Year 12 Student Worried about work experience for Cambridge Veterinary Medicine
I currently only have 2 weeks of work experience in a Veterinary practice when i was 15. I have currently applied for more but I'm still worried I won't have enough as I'm struggling to find places that will take me on. Also I can only think of rescue centres, kennels, farms (which is extremely hard to find in Birmingham)and cattaries.
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How long do you have before applying? There are many things you can do for work experience including: small animal practice, equine hospital, rescue centres, kennels, stables. Also, pig, poultry, dairy and lambing placements. Some less common placements are at zoos, abattoirs and animal research facilities. You’ll probably have to travel for many of your placements. I did my lambing placement 5 hours away from home, equine 2 hours away and most of my vet practices an hour away. It’s a lot of hard work but trust me, it pays off. Persistence is key for getting placements. Email and phone as many places as possible in the hope that one will take you.
Original post by Natasha_Faye
How long do you have before applying? There are many things you can do for work experience including: small animal practice, equine hospital, rescue centres, kennels, stables. Also, pig, poultry, dairy and lambing placements. Some less common placements are at zoos, abattoirs and animal research facilities. You’ll probably have to travel for many of your placements. I did my lambing placement 5 hours away from home, equine 2 hours away and most of my vet practices an hour away. It’s a lot of hard work but trust me, it pays off. Persistence is key for getting placements. Email and phone as many places as possible in the hope that one will take you.
I have until September really, and I've just recently been looking at more places but you've still helped me so thank you. I'll talk to my parents about travel and all of this but they're a bit annoying when it comes to it all. Thank you again.
If you have anymore questions feel free to DM me. I’m currently in my first year at the RVC 
Where roughly in Birmingham are you?
I'm in North Birmingham and while placements are hard to find, the same is true anywhere so admissions won't accept it as an excuse. There are lots of city/children's farms, the Nature Centre and lots of kennels/riding schools.
If you can drive and have access to a car that would obviously be easier but if not I travelled to lots of placements and they hosted me in return for work. The NSA have a list of farms requiring students for lambing so that would be a good idea to look at and get booked now. With vets you will always get a better response by hand delivering the letter and asking to speak to the Practice Manager - even better if you have a list of dates you are available.
I'm in North Birmingham and while placements are hard to find, the same is true anywhere so admissions won't accept it as an excuse. There are lots of city/children's farms, the Nature Centre and lots of kennels/riding schools.
If you can drive and have access to a car that would obviously be easier but if not I travelled to lots of placements and they hosted me in return for work. The NSA have a list of farms requiring students for lambing so that would be a good idea to look at and get booked now. With vets you will always get a better response by hand delivering the letter and asking to speak to the Practice Manager - even better if you have a list of dates you are available.
Original post by lwescott
Where roughly in Birmingham are you?
I'm in North Birmingham and while placements are hard to find, the same is true anywhere so admissions won't accept it as an excuse. There are lots of city/children's farms, the Nature Centre and lots of kennels/riding schools.
If you can drive and have access to a car that would obviously be easier but if not I travelled to lots of placements and they hosted me in return for work. The NSA have a list of farms requiring students for lambing so that would be a good idea to look at and get booked now. With vets you will always get a better response by hand delivering the letter and asking to speak to the Practice Manager - even better if you have a list of dates you are available.
I'm in North Birmingham and while placements are hard to find, the same is true anywhere so admissions won't accept it as an excuse. There are lots of city/children's farms, the Nature Centre and lots of kennels/riding schools.
If you can drive and have access to a car that would obviously be easier but if not I travelled to lots of placements and they hosted me in return for work. The NSA have a list of farms requiring students for lambing so that would be a good idea to look at and get booked now. With vets you will always get a better response by hand delivering the letter and asking to speak to the Practice Manager - even better if you have a list of dates you are available.
Im far South Birmingham, and i didn't even think of the nature centre, I completely forgot it existed, and I'll look into the NSA list. Thank you
Original post by LittlePeach
I currently only have 2 weeks of work experience in a Veterinary practice when i was 15. I have currently applied for more but I'm still worried I won't have enough as I'm struggling to find places that will take me on. Also I can only think of rescue centres, kennels, farms (which is extremely hard to find in Birmingham)and cattaries.
For Cambridge you don't need a lot at all. The main two focuses at interview are science ability and did you pick up something from a vets practice. I'm not even sure if I mentioned lambing/equine/zoo exp that I'd done in the either 2x 30 min interview!
Also my vet work experience I started organising in April for over the summer holidays between 1st and 2nd years of a level, and I went to two vets practices for 2 weeks each in the summer before I applied to uni.
If you want, organise some lambing for Easter now, its fun and useful. You can find one that lets you stay on the farm so as long as you can get the train there/ parents can drive you then being in Birmingham isn't a problem!
Spend the next month going to every vet practice you can find with a letter breifly explaining who you are, you're doing xyz subjects and want to be a vet. You're applying next year and need to see practice first, would they be able to help you for 2 weeks during the summer holidays. Include the date range for your summer holidays! If you visit in person you actually get a yes or no rather than being ignored. Dress smart casual (I went for black jeans and a shirt) and ask reception to speak to whoever is in charge about work experience please.
Don't forget if you feel like you need more experience, you don't have to apply next year. Have a gap year, get a job & save some money & get some more experience oi you want to. The uni isn't going anywhere so you can afford to take your time so that you're ready for it!
Good luck! Hopefully I'll see you at Cambridge in a couple of years
Original post by laurakyna
For Cambridge you don't need a lot at all. The main two focuses at interview are science ability and did you pick up something from a vets practice. I'm not even sure if I mentioned lambing/equine/zoo exp that I'd done in the either 2x 30 min interview!
Also my vet work experience I started organising in April for over the summer holidays between 1st and 2nd years of a level, and I went to two vets practices for 2 weeks each in the summer before I applied to uni.
If you want, organise some lambing for Easter now, its fun and useful. You can find one that lets you stay on the farm so as long as you can get the train there/ parents can drive you then being in Birmingham isn't a problem!
Spend the next month going to every vet practice you can find with a letter breifly explaining who you are, you're doing xyz subjects and want to be a vet. You're applying next year and need to see practice first, would they be able to help you for 2 weeks during the summer holidays. Include the date range for your summer holidays! If you visit in person you actually get a yes or no rather than being ignored. Dress smart casual (I went for black jeans and a shirt) and ask reception to speak to whoever is in charge about work experience please.
Don't forget if you feel like you need more experience, you don't have to apply next year. Have a gap year, get a job & save some money & get some more experience oi you want to. The uni isn't going anywhere so you can afford to take your time so that you're ready for it!
Good luck! Hopefully I'll see you at Cambridge in a couple of years
Also my vet work experience I started organising in April for over the summer holidays between 1st and 2nd years of a level, and I went to two vets practices for 2 weeks each in the summer before I applied to uni.
If you want, organise some lambing for Easter now, its fun and useful. You can find one that lets you stay on the farm so as long as you can get the train there/ parents can drive you then being in Birmingham isn't a problem!
Spend the next month going to every vet practice you can find with a letter breifly explaining who you are, you're doing xyz subjects and want to be a vet. You're applying next year and need to see practice first, would they be able to help you for 2 weeks during the summer holidays. Include the date range for your summer holidays! If you visit in person you actually get a yes or no rather than being ignored. Dress smart casual (I went for black jeans and a shirt) and ask reception to speak to whoever is in charge about work experience please.
Don't forget if you feel like you need more experience, you don't have to apply next year. Have a gap year, get a job & save some money & get some more experience oi you want to. The uni isn't going anywhere so you can afford to take your time so that you're ready for it!
Good luck! Hopefully I'll see you at Cambridge in a couple of years
Thank you so much, my only problem right now is that i keep applying for places and they don't reply, but thank you anyway
Original post by LittlePeach
Thank you so much, my only problem right now is that i keep applying for places and they don't reply, but thank you anyway
Yeah I kept getting that. Literally going in person worked (I think it's harder to say no to someone in front of you than just forget about an email/letter). You'll have to talk to them for the work experience anyway so even if you're shy it's actually better to walk in and see what it's like straight away. And it shows you're putting some effort in. Have a letter ready, know what dates you're looking for, etc. If you're friendly and prepared you're reducing the reasons they have to say no. After that point, it's a numbers game. If each day after school you go to one practice, by the end of a week or two you'll have got it organised.
Original post by laurakyna
Yeah I kept getting that. Literally going in person worked (I think it's harder to say no to someone in front of you than just forget about an email/letter). You'll have to talk to them for the work experience anyway so even if you're shy it's actually better to walk in and see what it's like straight away. And it shows you're putting some effort in. Have a letter ready, know what dates you're looking for, etc. If you're friendly and prepared you're reducing the reasons they have to say no. After that point, it's a numbers game. If each day after school you go to one practice, by the end of a week or two you'll have got it organised.
Thank you again, I'll keep looking for places
Original post by Natasha_Faye
If you have anymore questions feel free to DM me. I’m currently in my first year at the RVC
Hi i'm an international student and planning to apply to rvc veterinary medicine
i do have some work experiences (currently total 6weeks in veterinay clinics and 1 week in hospital lab)
i will be doing more work experiences in summer, after my AS exams
i just want to ask u what kind of work experiences have you done?
and i am going to apply to the summer school in british universities (bristol, rvc and cambridge)
so does the summer school also count as a work experience?
Original post by tjsgnwjs
Hi i'm an international student and planning to apply to rvc veterinary medicine
i do have some work experiences (currently total 6weeks in veterinay clinics and 1 week in hospital lab)
i will be doing more work experiences in summer, after my AS exams
i just want to ask u what kind of work experiences have you done?
and i am going to apply to the summer school in british universities (bristol, rvc and cambridge)
so does the summer school also count as a work experience?
i do have some work experiences (currently total 6weeks in veterinay clinics and 1 week in hospital lab)
i will be doing more work experiences in summer, after my AS exams
i just want to ask u what kind of work experiences have you done?
and i am going to apply to the summer school in british universities (bristol, rvc and cambridge)
so does the summer school also count as a work experience?
I think at some of the summer schools it counts as 1 week of work experience but you would have to check on each ones website to be sure.
You’ve good a good amount of clinical work experience but makes sure you also get farming/husbandry work eg. Lambing and working at a rescue centre.
I did a total of 10 weeks: 3 weeks at small animal clinics, 1 week at an equine hospital, 1 week lambing, 1 week dairy, 4 weeks at rescue centres.
I think the most important thing is being able to talk about your experiences and what you learned from it rather than just quantity but I think around 10 weeks is a good amount as long as it’s varied.
Original post by Natasha_Faye
I think at some of the summer schools it counts as 1 week of work experience but you would have to check on each ones website to be sure.
You’ve good a good amount of clinical work experience but makes sure you also get farming/husbandry work eg. Lambing and working at a rescue centre.
I did a total of 10 weeks: 3 weeks at small animal clinics, 1 week at an equine hospital, 1 week lambing, 1 week dairy, 4 weeks at rescue centres.
I think the most important thing is being able to talk about your experiences and what you learned from it rather than just quantity but I think around 10 weeks is a good amount as long as it’s varied.
You’ve good a good amount of clinical work experience but makes sure you also get farming/husbandry work eg. Lambing and working at a rescue centre.
I did a total of 10 weeks: 3 weeks at small animal clinics, 1 week at an equine hospital, 1 week lambing, 1 week dairy, 4 weeks at rescue centres.
I think the most important thing is being able to talk about your experiences and what you learned from it rather than just quantity but I think around 10 weeks is a good amount as long as it’s varied.
thx for the reply
and one more!
i haven't satisfied the english requirements ( i got a C in english lang, all A*s in bio,chem,phy and maths)
but if i get excellent grades in my predicted a-level grades, would this make be a strong candidate?
Original post by LittlePeach
Im far South Birmingham, and i didn't even think of the nature centre, I completely forgot it existed, and I'll look into the NSA list. Thank you
If you are South Birmingham then you are North Warwickshire, effectively - and Warks is incredibly rural, littered with farms, equine centres, vets, farriers etc.
Original post by tjsgnwjs
thx for the reply
and one more!
i haven't satisfied the english requirements ( i got a C in english lang, all A*s in bio,chem,phy and maths)
but if i get excellent grades in my predicted a-level grades, would this make be a strong candidate?
and one more!
i haven't satisfied the english requirements ( i got a C in english lang, all A*s in bio,chem,phy and maths)
but if i get excellent grades in my predicted a-level grades, would this make be a strong candidate?
Not without the English Language requirement being satisfied.
Original post by tjsgnwjs
thx for the reply
and one more!
i haven't satisfied the english requirements ( i got a C in english lang, all A*s in bio,chem,phy and maths)
but if i get excellent grades in my predicted a-level grades, would this make be a strong candidate?
and one more!
i haven't satisfied the english requirements ( i got a C in english lang, all A*s in bio,chem,phy and maths)
but if i get excellent grades in my predicted a-level grades, would this make be a strong candidate?
You would be a good candidate but remember that everyone has amazing grades and lots of work experience so it’s all about what makes you stand out. Having a week in a lab is great because not as many people have that.
Your English grade has to meet the minimum requirements otherwise they won’t even consider your application. If your English is too low then I would consider trying to retake it.
Original post by Natasha_Faye
You would be a good candidate but remember that everyone has amazing grades and lots of work experience so it’s all about what makes you stand out. Having a week in a lab is great because not as many people have that.
Your English grade has to meet the minimum requirements otherwise they won’t even consider your application. If your English is too low then I would consider trying to retake it.
Your English grade has to meet the minimum requirements otherwise they won’t even consider your application. If your English is too low then I would consider trying to retake it.
i didn't satisfy my igcse english lang so i'm just going to take ielts for english requirements
but still not sure if rvc will accept me in terms of the requirements.
anyways is it alright if i ask u what grades did u get in which subjects? (u dont need to answer this if u dont want to)
also i know that studying in veterinary medicine at rvc is very challenging
do u also have any difficulties studying there?
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Simbasoul
Not without the English Language requirement being satisfied.
i didn't satisfy my igcse english lang so i'm just going to take ielts for english requirements
but still not sure if rvc will accept me in terms of the requirement.
thank u for the reply
Original post by tjsgnwjs
i didn't satisfy my igcse english lang so i'm just going to take ielts for english requirements
but still not sure if rvc will accept me in terms of grades.
anyways is it alright if i ask u what grades did u get in which subjects? (u dont need to answer this if u dont want to)
also i know that studying in veterinary medicine at rvc is very challenging
do u also have any difficulties studying there?
but still not sure if rvc will accept me in terms of grades.
anyways is it alright if i ask u what grades did u get in which subjects? (u dont need to answer this if u dont want to)
also i know that studying in veterinary medicine at rvc is very challenging
do u also have any difficulties studying there?
For GCSE I got 8A*’s, an A (maths) and B (Spanish) but as long as you get the minimum for GCSE, subject choices don’t factor into your application much. For a levels I got A* (biology), A (chemistry), A (maths). Studying at the RVC can be challenging at times (just as it is at any vet school). It’s a demanding course and you have to be on top of making notes and revision from the start. But there’s still time to go out and have fun. As long as you manage your time between work and relaxing then it’s not as challenging/stressful as it may first seem. So far I haven’t had any difficulties studying here. I’m enjoying it so much and find the content we are learning really interesting. There’s a great support network at the RVC so if you do have any problems, theres always someone to talk to.
I am in the same situation. I have just done a day at Langford abattoir which is about an hour and a half from me. It's not easy this for sure. If you live in Birmingham you will have to travel. I live fairly near Birmingham so I know that if you go a bit further out there is plenty to do. Here's a tip. beg. I've gotten lambing purely from begging. You will have to travel. For things like lambing just apply to about 40 places and one will say yes. You need a week in large animal vets and a week in small animal vets. If you're parents wont take you take the bus all friends. Do it. It's not easy but heres the thing. If you dont someone will. Good luck!
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