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Vet med after animal sciences!

I applie for a pre vet med course a few weeks ago for Nottingham uni! However I unfortunately didn't get in but I was offered and unconditional place to study animal sciences...

My issue is I'm not too sure what this is even after reading about it? I am also really eager on doing veterinary so would it be possible to study vet med after animal sciences? (I am aware of the dreadful cost!D-:smile:
Original post by Frannyb123
I applie for a pre vet med course a few weeks ago for Nottingham uni! However I unfortunately didn't get in but I was offered and unconditional place to study animal sciences...

My issue is I'm not too sure what this is even after reading about it? I am also really eager on doing veterinary so would it be possible to study vet med after animal sciences? (I am aware of the dreadful cost!D-:smile:


Yes, it would be possible.After completing the animal sciences course you may be eligable to apply for 'accelerated' graduate veterinary medicine programs, which are four years instead of the usual five, at a number of universities including RVC and Edinburgh. Failing that you can always apply for the five year course anywhere :smile:

Animal sciences will give you a grounding in cell biology, physiology, genetics... that sort of thing. Much of which will overlap with aspects of the veterinary medicine course.

Have you received any feedback on why you were unsuccessful with your veterinary medicine application? The choice is yours of course, but if you're dead set on being a vet it will be quicker and easier to just take a gap year and reapply for vet med. It's good that you know about the cost of going postgrad (Edinburghs postgrad fees are £27k/year!), but just so you're aware at current I don't believe you get a tuiton fee loan to cover it, although this might be changing soon.
Original post by Little Tail Chaser
Yes, it would be possible.After completing the animal sciences course you may be eligable to apply for 'accelerated' graduate veterinary medicine programs, which are four years instead of the usual five, at a number of universities including RVC and Edinburgh. Failing that you can always apply for the five year course anywhere :smile:

Animal sciences will give you a grounding in cell biology, physiology, genetics... that sort of thing. Much of which will overlap with aspects of the veterinary medicine course.

Have you received any feedback on why you were unsuccessful with your veterinary medicine application? The choice is yours of course, but if you're dead set on being a vet it will be quicker and easier to just take a gap year and reapply for vet med. It's good that you know about the cost of going postgrad (Edinburghs postgrad fees are £27k/year!), but just so you're aware at current I don't believe you get a tuiton fee loan to cover it, although this might be changing soon.


No tuition fee loan currently, I have to pay for mine myself. I do however still get a maintenance loan, not that it helps 😂


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Reply 3
Original post by Little Tail Chaser
Yes, it would be possible.After completing the animal sciences course you may be eligable to apply for 'accelerated' graduate veterinary medicine programs, which are four years instead of the usual five, at a number of universities including RVC and Edinburgh. Failing that you can always apply for the five year course anywhere :smile:

Animal sciences will give you a grounding in cell biology, physiology, genetics... that sort of thing. Much of which will overlap with aspects of the veterinary medicine course.

Have you received any feedback on why you were unsuccessful with your veterinary medicine application? The choice is yours of course, but if you're dead set on being a vet it will be quicker and easier to just take a gap year and reapply for vet med. It's good that you know about the cost of going postgrad (Edinburghs postgrad fees are £27k/year!), but just so you're aware at current I don't believe you get a tuiton fee loan to cover it, although this might be changing soon.



That's really helpful thanks! I want to take a gap year really but I'm worried that I may get declined next year and then where does that leave me? + I've been offered two other conditional places to study Bioveterinary sciences is that a better decision
for me or should I stick with the unconditional offer?
Original post by Frannyb123
That's really helpful thanks! I want to take a gap year really but I'm worried that I may get declined next year and then where does that leave me? + I've been offered two other conditional places to study Bioveterinary sciences is that a better decision
for me or should I stick with the unconditional offer?


If you really want to do it, spend the time between now and October improving your potential vet application. Do some more work exp, pick up some more extracurricular activities. Ensure you get the grades you'll need to apply (between AAB and A*A*A). Being declined after a gap year happens, yes, but that is just another small setback if you're truly dedicated. There are some people kicking around that took three or four gap years. It happens, but isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. I completely understand if it's going to be difficult (I didn't take a gap year but if I had then I would have needed to find my own place, get a proper job etc), but at the same time you'll have a year to mature and perhaps earn a few £s which will really help when you're at uni :smile:

Lizziefickling did undergrad bioveterinary science so she's a better person to ask than me, but I know lots of people on the biovet course that have plans to go on to do vet med so yes it's definitely a viable option. The decision is totally up to you whether you want to do vet postgrad or undergrad, though. Weigh up your options carefully.
Reply 5
If you got feedback on why your application was unsuccessful and think you can make a change over the next year then definitely go for that as post-grad fees are ridiculous.
You could see if you can defer your current offers so that if you are unsuccessful with vet med you always have a back up?

I did an Animal Science degree and of the 18 people in my class, two are trainee vet nurses and eight of us are vet students.
Others have gone into meat hygiene, farm work and further study.

I loved my undergrad and got lots of practical experience and really made the most out of it doing (paid) work on the university farms for the three years. I treat that as my 'proper' Uni experience and now try to concentrate on my studies, though that's rarely the case! I couldn't afford the UK tuition fees so after a year of working after graduating I now study abroad.
Reply 6
I realise I'm a few days late to this thread, but I figured I'd chip in anyway. I have wanted to do vet med since I was about 4 y/o (plans have changed a little recently, but that doesn't really matter at the moment), but I didn't manage to get the grades to get in. So instead, I ended up doing Animal Science at Nottingham, with the idea that I'd eventually go into either the accelerated graduate-entry vet med course, or just do it as another undergrad course.

Personally I agree with what people have said so far: if you have feedback as to why you were unsuccessful this time, and it's something that you can work on over the next year, then I'd definitely say try to do that :smile: It's probably better to go straight into vet med as an undergrad, as it's difficult for most people to finance as a second degree (whether undergrad or postgrad). It's a little daunting when you realise that (if you were to take the Animal Science, or even Bioveterinary Science degree) you will have £27k+ debt before you even start the vet med course, then you either have to pay huge amounts in postgrad fees, or even just the £9k a year for another undergrad degree, with no tuition fee loans available. If you can handle that, or aren't bothered by it, then great, but I know it can be off-putting for some people (me included).

As some who is in their third year of Animal Science at Nottingham uni, I can probably answer questions you may have about the course/uni itself etc, so you're welcome to ask me for my 'insiders perspective'. Personally, doing this course has helped to open my eyes to a lot of other areas of interest and possible career opportunities, and I also have to say that I've enjoyed the degree a lot more than I thought I would, given I entered it as someone who just wanted to use it as a stepping stone on my way to a vet med degree.

As for your question as to whether to go for the Bioveterinary science offers, or the animal science offer, I'd say you should properly examine the course structure, modules you would be offered (if you have questions about the AS course at Nottingham, I can try and answer these), and maybe go to some campus open days for those courses and talk to the academics there if you wanted a more in depth perspective on what the course entails. I'd also say don't forget to think about the campus/teaching facilities themselves; for me, I massively preferred one campus to the others and that helped me make my final decision. Of course though, this last paragraph only really applies if you decide not to reapply for vet med.

So again, if you think you can improve your application for vet med in the next year or so, go for it. If you decide to do another degree, like AS or Biovet science, then just keep in mind the fees involved (both in taking the initial degree, and then doing vet med as a second degree). It's not impossible to fund, and I know a fair few people who are going down that route, but it depends how much finances impact your decision. But, I have to say, doing an Animal Science degree was not like a 'consolation prize' for me - it became a degree I thoroughly enjoyed in it's own right, and one that helped me discover other paths for my life that I hadn't previously considered :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by Natti337
I realise I'm a few days late to this thread, but I figured I'd chip in anyway. I have wanted to do vet med since I was about 4 y/o (plans have changed a little recently, but that doesn't really matter at the moment), but I didn't manage to get the grades to get in. So instead, I ended up doing Animal Science at Nottingham, with the idea that I'd eventually go into either the accelerated graduate-entry vet med course, or just do it as another undergrad course.

Personally I agree with what people have said so far: if you have feedback as to why you were unsuccessful this time, and it's something that you can work on over the next year, then I'd definitely say try to do that :smile: It's probably better to go straight into vet med as an undergrad, as it's difficult for most people to finance as a second degree (whether undergrad or postgrad). It's a little daunting when you realise that (if you were to take the Animal Science, or even Bioveterinary Science degree) you will have £27k+ debt before you even start the vet med course, then you either have to pay huge amounts in postgrad fees, or even just the £9k a year for another undergrad degree, with no tuition fee loans available. If you can handle that, or aren't bothered by it, then great, but I know it can be off-putting for some people (me included).

As some who is in their third year of Animal Science at Nottingham uni, I can probably answer questions you may have about the course/uni itself etc, so you're welcome to ask me for my 'insiders perspective'. Personally, doing this course has helped to open my eyes to a lot of other areas of interest and possible career opportunities, and I also have to say that I've enjoyed the degree a lot more than I thought I would, given I entered it as someone who just wanted to use it as a stepping stone on my way to a vet med degree.

As for your question as to whether to go for the Bioveterinary science offers, or the animal science offer, I'd say you should properly examine the course structure, modules you would be offered (if you have questions about the AS course at Nottingham, I can try and answer these), and maybe go to some campus open days for those courses and talk to the academics there if you wanted a more in depth perspective on what the course entails. I'd also say don't forget to think about the campus/teaching facilities themselves; for me, I massively preferred one campus to the others and that helped me make my final decision. Of course though, this last paragraph only really applies if you decide not to reapply for vet med.

So again, if you think you can improve your application for vet med in the next year or so, go for it. If you decide to do another degree, like AS or Biovet science, then just keep in mind the fees involved (both in taking the initial degree, and then doing vet med as a second degree). It's not impossible to fund, and I know a fair few people who are going down that route, but it depends how much finances impact your decision. But, I have to say, doing an Animal Science degree was not like a 'consolation prize' for me - it became a degree I thoroughly enjoyed in it's own right, and one that helped me discover other paths for my life that I hadn't previously considered :smile:


Hi sorry, 2 years on and I am reading this thread lol. What have you found yourself doing now? Very interested to hear your story as I will be applying for vet med this year. Thank you
Reply 8
Since finishing my Animal Science degree I've actually stayed within the veterinary field. For a little over a year now I've had a job as an out of hours nursing assistant at a vets practice :smile:

My job basically consists of overnight care of inpatients, including basic care like feeding/watering/walking/cleaning out, giving medications (including IV/IM/subcutaneous injections) and monitoring IV fluid therapy, and assisting the out of hours vet with various things. This can be as simple as helping restrain a patient, helping set up IV fluids, running blood tests, assisting with surgery (monitoring anaesthetics, fetching instruments etc) and joining the vet on house calls. I essentially take on a mix of the duties of a registered vet nurse, and an animal nursing assistant.

At the moment I really enjoy this job, despite the challenges of being the only staff member on the premises overnight (unless the OOH vet is called in), and the difficulty of working long night shifts, although in the future I will probably look for an animal nursing assistant position during regular daytime hours. Or I have also considered going into either animal welfare or animal research as animal technician. Not entirely sure yet there, but for now I'm very happy where I am. I'm also very happy that I get to work in the field that I love despite not going for Vet Med or Vet Nursing, as I feel like this job has given me loads of experience that should I ever decide to go back and study vet med/Nursing, I'll have a good sense of what the job entails and good experience to back me up.

Best of luck to you with your application process!
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by Natti337
Since finishing my Animal Science degree I've actually stayed within the veterinary field. For a little over a year now I've had a job as an out of hours nursing assistant at a vets practice :smile:

My job basically consists of overnight care of inpatients, including basic care like feeding/watering/walking/cleaning out, giving medications (including IV/IM/subcutaneous injections) and monitoring IV fluid therapy, and assisting the out of hours vet with various things. This can be as simple as helping restrain a patient, helping set up IV fluids, running blood tests, assisting with surgery (monitoring anaesthetics, fetching instruments etc) and joining the vet on house calls. I essentially take on a mix of the duties of a registered vet nurse, and an animal nursing assistant.

At the moment I really enjoy this job, despite the challenges of being the only staff member on the premises overnight (unless the OOH vet is called in), and the difficulty of working long night shifts, although in the future I will probably look for an animal nursing assistant position during regular daytime hours. Or I have also considered going into either animal welfare or animal research as animal technician. Not entirely sure yet there, but for now I'm very happy where I am. I'm also very happy that I get to work in the field that I love despite not going for Vet Med or Vet Nursing, as I feel like this job has given me loads of experience that should I ever decide to go back and study vet med/Nursing, I'll have a good sense of what the job entails and good experience to back me up.

Best of luck to you with your application process!


Thank you, that has been so helpful. Did you do A levels to get you onto that uni course? I have always wanted to be a vet but am only just realising (through meeting people on placements and various other things) the other avenues with working with animals but still having a 'good' job in terms of money and rewards. I am considering Zoology or animal science too, so what kinds of things did you do on your animal science course and how long did you study for?

So many questions sorry ! X
Original post by gcnfx
Thank you, that has been so helpful. Did you do A levels to get you onto that uni course? I have always wanted to be a vet but am only just realising (through meeting people on placements and various other things) the other avenues with working with animals but still having a 'good' job in terms of money and rewards. I am considering Zoology or animal science too, so what kinds of things did you do on your animal science course and how long did you study for?

So many questions sorry ! X


Apologies for taking so long to get back to you!
Yes, I had to do A-levels to get onto this course. I'm not sure on the exact entry requirements (whether they require any specific subject A-levels or what grades they ask for) and you're better off checking the university website for those details, but personally speaking I did Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry & Biology, with an additional AS level in History. If I remember correctly I think I got an A in Maths, and then B's in Further Maths, Chem, Bio & History.

I think that was also something I realised while doing the course too - that you can still work with animals and have a rewarding job in the animal/veterinary field without specifically being a Vet. Another reason work experience placements are so important is it lets you see what the real job is like, and through doing my job, I realised there would be certain parts of being a Vet or a Vet Nurse that I'm less comfortable or struggle with, and other areas that I prefer and excel in.
The course itself was 3 years for me, although some people choose to take a year out in the middle to do an industrial placement or study abroad placement.

As for what you do on the course, that can vary greatly depending on what university you go to/what the course structure is like. My uni started first year teaching us a lot of general subjects (general science stuff, the basics of genetics and cell biology, some biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, nutrition, endocrinology etc.). In second year I was able to choose my modules a bit more (certain modules were 'core' or mandatory modules, whereas others were optional) so I covered a lot of animal production systems (sheep/dairy/beef/pig/poultry farming etc), nutrition, genetics, endocrinology, some agriculture topics, more anatomy & physiology, some animal behaviour, animal health & disease [which included a session of animal handling and learning how to safely handle/restrain certain animals, assess body condition score, general signs of health and disease and things like that]. Then in third year I was able to choose even more optional modules so I covered more things like epigenetics, coordinated physiological systems, companion & zoo animal science/nutrition, bioethics, animal behaviour, even more anatomy and physiology and things like that. Although again, I will reiterate that those subjects could change wildly based on what modules you take or even what university you are looking studying at as they may have different teaching style/areas to cover.

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