Veterinary science-which uni?

[AutisticLegoLover]

Dd wants to do veterinary science and is googling universities and trying to evidence where to apply. We live in greater Manchester (sort of) but are on the edge of the Peak District. She wants to stay fairly close to home.
I've said that nearer the time we will go and look at places but she'd like some pointers before that point because she's a planner.
Any advice would be great. Thank you.

It can help to find one vet practice for the bulk of your experience as being there a lot will help you progress and do more things and develop more confidence.

One thing to consider is if she'd be interested in working in the US/Canada only some of the vet schools are US board accredited and US Board exams are apparently an expensive PITA.

She needs to be aware of how stressful the job can be - almost HALF of newly qualified vets leave the profession in the first 5 years due to stress and work/life balance. Older vets are retiring in droves and usually selling their practices to the large corporates.

A lot of work is dealing with man-made problems ie the designer dog breeds with genetic problems; embryo calf transfers into surrogate cows that are too small meaning C-sections; the huge rise in obesity in many pet animals; some less than savoury treatment of farm animals (not all of course but they do exist).

Also the daily problem of clients not being able to pay or being slow to pay, complaining about treatment etc. A lot of pressure on vets is dealing with the public, the animals are the easy ones.
Be aware that there is only a couple of vet schools which will take a B in chemistry, the others all need a non-negotiable A.

Dont forget the 2 Scottish vet schools - very highly thought of and usually top/near top of rankings (but even more competitive to get in , historically 10/12 applicants per place).

When she gets to applying , there are specialist mentor companies that will coach her on interview techniques and advise in how to make her personal statement - expensive (and personally I don’t agree with them but they are available, often the same ones that advise on getting into medicine and dentistry).

it’s definitely a vocational job and “loving animals” is not enough, she will need to be able to discuss the downsides of being a vet at interviews etc. and demonstrate that she is going into the industry with her eyes wide open.

I’d avoid Harper Keele, surely students spend half their time on a shuttle bus going back and forth. DD wasn’t keen.

Liverpool (and most others) seem to have relaxed their work experience requirements and do not specify type needed apart from recommending 1 week of 3 be within a vet practice.

Nottingham have set up an online work experience that many other unis reference and some even require completion of this in lieu of or in addition to traditional work experience.

Cambridge also offer vet med.

Agree too with the competitive and stress, good to have eyes wide open at this early stage. Good luck to her!

The changes in work experience requirements were due to covid and I expect they'll go back to normal next year.
And having a variety of experiences will help at interviews. Virtual is just not the same.

University of Nottingham has an excellent school of Veterinary Medicine.

I was going to say (but already been pointed out) that you take what you get!! If you get one offer out of 4, then that's the one. So choose the 4 carefully.

Not sure this is a choice. The experience of the abattoir. Not the diet! Animal welfare at UK slaughterhouses is strictly regulated and vets are a crucial part of this.

No, the S stands for surgery. Bioveterinary science is a totally separate degree and they are often mixed up.

Edinburgh veterinary course graduates of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Science are MRCVS qualified the name change is more recent (from science to surgery- maybe to appeal to students from e.g. the States, or to stop people being confused?). Surrey University call there veterinary degree BVMSci – Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Science (from Surrey university) again qualifying for MRCVS.

From Bristol University website "BVSc Veterinary Science (D100)".

@SaorsaSolasta veterinary science and veterinary medicine are the same degree. Both accredited by the RCVS. Both make you a practising vet both here and abroad. Bio veterinary is different.

Nottingham has two cohorts a year so bear this on mind

Thank you for all the advice. She's currently choosing her options and isn't sure what to do. Separate sciences is a definite, geography, and there's 2 others to choose. It depends on the amount of interest as to if they run courses.

@AutisticLegoLover if it helps at all mine did GCSE food tech (v useful once at Uni). Was told it wasn't academic enough but she got all 4 offers so shows no one minded. Whatever she does she needs to enjoy it and get the grades, whatever she decides to pursue. DD would really recommend business as there is quite a bit on the course, but drama would be helpful for role plays at interview and at Uni.

DD has just passed her vet med finals in Edinburgh and has a job offer , whew. It’s been a long 6 years. Work experience is very important , it helps you make contacts for the future. one thing we did not realise is that to qualify you have to do many weeks of ems in your holidays firstly learning animal husbandry and later in the clinical years clinical ems. These weeks can be expensive if need accommodations away from home or uni so helpful to have contacts close to home. another factor is these weeks consume so much time that working to earn money is rarely possible. my DD has worked hard lambing every year over the last 8 and has earned some money from this though *** hard work she deserves every penny , has just finished 2 + weeks of night shifts ! Good luck , this degree needs stamina and the stats re those leaving the job within 5 years are sobering, the same stats apply to medics too !

Liverpool and Bristol used to be the best unis for veterinary science. Not sure if that's changed. Liverpool has an equine specialist facility as well.

There are no best Unis for vet med. They all offer a degree accredited by RCVS. Some also are accredited by various other countries too (changes but on websites).
DD has lambed once in 3 years and won't again. EMS is v time consuming, but there is a consultation underway to reduce the number of weeks, and make it easier to source, with a centralised database.
And more Unis offering vet med now, with UCLAN new this year.
DD knew she'd not be able to get a paying job, so worked from 16-18 in a supermarket and uses her savings to fund EMS (although has always had free accommodation on site so far).

I've recently visited most of the vet schools in England with DD and from what I can see there is no one particular 'best' place to go. As well as distance from home I'd advise your DD to consider whether they'd be happier at a city based University or a campus based one. It sounds like the nearest to you would be Keele but as a pp has pointed out this is a joint course with Harpur Adams and applicants can state a preference but can't choose one or the other on application.

If your DD is only Y9 they may obviously change their mind about where they want to be. Mine was determined at a similar age that she wanted to go to a certain place as it was close to us and not far from other places she knows- but when she got as far as applications and open days changed her mind completely.

I'd also advise your DD to try to have a few interests as well as animals. DD found that interviewers wanted her to talk about these.

With vet med u need to apply strategically it’s often a 2-3 year cycle to get in,. You need to look at all unis that do it and then look at all the information and see where they are more likely to get offered a place. Everyone who applies will have top grades, lots have work experience that needs signing off before application deadline in October.
Good luck.

Vets and Veterinary Nursing are completely different jobs, it really depends what she enjoys.
Veterinary nursing is also very competitive to get into too.

It looks like a 3rd option for Vet Med in Scotland is starting soon at SRUC Aberdeen campus.

https://www.sruc.ac.uk/study-with-us/subject-areas/veterinary-medicine/

She's written to our local vets and introduced herself and asked if they would consider her for work experience next summer. She's still only 14 but is taking steps towards the career she wants and I admire that. It's good to know what you all have advised and it's much appreciated.