Alternative to studying Veterinary in the UK

vetslovak

I didn't get into vet school in the UK so went through clearing and studied BSc Zoology at a good UK uni. I still wanted to be a vet, but despite getting a good degree classification I couldn't afford the £15,000 tuition a year.

Now I am entering my 2nd year of Veterinary at Univeristy of Veterinary Medicine in Kosice, Slovakia. It is RCVS approved, which means I can work in the UK after. It is taught in English also. The tuition is approx £4500 a year and if you live in student dorms they cost £65 a month including internet and bills. So you can see the savings i'm making!

Hi, I've been looking into studying in slovakia as a back up plan really. I'm currently in my final year of a physiology degree and have applied for the british places this year, but if I don't get any offers it may be a good plan to apply!

I'm just a bit scared about going so far away!
Is the country nice and do you have much interaction with the locals?

Reply 7

there are more recent threads discussing this place but anyway:
the course for non bachelors is still 6 years.
you now pay £85 per month for the dorms. darn what a rip off!! :biggrin:

the only interaction you get with the locals is in the shops really and then they just rabble on in slovak despite you saying "sorry, english."
i've only been here since september and i definitely like the country so far.
don't worry about being scared. everyone is at first but we all just get through it together.
if you want to ask any other questions in particular feel free to pm me or something.

Reply 8

HannahUVM

there are more recent threads discussing this place but anyway:
the course for non bachelors is still 6 years.
you now pay £85 per month for the dorms. darn what a rip off!! :biggrin:

the only interaction you get with the locals is in the shops really and then they just rabble on in slovak despite you saying "sorry, english."
i've only been here since september and i definitely like the country so far.
don't worry about being scared. everyone is at first but we all just get through it together.
if you want to ask any other questions in particular feel free to pm me or something.

Thanks, I'll have a look at some of the other threads!
I'll be a graduate when I apply so would that be 4 years?
And yes I may well pm you when I think of some questions, thanks!

Reply 9

yup that would be 4 years for you. i cant believe i am nearly half way through my first year here. crazy!! 3 and 1/2 years until im a vet!!

Reply 10

HannahUVM

yup that would be 4 years for you. i cant believe i am nearly half way through my first year here. crazy!! 3 and 1/2 years until im a vet!!

Ooh how exciting!! How similar is the course to the british ones? Like for the final 2 years do you have clinical rotations and stuff?

Reply 11

yes it's kind of similar but you do so much practical stuff here through the years that you don't have to do much EMS in the holidays although I think a lot do it for fun. next year i start general surgery. cant wait! some things are different but just little things like studying your anatomy in latin (which hardly makes a difference because it's very similar).

Reply 12

HannahUVM

yes it's kind of similar but you do so much practical stuff here through the years that you don't have to do much EMS in the holidays although I think a lot do it for fun. next year i start general surgery. cant wait! some things are different but just little things like studying your anatomy in latin (which hardly makes a difference because it's very similar).

Well it does sound mega good, thanks for the advice! Will defo consider it next year, maybe even have a visit in the summer or something!
Thanks for all the info!

Reply 13

If you did fancy visiting i would say that easter is a good time because we only get a long weekend off so there would be loads of students around the rest of the time and you would get to see what it's really like.

Reply 14

HannahUVM

If you did fancy visiting i would say that easter is a good time because we only get a long weekend off so there would be loads of students around the rest of the time and you would get to see what it's really like.

Yeah that makes sense actually. I have even looked into plane ticket prices!
Do you recks you need to make some kind of appointment? I tried emailing the address on the website a few weeks ago with some questions, but noboday has got back to me yet!

Reply 15

Hmm well admin is veeeeery slow here so i'm not suprised you haven't heard yet. Which email address was it that you contacted? If it was to someone called Nicol then she has been in hospital so has probably got a major backlog to sort though. I doubt you need an appointment. It's probably easiest to get a student to show you around if that's all you want to do but if you want to talk to people in charge then I'd say make an appointment because they all seem to sneak off home early whenever they can! Plane tickets aren't that bad. We all use SkyEurope.

Reply 16

HannahUVM

Hmm well admin is veeeeery slow here so i'm not suprised you haven't heard yet. Which email address was it that you contacted? If it was to someone called Nicol then she has been in hospital so has probably got a major backlog to sort though. I doubt you need an appointment. It's probably easiest to get a student to show you around if that's all you want to do but if you want to talk to people in charge then I'd say make an appointment because they all seem to sneak off home early whenever they can! Plane tickets aren't that bad. We all use SkyEurope.

Yeah that was the one, with a really really long and unpronouncable surname! Well I'll sit tight for a reply then, its not like I urgently needed to know anyway. Like on the website I'm sure it said that the closing date for applications is April or something for the following year? One thing I did ask was whether it mattered if you already had applications at 4 english vet schools being processed? I'm guessing it wouldn't as you would be applying via a different centre.

Reply 17

It doesn't matter at all. Application to UVM is done directly to them (or through IMS). Closing date is officially whatever it says on the website but in reality it is much more flexible than that.

Reply 18

HannahUVM

It doesn't matter at all. Application to UVM is done directly to them (or through IMS). Closing date is officially whatever it says on the website but in reality it is much more flexible than that.

I really can't believe how laid back and nice they sound compared to some of the British vet schools! So did you apply for all at the same type of time or did you take a gap year?

Reply 19