top of page
🖥️  UCAT
🔬  BMAT
🦷  Dentistry
💼  Application Guide
📚  Personal Statement
💬  Interviews
🐶  Veterinary Medicine
🏫  Medical Schools 
🌍  International Medicine
🎓  Graduate Entry Medicine

Application Guide 2023: 

Veterinary Medicine

The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Vet in the UK in 2023

<p class="font_9" style="text-align: justify"><strong>Dr. Rebecca Massie&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p class="font_9" style="text-align: justify">Veterinary Admissions Expert</p>

Dr. Rebecca Massie 

Veterinary Admissions Expert

Introduction

Are you passionate about animals and aspire to become a veterinarian? Pursuing a career in veterinary medicine is both fulfilling and rewarding, and this comprehensive guide will help you navigate the path to achieving your dream career in 2023. So you want to become an animal doctor? But you're unsure about the entry requirements, what you need to do, work experience or the timeline for application. You will find everything answered below.


We will cover everything from prerequisites for veterinary school to personal statements, interviews, and application tips. Let's dive into the exciting world of veterinary studies!


To become an animal doctor in the UK, you will need to have good academic grades and veterinary work experience as a baseline. As it is a very competitive course, you must also be able to convince the admissions team at the vet school of your motivation and suitability for the course - your personal statement, SAQs (supplementary assessment questionnaires) and veterinary interviews all contribute to this.


In this article, you will find out everything that you need to know about applying to study veterinary medicine in the UK. You will learn about the different factors that make up an application as well as all of the tips and tricks to help boost your application. 


Article Contents

  1. Deciding on Veterinary Medicine

  2. Veterinary Medicine Entry Requirements

  3. Choosing the Right Veterinary Course

  4. Veterinary Application Process

  5. Vet Schools in the UK

🏫

Deciding On Veterinary Medicine - Why become a vet?

Why I Want To Be A Veterinarian

Identifying your motivation for applying to study Veterinary Medicine is crucial to your success. Everyone has a different story, but we have described here some common reasons why people choose to be a veterinarian. Use these examples to help you master your answer to this question, this will be needed in your personal statement, SAQ and vet school interview


Why I Want To Be A Veterinarian - Helping Animals

By definition, your job as a veterinarian will involve preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases in animals. Your role is to reduce animal suffering, which makes this a highly rewarding career. You will be able to treat a WIDE range of animals - anything from rats, dogs, and snakes to horses, parrots and even elephants! This is something that very few other careers allow you to enjoy and experience. 


Why I Want To Be A Veterinarian - It's Never Boring!

Far from a standard office job, no two days will be the same as a vet - you'll treat everything from routine illnesses to emergencies and be performing surgeries too. It's fast-paced and full of excitement! While sometimes it can be stressful (make sure you know some of the negatives for your vet school interview), you are constantly thinking on your feet, working within a multidisciplinary veterinary team with nurses and therapists and taking on lots of responsibility. 


Why I Want To Be A Veterinarian - Problem Solving

Every diagnostic challenge is like solving a puzzle - if problem-solving is something that interests you, then becoming a veterinarian will suit you well. Unlike patients, you will have to try to decipher what is going on through communication with the owners and a thorough diagnostic examination of the animal - this can be very difficult. 


Why I Want To Be A Veterinarian - Community

As a vet, you'll have a lot of interaction with members of the public - for those of us who enjoy the company of others and have good communication skills, this is ideal. You will need to have a warm, talkative and friendly personality to get on with all your coworkers and clients in the veterinary field. 


Should I Become a Vet?

Wondering if Veterinary Medicine is the right subject for you? We're here to help. Feel free to drop us a message to find out more about how we can help your decision-making process. We can advise on everything from vet school work experience, the veterinary personal statement, SAQ, vet school clearing courses and veterinary interviews


Should I Become a Vet - Academics

Veterinary Medicine is an academically challenging course, so the grade requirements are high to get into vet school. If you have an interest in science subjects and receive good grades in them at school, then this bodes well for your application! That said, some vets are not such 'natural' scientists but study hard to achieve their goals - if you're finding your studies difficult but really want to become a vet, don't let yourself be put off and keep trying your best.


Should I Become a Vet - Personality

Becoming a vet requires a certain personality type, that's for sure! Remember that you'll be working with people in this job just as much as animals, so good communication skills are essential. You'll also need to be resilient as it is both a challenging course and career, with many highs and lows. To be a good vet, you'll have to be readily adaptable to new circumstances and really practice thinking on your feet!


Should I Become A Vet - Animals

It goes without saying that a love of animals is essential in this career - of course, a job as a vet in clinical practice guarantees you a lifetime of seeing a huge variety of animals daily!