Vet Medicine 2021

[doistayordoigo]

Hi, wondering whether there any other parents or students on here applying for Vet Med this year to start in 2021? I was following last year's thread which was very useful and informative, and was hoping for a similar thread this year for the rollercoaster ahead, especially now that things might be very different to previous years.

My DS is probably going to be applying to Liverpool, Bristol, Surrey and Nottingham.

Thanks @handmedownqueen that is interesting.

@mumsneedwine Fewer mums might mean fewer students applying, but then some of the 2020 cohort might end up going in 2021 so swings and roundabouts I think.

Interesting how the exams will be handled.

Hi, sorry late in joining. My DS is hoping to apply for Vet med for 2021. He has his heart set on Edinburgh. Just trying at the moment to make up the cancelled work experience!

Just put on a quick note last night. I had also been following the 2020 theead with interest and great to see so many offers. DS admittedly is on a bumpy road! Unfortunately, he got a 5 in GCSE English Language which knocks out a few of the Uni’s that stipulate a 6. He is ok though for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol & Surrey. He went to the Edinburgh open day in September and loved it. He also went to the Bristol Vetquest day in November. I am from Glasgow so he knows the city well which only leaves Surrey unvisited. Predicted grades sitting at AAB at the moment but he can redo his end of year assessment in September to bump up the B (maths) to an A. We might need to do battle with the HOY whi seems to think he can still apply with AAB, not the message we wanted conveying to a 17 year old boy!

He fortunately spent his 2 week October half term in a Veterinary hospital and a couple of weeks last summer working in kennels. He had lambing, equine hospital and a science summer school at a wildlife park cancelled this year due to Covid though. He will be spending the next 2 weeks on a dairy farm and has just secured a week at a riding stables in a few weeks time, so he will be applying with more than we thought might be possible.

Will be nice to have some company through the process, particularly a mum with a DS, I gather they are a rare species on Vet courses these days! 😆

@Collimayhem Hello! Yes, from the open days we went to boys are indeed a rarity! I wouldn't worry too much about the GCSE English, they can only apply to four unis anyway, so if four are still on the list I'd say that's fine

It sounds like your DS has plenty of work experience too, but as my DS isn't applying to the Scottish universities I stopped keeping track of what their requirements are. Have they reduced then due to Covid as some of the others have? DS really liked Liverpool, which had the most extreme requirements of the ones he's looking at, but they've reduced down to just 5 days experience in any animal setting.

DS did a long term placement at a vet practice every Friday after school, so not sure how many hours that came to, another week in a different vet practice, a week on a dairy farm and a day's lambing. He hadn't managed to get any equine experience booked. Your DS seems to have covered all bases.

@doistayordoigo. Glasgow and Edinburgh don't specify any minimum amount of work experience, just to try and get as broad experience as possible. Liverpool isn't one he will be applying to - it is on our doorstep and deemed 'too close' and they specify the wretched 6 in English! Sounds like your DS has a broad range too. Mine was gutted he couldn't do the lambing, he was all set up to go to a friend's farm in the Highlands for kidding & lambing at Easter - we thought the goat experience might stand out, but wasn't to be.

The farm he is going to next week called him on Monday to say they had a cow about to go into surgery, he could nip over if he wanted to watch - silly boy said he couldn't as he was in an online biology lesson. I was out walking the dog and he didn't want to disturb DH working! Aaargh, we gave him what for and told him not to pass up on that sort of opportunity no matter what he or us were doing - boys!!

DS really enjoyed the lambing as they actually let him get very hands on even though he was only there for a day. And he really loved the cows which surprised me! Real shame your DS didn't get to see the cow in surgery, it would have been a great thing to talk about at interview. Hopefully he'll know better for next time

I think all of the unis will have to me more lenient when it comes to work experience this year to make it fair. I think what will be more important now will be the interviews, so lots of reading up about current affairs in the vet world so they can talk intelligently on various topics.

So lovely to see more people. One thing to recommend is that the kids keep a diary of what they have seen, and most importantly what they have learned from their work experience. When they are filling in the dreaded forms this autumn (not the PS, hardly anyone reads that) it's easier to think of examples if you have a list ready to hand.

So lovely to see more people. One thing to recommend is that the kids keep a diary of what they have seen, and most importantly what they have learned from their work experience. When they are filling in the dreaded forms this autumn (not the PS, hardly anyone reads that) it's easier to think of examples if you have a list ready to hand.

Yes, that's a good point, and a tip I picked up from reading last year's thread. DS has been keeping a diary from the start, he'll definitely need to read it through to refresh himself before filling in the forms.

Thanks, same here, he has been keeping a diary (I hope!) and also using the proforma on the Surrey website to ask for references at the end of the work experience.

Ooh yes get the references as you go along as so much easier. DD's were varied, some gave lots of details others had just two lines giving dates. All accepted.
And when filling in the forms don't just use vet stuff for some of them. Can't give anything away but DD used filleting a fish as an example of a certain skill. Did this in GCSE food.

Ooh yes get the references as you go along as so much easier. DD's were varied, some gave lots of details others had just two lines giving dates. All accepted.
And when filling in the forms don't just use vet stuff for some of them. Can't give anything away but DD used filleting a fish as an example of a certain skill. Did this in GCSE food.

@Colliemayhem - Out of interest, why didn't he retake his English GCSE in year 12? I seem to spend a lot of time asking colleges to make sure anyone joining them in year 12 who has any interest in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, etc., retakes maths/English at the November sitting if they have below grade 6. I'm not sure why the colleges/schools don't identify it as an issue themselves.

@SirTobyBelch we did consider it, but I’m not convinced he would have done any better. Nottingham said if he resat they would require a 7 which we didn’t think would ever happen. I spoke to an Edinburgh admissions lady at the open day and she said it wasn’t an issue, they only require a 4 now, as do Bristol. Glasgow and Surrey both equate a B to a 5, so just crossing everything and hoping it won’t be a blocker.

@colliemayhem - I would have a look at The Student. Room if applying to 2 x Scottish Unis - their offer rate for English students seemed quite low -I think they have quotas for Scots students and take more international students than other schools reducing the number of places for English students.
Bristol also offer or reject on paper without interview and my DD got offers from all three she interviewed for and rejected from there.
She also could only apply to four vet schools as she redid lower sixth as started wrong A levels and lots of them said they would treat her as a resit candidate and not to bother applying.
Have a look at the new ones too HK and in Wales - don't be put off by it being a new school as Surrey has been through the process without problem.
I thought HK had a sound structure having an agriculture vet nursing and physio course already and making use of the excellent Keele Medical School. And the offer was AAB which is her insurance.
In terms of increasing his chances of an offer I would really try to get him to consider Liverpool - it is a really straightforward process and easy to get an interview which gives them a chance to shine and can be easily prepared for.
Liverpool is local to us too and initially she wanted to go elsewhere but ended up rejecting Surrey for it. Its a fab place to be a student.
Im happy to help and advise - I do a lot of prepping medical students for interview and have also been an interviewer - the vet and med school interviews are v similar in their format

Already on the interview agenda, but they need to prepare themselves for questions about this subject in particular the high numbers of individuals leaving the profession within 5 years ( thought to be as high as 25%). Furlough whether you are on it or not has torn the profession apart and this is causing massive issues in practices, there are serious moral problems that I would see as a hot topic for interview.
From what I can see the profession is about to face massive challenges related to drug supply ( many factories are in South America so production is being hit) following the Vet Times is very useful to keep abreast of current issues.

@handmedownqueen thanks. I had a good chat with an admissions officer at Edinburgh about the 'pots' for each category of student and am aware of the numbers they admit in each pot. He really fancies studying in Scotland though (might be my influence!). We will look again at HK, but they were requiring a 6 in English as well as Liverpool and Nottingham.

@Lonecatwithkitten I will get him to read up on that thank you and good tip on the Vet Times.

DS has been asked by the school to finish the first draft of his personal statement by Monday. Do any of the vet schools even look at it?

I think RVC did after they'd read their own forms, as did Nottingham. Might carry more weight this year if they have to do online interviews ?

This document has been released today from the existing vet schools and has information relating to applications and work experience being affected by Covid. It maybe helpful to some people.

@Lonecatwithkitten I'm getting Page not found when I click on the link?

Was it this document?

www.vetschoolscouncil.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/VSC-course-guide-2021.pdf

@MarchingFrogs no they had published their 2021 guidance which for some reason they have pulled back down again. It included how vet schools were going to view work experience in light of the pandemic - clearly there was something in it which was not right. Keep an eye out as I would think it should be back shortly.

Hi, just checking in to see how the applications are going? My DS hit pay and send on Thursday night having finally got confirmation of his predicted grades. Just an anxious wait now and hopefully 4 WES forms to complete!