How is life in Glasgow as a student? By this I mean could you compare it to US undergraduate study, as far as class scheduling, etc. Does Glasgow feel like a college town, or is it a big city, or does it have a small town feel?
First, congrats to everyone thats been accepted, and best of luck to all those still waiting to interview or hear back.
As a second year, Ive found Glasgow student life to be much more laid back than the undergrad Unis I went to back home. The motto here is work hard, play hard and pretty much everyone goes by this
including the professors! (If you want a little taste of Glasgow vet life search Mr. Vet School 2010 on youtube
) Everything here is on such a slow pace.. good for some things, bad for others (ie when youre waiting for exam results!)
Glasgow itself is the biggest city in Scotland and therefore the most populated; however, being from Miami Glasgow can feel quite claustrophobic to me at times. But I think a lot of that has to do with me not having a car here. There is a lot to do in the city itself, and if you ever want to venture off
the surrounding cities are just a short train ride away. There are a lot of museums here in Glasgow, as well as parks, movie theatres, pubs and clubs galore, and we even have a mall with an indoor ski slope so you can ski/snowboard all year round! Besides all that Glasgow has to offer there always seems to be some sort of party somewhere.
As far as actual classes, do you get to pick electives ever? Are there any lunchtime seminars or guest speakers?
You dont get to pick your classes
at least for the first 3 years. I believe you can start to track yourself starting in 4th year. 1st and 2nd year consist of Anatomy, Physiology, Biomolecular Sciences, and Animal Husbandy with a subset of classes related to Immunology, Bacteriology, Virology, Histology, etc. 3rd year is the dead year with all the rest of the ology classes pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, and parisitology. 4th and 5th year are the clinical years with emphasis on small and large animal components.
Most of the seminars take place at the end of the day. There are a lot of research presentations and many of the clubs have guest speakers throughout the year. BTW - Club meetings usually come with free pizza and beer or liquor!
Could you give a 'typical' overview of a day at school at Glasgow? Are the professors approachable, do they hold office hours? Are there any opportunities to volunteer at local clinics to get hands on experience (besides EMS)?
As for a typical day, it really varies, but for the most part, classes start at 9am or later and on your long days, your latest class ends around 445pm. But
for the majority of the time, youre only in class for about 4 hours/day. First years have their busy day on Friday Anatomy all day long - Its quite common for everyone to head over to the local vet student hang out Lock 27 for a pint at the end of these days! 2nd year seems to be long on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But for both years, there are a lot of free days and plenty of tea breaks during and between classes.
The majority of your classes will be at the vet campus; but First years will have class down at the main uni 1-2 x week, while 2nd years are down there 1 x week. Not a big deal though, as its only a short bus ride between the two. With the exception of Anatomy practicals, all of your exams will be taken down at the Main Uni. First years definitely have it easy though
they try to ease you into the grad school way of life
so 1st year is definitely the year to take off and travel whenever you get the chance!
The professors are definitely approachable, but the majority of them dont hold office hours, per se. Rather, you talk to them in person or email them and you both can decide on a meeting time that works for both parties. All the professors here really want you to learn, and they encourage you to speak to them about any issues youre having from the start.
As for volunteering
it doesnt hurt to ask. If youre looking for a paid position in a clinic theyre really hard to come by because the licensing regulations here are pretty strict. I would say this though, try to get as much experience as possible before starting classes. Any husbandry related work you do prior to vet school will count towards your EMS requirements. It's nice to get them out of the way so you can use your vacation time to actually take a vacation or catch up on your studies.
And when transitioning from the US to Glasgow, how did you find your apartment/flat? What IS a flat? Is it recommended that 1st years live in dorms for simplicity? Do you have to cook all your own meals, or are there places to grab lunch on campus/near campus at all?
I lived in Wolfson Halls (one of the dorms) when I first moved here because I didnt know what areas were safest, more convenient, etc. I hated every minute of it
. But thats probably because Ive never lived in a dorm before and I was 28 when I moved in. They also cater for you provide meals for you and being vegetarian, I didnt have many options. If you run a search of my previous posts youll find a rant from me about the hell that was Wolfson Hall.
But for the record, there are other dorms and some people did enjoy living there. I know a girl that lived in Wolfson the whole of the 5 years!
A flat is just another word for an apartment. I dont think the school has an opinion either way on where you choose to live. If I could do it all over again, I would move into the dorm and use the 2-week cooling off period to find a private flat. (You have 2 weeks to cancel your contract otherwise your stuck for 9 months) I moved out of the dorm a month early and now live in a 2bed/2bath flat thats a 10 min walk from the vet school. You can find flats online or thru school emails. Be aware though that there are letting agents who do not rent to students. My landlord requires that I pay my rent 6 months in advance. So it can be difficult to get a place especially when youre first moving here and you dont have a bank account set up yet
.. but it is possible!
There are places to grab lunch on campus. But, the campuses here are not like they are back home. My undergrad had an entire Chilis restaurant on campus
here, the vet school has The Ref and the Main Uni has the Food Farm
all food catered by the university themselves. Lock 27 is about a 10-15 min walk from the vet school where you can also grab lunch (or a few pints) if youre not in a hurry. And down by the main uni there are a number of restaurants, chip shops, subway, starbucks, etc plenty of options to choose from; but most people bring their lunch to school with them to save on funds.
Question about pets - do you know how easy it is to find a place to live that allows dogs? And if you have a dog, are you able to bring it to campus with you and leave it in a common room? What I'm referring to is that, for example, UC Davis has a common room for each class, and people often bring their kennels and leave their dogs in there while they're in classes, it makes it easier for them so they don't have to rush home during lunch to walk/feed the dog. Do students get free food/discounts or reduced fee vet care?
It can be quite difficult to find a place that allows pets. But it is possible
just gotta give yourself enough time to look around. My tenancy agreement states no pets, but my letting agent said I could ask my landlord and theyd probably just make me pay a pet deposit. You prob will have to pay an extra fee to keep a pet.
We dont have a common room for pets on campus but I think thats a great idea and Im definitely going to bring that up to our class Reps!! Students do bring their dogs on campus, but mostly during after hours (after 5pm) And to my knowledge, students do not get free food or reduced vet care at the school hospital. But I do know that there are a few clinics in Glasgow that offer discounts to vet students.
No worries about all the questions. I hope I was able to help you. If you have any more questions, dont hesitate! I was in your shoes before, so I know what its like. I have to add
I dont for one second regret coming to Glasgow. Living abroad has been such an amazing experience and to be able to go to a school with people of so many different cultures has been such a learning experience, both in and out of class.
