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.

DS also hit pay and send last week, but without confirmation of predicted grades from the school, which made me very nervous! Had telephone parents evening on Thursday where 3 subjects provided predicted grades, but the chemistry teacher said he couldn't provide it, we;d need to ask the head of department. Said it wouldn't be lower than an A so I guess I should stop worrying. DS has banned me from contacting the head of department directly Based on that though it looks like his predicted grades will be A/A/A/A

@doistayordoigo That's an excellent set of predicted grades! DS has meeting with the head of year tomorrow to review the form and he will see his references before the form is submitted to UCAS this week. I guess the work experience forms come next and then wait to hear if he has got any interviews. I must confess, I am a wee bit worried about the interviews being online this year, I just don't know how DS will come across on a screen, but then everybody is in the same boat. Hope it goes well for your DS. Do you think there are only the 2 on here applying this year?

I'm reading this thread with interest as DD will be an applicant this time next year for 2022 entry!

He works very, very hard to get those grades, so I feel he deserves them...but of course he still needs to actually achieve them in reality.

It seems strange that there would only be two of us this year, but i suppose it's possible. Don't know whether DS has a meeting or will get to see his reference, I'll have to ask him. I think online interviews will be strange for everyone, but surely they will have to take that into account? I'm not sure they are all online though? I think Surrey is still in person, and not sure about Nottingham?

Welcome MidLifeCrisis007 Given that there only seem to be two of us, and this year will be far from normal, you might want to read last year's thread as well, it was very informative and a bit busier than this one!

That’s 3 of the WES requests through. DS needs to get busy now!

Has he started filling them in yet Colliemayhem?

DS has just started looking at his now, but has started with the first paper re work experience from Nottingham. Unfortunately we have just noticed an issue with one of his references which doesn't mention the day he spent working with sheep.

He has had a look at a couple of them that are due this week. He is on half term now, so will set to them in earnest tomorrow. We have been down to have a campus tour of Surrey today.

We're not on half term until next week, but like your DS he's had a look at the earlier one. It would be much easier if they could standardise their approach! What did you think of Surrey?

We liked Surrey, it was just a walk around the campus and a look in the library and two sets of accommodation. It had a nice feel to it. We drove round Manor Park where the vet school is and it felt very new and modern. I was on the tour with DS while DH wandered on his own as only one guest could go on the tour. A student asked DH if he was ok while he was looking at a campus map and they got chatting, turned out the student was a 5th year vet med student so they had a really good chat and DH got lots of useful information.

It was a long day - 7 hour round trip for us, but well worth it. Had a slight panic last night when we realised the request for references to be uploaded was on the Surrey self service account so got them uploaded last night. Just crossing fingers that it was in time to get the detailed questionnaire that they are emailing out today.

That’s Surrey’s here now. Going to be a busy week. We are hoping to head away at the weekend if we are able, so have a target of getting the Bristol & Surrey questionnaires done before we go. Have set DS a deadline of tonight to get Glasgow & Edinburgh’s submitted.

We liked Surrey too, although the campus felt very small and quiet, even on a proper open day. But the vet side was lovely, DS really liked the gym and sports facilities.

I need to check whether he's had the email from Surrey, I don't know why he wouldn't have, but I'm mum worrying I suppose! We've got Bristol & Surrey, then Liverpool Nottingham. Nottingham have three different papers to be completed at various times in various ways. Need a spreadsheet to keep track of everything!

Blimey, I had been told that Vet med was one of the hardest courses to apply for but how such little forms can be so stressful, each one different too! Had a mad panic submittign Edinburgh’s yesterday due to IT problems. Surrey being done today - love the situational questions. It makes me think of those magazine quizzes - ‘Mostly A’s - you will be the perfect Vet, Mostly B’s - you should never be let near animals etc etc! 😂 Then Bristol’s and wait....

DS has done Bristol, and has Situational Judgement tests to fo for Surrey and Nottingham. He's half way through paper 2 for Nottingham, where each question only allows 180 characters...not words, characters! Including spaces. It's barely enough for a proper sentence!

How is it going @doistayordoigo? Half term was a bit stressful, he got tied up in knots over the Bristol form and then got the email saying not to submit yet as they had issues at their end. That is sorted now, so he will get that off tonight. Then Glasgow e-mailed to say they were changing their procedures and he had to do an ethics test sometime between Thursday and Monday and they will select for interview based on the results from that, so that was Friday’s task. Previously, the interviews and ethics tests were done at the same time. Got an interview date for Surrey mid December and a waiting game now others It’s a slow process. Trying to keep his spirits up is hard, last night was difficult as he found out his driving test booked for this month has been cancelled!

DS managed to submit the Bristol form although now I'm worrying about whether it went through properly. Well done on the interview for Surrey - how did they let him know and how soon after doing the SJT? Also, is it in person or virtual? DS hasn't heard anything from Surrey, but has an interview on Zoom next Monday for Liverpool. Bad news about his driving test, will he be able to keep practicing during lockdown?

Probably worth giving Bristol a.call. They were really helpful when we called to get the deadline changed on the portal thingy due to the submission issues. He got an e-mail from Surrey on Friday evening. He had submitted the SJT on Thursday kast week I think. The interviews are on Zoom this year, I think most are. Good luck to your DS for Livepool on Monday. He will keep driving through lockdown, we can always take the long route back from school!

I thought I'd posted a response last night but it isn't here, so no idea what happened to it. DS had an email from Surrey at about 8.30 last night inviting him for interview...hurray! Just Nottingham and Bristol now, but I know Bristol don't send offers/rejections quickly so not expecting to hear anything for a while. Not sure about Nottingham. I hate this waiting game...

That’s great news. I think they must have been sending out batches at 8pm each evening. DS wasn’t impressed at my suggestion of a poster of Noel Fitzpatrick on his wall for the zoom interview! 😆

Hi - new to the thread. DS has applied to Liverpool,Glasgow,Edinburgh & HarperKeele . Is the Veterinary ethics test from Glasgow one they send out to you or should we have been aware of that like the work experience forms. Not heard from anyone yet.

hi @kpandthesunshineband2, welcome. gosh 3 boys applying must be unusual given the 1:10 ratio - I think it was all girls on last years thread! DS got an e-mail from Glasgow on the 27th with details of the ethical reasoning test. It was open for completion between Thursday and Monday. They might be sending them out in batches or might be worth checking spam folder. There is nothing on the Uni self service account & no receipt so hoping it has gone through ok.

Welcome kpandthesunshinband2 Definitely unusual to be all boys! Although I think there were a couple on last year's thread? Liverpool is the only one we have in common, so no idea on the processes for the other three I'm afraid. DS went to book his interview for Surrey today and the date available has changed from 15th December to 13th January, which is a nuisance as he has micks in school all that week. Given the current situation I don't really want to advise him to miss a mock, just in case they're needed to allocate grades at some point.

Ok thanks, will make sure he has checked spam , hopefully it’s just batches. All very nerve wracking.
Agree it’s reassuring to see other boys applying.
Definitely I was a bit sad at the open days to see so few boys.

Thought I'd pop by and say hi and hope everyone holding up ok. Always stressful when interviews start coming out. The wait is horrible ! If can help with vague timelines from last year or any general advice please ask.
DD having fun at Bristol. Missing things being normal but she's v busy and has some f2f stuff. And Uni looking after them well.

Hi @mumsneedwine. Just hanging in there. Thankfully, looking theough last years thread prepared me for what a long process this is, although you never quite appreciate it fully until you are in the middle of it. The stressful part is making sure a laid back 17 year old boy is on top of it! 🤔 While being a vet is all he wants to do, I don’t think he quite got just how rigorous the selection process is and the preparation other than getting the work experience that is required. He does now! As parents, we have prodded him along and supported, proof read etc. Now at interview stage and importantly getting those grades it is all down to him!
Glad your Dd is settled at Bristol. The Bristol form went in this week, so now we wait..

@Colliemayhem for interviews know why a vet. If you say 'want to care for animals' be prepared to answer why not a vet nurse then. Nurses can do everything except surgery if have the degree. And know that you are treating the animal and the owner - and the owner is your customer !
Fingers crossed 🤞 for everyone over next few months.