To any vets out there!

[becca_chick]

I am about to take my GCSE's at school. I have always wanted to be a vet and I am following it, I have lots of papers in my portfolio showing of what experience I have had e.g.work experience etc...I was just wondering what universitys are the best to be aiming for and just how hard is it going to be eg. is it alot of written work, or is it more practical all advice please!

 

[MiffyH]

Get good exam results in your GCSE's then go to college and aim for maths and science a levels, or an equivalent course, then if you are doing well with those subjects and getting good grades you will be online for the demands a Veterinary degree throws at you. When you get to college a careers advisor will be able to talk through the options with you and your tutors will probably know of some good Uni's. Bristol is recommended by a few people on here.

GOOD LUCK

 

[becca_chick]

Is maths a necassary a level or can u do physics in its place?

 

[fairhill]

You can do maths or physics, but a lot of candidates do both, and take 4 a-levels.
Make sure you've got work experience with lots of different types of animals - small, farm, horses etc.

There's only a few universities in Britain that do veterinary science, so you would probably need to apply to all of them.

Good luck!

 

[SummerStorm]

I'm applying to be a vet at the moment and the only GCSE option that has really helped me was taking triple (seperate) sciences. Otherwise, the vet schools really don't care what you get past 5 grade As in English language, science and maths although most applicants exceed that.

I also took in year 12, AS:
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Maths
Critical Thinking

and in year 13 (now), A Level:
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

NONE of the universities say they want four A levels so do not be sucked into thinking that you need them! At all the open days/if you email them etc. they specifically say that no preferance is taken towards candidates with 4 a levels. Don't forget that AAA is worth far more than BBBB ever will be... They all also say they want Chemistry and/or Biology at grade A at A2 but past that there is no preference over Physics or Maths. Some unis say they have a prefence that the 3rd A level is in a non science subject though. At AS though, make sure you take a non-science subject as well as 3/4 of the other sciences as some unis have it as a requirement.

As for which unis are the best to aim for, the choice is huge...

In England there is:

Royal Vet College, London (AAA-ABB offers)
Bristol (AAA-AAB)
Nottingham (AAA-AAB)
Cambridge (AAA)
Liverpool (AAA-AAB)

Scotland:
Edinborough (AAA)
Glasgow (AAA-AAB)

You can only pick 4 of those although your final 2 choices can be things such as vet pathogenesis (BBB) at Bristol which is the first 3 years of the vet course and you can transfer at the end if you want to.

Good luck if you do apply though and make sure that you get in as much work experiance as you can. Also, if you aren't sure where you want to go, visit the unis you're interested on open days and see what you like. They're all really different from each other so just pick where you like!

Keep at it though if you really do want to apply and make sure you keep your grades up

~ SF x

 

[ann-jen]

Good luck as there is a lot of hard work ahead!
I sat 10 O'levels and achieved 8 A's and 1 B and 1 C. You need to be doing all the science subjects at this point. I then sat my A levels in chemistry, biology, physics and general studies. I applied to all the Universities doing the Veterinary degree - these are currently Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, London, Cambridge, Dublin and newly appointed Nottingham. At the time I applied to Uni I also had part time jobs at a goat farm and a pig farm and also went to a local Dairy farm at milking time to help out there. I then took references from these jobs and sent them to the Unis I applied to. I had interviews at Edinburgh, London (x2) and Bristol. I received offers from Edinburgh for 2 As and 1 B but they specified the B in biology - this was for me the easiest subject and so was essentially a 3 A offer and I also had a 2 As and 1 B offer from Bristol. London turned me down on the second interview despite struggling down there while I had chicken pox and Glasgow and Liverpool turned me down without an interview.
I was very disappointed when I got 2 As and 2 Cs in my A levels and consider myself EXTREMELY lucky to still get into Bristol having dropped a grade as this very rarely happens. I put it down to having got so much practical experience and good references before I went for interview.
This was all nearly 18 years ago mind - gasp - so it may be slightly different now but one thing that won't have changed is it is extremely competitive to get onto the course and merely being academic may not be enough. A good friend of mine got her 3 As at A level and worked weekends at a vets for 3 years and still couldn't get accepted on the course. If you are really serious about doing this then you need to get lots of practical experience to make you stand out from everyone else.
If you get accepted you then have a 5 year course (6 at Cambridge) before you get your degree and become a fully qualified veterinary surgeon - its only then that the real learning starts - lol. I've been doing this job for 13 years now and I'm still learning even now!
Good Luck AJ

 

[becca_chick]

wow! thanks what a help, I will try my hardest! lol

 

[star]

i got 11 A's and A*'s at GCSE, then 4 A's at A-Level. I struggled to find work experience living in a very built up area with no large animal vets in absolutely miles - i did what i could at small animal vets, but when farms are 30miles away and your parents dont have time to take you there and you're 15, it's pretty difficult to get to do stuff. Because of this I didn't get an offer 1st time despite my grades, then when I got my grades, the RVC surprisingly made me an unconditional offer. So, I have just graduated from there after the toughest 5yrs of my life (anyone who said the hardest part is getting in is lying!). i worked 90hour weeks on rotations and spent many a time wondering why i'd done it. Such an achievemnt to finally graduate in July. now been working 3months anfd this is definitely the hardest bit so far - am on the steepest learning curve of my life. Definitely enjoying it though - so far it's all been worht it!