Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Veterinary Medicine RESOURCES THREAD

Little Tail Chaser

VETERINARY MEDICINE RESOURCES THREAD

Updated 17/18/16 to include a suggested reading list.

🐕 General
Veterinary Medicine Wiki - A good overview of the application process.
Application Guide - FAQ of what every vet applicant should know.
Applying to Vet School - Written by vet students for UK vet applicants, this website covers everything.
UCAS • D100- Everybody applies through UCAS. Search for courses and entry requirements.
University Connect - Compare your applications to others, past and present.
Vet School GCSE Requirements - GCSE requirements for all UK vet schools.
Vet School A-Level Requirements - A Level requirements for all UK vet schools.
Veterinary Schools Council - Represents the interests of UK vet schools.
I Want to be a Vet - Advice from the RCVS on applying to vet school.
Becoming a Vet - Information from the British Veterinary Association on veterinary careers.
Applications and About The Degree - Information from the VSC covering the different degrees available.
Getting Into Vet School - Advice from the Association of Veterinary Students.
Tips for Applying - Advice from Bristol University on interviews and writing your personal statement.
Gap Years and Reapplying - Advice for unsuccessful candidates on how to improve future applications.
Ask a Vet Med Student - For any questions you have, there are current vet students to answer!

🐈 UK Universities:
University of Bristol • School of Veterinary Sciences • D100 Entry Requirements • Q&A
University of Cambridge • Department of Veterinary Medicine • D100 Entry Requirements
University of Edinburgh • Royal (****) School of Veterinary Studies • D100 Entry Requirements • Q&A
University of Glasgow • School of Veterinary Medicine • D100 Entry Requirements
University of Liverpool • School of Veterinary Science • D100 Entry Requirements • Q&A
University of London • Royal Veterinary College • Study • D100 Entry Requirements
University of Nottingham • School of Veterinary Medicine and Science • D100 Entry Requirements
University of Surrey • School of Veterinary Medicine and Science • D100 Entry Requirements

🐇 Work Experience and Extra Mural Studies
Work Experience Bible - In depth information about work experience placements.
Find A Vet - RCVS resource, search by postcode to find nearby vet practices.
VetEMS - Run by XLVets, a directory of different vet practices offering EMS.
EMS Driving Licence - Program to help vet students get the most out of EMS.
EMS Guide - Awesome document giving info on how to get placements, what to expect, and what to ask.
Big Lambing Thread - Information for students attending lambing placements.
Lambing Contacts - Maintained by the National Sheep Association, a list of farms looking for students
Advice From a Shepherd - Extensive post telling students how best to prepare and what to expect.
The Lambing Process - a must read before lambing for the first time.
Lambing FAQ - More in-depth information, including husbandry for pregnant ewes.
The Lambing Process - More handy info, covering various malpresentations and how to deal with them.
Agricultural Work Experience - List of contacts and resources compiled by Aberystwyth University
BIAZA Zoos and Aquariums List - Very useful document detailing work experience availability at zoos.
The Alpaca Finder UK - Alpaca farm directory
Down The Lane - Chicken farm/breeders directory
Directory of the Turf - Racecourse and stud farm directory
Helpx - Directory of farms and smallholdings that offer food and lodgings in return for work. Good for gap years!
Placements in the Food Sector - Advice from Government Veterinary Surgeons on getting abattoir placements.
Veterinary Laboratories Agency Addresses - List of veterinary labs (very old page, may be about of date)

🐑 Personal Statements
Personal Statement Guide - Excellent advice from one of our PS Helpers.
Writing a Personal Statement - Another helpful guide, with advice from an admissions tutor.
Personal Statement Builder - A simple tool from TSR to help get you started.
Personal Statement Library - A collection of personal statements from successful applicants.
Personal Statement FAQs - General advice about how to write your personal statement.
Personal Statement Review - Courtesy of Applying To Vet School, have a current vet student critique your work for free!
How To Write Your Personal Statement - General personal statement guide (not specific to vet med)
How to write a personal statement - A Guardian article addressing some common mistakes.
Personal Statement Advice - Some very basic information from Which? University.
So You Want to be a Vet? Worksheet - Printable document for you to draft some ideas.

🐎 BMAT
BMAT Official Website - Information on what it tests, how it's scored and how to register.
BMAT Wiki Page - Everything you need to know on one simple page.
Preparing for BMAT - Past papers and information on assumed knowledge.
UCL Support Material - Online practice of BMAT tests.
BMAT Threads: 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008

🐢 Interview Preparation
Veterinary Interview Preparation Guide - Everything you need to know before being interviewed.
'What Would You Do?' Case Studies - Veterinary dilemmas from the Animal Welfare Foundation.
Drug Dosage Calculations Booklet - Questions and answers from Nottingham's School of Nursing
'Veterinary Technician's Guide to Practical Math' - A more in depth guide. Warning: includes info you definitely don't need to know.

🐄 Further Information/Background Reading
RCVS - Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which all registered vets are a member of.
DEFRA - Government department for agriculture and rural affairs. Lots of controversial news.
BVA News - Current affairs from the British Veterinary Association
Vetsonline.com - Vetty news galore! Have an email newsletter you can subscribe to.
Veterinary Practice News - More news from the vet world.
Merck Veterinary Manual - Great site to research further into cases you may see on work experience.
NADIS - Information on many animal diseases. Includes free webinars.
WikiVet - Requires (free) membership, but an interesting site maintained by veterinary professionals.
Farmer's Guardian - Wealth of farmy news.
Farmer's Weekly - In-depth and up to date agricultural news.
The Cattle Site - Fantastic resource for all things bovine.
The Pig Site - The same, but with information on our porcine pals.
The Poultry Site - I’m sure you can guess by now.
The Sheep Site - Baaa!
Sheep Medicine - PDF of a book by Philip R. Scott, excellent to read up on before/during lambing!
Sheep 101 - A handy guide to all the sheepy basics
American Veterinary Medical Association - Insight into the veterinary world beyond the UK.

🐆 Suggested Reading

•

Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues by Martin J. Blaser (2014)

•

Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat by Philip Lymbery (2014)

•

Zoobiquity by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers (2012)

•

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen (2012)

•

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin (2010)

•

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz (2009)

•

The Secret Life of Cells: How We Live and Why We Die by Lewis Wolpert (2009)

•

Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne (2009)

•

Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (2008)

•

The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff (2007)

•

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behaviour by Temple Grandin (2005)

•

Our Inner Ape: The Best and Worst of Human Nature by Frans de Waal (2005)

•

Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean B. Carroll (2005)

•

The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins (2004)

•

The Pathological Protein: Mad Cow, Chronic Wasting, and Other Deadly Prion Diseases by Philip Yam (2003)

•

Fatal Flaws by Jay Ingram (2003)

•

A Primate's Memoir: Love, Death and Baboons in East Africa by Robert Sapolsky (2002)

•

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker (2002)

•

The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The Conflict between Animal Research and Animal Protection by Deborah Rudacille (2000)

•

Evolution in Health and Disease by Stephen C. Stearns (1999)

•

Deadly Feasts by Richard Rhodes (1997)

•

Why We Get Sick by Randolph M. Nesse (1994)

•

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (1994)

•

The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond (1991)

•

The Panda's Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould (1980)

•

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (1976)

•

The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris (1967)

🐀 Vet Blogs
Charlotte-Harris.net - An excellent website with tonnes of helpful advice. Nice page on current affairs.
Road To Vet School Tumblr - An active blog with many interesting posts.
Dr Ferox - A personal favourite. Lots of funny and thought-provoking posts from a qualified Australian vet.
Vet Student Journey - Follows a vet student at UVM Košice. Very interesting and updates often.
Cappuccinos and Cows - Advice for vet applicants written by a Nottingham student.
Ill Creatures Great And Small - Engaging posts from a 4th year Nottingham student.
Aspiring VetMed - Story of an applicant's journey to the RVC!
Veterinarians Behaving Badly - A quirky and amusing look at the profession.
Marc The Vet - Comments on current affairs.
A Vet's Guide To Life - Over 1000 posts and links to keep you occupied.
Pawcurious - Fun posts from a vet that's big on dogs.
Your Pet's Best Friend - Informative posts on pet care.
Four Paws and Whiskers - Some sciencey posts from a veterinary surgeon in New Zealand.
Veterinary Radiology - Pictures for you to test your skills!
4 Years of Vet School Tumblr - A light hearted look at the trials and tribulations of vet school.
The Musings of a Vet Student - (Inactive) Lots of interesting stuff from a Liverpool vet student.
Little Tail Chaser's Blog - (Inactive) Mainly reblogs rather than original posts, but lots of vetty goodness!
Catherine Graham - (Inactive) Diary of a vet student at Edinburgh.
Vetcetera - (Inactive) A roundup of blog posts on various vetty topics.
A Vet Student's Perspective - (Inactive) Follows a vet student studying in Atlanta.
Vet on the Edge - (Inactive) Blog of a companion animal vet.
What Comes Next? - (Inactive) Posts by a graduated vet, again in the US.
Can't Spell, DVM - (Inactive) Blog of a practising vet, once again a yank!
The Homeless Parrot - (Inactive) Stories from an emergency vet in North Carolina.
Dr. Snark - (Inactive) Posts from a practice owner.
Veterinary Dentistry - (Inactive) Information on animal oral health.

🐍 Applying Abroad
Veterinary Medicine in Europe - A very helpful post comparing entry requirements, fees etc.
EAEVE - Accreditation authority for European vet schools.
UVM Košice, Slovakia • UVM Košice Thread
SGGW Warsaw, Poland • SGGW Warsaw Thread
VFU Brno, Czech Republic • VFU Brno Thread
Szent Istvan Univet, Budapest, Hungary • Budapest Thread
UCD Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Wroclaw, Poland
Valencia, Spain
Kaunas, Lithuania

🐟 Facebook Groups
Every year there are Facebook groups for veterinary applicants. As per the rules, I cannot post a direct link, but the pages are easily found by searching for ‘Veterinary Applicants 201X’.

🐖 Archived Threads:
It can be useful to look back at previous threads to get an idea of when universities send out decisions
2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 [1] [2] • 2010 [1][2] • 2009 [1] [2] • 2008

🐓 Archived Stalking Pages
These have largely been replaced by University Connect, but these used to be a way to compare yourself to other applicants and see that stats of previous years' successful applicants.
2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012

This thread is permanently under construction. If you find a good website, please drop me a PM and it will be added to the list! Many thanks to Angry cucumber and nightwing51214 for their contributions.

:work:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

Angry cucumber

Let me know if you want any help :smile:

Stickied

any reccomendations on some good podcasts to improve background knowledge. Prefferably not too indepth.

Thanks

Reply 4

Little Tail Chaser

Original post by ChristiaanWhite

any reccomendations on some good podcasts to improve background knowledge. Prefferably not too indepth.

Thanks

RVC Clinical Podcasts

BBC 4 Farming Today

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

Louiseee_

Original post by ChristiaanWhite

any reccomendations on some good podcasts to improve background knowledge. Prefferably not too indepth.

Thanks

BBC radio 4:
In Our Time Science
The Infinite Monkey Cage (with Brian Cox and Robin Ince)

Geek Chic Weird science

Rock and Roll Farming

Reply 6

Heardmanator

Thanks so much for this! So excited to apply this year :-)

Reply 7

Jill Macdonald

Hi all,
Just saw this on my internet travels, and thought of you :smile:

https://www.bva.co.uk/news-campaigns-and-policy/bva-community/bva-blog/top-tips-for-first-year-veterinary-students/

Jill

Reply 8

bryanthhen

the link of the Sheep Medicine is not working, kindly check the links which has anchor "Sheep Medicine",

Reply 9

Little Tail Chaser

Original post by bryanthhen

the link of the Sheep Medicine is not working, kindly check the links which has anchor "Sheep Medicine",

Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately as you say it appears the link doesn't work any more and unfortunately I no longer have the file.

I'll update the thread if I ever find a new host for the PDF, but in the meantime pages from a couple of chapters are visible on Amazon.

Latest

Articles for you

Applying to university: a simple guide

Ucas university application deadlines: what you need to do and when

What is an LLM and how could it benefit your career?

Powerful questions business students forget to ask their career advisers

Veterinary Medicine RESOURCES THREAD

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you