2020 Veterinary Medicine Applicants!

I haven’t seen a thread for us yet so I thought I would start one!

Hopefully this is a place where we can all discuss our applicantio to vet med!

Some starter questions

1) GCSE results
2) A level options

Mine:
1) Three nines (bio, Chem and Geography)
Four 8
Two 7

2) Biology, Chemsitry and Geogrpahy (I know this may seem a bit odd but I love it and hopefully it will help me improve my essay skills!)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

Application details ice-breaker questions. :biggrin:

What course are you applying for:
What universities are you thinking of:
A level / IB / Higher predicted grades:
GCSE grades:
Extra curriculars:

Share as much detail as you're comfortable with. :h:

You can find other threads for applicants to your universities in this big list here.

Reply 2

Little Tail Chaser

Eyyyy, I'd been wondering when you guys were going to make an appearance :awesome:

Welcome

Scary to think that I will have graduated by the time you lot start :eek:

As always happy to answer any questions about applying, vet school in general etc etc :smile:

Reply 3

SherlockMetson

Were they GCSE results from today? :smile:

I love these threads..mum of a successful 2018 applicant so happy to help where I can.

Reply 4

VictiniCup

Hello, I arrive. Just for the info for 2020 candidates, there will be a new vet school.

Reply 5

Lizziefickling

Original post by Little Tail Chaser

Eyyyy, I'd been wondering when you guys were going to make an appearance :awesome:

Welcome

Scary to think that I will have graduated by the time you lot start :eek:

As always happy to answer any questions about applying, vet school in general etc etc :smile:

Makes me feel a bit sick that thought 😂

also, hey guys! I’m also very happy to answer any questions about anything vet school related! I’m no use with A level advice (I did a national diploma in animal management instead) but I’m a postgrad vet student so can offer advice regarding graduate applications, as well as anything about Liverpool vet school!

Reply 6

Louiseee_

Hi gang, I'm a 4th year at Notts, happy to answer any questions on the thread :smile:

also PM me for any Notts specific questions

Reply 7

buzzyambee

Heya!! I'm not a vet student but a 2019 applicant - feel free to ask about A-Levels and my experience with things in general. There are many lovely current vet students that are great to talk to as well :h:

Reply 8

username2703735

2nd year Liverpool student here, happy to help with any questions about application or vet school in general :smile:

Reply 9

Anderson2727

Thinking of applying to Cambridge or want to see what being a 1st year vet student is like?

I've recently taken over the @cambtweetvet official twitter account so give me a follow 😊 🐾

You can also DM (or tweet) me any questions about Cambridge and the vet school!

Good luck everyone with your applications!

Reply 10

FarmVet

Similar to Little Tail Chaser I will be graduating from the RVC in 2020 so will be a qualified vet when you guys start first year. But currently a 4th year at the RVC and I am happy to answer any questions :smile:

. I also intercalated so feel free to ask me about that as well if you are interested :smile:

Reply 11

SilverstarDJ

I graduated from Liverpool in 2016 and have worked in small animal first opinion practice for 2 years now.
Good luck for applying!

Reply 12

stimtothesky

Hi!! I’m another 2019 applicant- I take Biology, Chemistry (both AQA) and Maths (Edexcel), and I did an EPQ last year, so feel free to message me about any of those or a recent viewpoint on the application process (although of course the vet students know how to actually get in :wink:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 13

Vetadele

heeeey, I was looking for this thread aha ! I'm a french student who (obviously XD) wants to study vet medicine in the UK ! I can't entirely relate to you guys as I'm not taking any A levels or such (French Baccalaureate yaaaay) but definitely looking forward to connecting to possibly (If I'm good enough!) some future friends and co-vet students
!

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 14

Vetadele

Original post by VictiniCup

Hello, I arrive. Just for the info for 2020 candidates, there will be a new vet school.

ooohh yeah, I've heard about it, but it won't be recognised yet will it ? Keele and Harper Adams ?

Reply 15

ASHWHS

Original post by Vetadele

Hi! I don’t know much about the bac but do you do three or four subjects like over here? If so what do you do? I am trying to get as much work experience as possible at the moment, what about you? Also why the uk are there no vet schools in France?

Reply 16

Vetadele

Original post by ASHWHS

The french system divides its bac in three sectors (although that is going to change for the 2021 bac, so the generation just after mine!), S (science), L (literature), and ES (sort of economics). Each sectors has higher coefficient subjects (so for S, which I am in, its everything related to science and maths but for L its french and philosophy) but for my bac I'll have all subjects, including french, german, geo, history, its just that the scientific ones will have more impact on my final overall grade.
Because I'm trying to have the best chances when I apply, both in france and the UK, I'm focusing on maths, bio, chemistry and physics (these two are combined for us french) although I have to watch out for everything. Surprisingly, maths are reallyyyyyy important in france, when applying, so thats kinda annoying :/.
For work experience, same here ! I'm on holidays right now and actually did a 6 day internship at a small clinic, although it was mostly observation... and overall I've gotten already a bit of experience and am definitely looking for more.
The thing is, I actually live in Singapore so it's really tough to get any farm related experience here... if not almost impossible x).
There are vet schools in france, 4 of them. The course lasts 5 years, but there are 2 preparatory years (called the 'prepas' :wink:

so the whole studying is actually 7 years. In France, it's not hard to get into a prepa, what's hard is to stay in the prepa, which is extremely tough. Any french you encounter will probably run away at the word prepa x). Because of that, most people drop out during the two years, and at the end of those two years there are exams, which are legit called 'contest' in french, and based on your ranking you're either in, or not (about 500 places for the 4 schools, per year).
I'm also, of course, considering the french vet system, but am actually far more attracted by the UK schools. Because I live in Singapore (and have since I was 2 years old), and although I go to the Singapore french school, I love the fact that I'd get to follow courses in english and maintain my english level. Also, the diploma is recognised in a lot of countries around the world, so the idea of having more options (whereas only the EU with a french diploma) is really appealing! The course is also 2 years shorter in the UK so I could start working earlier or specialise... (also, I visited the UK last year and loved the country x))

But yeah, sorry for this encyclopedia of my life! I have serious problems when it comes to being synthetic ! :giggle:

Reply 17

_rebeccaellen_

I've applied to study Vet Med in 2020! I received an interview offer from Liverpool the other day and I'm terrified lol. I'm in Wales so I don't have the 1-9 grading system, so at GCSE I had 9 A*s, an A* in a half course subject, a distinction and 3 As. At A level I'm studying Biology, Chemistry and Maths (and I have to do Welsh Bacc unfortunately) and I had three As at AS!

Reply 18

iz.vet

I am going to apply and would be joining in 2020, I got five 9s (bio, chem, physics, English Lang and drama) three 8s (geog, spanish and maths) and a 7 (English lit)

I am taking biology, chemistry and maths for my A levels so if anyone has any advice I would be very grateful!!

Someone who’s already posted said they had applied, should I have already applied too?

My top three unis are Nottingham, Bristol and Liverpool (not in any order).

I have a week in small animal,
A week in farm and equine,
5 years volunteering at a riding stables,
(Will have): a year volunteering with the RDA
3 months volunteering with a wildlife centre
(Will have): lambing and dairy

I live on a beef and sheep farm and I work all the time with the animals; we got the sheep two years ago and they are ewe-lambs so we faced many difficult births, all of which I helped with - does this count for anything? Or not because I live here?

Thank you so much x

Reply 19

stimtothesky

Original post by iz.vet

Hi! I’m a 2019 applicant and maybe I can give you a hand :smile:

For A level advice TSR is great, but in short (I take the same subjects)- do a lot of past papers, don’t neglect maths, after lessons revise/make notes on what you’ve just learned (great way to keep on top and make tests a lot easier), and use your free periods! Don’t forget to relax a bit as well :smile:

You don’t need to have applied yet- the poster above was probably talking about deferred entry, which means they’re my age but are having a gap year before coming to uni.

Your work experience seems good so far. You could probably do with a bit more clinical (if you can, you’ve covered the minimum requirements for most unis I think but check this), small, equine or large as this is what gives you the real insight into working in a vets. If you can get exotic clinical practice that’s really interesting and makes you stand out from the crowd a little.

Definitely get lambing and dairy, then if you have time get pigs and poultry (not a requirement, but adds variety to your experience and again, makes you stand out). You’ll need some husbandry experience with cats/dogs/small furry things, so if you don’t have this, get it. More exotic places like llama farms, seal sanctuaries can be the cherry on top, but you need your core kennels, lambing and dairy first. Nottingham’s requirement is 4 weeks, Liverpool 5 (3 weeks husbandry and 2 weeks clinical, plus you have to cover some core placements), and Bristol 2, so you’ve already exceeded these requirements. However, the vast majority of successful applicants will have 10+ weeks work experience- not to say you can’t get in with the minimum, but you have a better chance with more. I feel disadvantaged with ~18 weeks!

Living on the farm won’t count towards your work experience total, but is very valuable for interviews/knowing about farm issues. Unfortunately you’ll still need to go lambing separately to your own farm (although it sounds like you’re planning that already)!

Good luck!! :smile: