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Vet Schools in Scotland
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
AVMA Accredited Veterinary Colleges
Complete List of AVMA Schools
The Application Process
VMCAS
FAQs
Alright, first things first. Where is the vet school? Why can’t I find it on a map?
The vet school has two campuses- Summerhall (in the city) and Easter Bush (in the countryside). In your first year here (or two, if you aren’t a Graduate Entry Student), you will be spending most of your time at Summerhall, and most of the time you go out to the Bush, the school will provide a shuttle for you.
Here is a map showing Summerhall.
Here is a map showing Easter Bush.
What is the deal with bank accounts over in Scotland? How do I set this up as a student?
One of the first problems overseas students find here is setting up a bank account. This is because most banks want you to give them proof of an address here before you can open an account, which is hard to do if you are looking for a place once you get over here. In addition, many letting agencies (rental agents) say that they want you to have a bank account before you can sign a lease. What’s a poor student to do?
It is possible that you can set up a bank through Lloyds TSB (they are the only bank that allows you to set up an account while still in the U.S.). However, the closest branch they have in Edinburgh is not central to university stuff (i.e., it is on Princes St, which is a 1.5 mile or 20-30 minute walk from Summerhall.
The truth is that most letting agents and landlords (including the university) will let you pay the deposit and 1st month or two in cash if you explain to them that you are still setting up a bank account. If you have an debit card from a bank in the States, it will work on the ATM machines here, and you can simply withdraw cash, store it up, and walk it over to where you need to pay. I would recommend getting here, finding a place , then setting up an account ASAP. Most of the time, your debit card from the States will give you a better rate on your transfer than traveller’s checks, especially since most of the ATMs here do not have a service charge.
How do I find affordable housing with a good landlord that is in a nice area when I’ve never even visited the city?
To be honest, I don't have too much advice on this since Matt and I live in uni flats, but I can say don't panic! There is plenty of housing available, both through the uni and privately. Many people stayed in Pollock Halls (temporary uni housing) over August while they found housing, then moved as soon as they could find a place since Pollock is ridiculously expensive. There are a bunch of letting agencies that can help you find a flat (esp. good if you need a place that allows pets) or you can hoof it alone for a wee while. The areas of the city you may want to consider are Morningside, Marchmont, Buccleuch, Mayfield, Newington, Cameron Toll, or Tollcross. All of those are pretty readily accessible from Summerhall. If in doubt, just look at a map of where the flat is and trace what route you’d take to Summerhall. If you are planning on having a car, then you can obviously live further out, but otherwise I’d keep to about a 2 mile radius in your search. It doesn’t seem like far, but if you need to walk there and back twice a day, it adds up quickly.
If you decide to go with university housing, my best advice is to be very specific about your needs (family flats, number of bedrooms, location, etc.) and to be annoyingly good about follow-up. It really seems like the people who have received the better flats are those who really made an effort to be in regular contact with the Allocations people.
Most of all, recognise that unless you have a huge amount of disposable income, you will not be in a very fancy or large flat. Edinburgh is a densely packed city, and it shows in the housing. Your rent will probably be higher than it was in the States (unless you’re coming from San Francisco, New York, Santa Barbara, or the like), and you will probably have a smaller place. This is okay, and you will get used to it.
Okay, Jeni, you seem reasonable enough, so tell it to me straight- how much money do I need to live in Edinburgh and go to school there?
Yeah, this is the big question, and a difficult one to answer since it depends so much on your lifestyle. Cost of living here is quite high. We grew up in Los Angeles and had been living in Eastern WA for a while before moving over; it is more like L.A. prices than Spokane prices to live here. Our rent (for a 1 bedroom flat in the middle of the city) was about £540/ month; now that we live in a 2 bedroom flat it’s a bit higher. We budget about £40/week for groceries, almost never eat out. Our new flat has a washer in it, but back on Guthrie St. we used the laundry across the street, which cost £1.60 for a wash. Drying was £.20 for 15 minutes, so we’d usually throw them in there for about 30-45 minutes and hang them to dry the rest of the way. In our new place, we pretty much hang up our clothes to dry unless we’re doing the sheets, then we run them in the dryer for a little bit.
For equipment, I bought a lab coat and dissection kit, boiler suit and wellies, and a waterproof coat and trousers. I had a stethoscope coming in, but those who didn't needed to buy one. In terms of books, I bought the *required texts only* and then held off on the others until I knew whether I'd actually need them. In a past life, this would have seemed laughable to me, but I actually saved about $1100 on books costs just by waiting it out.
Basically, we just skimp and scrape a little, but it works out and we aren't desperate. We do not have a car, and I don't recommend getting one since the cost is exorbitant. We pretty much just walk everywhere and take a bus if we need to. Public transportation is really good here; buses run regularly and more or less on time, trains take you to places further out, etc.
But how much does school cost? And how, short of selling my children, do I afford it?
For the 2007-2008 school year, tuition is £17,500 per year. Yipes! I am using the maximum Stafford loans and pretty much all our personal savings to finance my time here, along with a generous contribution from my grandparents. Some people have received graduate PLUS or private loans as well. The school does NOT offer any scholarships or bursaries for U.S. students. I used Citibank for my lender; so far they seem reasonable enough.
Well, I know what I’m going to be doing over there, but what about my spouse?
In order for your spouse to come over with you, they will need to apply for a “student dependant” visa. This is not that hard to get if you’re married, but I hear it can be tricky if you aren’t. In order to apply as a married couple, you must first be approved for a student visa. Then your spouse basically gives them a marriage certificate and they’ll stamp their visa with very little hassle. With a student dependant visa, they can work as a regular resident, but they (and you) have no recourse to public funds, which basically means you can’t go on welfare.
In terms of job opportunities, I would say that this depends strongly on what they can/want to do, but that getting a job over here is moderately difficult. Matt applied at a few places, but nothing came up in the couple of months he was looking. Now, he's going to be a stay at home dad (I'm due in September) so the job search is on hold for awhile. A few other school spouses have found entry-level places after a few months of searching, and some others have found jobs within their specialities, though they took a little while to find. At least two spouses I know of kept their Stateside job, and telecommute.
Okay, why does the school say that when I am choosing a flight, I should “avoid the Dublin route”? Is Dublin full of crazies? Will Edinburgh not let me in if I’ve been contaminated?
Well, I found this out *after* I bought my Dublin tickets when we travelled over here, and panicked a bit. But it isn't really a big deal. Here’s the scoop:
Since Dublin is not part of the UK, they will not be able to stamp your visa (therefore activating it) when you arrive. However, when you arrive in Edinburgh, they have an open travel agreement with Ireland, so they will not even check your passports. This means that nobody is stamping your visa, theoretically making it tricky to leave the country again. However, if you just KEEP YOUR TICKETS from when you fly in and show them to Customs/Passport people when you leave, they will see what happened and stamp/write a not on your visa to explain, and you will be on your merry way. See? Not a big deal, but a bit worrisome if you don't know. We went back to the States this summer and didn’t have to pull out our old tickets until we arrived back in Edinburgh, but the customs officer there was very friendly and took about 2 minutes to run the information through and stamp us.
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
AVMA Accredited Veterinary Colleges
Complete List of AVMA Schools
The Application Process
VMCAS
FAQs
Alright, first things first. Where is the vet school? Why can’t I find it on a map?
The vet school has two campuses- Summerhall (in the city) and Easter Bush (in the countryside). In your first year here (or two, if you aren’t a Graduate Entry Student), you will be spending most of your time at Summerhall, and most of the time you go out to the Bush, the school will provide a shuttle for you.
Here is a map showing Summerhall.
Here is a map showing Easter Bush.
What is the deal with bank accounts over in Scotland? How do I set this up as a student?
One of the first problems overseas students find here is setting up a bank account. This is because most banks want you to give them proof of an address here before you can open an account, which is hard to do if you are looking for a place once you get over here. In addition, many letting agencies (rental agents) say that they want you to have a bank account before you can sign a lease. What’s a poor student to do?
It is possible that you can set up a bank through Lloyds TSB (they are the only bank that allows you to set up an account while still in the U.S.). However, the closest branch they have in Edinburgh is not central to university stuff (i.e., it is on Princes St, which is a 1.5 mile or 20-30 minute walk from Summerhall.
The truth is that most letting agents and landlords (including the university) will let you pay the deposit and 1st month or two in cash if you explain to them that you are still setting up a bank account. If you have an debit card from a bank in the States, it will work on the ATM machines here, and you can simply withdraw cash, store it up, and walk it over to where you need to pay. I would recommend getting here, finding a place , then setting up an account ASAP. Most of the time, your debit card from the States will give you a better rate on your transfer than traveller’s checks, especially since most of the ATMs here do not have a service charge.
How do I find affordable housing with a good landlord that is in a nice area when I’ve never even visited the city?
To be honest, I don't have too much advice on this since Matt and I live in uni flats, but I can say don't panic! There is plenty of housing available, both through the uni and privately. Many people stayed in Pollock Halls (temporary uni housing) over August while they found housing, then moved as soon as they could find a place since Pollock is ridiculously expensive. There are a bunch of letting agencies that can help you find a flat (esp. good if you need a place that allows pets) or you can hoof it alone for a wee while. The areas of the city you may want to consider are Morningside, Marchmont, Buccleuch, Mayfield, Newington, Cameron Toll, or Tollcross. All of those are pretty readily accessible from Summerhall. If in doubt, just look at a map of where the flat is and trace what route you’d take to Summerhall. If you are planning on having a car, then you can obviously live further out, but otherwise I’d keep to about a 2 mile radius in your search. It doesn’t seem like far, but if you need to walk there and back twice a day, it adds up quickly.
If you decide to go with university housing, my best advice is to be very specific about your needs (family flats, number of bedrooms, location, etc.) and to be annoyingly good about follow-up. It really seems like the people who have received the better flats are those who really made an effort to be in regular contact with the Allocations people.
Most of all, recognise that unless you have a huge amount of disposable income, you will not be in a very fancy or large flat. Edinburgh is a densely packed city, and it shows in the housing. Your rent will probably be higher than it was in the States (unless you’re coming from San Francisco, New York, Santa Barbara, or the like), and you will probably have a smaller place. This is okay, and you will get used to it.
Okay, Jeni, you seem reasonable enough, so tell it to me straight- how much money do I need to live in Edinburgh and go to school there?
Yeah, this is the big question, and a difficult one to answer since it depends so much on your lifestyle. Cost of living here is quite high. We grew up in Los Angeles and had been living in Eastern WA for a while before moving over; it is more like L.A. prices than Spokane prices to live here. Our rent (for a 1 bedroom flat in the middle of the city) was about £540/ month; now that we live in a 2 bedroom flat it’s a bit higher. We budget about £40/week for groceries, almost never eat out. Our new flat has a washer in it, but back on Guthrie St. we used the laundry across the street, which cost £1.60 for a wash. Drying was £.20 for 15 minutes, so we’d usually throw them in there for about 30-45 minutes and hang them to dry the rest of the way. In our new place, we pretty much hang up our clothes to dry unless we’re doing the sheets, then we run them in the dryer for a little bit.
For equipment, I bought a lab coat and dissection kit, boiler suit and wellies, and a waterproof coat and trousers. I had a stethoscope coming in, but those who didn't needed to buy one. In terms of books, I bought the *required texts only* and then held off on the others until I knew whether I'd actually need them. In a past life, this would have seemed laughable to me, but I actually saved about $1100 on books costs just by waiting it out.
Basically, we just skimp and scrape a little, but it works out and we aren't desperate. We do not have a car, and I don't recommend getting one since the cost is exorbitant. We pretty much just walk everywhere and take a bus if we need to. Public transportation is really good here; buses run regularly and more or less on time, trains take you to places further out, etc.
But how much does school cost? And how, short of selling my children, do I afford it?
For the 2007-2008 school year, tuition is £17,500 per year. Yipes! I am using the maximum Stafford loans and pretty much all our personal savings to finance my time here, along with a generous contribution from my grandparents. Some people have received graduate PLUS or private loans as well. The school does NOT offer any scholarships or bursaries for U.S. students. I used Citibank for my lender; so far they seem reasonable enough.
Well, I know what I’m going to be doing over there, but what about my spouse?
In order for your spouse to come over with you, they will need to apply for a “student dependant” visa. This is not that hard to get if you’re married, but I hear it can be tricky if you aren’t. In order to apply as a married couple, you must first be approved for a student visa. Then your spouse basically gives them a marriage certificate and they’ll stamp their visa with very little hassle. With a student dependant visa, they can work as a regular resident, but they (and you) have no recourse to public funds, which basically means you can’t go on welfare.
In terms of job opportunities, I would say that this depends strongly on what they can/want to do, but that getting a job over here is moderately difficult. Matt applied at a few places, but nothing came up in the couple of months he was looking. Now, he's going to be a stay at home dad (I'm due in September) so the job search is on hold for awhile. A few other school spouses have found entry-level places after a few months of searching, and some others have found jobs within their specialities, though they took a little while to find. At least two spouses I know of kept their Stateside job, and telecommute.
Okay, why does the school say that when I am choosing a flight, I should “avoid the Dublin route”? Is Dublin full of crazies? Will Edinburgh not let me in if I’ve been contaminated?
Well, I found this out *after* I bought my Dublin tickets when we travelled over here, and panicked a bit. But it isn't really a big deal. Here’s the scoop:
Since Dublin is not part of the UK, they will not be able to stamp your visa (therefore activating it) when you arrive. However, when you arrive in Edinburgh, they have an open travel agreement with Ireland, so they will not even check your passports. This means that nobody is stamping your visa, theoretically making it tricky to leave the country again. However, if you just KEEP YOUR TICKETS from when you fly in and show them to Customs/Passport people when you leave, they will see what happened and stamp/write a not on your visa to explain, and you will be on your merry way. See? Not a big deal, but a bit worrisome if you don't know. We went back to the States this summer and didn’t have to pull out our old tickets until we arrived back in Edinburgh, but the customs officer there was very friendly and took about 2 minutes to run the information through and stamp us.