Bristol - Medicine & vet feedback.

[teta]

I’m looking for feedback on Bristol Uni in general. Whilst Dd is applying for Vet Medicine there will be some similarities between the two courses initially. How well are the courses organised?( obviously vet.). Plus do the league tables matter?
Also do the 1st/2nd years have the time to hold down a holiday or part-time job?
Looking forward to the answers.

Are you only looking for feedback on vet science and medicine?

My DD graduated from Bristol 8 years ago with a degree in a pure science.

I'm not sure what you're asking about league tables. Do you mean when your DD wants to find work or for her now, choosing a uni?

IMO yes league tables matter when choosing a uni. But make sure you look at a few different sources- some are weighted heavily by student satisfaction, others by the amount spent on research. You can find a 10 place difference for the same uni if you look at different league tables.

My DD had no time for p/t work at all at Bristol, except in the holidays when she came home and went back into her 'old' p/t job she'd had while doing her A-levels.

Doing a pure science subject she had to work long hours in the lab and sometimes go in at weekends to monitor ongoing experiments. She also never had 'reading days /weeks' like the students do who did non-science degrees. It was full-on up to 6 days a week.

She would have struggled to work p/t during term time.

I don’t think there are many similarities at all!!! Other than the workload. At Bristol the vets have their own faculty and animal practice out of the city. I am not sure if they spend 2 years in Bristol without seeing any animals there.

There are so few vet schools in the uk (is it 7?) and about 40 med schools, so there really isn’t much of a ranking for vets unless you consider Cambridge to be the best. The league tables for vet med must be very small. Most students are just glad to get an offer from somewhere!

I think vet med is very full on and the vet schools will say what the hours of study are but work with animals will be part of it. My friend’s DD is lambing this holiday. Every bit of Work is animal related and these courses are not really part time allowing time for much else unless it’s animal related.

I’m not surprised so many vets become disillusioned. They have to work so hard from year 10 onwards with the work experience etc and the course itself. And then the money is so poor when you finish. A friend who has been a vet says all the practices are being taken over by big companies with sales targets etc. I think it is a really bad career choice but people seem determined to do it.

Constantlygardening I’m looking for general feedback on life at Bristol from all courses.
Bubblesbuddy for the first 3 years the vets along with the medics are based in Bristol ( bar one day a week when they go to Langley). I’m assuming the courses will be fairly similar with maybe some shared lectures ( not sure).
Bristol Vet is currently at the bottom of the league tables but I don’t think Medicine is? But does it matter? Possibly not. I do know it used to be at the top next to Cambridge.
But Dd was not overly impressed on open day. Not helped by the fact she was stuck on a coach in a traffic jam coming back from Langley and missed her train home.
We have family connections in Bristol and I used to live there as a child. So I’m very keen. However Dd is pretty ambivalent but would like her other choice Surrey to be situated nearer to us. She loves the vet school, but it’s just too difficult geographically to get to.

teta There is a very long thread about Bristol v St Andres just below /above yours, from yesterday and should be very helpful if you want general info about Uni of Bristol.

Yes thank you Constantly.
I’ve been reading it

Teta, DDs a medic.

For medicine, league tables can be of limited use. Courses are different, some with exposure to patients from the first week, others not, and so it is more important to match the course to your preferred way to learn.

This may not apply to vet science, I just don't know. The one Cambridge educated vet I have come across seemed to suggest there is just an awful lot of stuff to learn wherever you go. (Medics have it easy - just one animal to learn about!)

I dont think DD knows any vets. The medic course is big and they are essentially split into two for much of the teaching, and into smaller groups for other stuff, so I dont think she knows all the medics yet.

It pretty obvious that Bubble's daughter is having quite a different experience in halls to mine, though they are living in the same part of Bristol. But that is just one element, and the problems are far from unique to Bristol. She was just unlucky. She has a nice, not too expensive, flat close ot the University lined up for next year, likes her course and finds the City beautiful. If you PM me with questions I can ask DD.

My DD has now left Bristol and had a great time there. I don’t think her experience was utterly different to anyone else. She shared a room with a vet. A best friend (or two) were medics. No vet course is poor and most vets are happy to get an offer. There isn’t much of a pecking order regarding where you qualified. Does Surrey have a vet med course? I don’t think many employers will care. Usually it’s the vets that care about future specialism such as horses, exotics or whatever.

Traffic can hardly be controlled by a university - anywhere! You can get on a later train! It’s hardly a deal breaker for a vet course. There is massive competition for all of them, so being choosy isn’t a recommended.

I would be amazed if they shared lectures with medics. I think you are assuming rather a lot. Have you checked the course information?

You might like to know that all the vet science modules have the word “animal”
in them. The Langford animal hospital is a requirement for 2 days a week in y3. There are free coaches in and out of Bristol.

How come Bristol is difficult to get to from Surrey? Loads of students from Surrey go there. Do you not have a car? Or any relative that can help? Trains are not that bad! It’s not as far as Scotland!

I teach at Bristol Med school and as far as I know haven't ever taught any vets - so I don't think lectures are shared.

I agree vet science so so hard to get into, I'm not sure many people get more than one offer/ a choice?

Thank you for posting. Of course Needmoresleep I remember your Dd is a Medic. I may well pm you in the next few days if that’s ok?
Bubbles Dd also has an offer for Surrey. It’s very new and glamorous and everyone seems rather enthusiastic. The only problem it can take up to 7 hours to get there or back. Traffic can be absolutely horrendous, plus the living costs are high.
I know very little about the 3 years on the main campus at Bristol . The tours concentrated on the Langley campus. So I’ve no idea where the lectures are and who/ if they share.
Thank you for pointing out the vet lectures will have the word ‘ animal’ in front of them . I am very well aware that you can’t be too choosy. Indeed more aware than most!
Dd was disappointed by certain aspects of Langley being quite old fashioned on the open day. Plus having to fork out for an extra £38 for a later train home did not endear her to the course. Especially as she is on a working gap year and pays her own way now.

If she's put off by having to pay out for a train tell her not to become a vet. Money is shite now sadly.

I know Mercison. I keep on telling her. Farm vets seem to be better paid around here though. But I’m aware of the rise of the large multi centre vet conglomerates.

As Surrey is new, it can’t have much of a track record. I would suggest shiny and new shouldn’t be part of the decision-making process. It really should be more about opportunities and quality of teaching. The vet nursing/bio vet course in Bristol is also excellent and it’s a good second choice for students who cannot get into the vet course. I know someone who has just finished it and it was very hard work but worthwhile.

As the main lectures for vets are at the Clifton site of the university, that’s the main site of the university in Bristol. Therefore vet students live with other students in halls either in Bristol or at Stoke Bishop for year 1. They have all the opportunities to live with other students in years 2 and 3 in a rented house/flat around Clifton and then move to nearer Langford for years 4/5. The prospectus makes all this clear. The bus takes the students out to Langford for years 1-3.

I still think missing a train is a bit of a weak reason to discount a university. It’s unfortunate but not a reflection on the university. I would think that Bristol is not old fashioned, but because it’s not a new site at Langford, it’s well used. I would also look at what opportunities there are for study too. We had to take a racehorse there because he had cataracts. About 8 students were able to look at his eyes via very high tech equipment. The lecturer was an animal eye specialist. One of very few in the country. It’s that sort of expertise a student should look at, not necessarily a new and shiny facility.

Open days are never a precise art! Traffic is a problem in most cities.

teta, on working, I suspect not, for all but the summer holidays. Its a pretty full time table, and in the first year at least most departments have exams at the end of the Christmas holidays and then again in the summer. Plus there are a lots of facts to be learnt.

That said some manage better than others. I am sure there will be at least one who has decided to study Mandarin alongside their degree, or is an Olympic athlete. I think there was a medic in one of the Oxbridge boats this year. DD is playing University sport, which involves giving up Wednesday afternoons/evenings and training five times a week, but sport is her downtime. She knows others who manage quite an impressive social life without it impacting on their studies, or are active in music or drama, but others again who never seem to leave the library. So if earning is a priority, it might be possible.

You might also look at University terms. For medics I think after the second year, summer vacations become much shorter.

Bristol doesn't currently have the best reputation for teaching among practicing vets. Equine and Small practical teaching is to an extent limited by the number of cases referred in - and Langford has fewer big name specialists than local rivals B&W. Some of the residents were less than keen to receive referrals at weekends too. Less of an issue with Farm though.

Some friends managed to keep seasonal jobs going (Friend ran an ice cream van) but the killer is EMS which is mostly unpaid (apart from lambing) and compulsory. With larger year groups a lot of practical experience comes from seeing practice, ideally somewhere they get to know you, so you get to do more. Plus can get a good chance of a job offer on graduation!

Farm wise the big names to target for work experience and check out links with unis would be Westpoint (National Corporate, pays pretty well) and Lambert Leonard and May (North West & Midlands).

DD is a second year vet student at Bristol. She is loving all apsects, lived for the first year in Stoke, enjoyed the opportunity to walk to uni and get fresh air.
She has been is a flat share with one vet and 2 non vets this year, next year will be doing similar. Her flat is a couple of mins from lecturs so enjoying the opp to stay in bed longer.
She has come home for each of her placements so far and will continue to do so for the more formal seeing practice ems from year 3.
She has managed to keep up her part time job at home as seh comes home at least once a month and over the holidays, she also manages to still go and help at the local stable and keep up with the v v. Heavy workload. I think this is because she has always been a busy bee!
All in all she loves Bristol, i think most students, esp vets and medics for close bonds with peers and love the uni they are studying. All schools will have good and less good points, but as others have said shiny and new isnt necc better.

Thank you Needmoresleep, Randomsabreuse and PeaceandlOve. All that information is very very useful. Randoms at what stage do you need to start booking Ems with these big names? At the beginning of the first year?
Dd has been invited back to a vet practice here ( tertiary referral practice) as they said they will allow her to do more as they know her. Also a farm practice around here as she really enjoyed working there. There’s a shortage of vets here but the salary’s are low. So I’m intrigued by the prospect of higher salaries.
Dd did notice many of the Equine specialists at Langford qualified in Liverpool. Which I guess says something about Bristol.
Randoms were you happy with Bristol when you were there? Is it only in retrospect you can see the pros and cons? Or do you wish you had gone elsewhere?

I am not a vet, DH is (qualified ages ago) but we have loads of vet friends from most of the unis and DH obviously gets loads of students seeing practice with him - so my perspective is more prospective employer than student...

To be fair a good friend is a clinician in Small Animal at Bristol- and she's great - but when we were more local the equine side was struggling- and relatively recently lost a big name to a local revival which obviously affects case load.

None of the vets particularly regretted their choice of uni, becoming a vet in the first place is more likely to be second guessed than the exact uni chosen.

Practical teaching is suffering (especially at RVC) from the sheer numbers of students in rotation groups- DH was 1 of 4, 10+ is now commonplace, making EMS more important.

Nottingham has gone from nothing to a good reputation so I wouldn't write off Surrey out of hand although their pay scale for clinicians is less good than Liverpool (and obviously cost of living much higher (for clinicians - not necessarily for students))