Edinburgh University’s Vet School is running a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) starting in May which is all about learning about becoming a Vet: http://www.coursera.org/course/edivet 

It covers the basics of what is involved in first year of a vet degree and is aimed at anyone interested in becoming a vet or even those who just want to learn more about the profession or who are involved in animal care. It will consist of a series of videos and materials: each week will have a multi-choice questionnaire and if at the end of the course in June you have completed and got a passing mark across the modules (likely to be around 70%) then you will get a certificate of completion.

Of course, May is right in the middle of exam time! So it’s not a good idea AT ALL for you to be doing the MOOC at that point! However, although the course is likely to start on the 5th May, if you sign up by the first week in June, then the materials – videos, sheets, questionnaires – will all still be accessible to you. That means you can do the course AFTER your exams are finished. Now, the only downside is that if you do not complete all the material by the course end date – which is likely to be mid-June – then you will not get a certificate at the end of it – and also the discussion forums will only be open during the 5 weeks that the course will be run (until mid June). BUT the course is COMPLETELY unconnected to admissions, so getting the certificate or not really doesn’t matter – it’s just so you can have something to hang on your wall 🙂 

If you’re currently in S4, I think it’s a better idea to wait and do the MOOC next year – in S5  – as it’ll run again that year and possibly not clash with exam time! 

Take a look at the website and see what you think. I reiterate: this MOOC has NO link to admissions – you are no more likely to get in to the Vet university course if you do it that if you don’t – but it could be an interesting insight for you.