UCAS Veterinary Application Guide 2023

Considering a career as a vet? You will need to apply to study Veterinary Medicine and you can do this via UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Read on for all the information you need to apply for 2024 entry.

What is the UCAS Application for Veterinary Medicine?

If you are applying to study veterinary medicine at a college or university in the UK, you need to do this through UCAS. They manage all UK applications for higher education. The good thing about applying through UCAS is that they will send your application to all the institutions you have applied to so you don’t need to do it!

What Is Included in the UCAS Veterinary Application?

There are a number of things you must consider to help make your UCAS Veterinary application stand out:

• Work Experience
• Application Questions
• Veterinary Personal Statement
• Supplementary Assessment Questionnaire (SAQs) – Selected schools
• Veterinary Interview

In addition to the above, if you are planning on studying veterinary medicine at the University of Cambridge, you will be required to sit the Natural Sciences Aptitude Assessment (NSAA).

Important UCAS Dates for 2024 Entry

Veterinary applications are required to be submitted earlier than an application to study other courses.

The UCAS Veterinary Deadline for 2024 entry is 15 October 2023 at 18:00. For up-to-date information on dates, please refer to the UCAS website.

What does it Cost to Study Veterinary Medicine in the UK?

If you are a resident in England or Wales, veterinary courses can cost up to £9,250 per year. 

If you are a Scottish resident, you can study in Scotland for free. Costs for students studying in Northern Ireland will vary and are also dependent on where you live.

However, if you are an international student wishing to study in the UK, costs can be much higher; between £20000 to £45000 a year.

Financial Aid to Study Medicine

If you are a UK or EU resident, you can apply for a loan to cover the costs of your course. This can be applied for via the government’s student finance website. You can also check to see if you are eligible to apply for a loan to support you in financing your cost of living. In addition to this, check with the universities you are applying to as some of them also offer their own financial aid for students.

UCAS Application Cost

A registration fee is applicable when applying to study veterinary medicine through UCAS. The cost for this is £20 if you are applying to a single university course or £25 for multiple courses. Check with your school as they may pay this fee for you.

How many veterinary courses can I apply to?

When applying for courses through UCAS, you can apply to a maximum of 5 courses. 

However, only 4 of these can be veterinary medicine.

You can apply for a fifth non-veterinary course. With veterinary medicine being very competitive, it is highly recommended to have a fallback plan just in case.

How hard is it to get into veterinary school? 

As we alluded to before, places on veterinary courses are very sought after and therefore, veterinary medicine is very competitive. 

It is vital that you stand out from the crowd and the first step is through your UCAS veterinary application. This is your first chance to make a good impression. Read our step-by-step guide below for more information.

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The UCAS Veterinary Application: A Step-by-Step Approach

1. School Exams

When you have decided to pursue a career in the veterinary profession, it is important to choose the right exams to study. Many universities have entry requirements when it comes to exams needed and many will also specify exams that are also favourable.

The next step is to score highly in those exams, particularly Biology and Chemistry.

2. Veterinary School Selection

As the decision of which exams to take will be based on requirements of different schools, you will have no doubt already started to think about this even before step 1. 

When selecting veterinary schools for application, it is important to look at the type of course and teaching methods and think about whether it is a good fit for you. Location may also be an important factor. Attending Open Days and requesting prospectuses will help you narrow down your selection. Check out our veterinary school comparison tool for more information. 

3. Work Experience

Work experience is an important part of the veterinary school application. Not only does it help to confirm that you want to study towards a career as a vet, but it will also show institutions that you are serious about your choice and have considered and experienced different aspects of the veterinary profession.

It is also important to note that if you are successful in securing an interview at one or more vet schools, part of your interview will focus on the work experience you have undertaken.

4. Medical Admissions Tests – ONLY For Cambridge Applications

Students are not required to take a standardised medical admissions test when applying to study veterinary medicine. 

The one exception to this is students that apply to the University of Cambridge to study veterinary medicine. Students will be required to sit the Natural Sciences Aptitude Assessment (NSAA). This usually takes place at the beginning of November.

5. UCAS Personal Statement

As part of your UCAS medicine application, you will need to provide a veterinary personal statement to support your application. 

The schools that you apply to will use this as part of the interview selection process. The personal statement limit is only 4000 characters long and so it is important to structure your personal statement in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd.

For more information on how to structure your personal statement and what to write, see our veterinary personal statement guides. In addition, we also offer our personal statement 1-1 tutoring service where our expert tutors will offer advice, support and feedback when writing your personal statement.

6. UCAS Application Submission

When you have gathered all the required information, you will submit your veterinary applications to UCAS. Remember that the deadline for veterinary applications is before the deadline for other courses. Your application will not be accepted after this deadline.

6a. Supplementary Assessment Questionnaire – Selected Schools

After you have submitted your UCAS application, selected schools may send you an SAQ to complete. The questions are based on your personality, work experience and personal qualities.

7. Veterinary School Interviews

Once you have submitted your UCAS veterinary application, you will need to wait to hear from veterinary schools regarding interviews. It is important to check the vet school website as to the timeline for contacting students regarding an interview and how they will be communicating this to them. Some schools send emails, some vis post and some through the UCAS portal. 

You can expect to hear about interviews from November, with interviews taking place between December and March. 

After this, you will need to prepare for your veterinary interview. Research whether the interview will be a panel interview or an MMI (mini medical interviews), where there will be several stations to visit and answer questions on. Preparing for your veterinary interview is important. This is your last chance to make a good impression and stand out from the competition. Our veterinary interview 1-1 tuition and preparation courses can support you in your preparation and give you the confidence to succeed.

8. Veterinary School Offers

After the interviews comes more waiting! Schools will usually contact students within a month with a decision and the timeline will be published on their website.

Celebrations will ensue and you will be on your way to becoming a veterinary professional!