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Help... I really need advice!!

Hi, I am just trying to get as much advice as possible and I would like people to be honest about the chance I stand of getting an offer when I apply to Vet Medicine in October 2012.

Throughout my school life I always worked hard because all I ever wanted to be was a Vet and I knew how competitive this was going to be. I did work experience right from the age of 12 and did well in my GCSEs: 6A* 4As and 2 Bs. However when i started my AS levels I didnt do so well as expected and for A2 i ended up getting A in biology, B in chemistry and A in music. I didnt feel i would stand a chance of applying whilst resitting chemistry so i took the difficult decision of doing a pharmacy degree instead- i knew i could get a good career and possibly fund graduate entry vet medicine (which i now realise is unrealistic due to the huge cost with some fees of £20,000 plus per year!).
I am doing quite well in pharmacy and averaging 75% but now at the end of my first year but in lectures i can think of nothing appart from vet medicine :s-smilie:

I am soo determined to drop out to go back to college to resit a couple of chemistry modules- which would be fairly easy after doing pharmacy. Meanwhile i could do loads of varried work experience- vets, zoos, abbatoires.

I am desperate to do this but does anyone think all of this will pay off? I realise how slim my chances are and I have thought about back up courses but I will never move on with my life if i dont do this now.

If anyone is in or has ever been in the same position I would love to hear from you. :smile:
I haven't been in the same situation but I would say the best starting point would be to email and/or ring the universities you are interested in (or all of them) to tell them about your situation and ask for their advice. As far as I know only Notts, Liverpool, RVC and Bristol consider resit students so if you're definitely planning to resit Chem they're probably the places you'll want to contact first. It's not unheard of for people to drop out of their degree to pursue Vet Med so they should be able to tell you if they'd be able to consider your application as normal.

You have good grades though and if you get that extra work experience and boost your Chemistry grade I personally think you stand a decent chance of getting in, though obviously I've no idea how the unis view people who've dropped out to change courses which is why I think you should definitely contact them to ask before you make any decisions!
Reply 2
I am in a similar situation, I'm considering dropping out of a biomed course to pursue a veterinary. Got AAB in A-levels but need to resit the whole chemistry A-level as the course has changed.

It feels like such a leap of faith to drop everything I'm doing at the moment on the off-chance that I *might* get into vet med. But at the same time I feel like if I don't try I will regret it for the rest of my life...

sorry, that's not particularly helpful, but I guess you know now there's other people in the same situation. :smile:
Reply 3
Go for it, your in a better position than me in that you have good GCSEs and Bio/Chem to A-level.

I have to go back to college and completely redo my A-levels and 4 GCSEs just to stand a chance. So consider yourself lucky, not unlucky...
Reply 4
Original post by hmmmmmm
I am in a similar situation, I'm considering dropping out of a biomed course to pursue a veterinary. Got AAB in A-levels but need to resit the whole chemistry A-level as the course has changed.

It feels like such a leap of faith to drop everything I'm doing at the moment on the off-chance that I *might* get into vet med. But at the same time I feel like if I don't try I will regret it for the rest of my life...

sorry, that's not particularly helpful, but I guess you know now there's other people in the same situation. :smile:


Hi :smile: its really nice to know i'm not the only one. Are you in your 1st year of biomed too? I was close to taking that course, and kindof wish i had because it is only 3yrs whereas 4 yrs for pharmacy is a long time if i dont enjoy it.
I'm worried about getting no interviews and just looking like ive made the biggest mistake of my life in my families opinion.

Ive rang round the unis but they all give the generic answer "your application will be viewed against the pool of applicants who got their grades first time round". Im gonna go to the open days and try and talk to the admissions tutors in person.
Have you deffinately decided to drop your course then?
Reply 5
Original post by bestofyou
Go for it, your in a better position than me in that you have good GCSEs and Bio/Chem to A-level.

I have to go back to college and completely redo my A-levels and 4 GCSEs just to stand a chance. So consider yourself lucky, not unlucky...


Wow thats real dedication- i say go for it! I regretted not trying to resit before and tried to go down a different career path, but i couldnt stop thinking about vetmed and i dont want to have regrets later in life so i have to at least give it a try now!
Reply 6
Original post by Mully09
Wow thats real dedication- i say go for it! I regretted not trying to resit before and tried to go down a different career path, but i couldnt stop thinking about vetmed and i dont want to have regrets later in life so i have to at least give it a try now!


Yeah, mind you it seems for me I get a new obstacle thrown in my path each day. Just found out that I have a minimal chance of getting the hardship fund for college, which means I will need to pay £2000+ just to redo the A-levels. The worst of it is I can only apply (and therefore find out if I will get funding or not) when enrolled in the college which means I need to drop-out of my current course at university before knowing whether or not I will be able to get funded.

Just so you are aware of this option, if not already aware, if you are from a relatively weathly background? I think you already qualify for the foundation veterinary medicine certificate at Nottingham. After successful completion of this 1year course you automatically (i think) get accepted to St. Georges University in Gernada. Though I'm not sure how much the fees are that you will be paying.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 7
Original post by Mully09
Hi :smile: its really nice to know i'm not the only one. Are you in your 1st year of biomed too? I was close to taking that course, and kindof wish i had because it is only 3yrs whereas 4 yrs for pharmacy is a long time if i dont enjoy it.
I'm worried about getting no interviews and just looking like ive made the biggest mistake of my life in my families opinion.

Ive rang round the unis but they all give the generic answer "your application will be viewed against the pool of applicants who got their grades first time round". Im gonna go to the open days and try and talk to the admissions tutors in person.
Have you deffinately decided to drop your course then?


I'm in my second year actually, hating it more and more by the day! haha
My course is also 4 year (undergrad masters) and next year I would have a placement, so I'm not particularly looking forward to that if it happens.

I would say I'm 70% wanting to drop out, the other 30% is mainly due to fear! I Talked to my tutor about it and he said just wait and see how you feel after summer, but after summer would be too late to apply for colleges so I just don't knowww....It's like choosing if I should follow my head or my heart!

I completely agree with the family side of things, I'm the first person in my family to go to uni, they were so happy to see me get in. I'd feel like I'm letting them down if I drop out.

Have you made any concrete decisions?
Reply 8
Original post by hmmmmmm
I'm in my second year actually, hating it more and more by the day! haha
My course is also 4 year (undergrad masters) and next year I would have a placement, so I'm not particularly looking forward to that if it happens.

I would say I'm 70% wanting to drop out, the other 30% is mainly due to fear! I Talked to my tutor about it and he said just wait and see how you feel after summer, but after summer would be too late to apply for colleges so I just don't knowww....It's like choosing if I should follow my head or my heart!

I completely agree with the family side of things, I'm the first person in my family to go to uni, they were so happy to see me get in. I'd feel like I'm letting them down if I drop out.

Have you made any concrete decisions?


ring SF before you do anything. Sorry to break this to you if you didn't already know, but because you are in second year already you probably won't get the full funding for tuition fees. They may only give you two years since thats what you have left on your degree.

If you ring SF and this is the case, then your may be better finishing your degree and going for graduate entry. Check out UCD and see if they have grad entry, I'm sure their fees will be much lower than the ones in the UK.

As for the colleges you can apply while still at uni, thats what I'm doing. So apply for whatever a-levels and then decide in the summer. Just so you know, fees at UCD are pretty low, you probably wouldn't get funding, but if you re-sat four A-levels to A*- A and got a full-time job for a year somewhere you should be able to save up enough for the fees depending.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by hmmmmmm
I'm in my second year actually, hating it more and more by the day! haha
My course is also 4 year (undergrad masters) and next year I would have a placement, so I'm not particularly looking forward to that if it happens.

I would say I'm 70% wanting to drop out, the other 30% is mainly due to fear! I Talked to my tutor about it and he said just wait and see how you feel after summer, but after summer would be too late to apply for colleges so I just don't knowww....It's like choosing if I should follow my head or my heart!

I completely agree with the family side of things, I'm the first person in my family to go to uni, they were so happy to see me get in. I'd feel like I'm letting them down if I drop out.

Have you made any concrete decisions?


Well to be honest I had made up my mind a couple of weeks ago, just had to come back to discuss it with my family. I just think that if i dont do this now I will always regret it and think what if... yes i could end up with rejections both years and having to do something like zoology but i will find that soo much more facinating than my current course. 4 years is a long time and theres no way i will be able to afford graduate fees sadly.

Unfortunately as you're in your second year you will have to pay fees for the first year of your next degree, as you only get funding for your degree + 1 extra year. But i think £9,000 is worth it if it means doing vet med!
Will you have to resit like me? also ive been told i have to have a minimum of 10wks experience (for liverpool anyway) but got to be in the last 3 years- i'm going to be very busy this summer!

What do you reckon you'll do, it is scary but I think if you are going to do this you will have to decide very soon.
Reply 10
Original post by Mully09
Hi, I am just trying to get as much advice as possible and I would like people to be honest about the chance I stand of getting an offer when I apply to Vet Medicine in October 2012.

Throughout my school life I always worked hard because all I ever wanted to be was a Vet and I knew how competitive this was going to be. I did work experience right from the age of 12 and did well in my GCSEs: 6A* 4As and 2 Bs. However when i started my AS levels I didnt do so well as expected and for A2 i ended up getting A in biology, B in chemistry and A in music. I didnt feel i would stand a chance of applying whilst resitting chemistry so i took the difficult decision of doing a pharmacy degree instead- i knew i could get a good career and possibly fund graduate entry vet medicine (which i now realise is unrealistic due to the huge cost with some fees of £20,000 plus per year!).
I am doing quite well in pharmacy and averaging 75% but now at the end of my first year but in lectures i can think of nothing appart from vet medicine :s-smilie:

I am soo determined to drop out to go back to college to resit a couple of chemistry modules- which would be fairly easy after doing pharmacy. Meanwhile i could do loads of varried work experience- vets, zoos, abbatoires.

I am desperate to do this but does anyone think all of this will pay off? I realise how slim my chances are and I have thought about back up courses but I will never move on with my life if i dont do this now.

If anyone is in or has ever been in the same position I would love to hear from you. :smile:


Hi There,
Apart from becoming a vet there are many other vet related careers - so maybe you could look into those.
Reply 11
Just found out that nottingham dont except applications from people who have dropped out of university courses... so its down to only 3 unis I could apply too. Ah im seriously doubting this now, i could be giving up everything for nothing :frown:
Reply 12
Original post by bestofyou
ring SF before you do anything. Sorry to break this to you if you didn't already know, but because you are in second year already you probably won't get the full funding for tuition fees. They may only give you two years since thats what you have left on your degree.


My current degree is NHS funded, so I've never had to deal with student finance. I was thinking this would allow me to get full funding for a second degree. I'm not 100% but will deffo give them a ring before I do anything.


Original post by Mully09
Well to be honest I had made up my mind a couple of weeks ago, just had to come back to discuss it with my family. I just think that if i dont do this now I will always regret it and think what if... yes i could end up with rejections both years and having to do something like zoology but i will find that soo much more facinating than my current course. 4 years is a long time and theres no way i will be able to afford graduate fees sadly.

Unfortunately as you're in your second year you will have to pay fees for the first year of your next degree, as you only get funding for your degree + 1 extra year. But i think £9,000 is worth it if it means doing vet med!
Will you have to resit like me? also ive been told i have to have a minimum of 10wks experience (for liverpool anyway) but got to be in the last 3 years- i'm going to be very busy this summer!

What do you reckon you'll do, it is scary but I think if you are going to do this you will have to decide very soon.



Original post by Mully09
Just found out that nottingham dont except applications from people who have dropped out of university courses... so its down to only 3 unis I could apply too. Ah im seriously doubting this now, i could be giving up everything for nothing :frown:


I need to resit chem, I was thinking maybe another a-level too (apparently some people see psychology as a "soft". This is when I could be getting some work experience too. The college I'm looking at actually does animal care/management diplomas , so I was also thinking about that, but I don't know if they'll actually be valued.

Been looking for a bit of work experience but I can't really get any concrete dates 'till my placement dates are finalised (my uni is seriously unorganised!)

Also, very bad news about Nottingham. Feels like we're trying to do the impossible :/
Reply 13
Original post by hmmmmmm
My current degree is NHS funded, so I've never had to deal with student finance. I was thinking this would allow me to get full funding for a second degree. I'm not 100% but will deffo give them a ring before I do anything.







I need to resit chem, I was thinking maybe another a-level too (apparently some people see psychology as a "soft". This is when I could be getting some work experience too. The college I'm looking at actually does animal care/management diplomas , so I was also thinking about that, but I don't know if they'll actually be valued.

Been looking for a bit of work experience but I can't really get any concrete dates 'till my placement dates are finalised (my uni is seriously unorganised!)

Also, very bad news about Nottingham. Feels like we're trying to do the impossible :/



Did you say you were in your second year of a 3 or 4 year degree? When i spoke to the universities they all said as a resit student your application will be viewed against students who completed their a levels in the 2 years at college...every response seems to be soo negative at the moment which has deffinately changed by mind about dropping out.

Instead i am thinking graduate entry will be a much safer option. I went to talk to the Vet i did a lot of work experience with before and he said it would look so bad if I drop out and the universities would not look at this positively at all. He also said, plenty of vets have done other degrees first and it increases your employability greatly in the future. There will be the issue of paying for the second degree but hopefully with pharmacy i will be able to afford this :smile:

What is everyone else still thinking? After speaking to all of the universities and people who know about vet medicine, I think that the only option is to finish the degree and apply as graduates.
Reply 14
Original post by Mully09
Did you say you were in your second year of a 3 or 4 year degree? When i spoke to the universities they all said as a resit student your application will be viewed against students who completed their a levels in the 2 years at college...every response seems to be soo negative at the moment which has deffinately changed by mind about dropping out.

Instead i am thinking graduate entry will be a much safer option. I went to talk to the Vet i did a lot of work experience with before and he said it would look so bad if I drop out and the universities would not look at this positively at all. He also said, plenty of vets have done other degrees first and it increases your employability greatly in the future. There will be the issue of paying for the second degree but hopefully with pharmacy i will be able to afford this :smile:

What is everyone else still thinking? After speaking to all of the universities and people who know about vet medicine, I think that the only option is to finish the degree and apply as graduates.


Urgh, that's not good. I don't think I could realistically ever afford post grad :frown:

I'm a second year in a 4 year course.

I feel so split about the whole thing, it's such a big descision. :dontknow:
Reply 15
Original post by hmmmmmm
Urgh, that's not good. I don't think I could realistically ever afford post grad :frown:

I'm a second year in a 4 year course.

I feel so split about the whole thing, it's such a big descision. :dontknow:


I'm sorry, i seemed to have joined the negative opinions :s-smilie: but i just think dropping out is going against what everyone has being saying...including the universities.
I have heard that Liverpool would except my first year of pharmacy instead of the A in chemistry so would just need to take an AS level next year and get a B for my application to be considered and RVC seemed positive about my first year of uni but still waiting to hear back. Realistically if I were to drop out and apply with resit of chemistry the only extra place that would consider me is Bristol- which seems to be the most competitive! So i have been advised to stick with my degree, but apply to Liverpool and RVC in september, even at the least I would gain experience- which could benefit me when applying as a graduate.
Do you think you will continue with your course, or leave it?

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