). I am really worried about finding a flat that will allow four animals ( A pug and three cats). I will be living alone until my boyfriend finishes his PHd. 
Most of the Irish students just use pen & paper, but a few bring computers to class. I use my ipad for note taking and make notations right on the lecture notes since all professors use powerpoint presentations.
love you guys!!!
Ok, it looks like I need to clarify... I KNOW that I will be able to practice vet med the same as anyone with a DVM degree with a EU degree. The only superficial thing that bothers me is the fact that I want a Doctorate degree, not another Bachelor's degree. I was simply just seeing if anyone had been mulling over the same thing that I am. I've talked with a couple other vets/pre-vets that based their school decision on this. I am not, BY ANY MEANS trying to degrade the EU/UK programs at ALLLLL! Please please please don't take what I said the wrong way. I know they are all great programs and produce awesome vets (I work with one!), this is just a personal decision
I guess I am just not sure what the hang up is on the letters behind your name after you get the degree. (the clients sure as hell don't care & any intelligent vet would not as well) You said the reason you are considering not going with an EU/UK degree is you don't want to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars on another bachelors degree, but is that really the point. You are not spending the money on another bachelors degree - you are spending it on the degree that will make you a veterinarian - the career you want. Just because it is considered something different over here - who the f' cares! The whole education system is different over here. And just something to consider - when you graduate from veterinary school over here you can practice veterinary medicine pretty much anywhere in the world as the schools have agreements with a lot of the countries, so there are a lot less hoops to jump through if you have your degree from the EU or UK. Whereas if you have your degree from the US, well it is going to be a lot harder to get work in another country should you choose to do so. Not sure what your plans are for the future - maybe you want to live in the US for the rest of your life. But I like keeping my options open.
Okies...i'm going to try my best and answer your questions. Feel free to PM me if you want the link to my blog. I've got lots of entries and photos from the first two years which might help??
As for clubs, Glasgow has tons. Besides you being able to join all the Main University ones (of which there are hundreds), the vet school has plenty. All of these function under GUVMA, which is our student government. Off the top of my head, we have Path club, cow club, many sports teams, Rodeo, clinical club, zoo society, etc etc etc. BUT this year was SUPER exciting, because all of last year I tried my hardest to get the first chapter of SAVMA established outside of North America. Low and behold, we got it! Our chapter is really aimed at professional development. We are trying to raise funds to send people on EMS all over the world, we have been applying for grants, giving lectures on a broad range of topics, as well as hosting 3 wetlabs so far to practice clinical skills/stuff we need to know for OSCEs.
Our curriculum is also going through big changes (don't know if Joyce explained this to you in your interview?). For the first 3 years, an additional course called VPCS has been added in. It is a mix of practical skills, as well as lectures. So from day one, you are learning all the skills you need to know. There are a few open sessions throughout the year to practice, as well as formative (practice) OSCEs to give you a better idea of what the test will be like.
Only having one big exam takes some getting used to, but you will. The biggest shock for me was understanding that a 70 is an A, and when all is said and done, getting a 50 is all you need to do! The world will not end if you get a 50. Plus, you have a second chance with resits in August if you slip up. The mid-terms in December really help you get your bearings and help you figure out where you stand! Plus, upper years are always willing to lend a helping hand (or old notes!). For me, I think the system fits my learning style far better than the US one. Having tests all the time would just burn me out. Come May, you will be stressed, but we all help each other, and make it through!!
At UCD, we do have midterms in some classes, but they are usually worth 15-25% at most & some classes will have projects (depending on the type of class or attendance will count towards your grade). The final at the end of the semester is usually work 50-70% of your grade in the class which is a huge change from the way we do things in the states. Most of the final exams are essay exams as well - some may have an MCQ component and if you are really lucky your entire final will be an oral exam. I have my 1st one this semester. It really is personal preference. I would recommend buying in the US though as it is cheaper electronics wise. I bought my iPad over there before coming here as it was cheaper. I have a PC laptop. I use a plug converter to plug my laptop in and have no issues at all.
And devyn, I second wanting to know if there will be upperclassmen looking for flatmates - I would love this option. Thank you for all of your help!!!
Renting in Ireland is a bit different than renting in the states in that you don't want to rent a place site onseen and most places go pretty quickly, so you would usually rent a place and move in a week or so later at most. I moved in a few days later to my place. So unless you are renting a room in a flat/house that is already rented by upper year students then you would probably wait until you get here to find a place to live. Sounds crazy, but it does work. And the fact that you are not bringing pets makes it much easier. I brought 2 dogs with me. And then you have EMS which you have to do as well - getting experience in your first year with various animals as well (lambing, calving, horses, small animal) - you can pass out the requirement of something you already have experience in. I am not planning on being a farm animal vet, but still enjoy my time out on the farm. Yay another Californian!
There is already a facebook page set up for your class, but no one on it yet as the class is not all together yet. But that will be a great resource for finding people to rent with and there are always some upper year students on the page as well to act as resources (myself included). I can definitely suggest places to live around campus and also send you a pdf document outlining the best places to live and how far they are from the actual vet school. Depending on how many people you want to live with and where you want to live you could find a place for around 500 euro/mth. It would probably be a 3-4 bedroom house.
I think the hardest thing about the UCD curriculum (and I talked about this in my previous post) is the grading system and the essay exams, but that is not really the curriculum per say just that they have a different way of examining their students and it takes some getting used to. I think the otherwise the curriculum is probably fairly similar to schools in the states as far as what is covered and toughness of the courses.
The thing I really like about the program is that we get to work hands-on with animals from the beginning. Most schools (at least in the US) you have to wait until your 3rd year for any hands-on experience. You are on the farm a lot in the first year learning all about large animal handling & medicine. So if you don't like farm animals well then it might not be your thing.
Let me know when you are out visiting and I can always meet up with you on campuse!
. Good to know that 500 euros a month isn't a laughable idea, a 3-4 bedroom house is exactly what I had in mind. Waiting til I get there to find a place to live does sound crazy! Where would I stay in the meantime (hopefully the meantime is only a week or so)? It sounds like the hands on work with animals is fairly extensive and regular even from the beginning. I know Western is structured so you start hands on experience early on but I don't think it becomes a weekly activity until 3rd year, like you said earlier about most state schools.
Thanks for all the info! A difference in the grading system and essay exams aren't gonna do too much to scare me away
I definitely would like to have more farm animal experience. I spent 6 months in undergrad with beef cattle and loved it but I'm still not sure if I want to be a farm animal vet. I'm really interested in parasitology and I'm actually meeting with Grace during my visit to discuss working with her a couple days a week on her cattle liver fluke vaccine development project that will be going on over the next four years. I will be arriving in Dublin April 8th in the morning and leaving April 11th in the afternoon. My meeting with Grace will be Tuesday morning, April 10th. Maybe you can show me around a little on Monday the 9th or the afternoon of the 10th?
That Monday is a bank holiday because of the Easter weekend, but I will most likely be around. PM me closer to the date and perhaps I can meet you on campus or in town and show you around - depending on what you want to see. On Tuesday, I am at the farm all day, but will be back around 4 pm, so could always catch up with you then, but will smell like farm animals - just to warn you! 
I think I'll be in Glasgow the first of April then leave for edinburgh a day or two later. I will email Joyce.
I saw a lot of sites mentioning rail cards. I don't understand what these are. Are they passes you buy? Discount of some sort? Thank you for the info. I didn't know I could get money exchanged at my bank! I completely forgot to consider the converter. Can you get them in the US or do you buy them once you get in the UK? I have a discover credit card and a visa debit card. Will those work in the UK? Argh. Every time I get one question answered, I find that I have 3 more! Thanks for being so helpful everyone.
Just make sure you alert both banks you will be abroad so they don't put a hold on your cards.
Yeah it is a little daunting thinking about waiting till you get to Ireland to find a place, but there are so many places up for rent that time of year that you will be ok. Plus you definitely would want to get here a few weeks prior to semester start to get settled & get lay of the land. I stayed in a hotel with another vet student when I first got here, but I do know some people crashed at upper year vet students houses, so that could be an option as well - as you are looking for a place. I had 2 dogs, so I could not really crash on someone's couch. It only took me from what I can remember a week & a half to find a place, but, once again, I had 2 dogs. Without the dogs, you could find a place much quicker and most places are available immediately.
Working with the farm animals has been a ton of fun, so far, but I do not plan on being a farm animal vet - still great experience though! Sounds like you have a plan for your visit and it would be great to get in on that research with Grace for the vaccine. You are only coming in for such a short time.
. I definitely want to scope out as much of the vet med facilities and potential housing options as I can while I'm there.
Sounds like a plan, I'll PM you about a week before. Yeah I know it's a super short visit but I'm not making a vacation out of it and I would like to save as much as possible before that first tuition payment sucks all my funds away
Speaking of tuition, do you know if the rates have been increasing dramatically as of late? or if they are going to? Do you have any suggestions for loans with low interest rates?
I realize it's going to cost an arm and a leg to attend vet school no matter which school I attend, but it would be nice if I could find some ways to offset the costs of additional living and travel expenses I would incur while attending UCD. Is it reasonable to receive payment for your EMS hours during summers and semester breaks? If I don't wind up helping Grace with her vaccine research, I would like to find a way to get involved in a work study project for a specific interest within vet med (most likely parasitology or GI diseases). Can a student devote say 10-15 hours per week during semester to something like that and still maintain a social life along with coursework, or is that just way too much to juggle?
One last question, can UCD students use the shuttles and buses to get around Dublin and neighboring cities just by showing their campus ID's or do they still pay a fee? See you in a few weeks and thanks for all your help!
