Applying for Veterinary Med as International Student

Hi! Anyone applying for vet med as an international student (or has already)?
I am applying in 2025 and would like to get to know anyone who's on the same path as me!
Share your story, tips, or experiences! =)
A little bit about me:
I honestly feel like I am a little behind with getting ready for the application as it was only a few months ago that I got interested in applying for UK - still deciding which universities I want to apply to. I am following the American highschool curriculum and currently working on numerous extracurricular activities - most of them are school clubs related to math, eng, and science. So far, I have done 100 hrs of volunteer work at an animal hospital and a few at an animal shelter. For a few days now, I have been thinking that I should start working on my personal statement but I am unsure where to start. Other than this, I am looking for more opportunities that can help me get ready for uni and applications

Hi! Anyone applying for vet med as an international student (or has already)?
I am applying in 2025 and would like to get to know anyone who's on the same path as me!
Share your story, tips, or experiences! =)
A little bit about me:
I honestly feel like I am a little behind with getting ready for the application as it was only a few months ago that I got interested in applying for UK - still deciding which universities I want to apply to. I am following the American highschool curriculum and currently working on numerous extracurricular activities - most of them are school clubs related to math, eng, and science. So far, I have done 100 hrs of volunteer work at an animal hospital and a few at an animal shelter. For a few days now, I have been thinking that I should start working on my personal statement but I am unsure where to start. Other than this, I am looking for more opportunities that can help me get ready for uni and applications

I am going through the application process right now, not really an international student as I am a UK fee paying student but I have lived in the EU my whole life.
You are on the right path and have made a great start! Don't worry about your personal statement yet, just try to get it done during the summer before applying. A good way to meet vet med international applicants is through summer schools if this is a possibility for you financially it is a great opportunity but please don't feel like it is something you need to do. I attended RVC's Pre-Vet Summer School (which has 2 international student scholarships) and I really enjoyed my time there and met a lot of applicants, both international and UK, that I am still in contact with. Posting on the student room is also a great way to meet applicants and I have met a few through the platform too through pre-vet summer School or veterinary medicine applicant threads. Overall, don't stress too much about it yet as you still have time, focusing on finding work experience placements is the best thing you can do for your application for now

Heloo I’m an international student applying to study vet med in the UK! I’d say the application process is definitely not the easiest because of the effort you have to put in, but it’s doable!! I couldn’t get very diverse work experiences due to where the country I’m living in (Msia) but I tried to get longer hours where I did get work experience in! I think I had around 180 hours in total (the minimum requirement for RVC is 70 in clinical practice and 70 non clinical). I’d say the most important thing when it comes to writing about your work experience in ur personal statement is to make sure you thoroughly reflect on what you’ve learnt. Reflect on what stood out to you, what procedures did u learn or assist in, what were u really interested in? Other than work experience, I talked about extra curriculars and linked them to how they would help me as a vet. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I’d be more than happy to help!!

Thank you! Sound like great tips! What was it like to attend the summer school?

Thanks for your advice! I agree with not getting diverse work experience, as in our country students under the age of 18 are not really allowed to volunteer at places that has to do with wild animals or veterinary clinics - but I am really lucky enough to find a place!

Good luck for your application!! I’d be more than happy to help if u need anything

Sounds amazing! I'll definitely PM you

Hi! Anyone applying for vet med as an international student (or has already)?
I am applying in 2025 and would like to get to know anyone who's on the same path as me!
Share your story, tips, or experiences! =)
A little bit about me:
I honestly feel like I am a little behind with getting ready for the application as it was only a few months ago that I got interested in applying for UK - still deciding which universities I want to apply to. I am following the American highschool curriculum and currently working on numerous extracurricular activities - most of them are school clubs related to math, eng, and science. So far, I have done 100 hrs of volunteer work at an animal hospital and a few at an animal shelter. For a few days now, I have been thinking that I should start working on my personal statement but I am unsure where to start. Other than this, I am looking for more opportunities that can help me get ready for uni and applications

Hii, also international (from Canada) applying to veterinary in the UK!! Sounds like you are on the right track, it may be good to try and get some large animal experience if you only have small animal, but I get how its pretty difficult to find opportunities. You could maybe look into any farms, or riding schools as those usually give good experience with cows, horses, etc.
For my personal statement, I wrote about what moment made me realize I wanted to be a vet despite all the challenges I have faced working in a clinic. I also wrote about the skills I have gained/learned from my experiences/volunteering and how it shapes me as a person and a future vet. Hope that can help give you some ideas!
Other than that, I think it may be good to consider how you will be financing vet school, as international fees are kinda crazy and some schools have higher tuition than others and some with higher cost of living.
Good luck with your applications!!

Hi, I'm currently in grade 11 (BC Canada) and also interested in applying to UK veterinary schools next year. Do you know if AP biology and AP chemistry are required for application as Canadian students? Thanks!

Heloo I’m an international student applying to study vet med in the UK! I’d say the application process is definitely not the easiest because of the effort you have to put in, but it’s doable!! I couldn’t get very diverse work experiences due to where the country I’m living in (Msia) but I tried to get longer hours where I did get work experience in! I think I had around 180 hours in total (the minimum requirement for RVC is 70 in clinical practice and 70 non clinical). I’d say the most important thing when it comes to writing about your work experience in ur personal statement is to make sure you thoroughly reflect on what you’ve learnt. Reflect on what stood out to you, what procedures did u learn or assist in, what were u really interested in? Other than work experience, I talked about extra curriculars and linked them to how they would help me as a vet. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I’d be more than happy to help!!

Hello! Also applying to vet schools from Malaysia may I know what types of animals you worked with during your work experience?

Hi, I'm currently in grade 11 (BC Canada) and also interested in applying to UK veterinary schools next year. Do you know if AP biology and AP chemistry are required for application as Canadian students? Thanks!

Another way to get some work experience hours for US/Canada based students... My daughter did a teen tour in the Summer after her Sophomore year to Costa Rica and volunteered at two different animal rescue centers. It gave her 35+ volunteer hours, some incredible experience with exotic animals and she had a blast. It isn't a cheap option for sure but then the RVC Summer Program isn't a cheap option either if you are coming from the US/Canada. I think the exotics experience looked really good on her Personal Statement, she had traveled there by herself etc, an all round great thing to do.

I don’t want to take away from the experience, but for those that can’t afford that kind of thing it really doesn’t matter. The PS is not looked at by most vet schools because they have understood that there is very often very little P in it and rather a lot of teacher and parent input. Hence the reason for questionnaires and SJT’s. They are on most occasions only used to decide between students with identical scores elsewhere. What the schools will look at is your ability to reflect on what you have seen or done and how you have handled difficult situations. The fact that someone is capable of organising and traveling to something out of their home county/ state is valued but whether it be for cows, goats or lizards makes no difference. It’s the determination and motivation that the schools are looking for because it’s this that will be required to organise both the clinical and non clinical EMS during the course.
If you can get fun things abroad that’s great, but if you can’t, as long as you get the minimum hours required and you reflect on your experiences, then you most definitely will not be at any disadvantage.