, and if others judge that it is reasonable then go for it! I can guarentee you'll love it!!!

Reply 6

tiny_tiger

One other thing to answer emuron...

It isnt useful in that it is a solution to work exp (although the vet who runs it has been fantastic in helping me get wok exp after the course). However it is extremely useful to people before they apply and like us before we go to vet school because it helps educate people about the situations and roles expected of a vet hence the name "embryo vet" as its aimed and new prospective vets. There is a great deal of help given as far as applying goes and they look over personal statements etc before you apply as well as giving practical, useful advice which I know for certain I will take with me to uni and into my career.

Hope that helps :biggrin:

btw, I know youre not having a go, like I said, just letting everyone know whats available, everyone can have their own opinion.

Reply 7

emuron

Thanks very much. Wow you get 4.80 an hour?

Hmmmmm I get it now, wish I went on this instead of VetSix now.

Reply 8

SlipperyWhenWet

I can't say I ever went to any of these Vetsix/sim etc things but I can see why people would be interested in going and I'm sure it is beneficial for some people. However, the admissions tutors say, they skip over these pretty much as they are no substitute for work experience. They are great if you get the chance to go but do not feel that you are at any disadvantage if you don't go on them/can't afford to. I went to a talk in London held by the RCVS for prospective vet students and this was their advice (except well that was their advice 4 yrs ago!)

Reply 9

tiny_tiger

Yeh make no mistake, these courses will never give anyone an advantage during application as that would be unfair, they just help prepare you for application and help people gain a bit more knowledge.

Reply 10

mojo_06

i shadowed the vet who does the project and he is such a helpful guy and taught me so much about farm vets and encourages you to get really hands-on with the animals. it was the best work experience placement i have ever been on and i really think he helped me get into vet school. i didnt know anything about evs but when he told me about and showed me some of the stuff he did there, i thought it sounded amazing and was really disappointed that i wasnt able to go as it was too late in the year for me and had already been on vetsix and sim. i think evs sounds a lot better for introducing you for farm animal work

Reply 11

Minnie Magic

definitely sounds like a good idea, but there are other possibilities of having that bit "extra" on your PS. for example, i went to north america for 3 months as a camp counselor, working with kids teaching horse riding and sports. it's not directly vet related but it doesn't have to be to show you're self motivated. bit like D of E and stuff.

:smile:

Reply 12

Phaza

I went on the EVS course last February and I found that the people there, especially Dr Andrews, a retired RVC admissions tutor, were really helpful. I live in London and find it incredibly hard to find work experience in my area, so getting out into Devon was a real helping hand with my work experience. Through the course I got a couple of very good contacts, and got the opportunity to go lambing in a farm in the area. They also give practice interviews, and that also helps greatly, it gave me a very early indication about what to expect at an interview, and how to answer questions in an interesting way. Really advise going on this course, or vetsix/vetsim/vetcam, they're all very good. Anyone who went to EVS holla back!!!!

Applying for 2007 entry:-

Cambridge (Selwyn) - Rejection
Bristol - Interview 24th Jan
Nottingham - Interview 1st Feb
RVC - Still waiting

Reply 13

tiny_tiger

Not really cos you arent forced into doing it, its a free choice and believe me they make it very clear the course wont mean you get in, its down to the work and effort you put in. But it does help give an idea of what to expect and it prepares you. The cost is steep but it is worth it. The facilities are second to none and the accomodation is 4 star! Thats what makes it slightly pricey. There are cheaper options if you want to sort your own accomodation. The cost also includes all the disposable overalls/gloves, petrol to get to all of the practicals, money for the farmers who give up their time to help us and all of the food! Which I might add is restaurant food so its all great! Add to that the fact that it has helped me no end in gaining confidence and preparing me for some of the more tricky questions at interview and I would definitely say it was worth it. Like Ive said before everyone is entitled to their own opinion but it most definitely does not exploit people. Some may decide it isnt their thing or its too expensive or they dont think they would get anything out of it and thats fair enough, but I make the assumption that most poeple applying to vet medicine are intelligent enough to make up their own minds about whether it is worth the cost as I did. In that case you can hardly say those that chose to go were exploited as it was a free choice.

Reply 14

tiny_tiger

Ok fair point! Got the wrong end of the stick xxx

Reply 15

tiny_tiger

Oh dear! Lol spose at least revising stuff like that is more interesting than revising how to derive the ideal gas equation for physics!!! Oh the torture!

Reply 16

xxnikkixx

*shudders* Physics is a nasty nasty subject!

Reply 17

tiny_tiger

Ur telling me! I dropped it at AS cos I only got a B but decided at the time it would be a gd idea to retake to try and get an A at AS. Bad bad mistake, just had the exam and it was soooo evil! Ah well, 2 down 5 to go!!!

Reply 18

xxnikkixx

a B is excellent! I got a C but didnt see the point in resitting cos i hated the subject so much and new that i wouldnt revise for it! so ive just left it at that! Ive only got 2 left! I hate exam time its so stressful! good luck x x x

Reply 19

doolie_xx

Hi, I went on the Vetcam project in Cambridge before I applied to Liverpool last year. I had a great time and I learnt a lot but, to be perfectly honest, I doubt it did much for my application or interview. Yes, it looked pretty good on my personal statement but it does say somewhere on a lot of University websites that vetsim projects etc won't give anyone an advantage at interview. In fact, I was informed of this before I went on Vetcam. I didn't even apply to Cambridge in the end!

You could argue it gives you that bit of an edge but think how many people go on these things; is it really worth the money? You're going to be spending enough of it if or when you get into vet school! Believe me, my overdraft knows!

I'd advise people to go on one of these projects for interest's sake but don't expect it to give you a free pass to vet school.

Aside from this, I realise that this post was just to advertise the fact that there's a new project to go on so I'm sorry for the lecture!