Vet Med for 2021 entry - lambing problems due to C19

[shockthemonkey]

Hello!

I am sorry if there is already a Vet Med for 2021 entry (I searched but did not find one...) however, the focus of this message is work experience for Vet Med applicants especially with respect to lambing.

I am guiding two applicants and they were looking forward to their lambing placements, both in France.

Now with our shutdown it is almost certain that they won't be allowed to do this any more, and I am worried about the impact on their applications.

Are UK applicants in the same boat? I know that UK is not in lockdown so strictly speaking your DCs will be allowed to move about freely and spend time on farms. Is that right?

I have been calling the vet schools but their phones are ringing off the hook.

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts/advice??

[Needmoresleep]

It is almost certain that we will be in a stricter lockdown pretty soon. We are not very much behind the curve.

[shockthemonkey]

Thanks Sleep, and I'm sorry to hear that.

I wonder what students can do to make up for these missed placements? I mean, can they watch lambing videos online, do lambing MOOCS, will any of this count for anything?

Have emailed the unis (staff working from home now) and will come back here if I get any useful info.

[mumsneedwine]

You don't need lambing experience. My DD hasn't got any and has 4 offers this year. I think Unis will be quite pragmatic about requirements next year - that's if this years lot get to start in Sept. who knows ??

[shockthemonkey]

Thanks! Well done to your DD! I read about her success on another thread - 4 offers would be a dream for most people :-)

I know lambing isn't strictly needed, but it seems to help French applicants stand out (as there are very few sheep farms here, and obtaining the experience is taken as a real sign of commitment)...

I'm hoping they'll be pragmatic -- everyone needs to make serious adjustments it seems.

[mumsneedwine]

I am very sure that Unis will understand why kids have less work experience. All EMS has been cancelled for existing students so they are fully on top of it. It's so hard for DD as she has no idea if she's sitting exams, if she'll start in Sept or what the hell us going on !!

[Wolfff]

You do NOT need lambing to get a place on a vetmed course. DD only went lambing after her applications went in and she received 4 offers. As long as you have some experience with production type animals of any kind it will suffice.

[shockthemonkey]

Thanks Wolfff, as I have said, I know you don't NEED lambing, however for the students I advise, lambing experience really helps them to stand out.

If you look closely at the wording of each vet school's WE recommendations, it is one of the areas that is most often mentioned. Admittedly the phrasing they use is typically soft, with words like "could" and "should" rather than anything more prescriptive, yet I have found a very close correlation (again, for the French-educated students I advise), between lambing experience and vet school offers.

It is lovely all these DCs getting four offers without lambing, but French-educated students start on the back foot with a) beginning their preparations late, because in France you don't begin thinking about university until the start of yr 13 typically, and b) the specificities of the French Bac, with its lighter sciences curricula.

So I do everything I can to help them stand out. I have found that lambing is the common denominator for my successful students.

[shockthemonkey]

I can imagine it's hard for her, mums. We are bracing ourselves here for cancelled Bac exams... who knows what will happen? It's terribly distracting for the students.