The Royal Veterinary College says: ‘Most applicants will have good predicted grades and references, so your personal statement is your main opportunity to set yourself apart from the rest’.
Be clear about what individual veterinary schools expect too, because it varies. Most universities want to see at least two – four weeks’ of work experience, but this can vary, and not all universities will expect this to be direct veterinary experience either.
-
Think about why you want to study the subject
- Have you been inspired by someone, a news story, a documentary, or a podcast?
- Do you have career aspirations in this area of study?
- What interests you about the subject – be specific; rather than saying you enjoy it or are good at it, try to explain the ‘why’ behind your reasoning.
- What do you already know about the subject and what are you looking forward to learning more about?
-
What makes you suitable to study the subject?
- Have you done projects or essays in this subject at school or college?
- Think about who you are as a person; your personality, your strengths, your experiences in life – how do these make you suited to study the subject?
- How have you shown an interest in the subject outside of school or college – have you done extra reading, online courses, been part of clubs or competitions?
- Your current subjects and grades will be included elsewhere in your application, so try to think about specific things you’ve learned during your studies that relate to the subject, rather than listing your grades and subjects.
-
Look at the bigger picture
- Have you done any work experience, an internship or had a part-time job in this subject area or related? Most job or work experience will give you transferable skills, even if it’s in a different industry.
- Do you have any hobbies you can mention that might relate to your chosen subject? Many hobbies show that you can be motivated outside of school to achieve and succeed in something you’re interested in.
- Think about how your life and personal experiences have helped make you the person you are today, and how these challenges and experiences can support your application by evidencing essential qualities for certain subjects.
- If you’ve got ambitions and goals for your life and career, can you express how this subject will help you reach these goals?
Guidance and examples you can use
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
This is your opportunity to showcase your passion and knowledge of your chosen subject area and to demonstrate to universities and colleges why it’s a good fit for you and your future ambitions.
Examples:
- Show what has motivated you to follow this career path. Be specific, and make it current or recent. What aspects are of special interest to you? Where do you hope the degree will lead? Reflect on what it is that’s driving you now, not something out-of-date or from when you were a much younger child.
- Reference books you read, programmes you watch, news you follow, or podcasts you listen to. Perhaps you’ve started listening to the Royal Veterinary College’s Veterinary Clinical Podcast, or the Vet Times podcast. Illustrate how content you’ve consumed has given you knowledge on what to expect from this profession.
- Normally, you'll need to have a range of relevant work experience before you apply and to reflect on this in your statement. The quality of your insights into the profession is crucial. Try to get work experience at at least one veterinary practice, working with large domestic animals on a livestock farm, especially dairy or lambing, and other animal experience such as stables, kennels, catteries, zoos, wildlife, or rescue centres, pig or poultry farms, or something more unusual – then reflect on what you learned and how that’s relevant to the course you’re applying to.
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
This is your chance to shout about the relevant or transferable skills you’ve gained from your formal education and highlight your understanding of how they will help you succeed in this subject area.
Examples:
- Give admissions tutors a glimpse of your current academic and scientific interests, whether it’s from your studies, a project or issues you’ve come across in journals, books, blogs, events you’ve attended, and so on. Perhaps you can elaborate on skills you’ve learned from lab work in biology, a conversation project you’ve done in geography, or an understanding of ethics from chemistry, English, or philosophy A level, or equivalent. Think about the transferable skills you’ve picked up from your studies too, such as time management, working well under pressure, decision-making, and adaptability.
- Have you done any online courses to boost your knowledge in the subject? For example, why not try Subject Spotlights or Virtual Work Experiences from Springpod to grow your skills and interest?
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
This is your chance to talk about any other activities you have undertaken outside of your formal education, or personal experiences which further demonstrate your suitability for the course. This section is likely to be highly personal to you and anything you do include should reflect on why you’re including it.
Examples:
- Demonstrate your resilience, initiative, self-motivation, compassion, or other relevant transferable skills. This could be through the contribution you’ve made to school, college, or community activities, volunteering, your part-time work, or any wider interests, personal achievements, or responsibilities. Be specific! If you’ve worked in a busy bar or cafe, write about how that’s taught you customer service skills, patience, working well under pressure, and prioritising your time.
- Alongside some of the other work experience with animals already mentioned, a day at an abattoir may be especially beneficial, and observing research in a veterinary or biomedical laboratory could be valuable too. Check out department websites to see what they recommend and, where possible, attend open days or events.
- Do relate any examples back to the subject you’re applying to – make it relevant
- Do make it personal – admissions staff want to get to know who you are
- Do use a spell-checker and grammar-checker to ensure there are no errors
- Do ask people for feedback, whether that’s family members or teachers
- Do your research to find out what universities are looking for, and make sure you include evidence to show how you are suitable for the course
- Don’t just list out examples, subjects you study, or experiences you’ve had without any evidence
- Don’t copy something you’ve seen online or use AI to write something for you
- Don’t make things up just because you think they’ll make you look good on paper
- Don’t leave it until the last minute – you need time for several drafts
- Don’t worry about making each section the same length; as long as you hit the minimum character count, you can use the 4,000 characters across each answer in the way that suits you best
How to set yourself apart
The key to setting yourself apart in your application is to remember how important the ‘personal’ bit is to your personal statement. What makes you, you?
Tell admissions tutors something unusual about you. Perhaps you witnessed a rare procedure whilst on your work experience or have a particular specialism already in mind that you’re passionate about.
Provide some detailed evidence that shows you’re realistic and informed about the challenges you’ll face. Describe some of your experiences and observations, both of veterinary practice and from your wider animal experience. Get the balance right. They want you to show the breadth of your experience, but they want depth as well. Try to write briefly but reflectively about some of the highlights and what you learned from them.
Also, try to include something that demonstrates your understanding of why interpersonal skills are crucial. Perhaps you’ve witnessed a vet delivering bad news to a client, or you’ve experienced a pet bereavement yourself, and you have insights into how the vet’s handling of the situation did or didn’t help you. If you own a more unusual pet, such as a tarantula or an axolotl, make sure you also write about what you’ve observed or learned about arthropods or amphibians.
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study veterinary science, what specific aspects of the course interest you, how does it relate to your academic studies, and what additional reading or other activities have led you to apply? Make sure you thoroughly research the course you’re applying for, and tailor your statement accordingly.
- Transferable skills: Whether through extracurricular or supercurricular activities, work experience, or a part-time job, you’ll have lots of skills that will be relevant to your course. Try to think outside the box – ok, so you’re part of a football team; can you explain how that has given you teamworking and communication skills, helped you build resilience, and respond quickly under pressure?
- Make your work experience count: It’s not just what you've done but how you've reflected on it. If you work-shadowed on a dairy farm and at a veterinary surgery, that's great, but it will have zero impact unless you spell out what you personally gained from it.
- Consider the flow of your statement: Tell them enough to engage them and win yourself an interview, but leave enough unsaid that can be discussed in more depth at the interview itself. Remember that everything you write could be used as an interview starting point, so don’t include anything you wouldn’t be comfortable discussing at interview at length.