After a year of incredibly hard work and a summer of relaxation, I'm less than two weeks away from moving into the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) to continue my journey towards becoming a Veterinary surgeon :)
Just a year ago I was preparing my application to study Vet Med by finalising my personal statement and ensuring all my extracurriculars were uploaded onto my UCAS page.
I remember thinking how fast the application process passed and how much I had to do, so I thought it would be helpful to share my tips and tricks on the process of applying and what comes next.
Personal Statement (PS):
When writing my personal statement, I was lucky enough to have older siblings and friends who could offer me theirs to help me out.
So, my first piece of advice is to use all the help that is available to you.
Whether it be siblings, friends or cousins, asking for other people’s personal statements or for feedback on your own can be hugely beneficial. Another resource is school teachers, older students and alumni. Many teachers read my statement and asking for older alumni's contact details enabled me to gain the opinion of someone who has been through the process before. I emailed previous Vet med and medical students as well.
Don't be afraid to read statements that aren't in your specific field. I read my brother's engineering PS many times and it helped me a lot in getting an edge over my competition, something very valuable in such a competitive field.
Choosing Universities:
With Vet Med, Med, Dentistry and Oxbridge you can apply to 4 universities as opposed to the usual 5. However, you may apply to a fifth different degree that is not Vet Med, Med or Dentistry.
I found looking at the league tables helpful in beginning the search for universities that would fit me well. I used it to direct me in the rough direction of the universities available as I had no clue before then. Luckily for Vet Med, there are only 8 universities that offer the course so that narrows down the options.
I found looking on forums such as The Student Room very helpful in understanding what it's like to study at the unis. It even has a tool which compares things such as grade boundaries, travel time and student satisfaction all on one page which is much less daunting than 5 google tabs.
Take advantage of the students on open days and lecture events. The RVC has Night at the Vet College events which are free to the public and interesting. It allows you to talk to students about the opportunities available at the uni and also make some useful contacts to ask for advice on interviews or writing your PS.
What Next?
After you finalise and send your application on UCAS your unis will send you an email welcoming you to the application process. You can always call them or UCAS up and ask if you have any questions.
If you haven't started already, I would begin gathering articles, papers and anything that interests you about Vet Med and your related interests. I used Twitter, Flipboard and Pinterest to find lots of useful things and then print them into a physical folder as your portfolio. This is a record of your interest into Vet Med and will help immensely in your PS and your interviews. I also would recommend reading fictional books of the daily life of a vet to fully prepare yourself.
The ones I read were:
Tell Me Where it Hurts by Dr Nick Trout
Once Bitten by Nick Marsh
Vet on Call by Marc Abraham
It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Heriot
These books were great in allowing me to fully appreciate the daily job and providing fascinating cases that I then linked with further research. When reading, I recommend that you highlight, scribble and note in, on and around your book. Look up any medical jargon, surgical vocab and medications to have in your brain.
An obvious source of information are the popular TV shows such as The Supervet and The Yorkshire Vet. While these shows are really good, be aware that they are edited and tend to conceal the boring paperwork and routine check-ups that you always have as a Vet.
I hope this was all helpful stuff and feel free to email me if you want any further info!
My email is: saskia.veterinary@gmail.com
:)
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