Graduate entry BVetMed

Both will get you onto a graduate entry course but if at all possible I would do neither, it will mean 3 years studying a course which your heart isn't totally in to then apply for graduate entry which is very competitive (many graduates are rejected every year) and then if you get a place, having to fund all your VetMed tuition (currently £9250/year) by yourself.

If at all possible I would strongly recommend re-taking your A-levels and re-applying to go into veterinary as your first and only degree!

Both degrees will allow you entry onto vetmed. Depends on your personal preference.

I did a biovet degree before going on to do vetmed. I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have

Funding for a second degree is available for medicine and allied subjects - I am pretty sure that this does not include vet med so you would need to self fund the 4 years if you go down the graduate route.

Hi, where did u apply for to do the graduate programme? How are you funding the degree? Did you have any money before hand? How hard is the bioveterinary sciences degree?

I'm currently at Liverpool and also did my Biovet degree at Liverpool. When applying via the grad route I applied to Liverpool, Bristol (5 year, they didn't have the 4 year at the time), Surrey and RVC Accelerated and received offers from all 4. RVC was the only one at the time that offered a feasible accelerated route because second degrees in Scotland are something like £30k a year whereas they're £9250 in England.

As someone said above, you won't be eligible for any tuition fee loans, however you will be eligible for a means tested maintenance loan. I receive the maximum amount which I use to pay my tuition fees. I also have two jobs, one covers my rent along with a bursary I receive from the uni and the other is just for spending money. I had some money saved from working and leftovers from my previous degree but not much. You will need to be organised but it can definitely be done. If you do decide to go down this route, I would definitely save as much as you can whilst doing the first degree.

The difficulty of any degree is subjective. Some modules I found easy and others not so much. I wouldn't think of it as an easy route though, it does take work to get a degree, particularly in third year! I would also consider whether you would be happy to continue your first degree into a career in the event that vetmed doesn't work out in the end, otherwise you'll be left with a degree you didn't want.

Hope this has helped

Hiya if I could I would 100% retake my A-levels and do VetMed as a first degree. The only problem is my GCSEs, mostly all vet schools require 5 GCSEs at a grade 7 (A) or above and I only have 4 at a grade 7 or above. Also, I’m aware that some unis don’t accept retakes, I have already retaken my English language in year 12, so I’m not to sure if I would be able to retake another GCSE.

Also, with the 4 year programme, I thought that you are entitled to the full student loan as it doesn’t count as a postgraduate. Isn’t it the same as doing a graduate in medicine? Also I did speak to Student Finance yesterday and they said that with the 4 year programme you are entitled to only 1 tuition fee loan which is a maximum of £11000 and that is split over the 4 years. But with the 5 year programme, after completing an undergraduate degree I will be able to apply for the full tuition fee, which really doesn’t make any sense. I’m hearing a lot of things about how the graduate to VetMed is funded and it’s all very confusing. Do you know anyone who has done a graduate in VetMed and how it is funded?

I have a place on the RVC graduate course and did Biological sciences there (basically biovet just with different pathways in 3rd year) and it was an interesting course and puts you in a good place to apply for a masters after if you change your mind. The funding appears to be going through a bit of a transition phase. Some have been told they are entitled to the maintenance, while others (myself included) have been told we are ineligible due to the Equivelent Level Qualification rule saying that because the course requires a degree to be entered into we don't get maintenance. I have had to appeal their decision and RVC have even suggested I try and see if I can be switched into the 5 year course as there have been no disputes over funding for this even for graduate students. This may all have changed again by the time you enter onto the course knowing SFE! Just be prepeared for these curve balls as this has all meant that I may have to decline my place as I simply don't have the ability to fund housing and tuition while on a full time course. So basically my advice is have multiple back up plans available to you and doing Vet nursing would give you a clear career path if you couldn't get into Vet med as well as setting you up well if after a few years of work you decide to try for Vet.Hope this was of some use!

Thank you so much for replying, this has helped me a tonne.

Thank you so much for clearing up the confusion with the maintenance loan, it has made me less stressed. With the maintenance loan, can we apply for that every year. Also, I was just wondering what A-level grades you got. I did biology, chemistry and psychology and achieved CCC with an A* in EPQ. I know that the RVC doesn't look at the A-level grades for the grad but I think other unis do. I definitely will be getting a job and staying at home to save as much as possible from my maintenance loan. 🙂