[emmah629]

Unfortunately I have have the pleasure of receiving 12 rejections.
I am not giving up my dream of being a vet and have resigned myself to another UCAS form *sob*

This will be my fourth time applying and I was wondering if anyone could give me any help and advice on what I should do to help my application.

Ive got a lot of work exp, 40+ weeks with:
Stables
Kennels
Animal trusts and sanctuarys-wolves, horses, hedgehogs and mixture
Zoo vets
Large vets
Small vets
Mixed vets-who is a long term placement
Dairy
Lambing
Abattoir
Human lab

I was thinking of revisiting dairy, large vets and stable as they were in 2010 and wasnt sure if it would be counted on the Liv form for 2013 cycle

I know its not just work exp and my interview technique needs helping with aswell. I didnt know if anyone new any courses, or just had general tips/advice on what works for them for nerves ect it would be of great help!

I am planning on going through clearing on an animal science course or simmiler and go to uni this year as I cant stay at home another year.
I am also on the Ed waiting list, which is a small chance at least

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice, or was in the same situation as me?

[kookabura]

You need to find out why you are being unsuccessful - contact all the places you have been rejected from and ask for feedback. Are you getting m/any interviews? If you are, then as you say, your interview technique needs work. I don't know about courses for interview skills - there must be some out there - but I don't there are any geared towards vet med, so probably would be very over priced, but little help. Get people to practice interviewing with you current vet students/vets etc. Try and get a mixture of people though as some people will be better at giving you advice than others, so if you ask enough people you should hopefully get some good advice by the end of it.

You are in the position now where you sort of don't need more work experience etc to show you want to do this - but you probably need to continue with it to show you are still committed and so on whilst you are reapplying. I think you are right that Liverpool have a limit to the number of years there will look at stuff for - so maybe like you say, repeating your older placements would be good. Whilst I was applying for uni I found a job at a farm (it was a sheep farm for 5 months) so kind of killed two birds with one stone - it was experience for uni, but a paid job (not well paid, but still paid). Dairy is often an area where people find relief milking jobs pretty easily - do a couple of weeks placement at a dairy and take it from there.

I would say be very careful about heading down another course route if you are 100% set on vet med. I did this, and it is a long, expensive route. If you are doing it just to fill a year whilst you apply for vet med again - you have the problem of convincing the vet schools that you will stick at their course when you are planning on dropping out of another one. It can lead to problems with student finance funding. Also, there is the problem that I encountered of you start another degree and if vet med still doesn't work out you then don't know what to do. I found myself 1 year into a degree I didn't really want to do - but had spent a years money and time on, so in the end stayed to finish it, I didn't really enjoy it. Whilst it has now meant I ended up in vet school in the end, it was an expensive and long route to get here.

Have you considered studying abroad? There is a big thread on here about Kosice - which sounds like it is easier relatively speaking to get into than the UK vet schools, because you then have to do well to actually stay there - which if you can deal with the academics of it, should be ok? Might be worth a look - you might even be able to start there this year?

In all, I think you will find that a 4th application is pretty rare (there is someone on here who applied 3 times, and people who applied twice and then post degree etc, but 4th is rare). You need to make sure you know what is stopping you from getting offers and need to work on that. Starting a course is an option, but be sure you know what you are letting yourself in for - it probably won't look particularly good on an application next year, so you would have that hurdle on top of everything else. A one year open university or college course might look better/be more useful.

Hope this helps a bit....if you've got any more q's post away!

[amethyst<3]

I am goin on the Vetsim course it looks at vet med and tells you a bit more about it but the main reason im goin on it is because my interview technique is pretty appalling but if you pay a little bit extra they will look at ur ucas form and comment whats good and whats bad and how you can improve and they give you a mock interview and do the same

For work experience although you probs dont need any more as you have done loads you could try a safari park goin abroad and doin conservation. Id say do something your never going to have the opportunity to do again ( well you might when ur a vet ) and something that you have always wanted to do but never had the chance

I wish i could be more help but I agree with kookabura email the unis for feedback and see what they say I really hope you get in you definitely deserve it after 4 applications you cant really prove your more dedicated good luck

[emmah629]

(Original post by kookabura)
...

Thank you! That was very helpful!


My feedback from Ed said that I had given a good interview, but that I wasnt as quick thinking as some of the other candidates and seemed a bit hesitant on asnwers that i wasnt sure of. So I was rather annoyed with myself for that, I have had a few mock interviews, 2 with the college I went back to and 1 with a vet. Im definately going to have more with vets and get them to ask me questions on work exp as atm its the only think I can think of that can help with being quick thinking . . .

I have considered abroad but I dont think I could up and move country just yet, thats why I was thinking of starting another degree first. I know someone that has just got in who started another degree and is leaving this september to do vet med. I thought it would be useful as I cant bear the thought of staying at home another year and want to do something animal related but scientific to keep my brain working, as ive found 2 years off has taken its toll!
I was then going to apply for the next 2 years, if that isnt a success finish the degree and apply abroad as a graduate. What degree did you do? If you dont mind me asking?

I dont like being a fourth time applicant, I feel like its an uphill struggle, but I cant give up, I want it too badly, just wish this year had gone better!

The only upside is that ive at least another 6 years untill I have to pay tax

[yothi5]

4th time?!!!!

[kookabura]

(Original post by emmah629)
Thank you! That was very helpful!


My feedback from Ed said that I had given a good interview, but that I wasnt as quick thinking as some of the other candidates and seemed a bit hesitant on asnwers that i wasnt sure of. So I was rather annoyed with myself for that, I have had a few mock interviews, 2 with the college I went back to and 1 with a vet. Im definately going to have more with vets and get them to ask me questions on work exp as atm its the only think I can think of that can help with being quick thinking . . .

I have considered abroad but I dont think I could up and move country just yet, thats why I was thinking of starting another degree first. I know someone that has just got in who started another degree and is leaving this september to do vet med. I thought it would be useful as I cant bear the thought of staying at home another year and want to do something animal related but scientific to keep my brain working, as ive found 2 years off has taken its toll!
I was then going to apply for the next 2 years, if that isnt a success finish the degree and apply abroad as a graduate. What degree did you do? If you dont mind me asking?

I dont like being a fourth time applicant, I feel like its an uphill struggle, but I cant give up, I want it too badly, just wish this year had gone better!

The only upside is that ive at least another 6 years untill I have to pay tax

I hope I didn't sound critical of you applying a 4th time - it's good (and impressive!) that you are committed to this, I was just trying to mention some of the potential pitfalls as well :-)

Fair enough about the moving abroad thing - I don't know if I could have done it either, and that is from someone who only goes home from RVC for a couple of weeks from the entire year.

There are people who do get in whilst studying on another course - like the person you say that you know, but there are also a lot of people who don't. You will need to get a balance between putting effort in and doing well in the course you are on and putting time and effort into you vet application as well.

I did Animal Science at Nottingham uni, had a couple of years out and then started at RVC on their 4yr grad course. Like I said in my other post - it is a route that works, there are plenty of grads get into vet med every year. But it is an expensive and long way of doing it! Not sure how much you have looked at grad entry, but Nottm and RVC are the only two that charge the same as normal undergrads, everywhere else charges full fees for grads (so anywhere in the region of £18000-23000ish per year). Which means that entry at Nottm and RVC is very competitive for grads.

Let me know if you've got any more q's and I'll try and help. And good luck.

[emmah629]

(Original post by kookabura)
I hope I didn't sound critical of you applying a 4th time - it's good (and impressive!) that you are committed to this, I was just trying to mention some of the potential pitfalls as well :-)

Fair enough about the moving abroad thing - I don't know if I could have done it either, and that is from someone who only goes home from RVC for a couple of weeks from the entire year.

There are people who do get in whilst studying on another course - like the person you say that you know, but there are also a lot of people who don't. You will need to get a balance between putting effort in and doing well in the course you are on and putting time and effort into you vet application as well.

I did Animal Science at Nottingham uni, had a couple of years out and then started at RVC on their 4yr grad course. Like I said in my other post - it is a route that works, there are plenty of grads get into vet med every year. But it is an expensive and long way of doing it! Not sure how much you have looked at grad entry, but Nottm and RVC are the only two that charge the same as normal undergrads, everywhere else charges full fees for grads (so anywhere in the region of £18000-23000ish per year). Which means that entry at Nottm and RVC is very competitive for grads.

Let me know if you've got any more q's and I'll try and help. And good luck.

Dont worry you didnt! I know fourth time applicant are few and far between, usually people have gotten in by now haha

The reason I was thinking of trying this way was so that if it doesnt work out at least ill have the degree to fall back on, so to try and move on with my life so to speak. I keep trying to be posative but theres still a nagging in the back of my head saying well they didnt want you the first 3 times, why would they the fourth. Which is why i think its more a confidence issue now

Ive applied to notts twice now, so wasnt sure if id be able to apply there again as a grad? As for the RVC me and the BMAT dont seem to get on very well at all. Ive no idea why as im rather good at science but the two times ive done it ive ended up with shocking marks, litrelly 3.4 and 3.6! So those two arnt my best chances.

I really loved Ed, and ive only applied there this year, so was hoping that they may be a better option for next year. I was going to ring them to see what they felt about starting a degree just incase and dropping out

What was your animal science degree like? Ive an offer from Bristol for it but wasnt sure if I may of found Biovet any better.

Everythings sort of swirling around in my head at the moment, im not quite sure what to do for the best!

[clair0511]

(Original post by emmah629)
Dont worry you didnt! I know fourth time applicant are few and far between, usually people have gotten in by now haha

The reason I was thinking of trying this way was so that if it doesnt work out at least ill have the degree to fall back on, so to try and move on with my life so to speak. I keep trying to be posative but theres still a nagging in the back of my head saying well they didnt want you the first 3 times, why would they the fourth. Which is why i think its more a confidence issue now

Ive applied to notts twice now, so wasnt sure if id be able to apply there again as a grad? As for the RVC me and the BMAT dont seem to get on very well at all. Ive no idea why as im rather good at science but the two times ive done it ive ended up with shocking marks, litrelly 3.4 and 3.6! So those two arnt my best chances.

I really loved Ed, and ive only applied there this year, so was hoping that they may be a better option for next year. I was going to ring them to see what they felt about starting a degree just incase and dropping out

What was your animal science degree like? Ive an offer from Bristol for it but wasnt sure if I may of found Biovet any better.

Everythings sort of swirling around in my head at the moment, im not quite sure what to do for the best!

Hi
I just wanted to say well done you for trying your very best and not giving up on your vet dream! Lots of us (especially in the graduate thread) have a very long and winding road to vet school but if you really want it then you will get there in the end. I am now a mature student (with husband, kids and mini job (2 afternoons/evenings (I have a very flexible boss!) in R&D at a pharmaceutical company) and in my 5th year at vet school in Vienna. I didn't get the grades when I was 18, was the first in my family to go to uni, ever, so resitting or a gap year didn't seem the right choice - so I also ended up doing Animal Science. I went to Nottingham (Sutton Bonington) and absolutely loved the place and the course - I truly made friends for life there and I'm still in touch with some of my lecturers too! As part of my course I did Erasmus in Germany so it made sense for me to take the job I was offered at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Vienna once I graduated. After 3yrs there I started work for the pharmaceutical company. But somehow I could never give up the thought of being a vet and once I had lived in Vienna for 10yrs, and my German was pretty fluent I decided to apply here. I got in first time as the application procedure is not as stringent as in the UK, and of course I had my Animal Science degree so that helped too! It has been tough but I am almost finished now and it has definitely been worth it.

Anyway, that's a lot of waffle but what I mean to say is that I will be 38 when I graduate and that's not too old in my book - I will still have at least 20yrs of doing a job I love! Give your 4th attempt a try and if it doesn't work out then go for Kosice or Budapest etc. The entry criteria in European unis are lower but the courses themselves are tougher in that there are lots of exams where the sole aim of the lecturers is to reduce the numbers of students! But if you can cope academically then you'll be fine.....

Good luck and don't give up

[cornish_pasty]

(Original post by emmah629)
Dont worry you didnt! I know fourth time applicant are few and far between, usually people have gotten in by now haha

The reason I was thinking of trying this way was so that if it doesnt work out at least ill have the degree to fall back on, so to try and move on with my life so to speak.

Ive an offer from Bristol for it but wasnt sure if I may of found Biovet any better.

Everythings sort of swirling around in my head at the moment, im not quite sure what to do for the best!

Im in my 3rd year of a biovet degree, and have got on to the RVC grad course for september, but i agree with kookaburra that if you do one year of a degree and then drop out it wont look the best - i had numerous people in my first year at uni try the same and not a single one of them got an interview. I know you said your friend did, but its not always as easy as that.

Student finance are a pain in the bum most of the time, but trying to justify to them why they should pay for you to do one year of one degree and then another 5 years of another will be tough, they will take any out they can get not to fund you when they think they dont have to, and i imagine they will be even worse now the fees are up to £9000.

Thats another consideration- you're talking about getting yourself into around £13,000 worth of debt (9k tuition, 3-4k maintenance loan) just for a year because you dont want to stay at home for this application. Is it really worth it? I get what youre saying about having the degree to fall back on, but if you take this year out, apply for vet and another degree as your 5th choice you will save yourself that money if you do get in to vet school this time!

Im not trying to be overly negative, and i really hope its not coming across that way, im just trying to point out some things that i hope you've not overlooked. I went bounding into the grad route because i didnt want to spend more time at home, doing a-levels, getting left behind etc and i let myself get really dis-heartened about the whole thing and essentially give up, and i wish there had been someone to shake me and tell me how bloody difficult it is any other way!! School careers people did not warn me about postgrad fees :/ and made me think it was really possible to do a year of one degree then switch, much like you.

Just to say, you dont sound like you're ready to give up yet - so dont!

[emmah629]

(Original post by clair0511)
Hi


Good luck and don't give up

(Original post by cornish_pasty)

Just to say, you dont sound like you're ready to give up yet - so dont!

Thank you both for what you've said!

Im definately not ready to give up, and I dont think staying for another year will be a bad idea. Ive been looking at the open university courses and there is one exploring science which I wouldnt mind doing to show the unis that I can work to uni level! Along with trying to save up some money and continuing my work experience, it also wont cost a huge amount and by the looks I could get a grant from them anyway.

You've all given me a lot to think about!

[Phoenix_147]

Definately dont go into the graduate route lightly. If you think its competitive now, you will be shocked applying as a grad. Most first degree applicants are 18-20. They all have similar experiences and life skills. As a grad you could be competing against people with degrees, masters, phds and incredible jobs/experiences. It is also incredibly hard to fund and by the time you would finish your first degree the fees could have sky rocketed. They have jumped 6k in the last year!

Dont give up, but seriously consider all your options and the reality of each one. I would recommend not doing a year in one degree. Just get a job, pref one that involves speaking to lots of people. Broaden your skills. YOu will meet people, make money and wont waste time and detriment your chances by starting a course that you intend to drop. Also not trying to sound rude but if you accept a place on a course you have no intention of finishing, you are taking someone elses place who may really want to so that course. How would you feel if people had done that on the vet course??

Any hoo hope you find what your looking for and get the outcomes you want. It is possible

[SilverstarDJ]

(Original post by amethyst<3)
I am goin on the Vetsim course it looks at vet med and tells you a bit more about it but the main reason im goin on it is because my interview technique is pretty appalling but if you pay a little bit extra they will look at ur ucas form and comment whats good and whats bad and how you can improve and they give you a mock interview and do the same

My mock interview didn't help me at all at vetsim. They were unlike any I had (I was interviewed by all 4). So please don't rely on it to help you improve -- I found debating and public speaking to be more useful. They may have changed though since when I went many years ago, so i hope your vetsim interview is better than mine was!

[MadMonkey]

4 years? seriously 4 years?

Sorry but I'm going to have to play the devil's advocate here and be mean and brutal, but hear me me out.

Getting into Veterinary medicine is not the be all and end all of existence!!!

For one thing, you may actually get in on your 4th, 6th or 10th try, but you don't know that you'll actually be able to cope with it in the end, You don't know you'll make it through in till you actually do, regardless of what you believe you're capable of. Imagine spending 4 years trying to get into something, and then failing at it. If you haven't thought that far ahead, then you haven't really thought it through completely. And, like it or not, disparage me for my honesty or not, you need to have a backup plan for everything, including this, and waiting an extra year is not a backup plan, its an act of desperation.

Second thing. Veterinary medicine represents a small niche of the what you could potentially do. Imagine what else is out there; You could: Get a Zoology degree, go save turtles in Florida, become a Buddhist monk in India, campaign to make tiddlywinks into an Olympic sport, seriously you could do ANYTHING. Imagine all the stuff you could have done in 4 years! That's what you're missing. Fact is, you don't need 40+ weeks to get into veterinary medicine! You need to be unique, and you need something to offer. Anyone and everyone can go and do 40 weeks of veterinary experience, and ultimately that experience will only ever be a supplement to the actual experience you get in the course. Its surplus to requirement, and beyond a few preliminary weeks, its effectively icing on a cake, for a myriad of reasons. Everyone here is congratulating you on your dedication, and their right, you are obviously dedicated, but unfortunately, you're not in the real world. It sounds to me that you've wasted 4 years spiraling about something that you're just not attaining. Here's the serious and honest truth, when I hear 4th year re-applicant, I don't think dedicated, I think deluded, and you know what, I reckon every admissions tutor is thinking the exact same thing.

Now for the third thing. If you're serious about Veterinary medicine, and I mean really serious. You'd drop it now and go out and do something completely different. And we're not talking Bioveterinary Science, we're talking getting employed as a English teacher in some foreign country, maybe going and getting a job in a research laboratory, or a job in an animal charity, or doing a course in a pure science degree with wider prospects than animal science. Who Knows, you might love your plan B and celebrate the day you got rejected from Vetmed. You might meet the girl of your dreams with strawberry blonde hair while helping in fieldwork in the amazon, but right now you're wallowing at home with your parents for 4 long blasted years, 4 cycling grey soggy years!!! dragging yourself from one placement to the next, immersing yourself in some sadomasochistic trial by fire! That's insane!

And truth of it is this, What'll make you capable of getting into vetmed won't be wallowing on it, but moving past it and developing despite of it, and applying year after year through UCAS isn't going to gain you anything, you'd be putting yourself in a time warp. Applying for the 4th time is different from say, applying after scaling Kilimanjaro and returning with a glorious beard. I know it sounds mad. But this is why vetmed is not the be all or end all. Because 4 years trying to get into vetmed won't show that you could be a good vet, but showing that you have the strength of character to explore your options beyond what you think you want is something that every vet (and indeed every person) needs to be able to do.



My 2 cents, take them or leave them.



*sigh* This post is not going to make me popular, I was so infused by this topic that its effectively forced me to reuse my short-lived account.

[emmah629]

(Original post by MadMonkey)
4 years? seriously 4 years?

Sorry but I'm going to have to play the devil's advocate here and be mean and brutal, but hear me me out.

Getting into Veterinary medicine is not the be all and end all of existence!!!

For one thing, you may actually get in on your 4th, 6th or 10th try, but you don't know that you'll actually be able to cope with it in the end, You don't know you'll make it through in till you actually do, regardless of what you believe you're capable of. Imagine spending 4 years trying to get into something, and then failing at it. If you haven't thought that far ahead, then you haven't really thought it through completely. And, like it or not, disparage me for my honesty or not, you need to have a backup plan for everything, including this, and waiting an extra year is not a backup plan, its an act of desperation.

Second thing. Veterinary medicine represents a small niche of the what you could potentially do. Imagine what else is out there; You could: Get a Zoology degree, go save turtles in Florida, become a Buddhist monk in India, campaign to make tiddlywinks into an Olympic sport, seriously you could do ANYTHING. Imagine all the stuff you could have done in 4 years! That's what you're missing. Fact is, you don't need 40+ weeks to get into veterinary medicine! You need to be unique, and you need something to offer. Anyone and everyone can go and do 40 weeks of veterinary experience, and ultimately that experience will only ever be a supplement to the actual experience you get in the course. Its surplus to requirement, and beyond a few preliminary weeks, its effectively icing on a cake, for a myriad of reasons. Everyone here is congratulating you on your dedication, and their right, you are obviously dedicated, but unfortunately, you're not in the real world. It sounds to me that you've wasted 4 years spiraling about something that you're just not attaining. Here's the serious and honest truth, when I hear 4th year re-applicant, I don't think dedicated, I think deluded, and you know what, I reckon every admissions tutor is thinking the exact same thing.

Now for the third thing. If you're serious about Veterinary medicine, and I mean really serious. You'd drop it now and go out and do something completely different. And we're not talking Bioveterinary Science, we're talking getting employed as a English teacher in some foreign country, maybe going and getting a job in a research laboratory, or a job in an animal charity, or doing a course in a pure science degree with wider prospects than animal science. Who Knows, you might love your plan B and celebrate the day you got rejected from Vetmed. You might meet the girl of your dreams with strawberry blonde hair while helping in fieldwork in the amazon, but right now you're wallowing at home with your parents for 4 long blasted years, 4 cycling grey soggy years!!! dragging yourself from one placement to the next, immersing yourself in some sadomasochistic trial by fire! That's insane!

And truth of it is this, What'll make you capable of getting into vetmed won't be wallowing on it, but moving past it and developing despite of it, and applying year after year through UCAS isn't going to gain you anything, you'd be putting yourself in a time warp. Applying for the 4th time is different from say, applying after scaling Kilimanjaro and returning with a glorious beard. I know it sounds mad. But this is why vetmed is not the be all or end all. Because 4 years trying to get into vetmed won't show that you could be a good vet, but showing that you have the strength of character to explore your options beyond what you think you want is something that every vet (and indeed every person) needs to be able to do.



My 2 cents, take them or leave them.



*sigh* This post is not going to make me popular, I was so infused by this topic that its effectively forced me to reuse my short-lived account.

Your right it isnt.

However I havent just been doing work experience, ive done half marathons to raise money, ive saved money to go on a conservation trip to Bulgaria next summer, I bought a foal 2 years ago and so have been training him and helping my friends with their problem horses and ive spent time with wolves which I wouldnt have been able to do if I had gone into vet school

I dont regret taking these years off because in my opinion ive done worthwhile things for me in the time along side applying and have developed whilst doing it.

I do have a back up plan, I would like to apply abroad. I dont feel that the time is right for me to do that right now though, with the horses and the things that are going on in my family at this moment in time. That is why I am going to take this year, do an open university course whilst still applying and helping my parents out at the same time.

It also isnt my fourth time applying to every university, and none of the admission tutors have said this would of been a problem when I asked about it. Granted that doesnt mean they will take me, but it shouldnt put me at a huge disadvantage.

I agree that 4 years does seem a waste chasing one thing, but being a vet is all I want to do, I dont mind if it takes me forever because i will be happy. I dont envy my friends that are going into their final years of uni because they dont know what to do after it. Ive spent these years doing things I love and saving money to other things that I wouldnt be able to do if I was on the course, Ill get there in the end, and when I do I wont have any regrets

[amethyst<3]

(Original post by SilverstarDJ)
My mock interview didn't help me at all at vetsim. They were unlike any I had (I was interviewed by all 4). So please don't rely on it to help you improve -- I found debating and public speaking to be more useful. They may have changed though since when I went many years ago, so i hope your vetsim interview is better than mine was!

I have already had some interviews for vet so I kinda have more of an idea of what to expect just trying to get more experience in the general interview situation cos ive never really been interviewed but thank you for the heads up

[clair0511]

(Original post by MadMonkey)
If you're serious about Veterinary medicine, and I mean really serious. You'd drop it now and go out and do something completely different. And we're not talking Bioveterinary Science, we're talking getting employed as a English teacher in some foreign country, maybe going and getting a job in a research laboratory, or a job in an animal charity, or doing a course in a pure science degree with wider prospects than animal science. Who Knows, you might love your plan B and celebrate the day you got rejected from Vetmed.

The things in bold - I did them all I did not love Plan B......at the age of 30 I applied to vet school again, got in and am now in my 5th year
You're right in that the original poster has to be certain she is doing the right thing, you're also right that going off and doing something else may be the better decision.....but it may also make her decide that being a vet is the only career in the world that she wants to do. After years of working in academia and the research industry, I knew what I wanted to do, and working in an office/lab wasn't it

(Oh and "pure science" degrees definitely do not have wider job prospects than animal science - unless you really want to be a teacher )

[MadMonkey]

Hello there. Friend told me you replied to this. He practically lives on this forum.

Since I threw a rant at you, I'll follow up on your response to that rant. I know these aren't affirming comments, but seriously, I'm just communicating my honest opinion to you here. I'm not sugar coating it because I feel that being challenged on this benefits you more, regardless of what decision you have/plan to make.

Truth is I see a lot of girls (and guys) like you, really hellbent on veterinary medicine or human medicine and not really willing or capable of seeing anything else, and the rejection of it can break a person, especially if they manage to get in and find they weren't meant for it all along. A friend of a friend (to use the term loosely) decided to jump off his building when he found medicine wasn't for him in his first year, I don't really know why he did it, but from what I gathered, he'd wanted medicine his whole life and didn't know where to go. These courses are intense. I don't think you understand in till you've actually gone and done one. You get so involved that you can't fail, you can't quit, you spend your life doing it, and if it doesn't work out, call it grades, call it second thoughts. It can get to a person. You understand me?

(Original post by emmah629)
Your right it isnt.

However I havent just been doing work experience, ive done half marathons to raise money, ive saved money to go on a conservation trip to Bulgaria next summer, I bought a foal 2 years ago and so have been training him and helping my friends with their problem horses and ive spent time with wolves which I wouldnt have been able to do if I had gone into vet school

I dont regret taking these years off because in my opinion ive done worthwhile things for me in the time along side applying and have developed whilst doing it.

Yet no mention of paid employment here? Have you had any consistent employment at all in the last three years? Veterinary Medicine is an expensive course and it also leads to a difficult and intense vocation (to state the obvious). A lack of experience of employment is a valid criticism of someone applying to BVetMed from your position (as a twenty something year old). Are you relying on getting a maintenance and tuition fee loan and putting yourself in debt as a source of finance, because if you have 4 years before your veterinary course, the most logical thing to do is earn enough money to alleviate your financial burden during university, especially in light of the tuition fee's tripling since you first applied. And Assuming that you do have a job, why wasn't this on the top of your list of things that aren't work experience?

The second thing that disturbs me about this is that you've invested in an animal that you could possibly not financially or physically sustain should you actually get into a veterinary medicine course? Are you really prepared to sacrifice the wellbeing of your animal in order to do the required learning to achieve within a veterinary medicine course? And trust me, you will have to do that, unless you’re some sort of super genius, you will be doing a minimum of 9-5 lectures most days, this is not including the extra work you will have to do in order to maintain your knowledge or the Extra Mural Studies you will have to do during the non-clinical years (Min. of 12 weeks). Do you really think you’ll be able to keep a horse at the same time, most of the university campuses are city based?!

(Original post by emmah629)
I do have a back up plan, I would like to apply abroad. I dont feel that the time is right for me to do that right now though, with the horses and the things that are going on in my family at this moment in time. That is why I am going to take this year, do an open university course whilst still applying and helping my parents out at the same time.

Nope. I'm not convinced. That is not a back up plan. It is not an alternative to veterinary medicine; it’s a desperation gambit because you couldn't achieve an offer in this country. Its much more expensive and not guaranteed to be as internationally respected (depending on the university in question), it will involve relocating to another country in which you probably do not speak the language, something that can be mentally and emotionally demanding, and you may not cope with the stresses of this and your academic studies. And on top of all this you might very well be rejected from those institutions as well, most of them are prestigious and certainly have enough applications to pick and choose. Assuming you end up doing that when whatever family issues end, you might be talking a few years down the line. Are you really going to continue applying to UK veterinary colleges that whole time. Have you not got a single alternative at all that you can pursue?

(Original post by emmah629)
It also isnt my fourth time applying to every university, and none of the admission tutors have said this would of been a problem when I asked about it. Granted that doesnt mean they will take me, but it shouldnt put me at a huge disadvantage.

This is your fourth year, on the trot, applying to veterinary medicine, no use sugar coating it. Every single veterinary college will know it, regardless of whether you applied to them or not. If a twenty one year old applies to veterinary medicine without any major study and forty weeks work experience to their name, then it is the natural assumption to make. Those admissions tutors are sugar coating it for you. It does put you at a disadvantage at this point (and any disadvantage is bad at the level of competition you're facing). That disadvantage will become larger the longer you cycle through.

(Original post by emmah629)
I agree that 4 years does seem a waste chasing one thing, but being a vet is all I want to do, I dont mind if it takes me forever because i will be happy. I dont envy my friends that are going into their final years of uni because they dont know what to do after it. Ive spent these years doing things I love and saving money to other things that I wouldnt be able to do if I was on the course, Ill get there in the end, and when I do I wont have any regrets

I'm going to have to call you on this one. Are you a vet? How do you what it's like to be one? Because work experience provides you with a underwhelming taste, not a robust understanding of the stresses involved and if you think it does then you're crazy wrong. How do you know that “it’s all (you) want to do”? That isn't a mature justification for wanting to do Veterinary Medicine. When you're a teenager you can get away with that sort of answer, but it doesn't fly with a twenty something year old. Why is it the only thing you want to do? Specific reasons here? If it’s because you love animals, then why not become a veterinary technician or nurse (because they are more involved in animal care)? If you love the science, then why not become a research assistant or get a science degree (both of which are more academic)? If you like the diagnostics then why not do human medicine (which is less competitive and involves greater depth of knowledge)?

Do you think your friend’s envy your position, because if they have a decent degree from a decent university, they probably have a good chance at getting a job. Give it a couple more years, they'll be starting marrying their sweethearts and having children. They'll be getting mortgages, having family holidays and paying taxes. Ironically, if they have a good 2:1 or a first in a Biological science degree, they probably have a better chance at getting into veterinary medicine that you (through graduate entry). They wouldn’t even need that much veterinary experience. Its easy to bemoan someone for not having a sure direction at the end of their university course, but you can hardly fault them for having progressed further in life than yourself.

Truth of the matter is, most people take the opportunities provided to them, and those are usually based on luck. Almost no one truly chooses what they end up doing, and to be entirely frank, nobody really has any idea what they want to do, including you. The proof is in the pudding as they say, and you're speaking from the perspective of ordering from the menu.

I go back to my very first statement. Veterinary Medicine is not the be all and end all of existence. You seem to have a problem understanding that.


As before, my two cents, take them or leave them.

[emmah629]

(Original post by MadMonkey)
Hello there. Friend told me you replied to this. He practically lives on this forum.

Since I threw a rant at you, I'll follow up on your response to that rant. I know these aren't affirming comments, but seriously, I'm just communicating my honest opinion to you here. I'm not sugar coating it because I feel that being challenged on this benefits you more, regardless of what decision you have/plan to make.

Truth is I see a lot of girls (and guys) like you, really hellbent on veterinary medicine or human medicine and not really willing or capable of seeing anything else, and the rejection of it can break a person, especially if they manage to get in and find they weren't meant for it all along. A friend of a friend (to use the term loosely) decided to jump off his building when he found medicine wasn't for him in his first year, I don't really know why he did it, but from what I gathered, he'd wanted medicine his whole life and didn't know where to go. These courses are intense. I don't think you understand in till you've actually gone and done one. You get so involved that you can't fail, you can't quit, you spend your life doing it, and if it doesn't work out, call it grades, call it second thoughts. It can get to a person. You understand me?



Yet no mention of paid employment here? Have you had any consistent employment at all in the last three years? Veterinary Medicine is an expensive course and it also leads to a difficult and intense vocation (to state the obvious). A lack of experience of employment is a valid criticism of someone applying to BVetMed from your position (as a twenty something year old). Are you relying on getting a maintenance and tuition fee loan and putting yourself in debt as a source of finance, because if you have 4 years before your veterinary course, the most logical thing to do is earn enough money to alleviate your financial burden during university, especially in light of the tuition fee's tripling since you first applied. And Assuming that you do have a job, why wasn't this on the top of your list of things that aren't work experience?

The second thing that disturbs me about this is that you've invested in an animal that you could possibly not financially or physically sustain should you actually get into a veterinary medicine course? Are you really prepared to sacrifice the wellbeing of your animal in order to do the required learning to achieve within a veterinary medicine course? And trust me, you will have to do that, unless you’re some sort of super genius, you will be doing a minimum of 9-5 lectures most days, this is not including the extra work you will have to do in order to maintain your knowledge or the Extra Mural Studies you will have to do during the non-clinical years (Min. of 12 weeks). Do you really think you’ll be able to keep a horse at the same time, most of the university campuses are city based?!



Nope. I'm not convinced. That is not a back up plan. It is not an alternative to veterinary medicine; it’s a desperation gambit because you couldn't achieve an offer in this country. Its much more expensive and not guaranteed to be as internationally respected (depending on the university in question), it will involve relocating to another country in which you probably do not speak the language, something that can be mentally and emotionally demanding, and you may not cope with the stresses of this and your academic studies. And on top of all this you might very well be rejected from those institutions as well, most of them are prestigious and certainly have enough applications to pick and choose. Assuming you end up doing that when whatever family issues end, you might be talking a few years down the line. Are you really going to continue applying to UK veterinary colleges that whole time. Have you not got a single alternative at all that you can pursue?



This is your fourth year, on the trot, applying to veterinary medicine, no use sugar coating it. Every single veterinary college will know it, regardless of whether you applied to them or not. If a twenty one year old applies to veterinary medicine without any major study and forty weeks work experience to their name, then it is the natural assumption to make. Those admissions tutors are sugar coating it for you. It does put you at a disadvantage at this point (and any disadvantage is bad at the level of competition you're facing). That disadvantage will become larger the longer you cycle through.



I'm going to have to call you on this one. Are you a vet? How do you what it's like to be one? Because work experience provides you with a underwhelming taste, not a robust understanding of the stresses involved and if you think it does then you're crazy wrong. How do you know that “it’s all (you) want to do”? That isn't a mature justification for wanting to do Veterinary Medicine. When you're a teenager you can get away with that sort of answer, but it doesn't fly with a twenty something year old. Why is it the only thing you want to do? Specific reasons here? If it’s because you love animals, then why not become a veterinary technician or nurse (because they are more involved in animal care)? If you love the science, then why not become a research assistant or get a science degree (both of which are more academic)? If you like the diagnostics then why not do human medicine (which is less competitive and involves greater depth of knowledge)?

Do you think your friend’s envy your position, because if they have a decent degree from a decent university, they probably have a good chance at getting a job. Give it a couple more years, they'll be starting marrying their sweethearts and having children. They'll be getting mortgages, having family holidays and paying taxes. Ironically, if they have a good 2:1 or a first in a Biological science degree, they probably have a better chance at getting into veterinary medicine that you (through graduate entry). They wouldn’t even need that much veterinary experience. Its easy to bemoan someone for not having a sure direction at the end of their university course, but you can hardly fault them for having progressed further in life than yourself.

Truth of the matter is, most people take the opportunities provided to them, and those are usually based on luck. Almost no one truly chooses what they end up doing, and to be entirely frank, nobody really has any idea what they want to do, including you. The proof is in the pudding as they say, and you're speaking from the perspective of ordering from the menu.

I go back to my very first statement. Veterinary Medicine is not the be all and end all of existence. You seem to have a problem understanding that.


As before, my two cents, take them or leave them.

Hello again!

I do have a paying job, I work in tesco! I hate it, but hey it pays the bills.

I can therefore pay for my horse and I have plenty of people around me that can look after him when im doing my degree. He is a horse after all, im sure if worst came to worst he wouldnt mind living in my 25 acres just eating grass and coming in for a brush and ride. He doesnt have to be ridden everyday and competing ect (not that you were saying he should)

No im not a vet, and I agree work experience is only a scratch on the surface of what its actually like to be one. Though I can see it is stressful and hardwork! I am prepared for this because I wanted to be a vet to help animals. Not because I like them and think they are cute and fluffy but because I want to make a difference to their lives. If as a vet I can get one fat lab slim again, or help a family look after a diabetic cat then ill be happy as thats all I want. It will be annoying and frustrating when I get cases where people dont listen, or cant afford treatment or whatever but if what im doing is in the animals best interest thats fine with me, ill take the good with the bad. Its all I want to do because I want to be able to apply myself in my job and be constantly challenged and learning new things in a scientific area, but have the opportunity to work with animals. I am fascinated with how they work and I like relating what i know from science to animals. I dont want to be a doctor because i dont want to work on people, I dont mind working with them, but i dont want to have to be giving obese people gastric bands because, amongst other reasons, they couldnt do a bit more exercise. Or smokers treatment only for them to be outside having more fags, I know there are more reasons behind these examples but this is just my opinion, i know some people wont neceserily agree.

Of course im not going to continue apply to uk vet schools,this is my last year of applying, im going to have my 'back up' degree on this years ucas form and that way if I do get rejected again I can accept that and move on with another degree, then hoping to apply as a graduate with another years saving behind me.

If I cant be a vet then id probably like to rehome abandoned horses and be an equine dentist. If I was a vet I could do this and be in a better position to treat the horses.

Whats stopping me marrying my sweetheart and having a family, bar the fact I wont have a degree. I have a job and land to build a house and get a morgage ect I can still do these things, just because I havent got a science degree doesnt mean im going to be living in the woods like a hobo while all my friends with degrees have nice houses!

I do understand that its not the be all and end all of existance, and i will let go if it if it doesnt work out, but ill be working untill im 70 the way things are going, im sorry if I want to have another year off to persue what I want to do before i resign myself to 50 years of being unhappy in my job like so many people I know are.

I would like to know what your doing? I assume its some sort of science degree . . .

[Venomilys]

(Original post by emmah629)
Hello again!

I do have a paying job, I work in tesco! I hate it, but hey it pays the bills.

I can therefore pay for my horse and I have plenty of people around me that can look after him when im doing my degree. He is a horse after all, im sure if worst came to worst he wouldnt mind living in my 25 acres just eating grass and coming in for a brush and ride. He doesnt have to be ridden everyday and competing ect (not that you were saying he should)

No im not a vet, and I agree work experience is only a scratch on the surface of what its actually like to be one. Though I can see it is stressful and hardwork! I am prepared for this because I wanted to be a vet to help animals. Not because I like them and think they are cute and fluffy but because I want to make a difference to their lives. If as a vet I can get one fat lab slim again, or help a family look after a diabetic cat then ill be happy as thats all I want. It will be annoying and frustrating when I get cases where people dont listen, or cant afford treatment or whatever but if what im doing is in the animals best interest thats fine with me, ill take the good with the bad. Its all I want to do because I want to be able to apply myself in my job and be constantly challenged and learning new things in a scientific area, but have the opportunity to work with animals. I am fascinated with how they work and I like relating what i know from science to animals. I dont want to be a doctor because i dont want to work on people, I dont mind working with them, but i dont want to have to be giving obese people gastric bands because, amongst other reasons, they couldnt do a bit more exercise. Or smokers treatment only for them to be outside having more fags, I know there are more reasons behind these examples but this is just my opinion, i know some people wont neceserily agree.

Of course im not going to continue apply to uk vet schools,this is my last year of applying, im going to have my 'back up' degree on this years ucas form and that way if I do get rejected again I can accept that and move on with another degree, then hoping to apply as a graduate with another years saving behind me.

If I cant be a vet then id probably like to rehome abandoned horses and be an equine dentist. If I was a vet I could do this and be in a better position to treat the horses.

Whats stopping me marrying my sweetheart and having a family, bar the fact I wont have a degree. I have a job and land to build a house and get a morgage ect I can still do these things, just because I havent got a science degree doesnt mean im going to be living in the woods like a hobo while all my friends with degrees have nice houses!

I do understand that its not the be all and end all of existance, and i will let go if it if it doesnt work out, but ill be working untill im 70 the way things are going, im sorry if I want to have another year off to persue what I want to do before i resign myself to 50 years of being unhappy in my job like so many people I know are.

I would like to know what your doing? I assume its some sort of science degree . . .

Drop it. That's my two cents, literally.

[skatealexia]

Hate to say, my two cents would be to drop it too.