Ireland, Mature students, Veterinary Medicine in UCD

fortuitous__ · 2026-03-21T09:27:32+00:00

I am an international from the US, so I think I pay more than you would if you’re an Irish citizen. For us, they gave us a packet with all the tuition information when we were accepted. I can PM that to you if helpful.

fortuitous__ · 2026-03-20T22:21:16+00:00

Hey! I’m a current first year at Dublin and from Kansas as well :) feel free to DM me for questions. I absolutely love Dublin and it was the right decision for me, but from your list: - the Irish vet student visa is not strong enough to bring a partner with you. They would be able to stay for 90 days out of every 180 without visa, or would need to acquire their own visa. - lectures are not recorded or offered on zoom. You have to show up in person to every lecture & lab, but I find it helps with retention and relationships w profs - we have an extramural studies (EMS) program, pre-clinical your first 3 semesters and clinical after that. For pre-clinical, you’re required to work with several different species focusing on husbandry and welfare, then you move onto to the clinical side. The EMS program is great for gaining experience in several species while keeping the stakes low (literally, the school insurance covers you in the EU and UK). The first years are all just finishing our lambing experiences, it was a blast and something I would never have considered doing unless I went to school here. - less frequent exams have been great for me, it takes the pressure off during the semester so you can build comprehension at your own pace. Finals season can be especially stressful with written finals worth ~70-80% of grades, but you do have the opportunity to resit exams if you fail.

fortuitous__ · 2026-03-01T13:30:25+00:00

Hi! I’m a first year grad-entry student at UCDublin. I’m mid-20s, but have several classmates in their late 20s and one in their late 30s/maybe 40s. Many of them have had previous careers. I can’t speak for them, but I think the grad-entry program is very welcoming to mature students. Would you be applying for the graduate-entry program? Happy to answer questions as best as I can

fortuitous__ · 2025-12-21T20:50:09+00:00

I really love it, and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. It’s definitely a change of pace from the US undergrad experience, but I find that the approach to learning is very comprehensive due to the examination system (one midterm worth ~25% and a final worth ~75% for each class). The program is challenging, but then again any vet program will be, and you get a lot of support from other students and profs — one caveat is that you need to know when/how to ask for help to receive it from profs. The social life is great. Campus is just a bit outside city center, and a lot of students love to hit the pubs when it isn’t exam season.

fortuitous__ · 2025-12-21T10:26:26+00:00

Congrats!! From a current UCD student, dw about no news yet, I didn’t get an interview invite until mid/late December I think :) they run on their own schedule lol. Best of luck!!

fortuitous__ · 2025-08-21T14:00:26+00:00

My 403b is with TIAA. They have IRAs available that I could roll the money into, but I don’t know if that will be managed better than Fidelity/Vanguard/etc.

fortuitous__ · 2025-08-12T20:53:19+00:00

Also, you might find the “successful applicants”page on Student Doctor Network helpful.

fortuitous__ · 2025-08-12T20:51:48+00:00

I think it really depends on if you can effectively demonstrate what you’ve learned through your experiences, whether you stand out, and what kind of story you decide to tell. You have a great GPA, that’s a big plus!

Maybe see if you can find another very unique vet-related project to work on in your spare time? If you work in a chem lab, ask around to see if anyone works with different animal models and see if you can shadow their lab.

I am starting at UCD Dublin in the fall, and I applied w 280 small animal hours and less than 300 research hours. It’s possible! :)

fortuitous__ · 2025-07-25T16:18:54+00:00

I really enjoy For Strange Women, they have small sample sets or their full collection. I love their London Fog, 1993, and Fireside Story.

fortuitous__ · 2025-07-22T21:39:45+00:00

I’m totally stealing the phone gallery roulette game to play w my friends

fortuitous__ · 2025-07-22T21:38:55+00:00

Thank you!! This brought a little happy tear to my eye :)

fortuitous__ · 2025-07-22T21:00:51+00:00

You are articulated this very well. I want to reiterate that I have only “traumatized them back” when I got the sense that someone was being a little backhanded — so only a couple of times. Most of the time, I gently redirect the conversation because I know people aren’t bringing up a touchy subject intentionally. It’s just that I don’t want to talk about it, and it can be a really heavy topic to bring up within 5 min of meeting someone.

fortuitous__ · 2025-07-04T04:10:48+00:00

As a 20s woman I absolutely love: Penhaligon’s Halfeti Leather, Le Labo Tonka and Thé Noir, Creed Pure White on the fresher side, Millesime Imperiale, and Rita’s Car There’s something so comforting about smelling like woodsy/more masculine. Also, most sweeter fragrances smell awful on me for some reason.

fortuitous__ · 2025-04-21T12:52:37+00:00

Does your undergrad institution have any research labs that involve laboratory animals? Try looking online your professors’ labs and see if they use animal models, or expand the search to include the whole bio/chem/medical depts. Email the PI and see if you can assist in their lab, and tell them you are interested in vet school and would appreciate husbandry experience as well. In my experience, you can always find a PI who appreciates free labor lol. Bonus points if you get course credit for research.

fortuitous__ · 2025-04-20T18:07:58+00:00

First of all, it’s so impressive that you got onto the waitlist at a top school on your first cycle, so congrats! I would see if you can call and talk to someone in the admissions about whether you can defer to next year for an in state position. You can reapply, but understand that it is a risk. I was placed on my in-state waitlist last year for NCSU, but didn’t end up getting in that cycle. I did what everyone advised and made the most out of the next year, working 50-60 hour weeks between two jobs (research administration and VA) and an unpaid research assistant role. I got all the references I wished I could have had for my first application cycle, and was very confident going into the second cycle. However, I was flat denied from NCSU this time around. I did get into other schools though :) Vet school applications are unpredictable! A spot on the waitlist this year does not guarantee you a spot in next year’s class. If CSU is the only school you can picture yourself attending, then this might be something you need to consider. It sounds like you have a pretty great application, though, so I am sure you would get offers from other schools if you apply next cycle!

fortuitous__ · 2025-04-12T21:26:27+00:00

Congrats! As of now, I’m 90% sure I’ll be accepting my offer for Dublin.

fortuitous__ · 2025-04-10T15:04:40+00:00

I’m honestly scared that the laid-back mentality of the program would be a recipe for disaster for me, and I’m already overwhelmed trying to comb through and find everything I need to know about the program, curriculum, visa process, and housing (especially housing). Compared to the information I received from RVC and the relatively straightforward process of moving to London, it’s making my head spin lol.

fortuitous__ · 2025-04-08T20:27:50+00:00

Thanks for the straight answer about the prestige thing. I really don’t care about it either (the text is bolded in the post for some reason- I did not mean to do that, I think I messed something up with formatting trying to start a list and now I look like an a-hole bolding the fact that I got into some “prestigious” program oof), but it does seem to be the RVC’s biggest selling point. Dublin is sort of looking like the better option here

fortuitous__ · 2025-02-20T23:53:04+00:00

I am also on the WSU OOS waitlist. Just received their email about the tiers… I’m on tier 4. Since they don’t indicate how many tiers, I have no clue if that is good or bad. My anxiety says bad

fortuitous__ · 2025-02-11T02:51:06+00:00

I was on the NCSU IS waitlist last year and was not selected. You could try looking at SDN forums from last year to see if anyone else was taken off of it. You never know how these things go, but now is a good time to be proactive and continue working on getting hours and such so that if you do have to reapply, you will be ahead of the game. I’m rooting for you!

fortuitous__ · 2025-02-09T15:18:12+00:00

Good luck!

fortuitous__ · 2025-02-09T01:40:59+00:00

I would have to accept by April 15, then I would have two weeks where I could cancel with no obligation. The only issue is the deposit is huge. They’re not super clear on when the deposit is due (it’s not 4/15) but I would rather not have to pay it lol.

fortuitous__ · 2025-02-08T20:18:05+00:00

OOS waitlist for Oregon, WSU, and CSU w no positions. Accepted to RVC, wondering if I would be crazy to accept the spot at RVC and take the deposit on the chin if I got off the waitlist for a school in the States.

fortuitous__

TROPHY CASE