I don't mind at all
My choice was never set in stone, even though for a while I was pretty much consumed by it (I worked really hard over summer!). Unfortunately people weren't terribly impressed with my GCSE grades and I wasn't enjoying work experience as much as I used to, so I suppose you can say that I just felt jaded by it all. Plus I came to the realisation that veterinary medicine is just the tip of a very large animally iceberg; there are plenty of other careers out there that would appeal to my interests, and most of them are a great deal less competitive than veterinary!
I'm not sure exactly what I want to do now actually. I have a vague idea; biology is my favourite subject and the one that I achieve the best grades in, so although I adore chemistry and physics as well something related to that would be preferable. Obviously animals are a plus! I also like working with people (although animals are still better
) so I wouldn't mind having to speak to a lot of colleagues/the public. I've been looking into degrees in biochemistry, which could open a lot of doors, but I wouldn't say no to zoology or anything along those lines at this point either.
Anyway, enough about me, what about you
? Do you have any particular interests within the field of veterinary medicine? Have any idea where you might apply? Done much work experience so far?
My advice will sound awfully generic, and as I'm not in vet school it's probably of limited worth, but if there's one thing I'd stress it's that there's more to a successful application than grades and work experience (and that applies to pretty much all courses, veterinary related or otherwise). Extracurricular activities such as DofE, sports clubs, playing an instrument, writing for the school newsletter, a part time job, head boy/girl, being a prefect etc will show that you're well rounded and can balance your time well. An awesome personal statement is also essential as its basically universities' first glimpse of who you are (although not all vet schools use it; Liverpool don't even look at it but Bristol put a lot of weight on it, apply to your strengths!). Then there's the BMAT, which is notoriously difficult. The road to vet school is not an easy one!