RVC 2025-2026 (c/o 2030 hopefuls)

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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Anyone else who received interview invites? I have been scheduled for the one on Nov 14th! Just booked my flight to NC last night!
 
Are you guys bringing a guest for your interview? I wasn't going to because it's more expensive for more people to fly down but I also don't want to be the only one alone
 
purpleeventer said:
Are you guys bringing a guest for your interview? I wasn't going to because it's more expensive for more people to fly down but I also don't want to be the only one alone
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Yeah I totally understand that. I am not going to bring any guest either But I saw from previous years RVC hopeful thread, some parents would go with the applicants to the interview.
 
GO4Vet said:
Yeah I totally understand that. I am not going to bring any guest either But I saw from previous years RVC hopeful thread, some parents would go with the applicants to the interview.
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Hello, it’s totally up to you, but when my daughter interviewed two years ago, almost everyone did have a parent with them. They do an informative presentation about the school etc for about an hour and then you go off in groups at a time for your interview. While you wait, alumni are there to chat, ask questions of etc so having someone as a support to hang with you and chat with others seemed helpful. My daughter is now in her 2nd year there and loves it.
 
Hi everyone. For the "Final Degree Certificate" proof, did you just send in a copy of your transcripts or a picture of your degree?
 
ilovebagels1234 said:
Hi everyone. For the "Final Degree Certificate" proof, did you just send in a copy of your transcripts or a picture of your degree?
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I was able to request an official degree verification form from my school's registrar! If you can't get that, I would imagine that a picture of your diploma would also be okay but it may be worth reaching out to make sure
 
My daughter selected London as her interview city -- she heard this morning that she has an interview (for the 4 year program) in London on December 4th! Guess we are going to London in a few weeks!
 
futurewildlifevetmama said:
My daughter selected London as her interview city -- she heard this morning that she has an interview (for the 4 year program) in London on December 4th! Guess we are going to London in a few weeks!
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Wonderful! My daughter is in her second year there now and loves the school and London. Good luck to your daughter!
 
Thank you! Can you tell me what the rental situation is like there? She has 2 cats and a bf (he can get UK citizenship as his dad was born in the UK) that will be going with her. I am a bit worried about the high cost of living in London.
 
My daughter lived in RVC housing for year 1 at Mary Brancker House so we did not look into rent too extensively in the Kentish Town/Camden area but I believe some students did go private housing and it was honestly not too bad. She is now on the other campus for the remaining three years, which is a bit farther out from London and she and her friends were able to get a 4 bedroom house close to campus for only $800 US a month each.
 
futurewildlifevetmama said:
My daughter selected London as her interview city -- she heard this morning that she has an interview (for the 4 year program) in London on December 4th! Guess we are going to London in a few weeks!
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This is awesome and a great way to make the family go on a European vacation, haha. I already had a vacation planned in London so I chose it as my interview city, too! Mine's the next week, but let me know if you need other ideas for your trip. 😊
 
meowgnificent said:
This is awesome and a great way to make the family go on a European vacation, haha. I already had a vacation planned in London so I chose it as my interview city, too! Mine's the next week, but let me know if you need other ideas for your trip. 😊
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She only got a few days off work, so she'll land early on the 3rd and have her interview on the 4th; we are going to try to tour Bristol on the 5th, then head to Bath for the Christmas market afterward. She'll be heading back on the 6th and I'll follow her home on the 9th.
 
congrats everyone, I also just got accepted into the 4 year program!

After riding through the first wave of happiness, now all I can feel is dread and panic about how I’m possibly going to afford attending. How are you guys planning on paying tuition in the post-BBB world? I don’t have a reliable cosigner and doubt I’ll be able to get a private loan on my own, so deferring may be my only option unfortunately :/
 
FieldMouseMedic said:
congrats everyone, I also just got accepted into the 4 year program!

After riding through the first wave of happiness, now all I can feel is dread and panic about how I’m possibly going to afford attending. How are you guys planning on paying tuition in the post-BBB world? I don’t have a reliable cosigner and doubt I’ll be able to get a private loan on my own, so deferring may be my only option unfortunately :/
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It is definitely very daunting. I don't have a good answer yet either.
 
ACCEPTED INTO THE 4YR PROGRAM!! Congratulations everyone who got in. Deep breath! We did it. I know it is almost intuitive to immediately worry about the logistics (especially the financial ones) and I challenge you all to just take today to breathe and celebrate the accomplishment alone. Logistics can start being worked out tomorrow and so can the associated worries. I am right there with you all, and I truly believe we deserve today to put it all aside and pat ourselves on the back
 
taurusdoc said:
ACCEPTED INTO THE 4YR PROGRAM!! Congratulations everyone who got in. Deep breath! We did it. I know it is almost intuitive to immediately worry about the logistics (especially the financial ones) and I challenge you all to just take today to breathe and celebrate the accomplishment alone. Logistics can start being worked out tomorrow and so can the associated worries. I am right there with you all, and I truly believe we deserve today to put it all aside and pat ourselves on the back
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Wow congratulations!!!! How did you find out!
 
Congrats on everyone’s acceptance! If you don’t mind me asking, what day did you guys interview?
 
ilovebagels1234 said:
Congrats on everyone’s acceptance! If you don’t mind me asking, what day did you guys interview?
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I interviewed on November 12th (NC). Last year most acceptances didn’t go out until like late January so I definitely would not worry if you haven’t heard yet!
 
My daughter also got an offer for the 4 year program! She is SO happy as am I! It is her first yes.

She interviewed in London the first week of December; we were told offers would go out mid-January to mid-February, so I am surprised that she got an offer already, but beyond happy for her.
 
Hi I was recently accepted into the RVC's graduate accelerated pathway vet med program. I am a US student and I am strongly considering going to Royal! I am very interested in specializing (as of right now, ophthalmology). I have visited both Camden and Hawkshead campuses and I am pretty in love with the idea of going. I think it would be a special experience learning at such a great school while also being close to the colorful city of London.

Please give me any and all feedback!
 
My main concern would be your funding with the new student loan caps. The tuition at RVC is just over 50k/yr for international students, but that doesn’t account for living expenses. If there’s now a 200k federal loan cap from the US government, do you have enough saved to pay for living expenses or is someone helping you out? Can you get a private loan (I truly don’t know, but what I mean is will US based private loan companies even lend for international education, is your credit good for a private loan or do you have a co-signer, etc.). Make sure you’ve got a viable plan (and backup plans). Funding and loans would be a concern at many stateside schools too, of course, but being overseas and running out of money/having to leave is a lot bigger of a logistical challenge. RVC’s NAVLE pass rate was declining which was a concern, but it does look like rates in the most recent cycle were much improved.

But the loan situation isn’t something that you should blow off and just say “well, I’ll figure it out eventually”. This is something you need to sort out and learn logistics of BEFORE committing and getting your hopes up. I hope you can figure it out, but you need to be sure. Or as sure as you can be.
 
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Following this thread, also just recently accepted, and it's my top choice. The loan situation is super concerning, and I also don't know how I am going to navigate that. Additionally, my partner will move with me if he can find a job that will sponsor his work visa. Any advice on that from current UK students/ anyone would be greatly appreciated!!
 
JaynaAli said:
My main concern would be your funding with the new student loan caps. The tuition at RVC is just over 50k/yr for international students, but that doesn’t account for living expenses. If there’s now a 200k federal loan cap from the US government, do you have enough saved to pay for living expenses or is someone helping you out? Can you get a private loan (I truly don’t know, but what I mean is will US based private loan companies even lend for international education, is your credit good for a private loan or do you have a co-signer, etc.). Make sure you’ve got a viable plan (and backup plans). Funding and loans would be a concern at many stateside schools too, of course, but being overseas and running out of money/having to leave is a lot bigger of a logistical challenge. RVC’s NAVLE pass rate was declining which was a concern, but it does look like rates in the most recent cycle were much improved.

But the loan situation isn’t something that you should blow off and just say “well, I’ll figure it out eventually”. This is something you need to sort out and learn logistics of BEFORE committing and getting your hopes up. I hope you can figure it out, but you need to be sure. Or as sure as you can be.
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I am very fortunate that my parents are helping me out. If I go to RVC, I would have to take out loans but it would not exceed 200k. Thank you so much for the info! I hate seeing these devastating impacts from the BBB on so many vet students.
 
Following! I also was recently accepted and am strongly considering RVC! I haven’t been able to visit yet (hoping to go to an offer holder day) but my biggest worry is the curriculum structure. I’m 100% comfortable with the lack of didactics as I honestly don’t learn super well from normal lecture formats anyways, but having only one exam a year in some classes absolutely terrifies me.

I’m also hoping to specialize (probably equine therio) and definitely want to learn more about people’s experiences matching to internships and residencies stateside after graduating from RVC.
 
purpleeventer said:
I’m also hoping to specialize (probably equine therio) and definitely want to learn more about people’s experiences matching to internships and residencies stateside after graduating from RVC.
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I don’t think we have any SDN regulars who went to the European schools and pursued specialization. (If someone did and is reading this, sorry I forgot you!). With things like equine med often being out of the match and heavily dependent on connections and who you know, I would definitely factor that in to your decisions. It’s not impossible by any means (I know someone who did it successfully, but this was in 2014), but it will likely be harder to make stateside connections if you’re not here.
 
JaynaAli said:
I don’t think we have any SDN regulars who went to the European schools and pursued specialization. (If someone did and is reading this, sorry I forgot you!). With things like equine med often being out of the match and heavily dependent on connections and who you know, I would definitely factor that in to your decisions. It’s not impossible by any means (I know someone who did it successfully, but this was in 2014), but it will likely be harder to make stateside connections if you’re not here.
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Thank you so much for your insight! I will definitely keep that in mind as I decide
 
My daughter was recently accepted to the graduate entry program and is also leaning heavily towards attending in September. Hubby and I will help her fund her education, but the high cost of living in London (for 1 year -- though she is saying that she will live in Potters Bar for all 4 years and commute the 1st year) coupled with the high tuition does worry me. But it is such a good school and she's genuinely excited to attend, so we will do everything that we can to support her.

How did you find the commute from London to Potters Bar? What was the Potters Bar campus like? From what I can tell it's a direct 20 minute train ride (from PB) and maybe 12-15 min walk from King's Cross underground to the Camden campus.
 
My research mentor went to a European school and she said while it may be harder to match at a US residency, it’s definitely possible. Her main point was it was more challenging to network with US specialists as an international vet student compared to a US student
 
futurewildlifevetmama said:
My daughter was recently accepted to the graduate entry program and is also leaning heavily towards attending in September. Hubby and I will help her fund her education, but the high cost of living in London (for 1 year -- though she is saying that she will live in Potters Bar for all 4 years and commute the 1st year) coupled with the high tuition does worry me. But it is such a good school and she's genuinely excited to attend, so we will do everything that we can to support her.

How did you find the commute from London to Potters Bar? What was the Potters Bar campus like? From what I can tell it's a direct 20 minute train ride (from PB) and maybe 12-15 min walk from King's Cross underground to the Camden campus.
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Hi! I'm currently a first-year student in the GAB program. Based on my knowledge, I would not recommend living in PB as a first-year student because we attend all classes on the Camden campus. I have a few classmates who rent accommodations out there and have gotten tired and frustrated with commuting and the expenses that come with it. They've honestly said they regret living out there, as they also don't have a great social experience, as they are far from most things people in Camden want to do. They miss a lot of lectures, dissections, and group work because of the distance (and sometimes have to wake up extra early, as most classes start at 9 am).

I live in the student accommodation in Kentish Town (20 min walk from the Camden campus), and it is honestly the best! Everyone in the building goes to RVC, and they put people in the same program, usually on the same floor, so I live with most of my friends (and have my own bathroom). The two other options for RVC are cheaper(other schools and shared bathrooms), and my friends say they are having a great time there as well. Potters Bar isn't a campus; it is a town closer to the Hawkshead campus, where we have classes starting in the 2nd year. It is where almost all upperclassmen live, and I heard it's really lovely and affordable.

Sorry that was a lot, but I'm happy to answer any other questions you have!
 
purpleeventer said:
Following! I also was recently accepted and am strongly considering RVC! I haven’t been able to visit yet (hoping to go to an offer holder day) but my biggest worry is the curriculum structure. I’m 100% comfortable with the lack of didactics as I honestly don’t learn super well from normal lecture formats anyways, but having only one exam a year in some classes absolutely terrifies me.

I’m also hoping to specialize (probably equine therio) and definitely want to learn more about people’s experiences matching to internships and residencies stateside after graduating from RVC.
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Hi! The one exam per year sounds terrifying but there actually is other exams given! There are lots of milestone assigments, tests, and quizes that are given to us to help guide where we should be throughout the year. We have formative and summertive exams at the end of each term that give a persepctive to how we are doing at that point. ( this something that won't make a whole lotta sense until the welcome week in october where they explain the breakdown of it all)
 
campbellsoup said:
Hi I was recently accepted into the RVC's graduate accelerated pathway vet med program. I am a US student and I am strongly considering going to Royal! I am very interested in specializing (as of right now, ophthalmology). I have visited both Camden and Hawkshead campuses and I am pretty in love with the idea of going. I think it would be a special experience learning at such a great school while also being close to the colorful city of London.

Please give me any and all feedback!
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Do you have any specific questions! I am just finishing up my first year.
 
That is great info, thank you!

She is taking her 2 cats and her long-time boyfriend will most likely join her at some point (his dad was born in the UK, so he has birthright citizenship). The commute looks easy on paper, maybe too good to be true?! I don't think it's a great idea to live so far from campus.

Do you know of any classmates who took pets with them? How hard will it be to find a flat?
 
Hi friends! Question regarding the non-clinical animal hours needed for enrollment: I emailed the admissions office just a moment ago but was wondering if anyone here had any insight as to what the requirements are for these 70 hours. I am just worried what they would consider an acceptable non-clinical animal environment (research labs, shelters, etc.)
 
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