How to apply for veterinary medicine (BVMS)

Step 1: Initial application assessment

Your application will be assessed against both academic and non-academic set criteria.

Step 2: Interview selection

Your personal statement and academic reference will be evaluated and scored. This will determine if you will get an interview. 

Step 3: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) and facilities tour

The interview stage normally takes place between December and April each year. This usually consists of an multi-station MMI. For interviews taking place at our Preston Campus you'll also have the opportunity to take a guided tour of our facilities. 

Step 4: Offers and feedback to applicants

Offers are based on performance at interview. If you are successful at interview, you'll have to have occupational health screening as part of the enrolment process. This ensures we can meet the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) fitness to practise guidance. Please be reassured that we are committed to making veterinary education accessible. 

Tell us why you want to study veterinary medicine, especially if this is a new direction for you.

You need to provide a well-described understanding of the role of a veterinary surgeon. This is an important part of your personal statement. You should explain what you understand the role of a veterinary surgeon to be. You need to show how you came to this understanding, and why you wish to train for a career in veterinary medicine.

Provide examples and experiences that influenced your understanding of the role. Examples could include but are not limited to:

• Personal experiences with animals and people
• Shadowing a veterinary surgeon
• Talking to veterinary surgeons or other animal care professionals.

You need to show you understand the essential qualities, skills, and values required for success as a trainee and future veterinary surgeon. You also need to highlight the specific skills you have that make you a valuable candidate. This is both for the course and the veterinary profession.

Practical experience, whether through work and/or volunteering, is extremely valuable. Vet-related experience can provide insight into what a career in veterinary medicine can look like. But, as the profession is so diverse, we do not expect students to be able to gain insight into the full range of veterinary careers. Non-veterinary related experience is also valuable. Students can gain a range of skills that are transferable to veterinary medicine.Examples of vocational experiences include, but are not limited to:

• Volunteering at an animal shelter;
• Interacting with the public in a retail setting or local shop; or
• Spending time on a farm

Remember that vets often communicate with animal carers. This can include farmers and animal guardians, as well as a range of other stakeholders. They also often engage in public education and outreach activities. Being a successful vet requires solid communication and people skills as well as compassion for animals.You must share real-life examples to show you have the characteristics, skills, and values expected of a vet. This should be real-life examples from your personal or vocational experiences. Claiming to have these attributes without providing evidence will not be enough.In your personal statement it is important that you tell us:

• How long and how often you have taken part in the activity described
• Why you chose to undertake it
• What exactly your responsibilities were/are
• What you have gained from it

An example from voluntary animal-related experience:

"During the last six months I spent every Saturday volunteering at my local stables to gain experience working with animals. I fed and cleaned out the horses and also observed others grooming and riding them. I learnt how to handle the horses, got to know their individual characters and gained confidence being around them. I felt like a valued member of the team and engaged with the owners to find out more about their animals and how to care for them. I developed my time management skills by completing my tasks on time. I had the opportunity to communicate with a variety of different people.”

You may not have had the opportunity or been able to pursue direct animal-related experience. If this is the case, please draw on life or vocational experiences. This could be showing the benefits of your actions in a scenario that could be applicable to veterinary medicine. For example:

• Dealing with a customer who is upset
• Coming across a particularly challenging situation

You should describe how you responded and attempted to resolve the problem. Your personal statement should provide evidence of your ability to interact with the wider world. It should show problem-solving and attempts to make your own choices and decisions. This may include examples of leadership, responsibility, enterprise or ingenuity.

You should be aware that we may request confirmation from the host organisation of any vocational experience detailed in your application.

A career in veterinary medicine can be enormously rewarding, and opens the door to a diversity of opportunities. Veterinary careers, like veterinary training, can also be challenging at times. Being able to develop healthy self-awareness and self-care is important. And, being able to show healthy self-care habits and/or healthy work-life balance is key for your success on the course. As well as longevity in the veterinary profession. You should provide examples of your approach to balancing your school or work life and your personal life in your personal statement. This provides insight into your current self care strategies.

We need to understand the range of activities you take part in and how you enjoy spending your time outside of work or study. Extracurricular activities within community organisations are all equally valuable. This could include churches, sports clubs, bands, and more. But there should be some demonstration of how you relax and find time to do things you enjoy, rather than a long list of worthy causes and achievements. We are aware that different kinds of opportunities are open to different individuals and will look at all kinds of activities.

The BVMS programme is long and includes many placement and academic activities. We’re interested in understanding how you have tackled obstacles or challenges that you have experienced. We would like to learn how you have dealt with adversity, and what strategies you use to safeguard your own wellbeing. Also, we want to know how you learn and grow from challenges you have experienced.

A career in veterinary medicine involves teamwork. You must show in your personal statement that you understand the role of a veterinary surgeon within a team. You also need to show how you would contribute to effective team-working. You'll find examples of team working in many different experiences, both in and out of the academic environment.In your personal statement you must show how you have contributed to a team, either as a leader or as a member. It's important that your personal statement provides a credible account of the outcome of your contribution to the team.

For example, applicants will not gain credit for stating that they passed a Duke of Edinburgh award. But they are likely to gain credit if they can give an example of how they worked as part of a team during a Duke of Edinburgh event. We recognise that schemes like Duke of Edinburgh are not available to all applicants. Please use your own experiences to show your teamwork abilities.

Effective communication is an essential skill for a career in veterinary medicine. You need to explain any experience you have in communicating with different people. You should provide an example of a task where you have been able to exhibit good communication skills to a range of different people.

Examples in this regard would preferably be from contact with people beyond your usual peer group. You'll get the most credit if you can provide an example of effective communication from received feedback. You could also talk about the conclusion of the communication scenario described in your personal statement.

Applications are assessed for the quality of the writing. Careless errors of spelling, grammar and punctuation will affect your overall score. Please consider carefully how you have presented your personal statement. Avoid including unnecessary abbreviations or technical details. For example, listing the names of the operations you observed in a veterinary surgeon practice shadowing period.

Please make sure you tell us if you have made any exceptional achievements or had to overcome exceptional difficulties. It is helpful if these statements are backed up by your referee.

We have a contextual admissions policy at UCLan. This takes into account of extra information about your background that might have affected your education. It could potentially adjust the entry criteria for you. Read more and check your eligibility.

A Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is an interview technique used by many medical and health related schools. You'll go through short independent assessments in different stations. There are usually between six to ten.

Our MMI consists of eight stations. The selection process aims to make sure veterinary education is accessible for everyone. You must take part in the MMI to be considered for a place on the course.

After all the interviews have finished, you'll be ranked according to your scores. Offers will be made to the candidates with the best score. This will be until all available spots get filled. A few outstanding candidates might receive early offers. You'll also need to pass an occupational health screening to meet veterinary practice standards.

If you're thinking of changing careers and want to study veterinary medicine, make sure you understand why and make a list of your reasons. Try to include these reasons in your application.

If you can't get veterinary work experience, it's crucial to know both the good and challenging parts of the profession you want to join. This helps you make a smart choice before applying for the course.

Our BVMS Foundation Entry course doesn't have an interview, so admission is based only on your application. Use this chance to showcase your strengths and explain why we should pick you.

Remember to submit your application before the January UCAS deadline.

Step 1: Initial application assessment

Your application will be assessed against both academic and non-academic criteria. We’ll focus on your academic background and transferable skills. We'll also look at your vocational or practical experience.

Step 2: Application selection process

We’ll score and evaluate your personal statement and academic reference on several factors to determine if we can offer you a place.

Step 3: Offers and feedback to applicants

If you’re successful in getting an offer on the course, we’ll get in touch to let you know your next steps. If we couldn’t make an offer to you, we can provide some feedback on why you were unsuccessful.