Answering Cambridge Vet Med Questions!

Hi, I'm interested in applying. I have a few questions. What are the facilities like for working with the live animals? Also how was the admissions process for you? Is work experience massively important when applying.

In terms of working with the live animals, obviously for dogs etc you don't need much - there are some horses kept up at the vet school that you can go handle, and they keep some cattle and sheep somewhere too - you do lambing shifts in fourth year at the vet school. University farm is also used for some teaching like our cattle handling class and that's quite cool with automatic milkers and stuff too. In essence I think it's good but again it's difficult to compare with other vet schools - but I hope that's some help!
The admissions process for me was fairly straightforward really, I don't know how much you already know but it basically (as far as I can remember) consisted of submitting the extra questionnaire, which was more about UMS than the kind of questions on work ex etc like with surrey. I had two interviews on one day at my college - a subject one and a general one - although in all honesty the general one still focused mostly on interpreting data and things. I didn't get pooled or anything so it was all quite straightforward and I got an offer in january I think this year they might be increasing it to 3 interviews? I'm not entirely sure since the A levels system is being messed around a bit, but I wouldn't have thought the content of them would change dramatically. And honestly, I thought it was lies at the time - and obviously bit of knowledge helps - but the cambridge interviews seemed the least focused on how much knowledge you had and more on how you explained things or understood data you were shown etc etc.
I had a fair bit of work experience but I think Cambridge is the fairest vet school in this regard. Having some shows interest, knowledge of what the job is like and some determination to do it, but since it's so difficult for some people to get the weeks of work experience that others have they don't mind as long as you've got something out of it, like an interesting case to discuss if they ask you. I know a lot of applicants when I applied seemed to be almost boasting about how they'd done so much at their vet surgery and were practically farmers - but you do any necessary stuff again as EMS so I wouldn't worry over it. If you have enough work experience for any other vet school, you will have enough for Cambridge.

Hope that helps!!

Thanks that was really helpful! I don't know a tremendous amount about the interview process, you mentioned how there's a subject specific and a general interview. How are each of those structured?

As I said, the structure might have changed slightly since I did it. In mine the general interview was first, and that was with the tutor for vet students in the college and a second interviewer. It was slightly more general, on things like a graph of data they asked me to interpret, and general questions on stuff like obesity. The second interview is with the director of studies for vets in the college and, again, a second interviewer, and that was focused more on an interesting surgery I'd seen, asking me about a few diseases etc (keep in mind that I had no clue to answer most of the questions - my DoS is so friendly that he really put me at ease and it felt more like a chat).

Does that help a little more? I think to some extent your experience would depend on your college as within limits the interview experience does depend on the individual tutor and DoS.

That helps a lot! In the second interview you were basically asked about experiences you've previously mentioned and being told to interpret new information? Any advice you have for interview prep besides 'relax'?

Personally, I was awful with interview prep and spread myself so thinly I ended up forgetting it all - I'd say (as general prep for all of them - especially Bristol with vaccines if that's relevant) try to learn the cat and dog vaccines, and not just their names but a tiny bit about which are zoonotic/deadly and which are like kennel cough. Maybe try to pick a couple of interesting things you've seen on work ex like a surgery or case and learn a little about it - but they won't expect you to know as much as a vet by a long way. Go over your work experience and think of a couple of things you learnt - probably more to reassure yourself that you have something to say if they question you on it than because you'll definitely need it, but it might help.
But most of all just remember - I knew almost nothing, got a load of stuff wrong and could hardly remember the vaccinations at my Bristol interview - and they gave me an offer, so it really can't be that bad! They really do judge you more on your attempts to think about possible reasons for things than your textbook knowledge.

So basically, relax (impossible, I know) :P

ps this is all based on my experience, so it might be different for you, but this is what I wish someone had spelt out to me/ I wish I'd believed them when they did before interview

Hi,
I'm a first year at cambridge and I thought I'd set up a thread to answer as many questions as I can about the course here - I know I spent a while before applying not even sure I wanted to apply here due to a lot of misconceptions about the course and university so I thought I'd try to clear some of those up.
The main issue that I had with the course when applying was the supposed lack of practical teaching, animal handling, and basically anything that wasn't pure science - as reinforced by speaking to vets from other vet schools, people who 'knew people' on vet courses etc etc. Whilst I obviously have no experience of the other vet schools, I can say that the teaching here is generally amazing, and it's definitely hands on. We do at least two dissections each week, sometimes more - in the last week we've dissected a pony and a sheep whilst studying digestive anatomy.
But we also deal with plenty of live animals - we do live anatomy each term where we spend a morning at the vet school learning how the anatomy applies to - you guessed it - live animals. We've also spent the last two terms having animal handling classes with cows, sheep, horses, rabbits, birds... Overall, I'd call that fairly practical.
I also got told a lot about how the course would be amazingly stressful and way too much work. Whilst what I'm about to say might not be what I'm thinking in the middle of exam term - it's really not that bad. Sure, it's difficult - but it's definitely not impossible (and yes, you can combine it with watching 3 - no, 4 - episodes of Supernatural on a day you should be revising

So anyway, if you've read through all that - feel free to ask any questions you like, and I'll try to the best of my knowledge/memory to answer them

Tl;dr - ask away about the cambridge vet course

Hi! My interview is at St Edmunds, and I was just wondering whether or not I should look up the professors who should be interviewing me and reading their current research, or whether theres anything in particular I can prepare? I've gotten a little bit nervous recently with interviews, so having something prepared might calm me down a bit!!
Also, do you know the applicant vs interview numbers, and then the percentage of those who are given offers?

Thank you!