Vet Nursing

snoopy1983086

Hi,

Is there anyone that can help me compare the colleges offering Vet Nursing.
There is UCD (Level8), Athlone IT (Level 7), Dundalk IT (Level 7) and Letterkenny IT (Level 7). Dublin is proving to be too expensive to move to (moving from Cork) so wanting to hear from folk who have went to the IT colleges. The course, lecturers, area etc. I am entering as a mature student and know that Letterkenny has only 1 mature student seat. I know that Athlone IT graduates have pursued successfully Vet Studies in Budapest. I have not visited any of these towns before and will be moving to buy as my partner & our 2 dogs will be moving.

Any info would be great especially with CAO deadline on the 1st Feb.
Thank you.

thegreatgonzo

I went to AIT as a mature student, I graduated as a veterinary nurse in 2013 and stayed on for an extra year to do an add on level 8 (honours) degree.
I really enjoyed the course, there was a considerable amount of science involved that I hadn't expected but found more interesting than I would have imagined beforehand and I had some very good lecturers.
Athlone is a fairly cheap place to rent and live in generally. Personally I would be cautious about buying a place before you are qualified as there is no guarantee you will find nursing work within driving distance of Athlone. There are vet nursing jobs out there but the majority are in Dublin and Cork going by the ads in the veterinary journal.
Out of curiosity have you applied to St John's college?

Gill_Murph

I could be completely wrong when asking this but is there not a veterinary nursing course in St John's in Cork?

Like I said I could be wrong but one of my friends is hoping to finish her studies as she is currently doing a PLC in Veterinary Nursing at the moment.

thegreatgonzo

You're right Gill there is. It's not a degree course though and you don't apply to it through the CAO unless things have changed since I looked into it.

snoopy1983086

Hello,

Sorry for replying late.
I am doing the CAO at the moment, trying to do the personal statement.
I heard back from UCD and the 3 Institutes about their mature student policy.

Yes, I know of the course in St. John's, I had actually started the 1st year course when I had first left school - 14 years ago but due to things, I didn't continue. So I looked it up again yesterday and saw that they are now connected with Napier in Edinburgh for the 3rd year, giving a BSc (Hons). It isn't, like you said, a degree with the PLC college but emailed to see when applications open up. So weighing it up, anyone of these 5 options if offered will be great. So, I suppose even being accepted by St. John's and the possible progression to Napier will give me the same standing as a graduate from AIT etc?

thegreatgonzo

Hi Snoopy,

That's an interesting development with Napier. An Hons degree would give you the same standing as a grad from UCD as AIT and the other ITs offer the ordinary degree. That sounds pretty good that you can work and top up your qualification at the same time.