Applying to Vet School in Australia - how much experience needed?

[dreisen]

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Hi! I'm new to SDN and had some questions for international students going to vet school in Australia, primarily Murdoch or Sydney.

First, I don't really have a whole lot of animal-related experience and was just wondering about how much experience anyone else had who has been accepted to vet school in Australia? I've heard that Australian vet schools are more heavily weighted toward GPA and GRE scores and am really hoping that is true. And about how long did it take to hear back whether you were accepted or not?

Also, I read in a different forum that Australian vet schools have a week-long study break without class every three weeks and just wanted to know if this was true?

Finally, if I were to get accepted, my girlfriend would join me after the first year there, and I was just wondering how hard it would be for her to get a job or job sponsorship so that she could work full time?

Any information you could give me pertaining to Australian vet schools that isn't covered in other SDN forums would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[sunshinevet]

Hey! Welcome to SDN, and hopefully, soon, Australia!!!

I am a current second year student at Murdoch, and though I am a local, I hope I can still help you out!

From my experience of talking to classmates who got in, etc, all of them have a lot of experience. Quite a lot. Infact, its more common for them to say they didn't have the scores for american schools, and thats why they're here. Murdoch focuses really heavily on "why you want to be a vet" so you have to have a killer PS, especially if you don't have a lot of experience.

At murdoch, we do 17 week semesters. This next semester conisists of 4 weeks on, 1 off, 3 weeks on, 1 off, 5 weeks on, 1 off, 2 weeks exams. So yeah, you get breaks regularly, but trust me, you need them! Sydney does not have this format, however.

And honestly, it depends what your girlfriend does, as to how easy it would be for her to find a sponsor.

Any more questions, just ask away!

 

[svendenhowser]

I'm a 4th year at UQ and we only get 1 break during the semester which in semester 1 is easter and semester 2 is around week 7-8 of 13 for 1 week each. Theres also swotvac which is a study week 1 week before exams officially start at the end of each semester.

Experience is not weighted at all at UQ and I'm pretty sure it's similar for others in AU, it's mostly your GPA from previous degrees or high school scores (although we have very minimal high school leavers).

The UQ vet school has now moved to Gatton and we have state of the art facilities now, it's incredible! US accreditation process is already underway and although I probably won't get it as I'm graduating next year (doesn't bother me, don't want to work in the US) I don't really have any doubts about the uni getting it in the near future.

I'm not too sure about working/living in AU from the US, I've heard it can be quite difficult, just like if I were wanting to work in the US from AU. If your girlfriend is one of the in demand occupations, like nursing, then she'll probably have no troubles.

 

[dreisen]

Thanks for your help! I haven't looked into UQ's vet school very much, but will have to do so.

I'm starting to apply to vet schools now and, like I said, I'm very concerned with the lack of experience I have and am scared this will prevent me from getting into vet school both in the US and Australia. I'd really love to go to school in Australia, as I studied abroad in Sydney and loved everything about it (unfortunately I never made it to Perth, but I did make it to Brisbane). I've been volunteering twice a week at Purdue University's Vet Hospital Oncology Dept. this summer and have about 25 or so hours of experience at a zoo, and am set up to volunteer at a farm for a couple weeks for the end of summer, but that is absolutely all the experience I will have before sending in my application. On the other hand, my GPA is very high, a little above a 3.9. If I get a decent score on the GRE, do you think I stand a chance at getting accepted into any Australian vet schools?

Also, I'm worried about writing the personal statement, and because Murdoch requires that it stay under 500 words, that means I'll probably have to write a separate PS just to apply there. Anyone who has been accepted have any advice on writing the PS?

I was also wondering if Murdoch, Sydney, or UQ required that a certain amount of letters of recommendation be from veterinarians, or if it didn't matter as long as you have relevant experience?

Thanks!

 

[svendenhowser]

I'd say you'd have a pretty good chance at an aussie vet school, just remember it's very expensive to study as an international student. It's $45 000AU per year, so $225 000 for the 5 years at UQ and this has to be paid up front each semester (I think it's each semester, but it may be each year). For a domestic student it's only $7500/year and it can all be placed on an interest-free, never ending loan by the government. Not sure if you'll get any help from the US and also take into account that food and accommodation is generally more expensive here (especially Sydney and Melbourne, UQ is now at Gatton 1hr's drive from Brisbane - rural therefore cheap). My friends pay $450/week for a small 2 bedroom unit in Brisbane, not inner city either.

As for the letters of recommendations, they aren't applicable at UQ, neither is any form of experience. It is purely grade based. It is also an undergraduate degree unlike in the US, so you are competing with high school students, but mostly post-grad students.

 

[jtom]

I almost studied abroad in australia in undergrad and would love to go there for vet school. However, as you said, the cost is just way too high and I can just not justify going there. I actually was unaware you had to pay up front so it is definetly out of the question for me.

 

[Minnerbelle]

interest-free, never ending loan

wooooooow *drools*

 

[svendenhowser]

wooooooow *drools*

Yes I agree! It is awesome. People do complain about it, but people always find something to complain about. But compared to the US system it's incredible! There is indexation applied, but thats really not much overall. After you earn a certain amount (I think it's close to $45000/year now) you have to pay back a certain % of your income towards your debt, but realistically, in Australia I'm probably not going to be earning that for a few years 😛

 

[sunshinevet]

Yes I agree! It is awesome. People do complain about it, but people always find something to complain about. But compared to the US system it's incredible! There is indexation applied, but thats really not much overall. After you earn a certain amount (I think it's close to $45000/year now) you have to pay back a certain % of your income towards your debt, but realistically, in Australia I'm probably not going to be earning that for a few years 😛

We do get very lucky here in Aus. I think you'll find the main reason some people complain is because university used to be completely free, and a lot of people think it should still be. (Don't know how our universities/government would ever function, but whatever...)

 

[Nexx]

The typical view for Australian acceptance has been that they can be a tad more lenient on grades while looking more towards your experience, recommendations, and personal experience (i.e. your commitment to the field). However you have to keep in mind that competition for Australian spots is probably on par with US schools at this point.

I think at both the US and AU schools you may be looking at a tough sell with your amount of experience. Not saying it can't be done, but you need to sell your commitment as the schools need to be sure you are committed to the field. After all, if they let you in and you decide a semester/year/2 years in that it isn't for you then you've wasted a spot that could have gone to someone else and the university potentially loses out on your tuition and you have a very expensive 'life lesson' learned. (Not doubting your commitment btw, this is your career decision to make)

To give a reference for experience of my North American classmates in my year and the year below-- There are maybe 20-25 of us and I would say the average experience level is 4-5 years of at least part-time work in the field, with GPAs probably in the 3.1-3.4 range. Keeping in mind these are essentially stats from 3-4 years ago.

As for your g/f she can technically come over on your student visa and work 20/hrs a week throughout the year (can't do full time work). It is possible if she has a degree (typically) and has an 'in demand' job that she could attain a skilled-worker visa but this will cost you several thousand dollars to apply for and there is no guarantee necessarily. Check out immi.gov.au for information on visas and in-demand jobs. As to getting a sponsored visa, it's not out of the question but can be very time-consuming/difficult as the company doing the sponsoring has a bunch of hoops to jump through. One of my friends has a sponsored visa and it took her about a year to get it sorted.

And as for funding the education over here, Syd/Melb/Murdoch are eligible for federal and Gradplus loans (Murdoch definitely grad plus, you'd have to check melb/syd as I remember messaging someone and there was some issues with gradplus eligibility but that may have been a miscommunication).
UQ appears to be able to get federal funding, but you'd have to check with them for details b/c I have no knowledge of their aid program.

 

[dreisen]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

Nexx, I was wondering if you happened to know the details about the situation regarding your friend getting a sponsorship visa, such as how much experience she had in that field prior to getting sponsored, or how she went about attempting to get sponsorship?

 

[Nexx]

I don't have a lot of detail on it...

She came over here and worked for the job for several months. From there she talked to the company she was working with about sponsoring her so she could work more hours (and they wanted her to work more). Essentially the company has to initiate everything on the immigration side of things but to start it would seem that it requires a good working relationship with a current employer.

As I mentioned before she had a previous degree and I believe her degree was related (at least somewhat) to her current position, can't remember what she did back home and given her age I would think she had at least 3-5 years of experience. She's working for a company that essentially performs healthcare training for medical groups (more of a marketing/PR type job I believe as she doesn't have a medical degree).

But immi.gov.au should have a lot of information for you, the website is fairly user friendly. I think they have a section somewhere where you can 'post' resumes for companies to browse through as well but can't say anything about its effectiveness.

One thing to keep in mind is that jobs over here do pay a lot more (although cost of living can be higher). Minimum wage is roughly $20/hr for most jobs and these would be unskilled labour-type jobs. Qualified vet nurses working at the university and some local clinics can make about $40/hr depending on experience (They aren't so generous to non-qualified but still experienced nurses, which is expected)

 

[dreisen]

Sounds good, thanks. I'll take a look at immi.gov.au in depth when i get a chance.

 

[OneDay81]

. I've been volunteering twice a week at Purdue University's Vet Hospital Oncology Dept. this summer and have about 25 or so hours of experience at a zoo, and am set up to volunteer at a farm for a couple weeks for the end of summer, but that is absolutely all the experience I will have before sending in my application.

Do you attend Purdue? I am moving to IN in January and will be going to Purdue! Was it hard for you to get the volunteer positions that you did? I am hoping to be able to get in as a volunteer at the zoo and at a vet clinic (if I can't get a job at one because of my class schedule), but a position at the school's vet hospital would be awesome!

 

[dreisen]

Yes, I attend Purdue, although starting this fall I'll be attending Purdue Calumet in NW Indiana. As far as the volunteer positions I've held, I volunteered at the Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette for a semester and they are always looking for volunteers, so you should def be able to get a position.

The veterinary teaching hospital, as far as I know, is also always looking for volunteers, though the positions available will differ over time. The only requirement that I'm aware of is that you are either pre-vet or a vet tech student. If you take a look at http://www.vet.purdue.edu/vth/volunteer.html it will tell you what positions are open and how to go about getting one. Everyone that I've worked with there is extremely nice and willing to help, too, so just shoot them an email if you have any questions.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!