Top Tips for Students & Parents Applying to Veterinary Medicine

Advice for Students applying to Veterinary Medicine

1. Start at the Bottom and Work Your Way Up
Securing work experience at veterinary practices can be tough, but it's crucial. Begin by gaining basic animal husbandry skills in settings like catteries, kennels, stables, or farms. Learning how to handle animals and recognise what “normal” looks like is a great foundation. Once you have this experience, ask your supervisors if they can recommend local vets or write you a letter of recommendation. Getting a placement through recommendations is often much quicker than cold emailing unfamiliar practices.

2. Consider Both Sides of Every Argument
There are many controversial topics in Veterinary Medicine and Farm. For example, if an owner asks you to euthanise a healthy dog, your first instinct might be to say "no." However, it’s important to consider the situation carefully—sometimes animals are euthanised due to behavioral issues, changes in their environment, or because the owner can no longer afford them. Understanding the complexities of these situations will help you think critically, and prepare you for the ethical questions you may face in your vet school interviews.

3. Keep a Work Experience Diary
As you gain work experience, make sure to write down your observations and reflect on them. Keeping a detailed diary will help you remember what you’ve learned over time. Look up diagnoses and treatments you've seen during your shifts to deepen your understanding—this will make it easier to recall specific examples when you’re asked about them in interviews.

4. Writing a Personal Statement for Veterinary Medicine
Writing a personal statement can be daunting. Start by making a list of qualities that define a good vet—such as empathy, strong communication skills, and the ability to prioritize. Then, provide concrete examples from your work experience or day-to-day life that demonstrate these qualities. Avoid simply listing work experience—admissions officers will already have this information, so focus on how your experiences have shaped you into a strong candidate for veterinary school. For me support with this visit the we run online 1-1 sessions.

Advice for Parents of Veterinary Medicine Applicants

1. Keep Track of Deadlines
Students applying to veterinary medicine often juggle numerous responsibilities—work experience, homework, and application writing. Parents can help by ensuring that all deadlines are marked on the calendar. The UCAS application deadline for vet school is earlier than other programs, and missing this deadline could result in the application being dismissed. Other important dates included submission of work experience forms, supporting questionnaires and if applying to Cambridge university the admission tests application.

2. UCAS, UCAS, UCAS
UCAS is the portal for university applications in the UK. Students can apply to five courses through UCAS, but only four can be for veterinary medicine. The fifth application should be for a subject with lower entry requirements, allowing your child to have an alternative option if they don't achieve the required grades. If your child is only interested in veterinary medicine, some universities offer pre-vet courses that can count as the fifth application. These courses lead onto or provide an automatic interview for the veterinary medicine degree.

3. Visit the Universities
Different vet schools have their own unique strengths, environments, and teaching styles. It's important for both you and your child to visit potential universities before the interview process. This helps ensure that they’ll be comfortable with the location and people, and prevents surprises when the interview day arrives.

4. Seek Guidance When Needed
We are always happy to offer help and advice to both students and parents about the veterinary school application process. If you’d like assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch via our contact page.

Additional Opportunities

If you’re looking to gain equine and farm animal veterinary work experience, consider our Pre-Vet Course running in August 2025. This course is designed to give students valuable hands-on experience in farm and equine veterinary care. Alternative consider our 1-1 online support sessions.

Good luck with your veterinary school applications!

🐑 What to Expect from Lambing Work Experience: A Guide for Vet School Applicants - Part 1

For some, the lambing season is already in full swing, while for others, preparations are well underway. If you're considering lambing work experience as part of your pre vet work experience, it’s crucial to understand the farmer’s goals before you visit. Are they aiming for early lambing to sell their lambs at a premium price in the Easter market? Or perhaps they’re lambing later in the season and raising lambs on fresh grass to produce a lower-input, more sustainable product? Do they sell store lambs or finished lambs? These are just a few examples of different farming approaches.

So, what should you know before embarking on your lambing placement? Understanding the farm's production goals will help you engage with the tasks, contribute meaningfully, and reflect on your experiences during vet school interviews. By gaining insight into lambing practices and agricultural methods, you’ll be better prepared for those vet school interview questions about animal welfare, farming systems, and the role of vets in livestock production.

So… What do you need to know before going on a lambing placement?

View from a hill farm.

What time of farm is it?

Understanding the type of sheep farm you’re visiting is essential for making the most of your lambing work experience. There are several types of farming systems, with the broad categories being hill, upland, and lowland farms. Each system requires ewes with specific traits, and knowing these differences will help you gain a deeper understanding of animal husbandry practices.

For example, hill flocks typically require ewes with a strong mothering instinct to protect their lambs from predators and harsh weather conditions. However, these ewes are generally less prolific, often producing a single lamb per birth. In contrast, lowland flocks are more focused on prolificacy, meaning the ewes are bred to produce twins or even triplets. These ewes are often lambed indoors earlier in the season to protect the lambs and ensure optimal growth.

Understanding the differences between these farming systems will allow you to engage more effectively during your pre vet work experience and discuss various lambing methods, production goals, and animal care practices during your vet school interview.

Indoor lambing with each ewe and her lamb/lambs in an individual pen.

Breed of Sheep

Understanding the breed of sheep you’ll be working with is crucial during your lambing work experience, especially as certain breeds are more prone to specific lambing complications. One of the most common challenges in sheep lambing is dystocia, which refers to difficulty during birth. Some breeds are more predisposed to dystocia than others, particularly those with larger body types or muscular builds.

Double-muscled breeds, such as Beltex and Texels, along with any other breeds that have large shoulders and rumps, are more likely to experience birthing difficulties. This is because the pelvic canal of the ewe may be too narrow to allow the lamb’s shoulders and hindquarters to pass through easily. In some cases, this can lead to the need for a caesarean section to assist with the delivery.

As part of your pre vet work experience, it’s essential to assess the ewe’s pelvic size and the shoulder/hindquarter width of the lambs before attempting to assist in the birth. This knowledge will be invaluable when discussing lambing techniques or veterinary intervention during your vet school interviews, particularly when it comes to animal welfare, breeding issues, and surgical procedures.

Vaccination Status of the Flock

During your lambing work experience, it’s crucial to understand the vaccination status of the flock, as this can significantly impact the occurrence of diseases during lambing. Two highly contagious diseases that are common in sheep flocks during lambing are toxoplasmosis and enzootic abortion. Both of these diseases can be prevented through vaccination, although the cost of the vaccines means that vaccination status can vary between farms.

• Toxoplasmosis is caused by a protozoan parasite. It can lead to a range of symptoms, but the two most common signs are:

  • Barren ewes at scanning (due to reabsorption of the fetus in early pregnancy), and

  • Lambing abnormalities, including mummified fetuses, weak lambs, and stillborn lambs.

• Enzootic abortion is a bacterial disease that causes premature lamb deaths. The two main clinical signs are:

  • Premature stillborn lambs, typically occurring two weeks before the due date, and

  • A red, thickened placenta.

If either disease is suspected, immediate action is needed. The ewe showing clinical signs should be isolated from the rest of the flock to prevent further spread. Any placental and fetal material should be carefully removed, and the foetus and placenta should be kept as clean as possible. It’s important to call a veterinary surgeon to take samples for testing and confirm the presence of the disease. Additionally, the area where the abortion occurred should be thoroughly disinfected to minimize the risk of further contamination.

This knowledge is vital for anyone pursuing pre vet work experience, as understanding disease management during lambing is a crucial topic in vet school interviews. You may be asked about your role in managing animal welfare and how you would respond to such situations.

If you are interested in sheep husbandry and handling and would like to come and learn more we will be running sheep courses all year round. Click below for more information.

What to expect from Stud Work Experience: Foaling Complications

What is Colic in Horses?

Colic is a term used to describe abdominal discomfort in horses, which can range from mild to severe. A horse experiencing mild colic might show signs such as going off its food and repeatedly watching its flanks, while a more severe case could involve the horse violently rolling around in pain, even after receiving a large dose of pain relief.

Colic can occur at any stage of a horse's life. However, certain causes of colic are more frequently associated with foaling mares, making this a particular concern during and after birth.

Katie (right) and Maeve (left) playing in the field together.

Three years ago, at Skelwith Stud, we had a case of post-foaling colic. Sadly, in this case, Liz had to make the heartbreaking decision to put the mare to sleep because she was too poorly to be transported to a referral hospital. We attempted to find a foster mare to raise the orphan foal, Maeve, but unfortunately, we were unsuccessful. Maeve was hand-reared and fed every 4 hours until the time she would have naturally been weaned.

Maeve was a bit lonely in her first few days of life, so Katie, the Shetland pony—very kindly donated by young Poppy Launder—joined Maeve to keep her company.

Young Poppy Launder enjoying a riding lesson on Katie with Liz whilst Maeve encourages her rising trot.

The mare suffered from a torsion of the large colon. Foals take up a large volume of space within the abdomen during pregnancy. After foaling, the abdominal organs move back into this space; however, in the case of our mare, her large colon twisted during this process. A colon torsion is an equine emergency. In cases where the twist exceeds 270°, the venous drainage and arterial blood supply to the colon are impaired, resulting in a breakdown of the mucosal wall. This breakdown allows bacteria and bacterial toxins to enter the bloodstream, causing a widespread inflammatory response throughout the body, known as endotoxemia.

However, this story does have a happy ending… Maeve, the foal, is now all grown up and has traded her field for an arena. She has now outgrown her loyal companion, Katie!

If you would like to learn more about breeding horses and stud medicine make sure you register an interest in the Equine Breeding and Stud Medicine Course; and if you do come and visit us you will have the opportunity to meet Maeve for yourself!