LMU OPCVM vs Bristol

[purrlywhites]

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I recently got accepted by LMU OPCVM and Bristol accelerated grad. If the question was between an established vs new school in the US I’d choose the established one, but because it’s the UK i’m unsure if it’s worth moving out there. I know Bristol has great facilities and has had a good recent NAVLE pass rate, but I’m concerned about the Extramural Studies. I don’t know how spread out clinicals would work. Also, Bristol is almost just as expensive in tuition for internationals.. ~56k per year with a maximum 8% increase per year and flight tickets out there would be more expensive, but I am still very far from Florida (Nevada resident). Any input? Im still waiting on UAZ and Utah post-interview, and WSU, Oregon, Iowa, Rowan, but in case I don’t get in there either.

 

[apoptosis09]

I recently got accepted by LMU OPCVM and Bristol accelerated grad. If the question was between an established vs new school in the US I’d choose the established one, but because it’s the UK i’m unsure if it’s worth moving out there. I know Bristol has great facilities and has had a good recent NAVLE pass rate, but I’m concerned about the Extramural Studies. I don’t know how spread out clinicals would work. Also, Bristol is almost just as expensive in tuition for internationals.. ~56k per year with a maximum 8% increase per year and flight tickets out there would be more expensive, but I am still very far from Florida (Nevada resident). Any input? Im still waiting on UAZ and Utah post-interview, and WSU, Oregon, Iowa, Rowan, but in case I don’t get in there either.

First off congrats on getting in, let alone with options! Secondly, both of these options will have their own challenges.

For OPCVM, If you haven't seen the thread here on new veterinary schools I recommend checking it out for some important discussions going on regarding OPCVM and their plans for a campus they haven't built yet, faculty they likely haven't hired yet, and clinical rotations they may not have actually secured yet. However, being in the US reduces some logistical challenges, and the start date will get you in just under the wire of the BBB effective date.

Bristol is a fairly high COL city, in addition to the cost of moving and visiting back home. It will also start after the BBB takes effect and limit your loan options. Living in a new country can be very stressful and isolating, in addition to the stressors of vet school. However, they are a well established school with a teaching hospital, and personally I would enjoy the opportunity to study abroad if it was financially viable.

 

[futurewildlifevetmama]

I recently got accepted by LMU OPCVM and Bristol accelerated grad. If the question was between an established vs new school in the US I’d choose the established one, but because it’s the UK i’m unsure if it’s worth moving out there. I know Bristol has great facilities and has had a good recent NAVLE pass rate, but I’m concerned about the Extramural Studies. I don’t know how spread out clinicals would work. Also, Bristol is almost just as expensive in tuition for internationals.. ~56k per year with a maximum 8% increase per year and flight tickets out there would be more expensive, but I am still very far from Florida (Nevada resident). Any input? Im still waiting on UAZ and Utah post-interview, and WSU, Oregon, Iowa, Rowan, but in case I don’t get in there either.

I had the opportunity to tour Bristol with my dd as she is considering going there. It is a gorgeous campus with truly impressive facilities. Something to be aware of: the Langford campus is quite far from Bristol city centre -- approx. 30 mins by car, maybe an hour by bus (that's what the student giving us the tour mentioned). Our guide said for the first 3 years most students live in Bristol and take the bus to campus, so you have to factor the commute time into your day. The guide said the rent they pay is fairly low (I think around 500GBP / month in a shared flat). Based on facilities alone I'd be leaning very heavily towards Bristol because they have a referral hospital on campus (where a lot of clinical rotations are done), a dairy farm, abattoir, an impressive library, the most amazing practice labs (for sutures, IVs, etc.) and they use the case-based learning system. There is also a new building with a classroom setup to work on case studies in groups while watching the professor on a screen (hard to describe, but def state-of-the-art). Bristol has the moniker 'little London', so I think that most people would enjoy living there. One con that I can think of is that to get back to the US, you'd have to take the train to London (1h20m), train to Heathrow (maybe 30 mins depending on which line you use), then get home and the reverse to get to campus. Add an hour to that in your fourth year when most students live in Langford (clinical year). Just something to be aware of.

Obv you have to factor your budget into your decision, but if budget wasn't a concern, then I'd go with Bristol without hesitation (over LMU OPVCM). HTH.

 

[pp9]

I recently got accepted by LMU OPCVM and Bristol accelerated grad.

I know precisely nothing about Bristol.

For LMU OP, I would be thinking long and hard about choosing a school that intends to start its first class in <6 months when facilities are incomplete, they still have quite a few faculty jobs posted, etc. And whose parent institution is suing the AVMA CoE over accreditation demands they don't want to meet.