Bristol Vs. RVC

Poll

Where would you prefer to go?

Please! I still need help in deciding between the two for the D100 course. I know that there is an older thread, but I need some fresh opinions :smile:

Never in a million years did I think I would get Bristol, I just instantly pictured myself going to London. Then came the phone call and I have been stuck in friggin Limbo since March.

Any opinions would be much appreciated :biggrin:

Bring on the debate

I even posted a poll...desperate times call for desperate measures

Reply 1

Maverick Vet

I'd go for Bristol over RVC. I have!

Reply 2

Mad Prospective Vet

As an ex-RVC student and having a b/f who did vet nursing at Bristol and hearing his stories from there...Bristol wins...sorry :s-smilie:

Plus..hello..have you seen the COST of London?! :eek2:

...:P

Neither particularly have a campus bt at Bristol for the first couple of years @ least you will be mixing with more than just vets/vet-associated degrees..which although being very useful when you have a question ...can be a bit claustrophobic :frown:

My suggestion..try to go to open days again for both (if you have time) or just go up...visit and accost a student and bug them...or ask a few on here (best one's to ask are 4th/5th years who have/nearly have been the whole way thru)

Good luck making your mind up!

...hindsight is a wonderful thing...

Reply 3

lucyrobyn

6

From your post i would guess that bristol was your dream, and you werent expecting it. it is also a higher offer than RVC so you could put it as your firm, and RVC can be your insurance in case you dont meet the grades.

from your post it really does sound like you want bristol more, an everyone elses points back this up.

Reply 4

DartsOfPleasure

OP

10

I never thought I'd get Bristol because I was a poor candidate - limited work experience, only 2 sciences etc so it was such a shocker. My heart says RVC, but at the same time, 3 years in Hertfordshire seems like a bore.

This has got to be the hardest decision ever

BRISTOL! x

I did like the RVC campus(es) but I know I wouldn't be able to cope with the cost, it's going to bad enough as it is, without the added worry of London prices. I've got a good friend at RVC who LOVES the gigs etc, but apparently the price of accomodation is crazy, which I can well believe.

I KNOW it's not what you want to hear but it's a very personal decision. Not for vet med, but my friend was stuck between 2 unis (Warwick and UWE)...so we sat and spoke about it for ages, drew up lists etc... find someone to have a good long chat about it with.
I'm sure you'll be happy wherever you go :smile:

good luck! x

Reply 7

SlipperyWhenWet

1

The hawkshead campus at RVC is amazing. I was so impressed with it. People say you'll be stuck out in the middle of nowhere for 3 years, well coming from someone who is now in 3rd (not at RVC though) and believe me, you barely have time to go out. I think I went out about 4 times last term. The workload is simply nuts. Speaking to my friends in final year, when you are doing some of the rotations, you barely have time to sleep and going out really isn't an option. You live and breathe veterinary lol. And well, RVC is a top place.

I'm completely and utterly biased because they treated my cat like a gentleman when he was there in february. I was completely overcome by all the people who looked after him, and they explained everything so so well(and being a vet student I had a lot of questions!), even though he was eventually put to sleep, the treatment we had recieved from the staff was incredible. And these will be the people teaching you.

Just thought I'd stick up for RVC!

Oh and if you like gigs and concerts - hardly anyone plays in Bristol - everyone goes to London!!! (That helped me choose Glasgow over Edinburgh! I can keep up with all the bands that I used to see live in London, at home, here in Glasgow!)

Reply 8

pinkhyppie

bristol all tha way, as i bristol girl i'm bummed i cant stay here, is truly the best city ever, soo much to do great night life and pretty cheap, its a really beautiful city mainly around the uni bits, which is right next to my school another reason not to go, london looks like a dump, really ugly and no night life, thats just what ive heard so dont really know, and the pictures of camden really put me off.

Reply 9

DartsOfPleasure

OP

10

No night life?! We are talking about central London here :smile:

Thanks for all the responses though

Reply 10

Sarah_V

5

Well, all my family as far as we can trace back come from London, as did I orginally, and I can catagorically say London is neither "ugly" or a "dump" and it certainly isn't lacking in night life (!?!). There are LOADS of really nice places in London, and it's not all extortionate, but the living costs for students there are considerably more than elsewhere. The only people who moan about London being disgusting are the people who haven't experienced it properly in my experience. Anyway...

Reply 11

Mad Prospective Vet

anybody remember the fatal stabbing where they loaded up all the gang members onto the bus in London as there were so many?!

...it was spitting distance from my front door - and i was a 7 minute walk from RVC front door....enuff said...London...not too safe!

I am also biased as i got attacked in 1st year by a young gang in broad daylight in a busy area....they even crossed the road 2 get at me!!!

So no London may not be ugly or a dump...but it's not exactly pretty (unless you escape to the crowded parks in the summer) and it's not that safe...but like i said..am biased...

Wish i'd chosen Liverpool over RVC 3 years ago...am now starting again tho so fingers crossed...

>>>>Hindsight is a wonderful thing>>>>> do your research ppl!

Reply 12

pinkhyppie

any RVC vet students here? what do you in your free time? what do you get up to?, basically the image of RVC i have been given is that theres nothing to do and really ugly, i'm talking Camden here, someone proove me wrong please, i was really keen on applying until i was told what it was like / saw pictures, and would like to know what more there is.

Reply 13

Sarah_V

5

Yes, but any city has its rough areas...it's a bit scary actually. I live in a little country town now and you hear all this stuff about 13yr olds holding fake guns to teachers' heads etc :s I've got quite far removed from any of that kind of thing.
I do understand that London isn't the safest of places to be though, we've seen all sorts there, my parents grew up on council estates in Clapham and Brixton and have seen some horrible things :frown:

Quite glad I'm going to be in the Leicestershire countryside next year :smile:

Reply 14

pinkhyppie

also on the safety side Bristol aint much better, largest gun run related crime outside london, huge Yardi population, but that just adds to the fun, and of course the good old chavs but there everywhere, i would't let the safety aspect be part of your decision.

Reply 15

Sarah_V

5

pinkhyppie

any RVC vet students here? what do you in your free time? what do you get up to?, basically the image of RVC i have been given is that theres nothing to do and really ugly, i'm talking Camden here, someone proove me wrong please, i was really keen on applying until i was told what it was like / saw pictures, and would like to know what more there is.

My friend is in her second year there, she basically goes out to gigs a lot, sits in parks a lot etc. If you like music I can't see that there are many places better to be than Camden, I go to gigs there a lot - some GREAT venues. She loves it. It's a personal thing though, maybe you won't like the area, many people love it.

Reply 16

Mad Prospective Vet

yep...in Camden you have the old Camden palace...known now as KOKO...had some fantastic nights out there.....just drink b4 you go...else u'll end up broke after 2 drinks! :tongue:

Also Covent garden and Leicester Square is just a bus journey away :biggrin:

- this is for the first two years only...

my old flatmate's are now up in Potters Bar and bemone the lack of night life on the few weekends they get off! :tongue:

-not that they get many now tho! :s-smilie:

Reply 17

Rolling with the dice

Sarah_V

Yes, but any city has its rough areas...it's a bit scary actually. I live in a little country town now and you hear all this stuff about 13yr olds holding fake guns to teachers' heads etc :s I've got quite far removed from any of that kind of thing.

I totally agree, I live literally in the middle of nowhere so going to a city would be a huge shock anyway. The events/crime you hear about in London is scary but as said above all cities have their crime and London is no exception.
I wasn't too keen on the look of the Camden area either (from photographs I've seen), but I haven't been there so I don't know what it's really like. It sounds as though it has several gigs and events going on so the night life seems good - hey,that's more then we have down here!lol!
:smile:

Reply 18

DartsOfPleasure

OP

10

Eek, so why is there all the love for RVC (from the poll).

Also, what is there to do in Hertfordshire in the clinical years? Are the facilities at Langford just as good as those atHawkshead?

Reply 19

Jennybean

13

DartsOfPleasure

Eek, so why is there all the love for RVC (from the poll).

Also, what is there to do in Hertfordshire in the clinical years? Are the facilities at Langford just as good as those atHawkshead?

I don't think so personally. One of the things that really helped me make the decision was the exceptional campus out at Hawkshead. I just think it's unrivalled in terms of equipment, technology and availability of live animals. I think you'll find the love for the RVC in the poll, somewhat at odds with the number of posts in favour of Bristol, has come about simply because people don't feel the need to justify their decision! It's the best vet school in the country, Gary England himself said that at Nottingham's open day 2006.

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