Best Vet School?

Hi, I would advise picking the areas you’d like to live in and then having a look at the websites for each vet school in that area, and maybe booking in for some open days.

If you like the more modern, vocational route, you’d probably be best to look at newer schools, like Surrey and Harper Keele. And if you see yourself at an older uni, with more history, look into places like Bristol, Liverpool and Cambridge.

It’s also a good idea to consider grades. Some schools ask for AAA, whilst others offer AAB. Maybe pick two of each, so you have some good insurance options.

Also, keep in mind that the Scottish unis are notoriously harder to get into, especially for IB students.

Whilst picking mine, I’ve found it most helpful to look at their website and get a feel for what the actual school looks like - where I’ll be studying, etc. As well as the general area, and whether it’s somewhere I’d be happy to live for five years.

Hope this is helpful

Hi, yes this is helpful. Sometimes I just look at everything and start to get a little stressed out hahaha. Thanks so much for your help!

Hi, I know that the different vet schools in the UK all have their pros and cons, and as I am the first person in my family to attend university, I'm getting a little overwhelmed by all the information and trying to decide which school to go to.
So to those who have been, are going through, or planning to go to uni to study veterinary medicine, which school would you say is the best and why?
Thanks in advance for any opinions you'll be able to give me!

I think above has summarised key points very well. I wouldn’t say there is a “best” vet school, and all current/past students will be pretty much biased in their answer towards their own school Unfortunately it is very difficult to get into veterinary so it is rarely the case where you entirely “choose” where you go to past choosing the 4 you apply for, and then you can only see what you prefer out of what you get given, which for many is only one or two offers.

As above, some schools have different entry requirements which may impact where you can apply based on grades, but also (in pre covid times mostly) work experience. I am a reapplicant and for example last year I didn’t manage to get as much work exp, so couldn’t apply to some like Liverpool which usually require a higher amount. Another thing to consider is their application processes - a lot of people like the fact that Bristol do not interview (I personally don’t), some interview using panel some MMI, etc. Sometimes it is more of a case of where you can apply to maximise your chances of getting in too rather than preference, but that depends on circumstances.

For other preferences to think about could be whether you want to just be mostly with other vets or a mix of subjects - e.g. RVC has mostly vet related students, Nottingham’s vet campus is quite a while away from the main one so you will be living with mostly other vet students, whereas most of the other unis you are on their main campus for at least some of the time so can have greater interaction with people from other subjects and live with them. Consider whether you want a city or campus based uni, based in the city or in the countryside - some will have a mix of both, like Liverpool is in the city for 3 years then country for 2 years.

As a complete opinion of my own which many others would disagree with, I’d say personally I regard Nottingham and Liverpool as my top two, and the Scottish ones highly (though I do also agree that I consider them “harder” to get into) and Bristol is in there too. I think Harper Keele has a lot of potential to become a great vet school - I wouldn’t be put off just because it is new.

All of the UK vet schools are of a very high quality, so ultimately there is no "best" one - just the best one for you!

Things you might want to take into acount:
+ Whether teaching occurs on multiple campuses. Whether you want to live mainly on a city campus, or country campus.
+ Teaching style at each vet school. Would you prefer more practical teaching early on or more traditional teaching?
+ Societies and leisure activities at your campus.
+ Intercalation opportunities or opportunities for research integrated into your vet degree.
+ Location. Do you want to stay close to home?
+ Entrance requirements.

If coronavirus allows us at some point this year, attend open days. You'll definitely find you get a much better feel for the environment and teaching styles at different unis. When I visited my uni, it became really obvious to me where I wanted to go.

Thank you for this, unfortunately in Wales I don't have an option for a vet school that I'm aware of so I'm happy to stay away from home. Do you mind if I ask where you study/studied?

There have been some brilliant points made above, I 100% agree that there is no universally best vet school, but rather the best vet school for you (which sometimes is because it’s your only offer, but you’ll love wherever you end up at).

When you’re narrowing down your uni choices, before you do anything else check the grade and work experience requirements of each uni and see how that compares with your GCSEs, predicted a level results and work experience to see where you can successfully apply to (obviously work experience will be a bit more difficult to compare to because of covid, but think about how much you’re realistically going to have by the time you apply). They sometimes offer a bit of leniency with grades, but work experience is a bare minimum unless you have exceptional circumstances- I know applicants who have been a couple of hours short and had an instant rejection.

I am a first year vet student and applied to Cambridge, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham and I essentially picked those four by ruling out almost every other vet school (which was probably not the best approach, but I really liked the ones I ended up applying to anyway!). I live in the south west so ruled out the Scottish unis completely due to the extreme distance from home. In hindsight, I think I would have loved Edinburgh but I knew I wouldn’t want to move somewhere that was too far away to drive to where I had no contacts nearby, no matter how amazing the vet school was. I considered RVC for a while but was really put off by the cost of living and eventually realised that I wouldn’t want to live in London. When I was at school, my cohort were “the guinea pig year” where we were always the first year to do XYZ like new GCSEs, a two year sixth form (we used to be a 3 year one), new courses etc etc etc so I ruled out HK as I didn’t want to be the first cohort again. I think HK will be an excellent vet school and I wouldn’t say to be put off just because it’s new, but I just didn’t want to go through all of that again. I then had 5 options and went to as many open days as I could, did a lot of research through their websites and asked graduates about their experience and ended up with my four. I would encourage you to treat each choice as though it’s your first as that way you’re more likely to do well at interviews and get an offer.

I ended up at Cambridge and am very happy I go here- I’d always approached it as though it was just another vet school but found that it was really suited to me because of the academic approach, supervision system and heavily practical clinical years. It’s definitely not the best vet school for everyone (hence I’d advise against applying or firming it “just because it’s Cambridge”) but it was the best one for me.

Hi, I just wanted to point out that Aberystwyth is opening a vet school in conjunction with RVC. It is due to take its first cohort this Autumn and I believe you spend the first two years at Aberystwyth and then the final three at RVC.

Thank you! I'm very lucky to have secured work experience (I'm starting tomorrow at a local farm!). I feel like Cambridge, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham will probably be my choices but I still need to do more research!

Thank you for this, unfortunately in Wales I don't have an option for a vet school that I'm aware of so I'm happy to stay away from home. Do you mind if I ask where you study/studied?

Ahh enjoy your work experience! If you want to ask any questions about Cambridge vet school and it’s admission process then feel free to ask!

I was about to point out the new Aberystwyth school to you but it seems I've been beaten to it. Still, it's good to be willing to travel as many vet applicants don't get a choice in where they go.

I study at Nottingham. It has a vibe to it where when I visited I just knew it was the right place for me and I accepted as soon as I got an offer, despite not having heard back from all of my other choices.

I saw you're looking at Liverpool being one of your choices - I've heard great reviews from my friends. Bristol I've heard is great too.

Thanks for this, I haven't spoken to anyone who's studied at Nottingham! I've seen a video of the campus which looks amazing, but it's hard to get a proper feel of the place without actually visiting. Hopefully lockdown ends soon and I'll be able to take a little look around.

I wish you luck in your application. If you have any questions let me know.

Thank you for this, unfortunately in Wales I don't have an option for a vet school that I'm aware of so I'm happy to stay away from home. Do you mind if I ask where you study/studied?

Just to let you know, yes you do!!! Aberystwyth is the newest vet school in the UK. It has partnered with RVC!!