Graduate entry into veterinary medicine 2018

Original post by harrii_walker

As an Irish student you pay €19000 a year?? Thank you very much, I've got bits and pieces of wildlife and 'different' experience, but I need to update it all

another option is to go the graduate entry route into the normal 5 year course and you would be eligible to pay the undergraduate fees of 9K a year rather than the 19.5K a year for the 4 year course. I know its a year longer but would save a hell of a lot of money would cost you around 50k instead of 80K+ just to do the extra year.
Cost of living around Dublin and especially around UCD is very expensive so another factor to add in. Having that said the cost of living is probably much the same as it would be in Liverpool/Nottingham and would be cheaper than London id imagine.

Reply 24

Original post by podgey

another option is to go the graduate entry route into the normal 5 year course and you would be eligible to pay the undergraduate fees of 9K a year rather than the 19.5K a year for the 4 year course. I know its a year longer but would save a hell of a lot of money would cost you around 50k instead of 80K+ just to do the extra year.
Cost of living around Dublin and especially around UCD is very expensive so another factor to add in. Having that said the cost of living is probably much the same as it would be in Liverpool/Nottingham and would be cheaper than London id imagine.

Are you talking about UCD? I'm afraid the five year course as a graduate entry is still the same price overall 80 k, you just pay around 15.5 k a year instead of 20 k but it works out the exact same cost wise. It's never been 9 k a year? As long as you have an undergraduate degree already there's no subsidies or anything, you have to pay the full shabang.

http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/fees/undergraduate2013.html
Scroll down to the very bottom of that page for the graduate entry fees

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 25

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Original post by spacelumps

Are you talking about UCD? I'm afraid the five year course as a graduate entry is still the same price overall 80 k, you just pay around 15.5 k a year instead of 20 k but it works out the exact same cost wise. It's never been 9 k a year? As long as you have an undergraduate degree already there's no subsidies or anything, you have to pay the full shabang.

Well I was actually in contact with UCD a couple of weeks ago and asked this exact question to them, I was asking them as a graduate if I was to get a place on the 5 year course would I have to still pay the 19.5k a year since I was a graduate or would I only be eligible to pay the normal fees for the 5 year course that undergrads would have to pay and they told me "All applicants who accept an offer in DN300 Vet Medicine(5 year) are liable for the fees for that programme for the duration of the programme, regardless of whether or not the student is a graduate"

The fees for the DN300 programme (5 year) is 9,997 per annum is what I was told. So what the woman told me was that regardless of whether you are a graduate or you are only liable for the fees that the course commands which in the case of the normal 5 year programme is 9,997 pa and in the case of the 4 year graduate programme is 19,516 pa.
Anyway she did say the fees for the coming year were not released/decided yet at the time I was talking to her and there was a possible change to the fees for veterinary so maybe that has changed since I was talking to them last so I dont know if that is right or wrong but thats just what I was told anyway.
Anyway you are doing the grad entry I see so you definitely would be more in the know than I am but that's what UCD had said to me anyway earlier this year.

Reply 26

Original post by spacelumps

Are you talking about UCD? I'm afraid the five year course as a graduate entry is still the same price overall 80 k, you just pay around 15.5 k a year instead of 20 k but it works out the exact same cost wise. It's never been 9 k a year? As long as you have an undergraduate degree already there's no subsidies or anything, you have to pay the full shabang.

http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/fees/undergraduate2013.html
Scroll down to the very bottom of that page for the graduate entry fees

sorry only seeing your link now. I seem to have been told the extremely wrong thing so. When I had rang them thats what they had told me anyway so apologies about that I have it very wrong but was just going by what I had been told.

Reply 27

Original post by podgey

sorry only seeing your link now. I seem to have been told the extremely wrong thing so. When I had rang them thats what they had told me anyway so apologies about that I have it very wrong but was just going by what I had been told.

No worries, I wish that was the case. Likely who you were talking to was in the fees dept rather than vet and probably got confused since there are two 5 year courses, undergrad which is 5 year and 9 k for EU as you say, and 5 year grad entry which is 15 k :frown:

. The 5 year grad entry is for graduates of a non biological science degree. I'm not sure how it works for non irish applicants but once we have a degree already we still have to pay the full fees regardless unfortunately. The fees are so high they even brought it up in my interview how I was expecting to pay them! I think they have problems with people accepting offers and then not showing after not being able to pay :frown:

Reply 28

Original post by spacelumps

No worries, I wish that was the case. Likely who you were talking to was in the fees dept rather than vet and probably got confused since there are two 5 year courses, undergrad which is 5 year and 9 k for EU as you say, and 5 year grad entry which is 15 k :frown:

. The 5 year grad entry is for graduates of a non biological science degree. I'm not sure how it works for non irish applicants but once we have a degree already we still have to pay the full fees regardless unfortunately. The fees are so high they even brought it up in my interview how I was expecting to pay them! I think they have problems with people accepting offers and then not showing after not being able to pay :frown:

Yeah I had kind of thought to myself it sounds a bit too good to be true but had no reason to doubt the fees office. Yep should have definitely called the vet department to make sure, I had meant to but when the fees office had told me that I just presumed it was correct. yeah seems like they got confused somewhere alright. The fees are very high alright and actually just checked the updated fees there now and they seem to have gone up about another grand. oh really? how did you find the interview?

How did you find the gamsat also? I actually just finished my degree this year and decided not to do the gamsat in march as I just didnt have time to set aside to study properly for it and felt it would be a waste to do it having not prepared properly but I see you only started studying for it the week before so maybe I should have just went for it! anyway!

Reply 29

Original post by podgey

Yeah I had kind of thought to myself it sounds a bit too good to be true but had no reason to doubt the fees office. Yep should have definitely called the vet department to make sure, I had meant to but when the fees office had told me that I just presumed it was correct. yeah seems like they got confused somewhere alright. The fees are very high alright and actually just checked the updated fees there now and they seem to have gone up about another grand. oh really? how did you find the interview?

How did you find the gamsat also? I actually just finished my degree this year and decided not to do the gamsat in march as I just didnt have time to set aside to study properly for it and felt it would be a waste to do it having not prepared properly but I see you only started studying for it the week before so maybe I should have just went for it! anyway!

The interview was fine, very informal and the interviewers were super nice. It's not an interview like the UK schools do it - they don't ask you stuff on your specific knowledge of vet issues but it's more an exercise in seeing if you are prepared to undertake a vet degree.

The GAMSAT is an awful exam for sure, but they don't require as much as human medicine requires. I got in off a gamsat score of 54 if I remember correctly. UCD are good about looking at your ap as a whole, your gamsat score, your degree grade, your interview, your experience, your personal statement - they take all of it in to account so if you score a bit poorly on one part you can make up for it on another. I'd definitely recommend anyone doubting whether to take it just to take it especially if its already paid for, you never know you might get lucky. I just spent a week or two doing practice tests over and over, it's really like a test of stamina if nothing else. I didn't practice for the english part at all though. To be honest I'm probably not the best person to take advice from on the gamsat, I feel I got very lucky and also because I was already quite strong on the english/writing bits that it brought up my poorly studied science section haha.

Reply 30

MeganMacA

Original post by spacelumps

Yes because it's graduate entry. You don't get any free fees for a second degree

Do you mind me asking how were you able to pay the fees? Were you able to get a loan from a bank or something? :smile:

Reply 31

Original post by MeganMacA

Do you mind me asking how were you able to pay the fees? Were you able to get a loan from a bank or something? :smile:

No unfortunately there is no bank (at least in Ireland) that will give that money just to a student. You can get it with a co signed loan with a parent. It sucks because if your family don't have the means you're pretty much stuck. I don't know of anyone who was able to pay their own way entirely with UCDs fees. I'm just lucky to have family that has been willing to make sacrifices to get me where I've always wanted to be.
This is why there are only five places for Irish in the grad entry since it's unlikely we can pay the fees (I am guessing that's why) and roughly 35-40 places for North Americans on the grad entry, because they have access to full student loans.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 32

MeganMacA

Original post by spacelumps

No unfortunately there is no bank (at least in Ireland) that will give that money just to a student. You can get it with a co signed loan with a parent. It sucks because if your family don't have the means you're pretty much stuck. I don't know of anyone who was able to pay their own way entirely with UCDs fees. I'm just lucky to have family that has been willing to make sacrifices to get me where I've always wanted to be.
This is why there are only five places for Irish in the grad entry since it's unlikely we can pay the fees (I am guessing that's why) and roughly 35-40 places for North Americans on the grad entry, because they have access to full student loans.

I had a feeling that was the case, I'm Irish too and just trying to figure out funding assistance but yeah looks like I'll be going for the co signed loan which is pretty crappy but sure! What made you decide to go to UCD rather than the cheaper UK/other EU options?

Reply 33

[QUOTE=MeganMacA;72794154]I had a feeling that was the case, I'm Irish too and just trying to figure out funding assistance but yeah looks like I'll be going for the co signed loan which is pretty crappy but sure! What made you decide to go to UCD rather than the cheaper UK/other EU options?

I did apply to both Budapest and Kosice and was accepted but decided to ultimately stay here for personal reasons. My partner lives and works here in Ireland and I wouldn't be able to bring my dog who has a long term illness with me. Also the whole Brexit thing which happened when I was applying put me off. Im not one of those people who think the European schools are any lesser but I definitely want to practice in the UK at some stage and there was uncertainty as to whether that would be possible when I was applying to the European schools, Kosice at the time had lost its EAEVE accreditation (which it now has back) while UCD had both EAEVE and AVMA accred so if I could stay at home I wanted to.

Oh and as far as UK schools the only cheaper option is RVC really and the competition is pretty stiff so didn't think it likely for me (also I was too late applying as I'm just that organised :biggrin:

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(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 34

MeganMacA

Original post by spacelumps

I did apply to both Budapest and Kosice and was accepted but decided to ultimately stay here for personal reasons. My partner lives and works here in Ireland and I wouldn't be able to bring my dog who has a long term illness with me. Also the whole Brexit thing which happened when I was applying put me off. Im not one of those people who think the European schools are any lesser but I definitely want to practice in the UK at some stage and there was uncertainty as to whether that would be possible when I was applying to the European schools, Kosice at the time had lost its EAEVE accreditation (which it now has back) while UCD had both EAEVE and AVMA accred so if I could stay at home I wanted to.

Oh and as far as UK schools the only cheaper option is RVC really and the competition is pretty stiff so didn't think it likely for me (also I was too late applying as I'm just that organised :biggrin:

)

Fair enough thanks so much for replying! :smile:

It really is a daunting process trying to gather all the info on where is possible, cheap(ish) and also accredited! Do nottingham/cambridge/bristol/liverpool not all offer vet med or were you purely looking at courses that offer the shorter grad programme? Can't believe ucas applications need to be in by Oct, that requires some serious organisation!

Reply 35