The Student Room Group

Veterinary Medicine 2016!

Hellooo :smile:
Pretty sure there isn't a thread for us kids, so decided to make one (yes it's early, but hey ho).
This thread is for current year 11 students - England and Wales, Year 12 students - Northern Ireland (I think), and 4th years in Scotland (again, I think..), and of course any grads and reapplicants.
I know there are a few of you lurking around waiting for this thread, so here you go, and introduce yourself and tell of your work experience, grades etc
:biggrin: Can't wait to meet you all!!


Here's the Veterinary Medicine connect/stalking page - you'll be able to see other applicants' grades and offers. If you enter your details it will be really helpful for other people applying. :h:
(edited 9 years ago)

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Crickey, we get earlier and earlier every year! I can't believe that the 2015 thread is almost a year old... time flies :moon: .

Anyway, welcome to the forum :smile:

I'm not a 2016 applicant myself, but even though I don't think that Vet Med is the right path for me any more I did do quite a bit of work towards it, so I can try my best to answer any questions you guys have :smile: . I hope you don't mind me intruding! :tongue:
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Little Tail Chaser
Crickey, we get earlier and earlier every year! I can't believe that the 2015 thread is almost a year old... time flies :moon: .

I'm not a 2016 applicant myself, but even though I don't think that Vet Med is the right path for me any more I did do quite a bit of work towards it, so I'll try my best to answer any questions you guys have :smile: . I hope you don't mind me intruding! :tongue:


No of course not! It'll be great to have you on board! If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide vet med wasn't for you? Also, do you have any idea what you want to do instead? Do you have any advice on how to get into the courses, other than work experience and grades? Thanks!
Original post by VetMedKid
No of course not! It'll be great to have you on board! If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide vet med wasn't for you? Also, do you have any idea what you want to do instead? Do you have any advice on how to get into the courses, other than work experience and grades? Thanks!


I don't mind at all :smile: 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 :wink: ) 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 :smile: ? 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? :smile:

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! :tongue:
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 4
Wow this thread is early!

Hi I'm a first year vet student at the RVC, which means I'll be starting 4th year if/when you start vet school in 2016. That's a scary thought! :O

I found the 2013 thread great to read through when I was applying. If you have any questions about applying/RVC feel free to ask, I'm more than happy to help :smile:
I'm happy to help. When you apply I will have been graduated four months. When you start I will have been a vet (hopefully) qualified for more than a year. Woweeee. :smile:.
Im happy to help too. I will be in in my last year of vet school in 2016. I can't believe time flies so quick!!
Reply 7
Original post by Little Tail Chaser
I don't mind at all :smile: 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 :wink: ) 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 :smile: ? 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? :smile:

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! :tongue:


Thank you so much! That has given me a great place to start, and even though the advice may seem generic to you, they are a great reminder and reinforcement for me, so thank you :smile:
Reply 8
Thanks so much everyone for your great help, hopefully I will get some more people my age soon (so many people my year on the 2015 thread..?), but for now all the help and support from you guys is awesome!

I'm going to contact a family friend to ask if I can get some experience at his veterinary practice, I'll let you know how it goes.
Right now I don't have too many questions, I just need to get my head down and study for summer exams!! However, one thing has been bugging me.

I have been wondering, are there any conferences or wacky things potential ved med students can do (e.g a potential teacher might go to a third world country such as Malawi and volunteer and teach kids there)? Just something wacky that shows my commitment and passion and will make me stand out. It doesn't even have to be in another country (I have heard of ved medlink, but even that is quite commercial and mainstream nowadays I think - I will still do it of course, but anything extra?)

Thanks guys!!
Reply 9
Original post by VetMedKid
Thanks so much everyone for your great help, hopefully I will get some more people my age soon (so many people my year on the 2015 thread..?), but for now all the help and support from you guys is awesome!

I'm going to contact a family friend to ask if I can get some experience at his veterinary practice, I'll let you know how it goes.
Right now I don't have too many questions, I just need to get my head down and study for summer exams!! However, one thing has been bugging me.

I have been wondering, are there any conferences or wacky things potential ved med students can do (e.g a potential teacher might go to a third world country such as Malawi and volunteer and teach kids there)? Just something wacky that shows my commitment and passion and will make me stand out. It doesn't even have to be in another country (I have heard of ved medlink, but even that is quite commercial and mainstream nowadays I think - I will still do it of course, but anything extra?)

Thanks guys!!


Welcome! You sound very keen and up for the journey to vet school, which is definitely a tricky one :biggrin: In terms of things that might make you stand out, there's lots of things you could do- I was just looking on this website http://www.podvolunteer.org/ which has loads of great opportunities including volunteering at a horse rehabilitation centre in South Africa, which looks amazing :smile: Obviously there are things that you can do which don't cost the earth either- today my friend told me about how Cambridge Vet School are doing a poster competition on Mammalian Teeth (1st prize is £100- what an incentive :wink:). So it's really just a case of doing a lot of Googling and networking and seeing what's out there.
I'm a Notts 2nd year, I'm happy to help aswell :biggrin:
Hey!
I'm in year 11 and I'm really interesting in being a vet!
Do you have any GCSEs/work experience yet?
Original post by VetMedKid

I have been wondering, are there any conferences or wacky things potential ved med students can do (e.g a potential teacher might go to a third world country such as Malawi and volunteer and teach kids there)? Just something wacky that shows my commitment and passion and will make me stand out. It doesn't even have to be in another country (I have heard of ved medlink, but even that is quite commercial and mainstream nowadays I think - I will still do it of course, but anything extra?)

Thanks guys!!


I have never been to vetmedlink but have been to a more hands on course called vet SIM which was ran by Notts Vet School. When I went it wasn't very useful to me (all the info they said could have been found online and the PS helper section on here was far more useful than the PS help I got there) although it was fun and nice to meet like minded individuals. Perhaps it has changed now, I don't know. These kinds of courses can't really be mentioned on your PS since they are only ran by one vet school and they are expensive so unis couldn't disadvantage the applicants from poorer backgrounds. So if you can afford to go, then they wouldn't hurt, but don't feel obliged to go by any means.

The best think to strengthen your profile is to work on your work experience profile. You need variety within what you do. There is a useful work exp. thread on here on what the essentials are and what is the icing on the cake. Book early! See my profile to take a look at my work experience (I got interviews everywhere I applied as a first time applicant) if you are interested to see the kind of things I did. Commitment can be shown by doing a long term placement (e.g. one Saturday every week or every other week for months/years).

You can go abroad if you wish (to work in wildlife reserve / conservation), but be sure to get plenty of UK experience to cover your bases first as this isn't a substitute. For example, Liverpool will only let one week from an abroad/wildlife placement to count as work experience when you apply even if you have been to Africa for 2 months (they view it as a holiday and not relevant to their UK-focused curriculum). Other's aren't as obvious as to what their opinions are on going to exotic places so consider this as a possibly memorable experience but it is unlikely to be viewed above or beyond UK work experience.It's not very original either as lots do this (especially during gap years).

I don't think you can do anything "wacky" to make you stand out - it has probably all been done before! A successful applicant will have a varied work experienced profile (ie they know about basic animal husbandry, common health problems, and how a vet is involved for multiple species), a good PS (although not all vet schools e.g. Liverpool read them) showing that you can reflect on your experience and are a well rounded individual, some extracurriculars, and good interview performance. So it is a culmination of things that make someone successful rather than one thing that makes you stand out, but do take opportunities as and when they come.

Hope this helps. Quote me or PM me if you would like to ask me a specific question and good luck! :smile:
Reply 13
Hey, I am in year 11 doing GCSE's and really want to become a vet how much work experience have y'all got???


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I'm in Year 10, just started my GCSEs so I thought I'd say hello :smile: I think it's a bit early to start a 2017 thread :wink:
Reply 15
Original post by Jigsaw Puzzle
I'm in Year 10, just started my GCSEs so I thought I'd say hello :smile: I think it's a bit early to start a 2017 thread :wink:


Haha, I'm Year10 too! What did you take for GCSE? :smile:
Original post by dolphin16
Haha, I'm Year10 too! What did you take for GCSE? :smile:


Hello fellow Year 10-er :wink: the compulsory subjects were biology, chemistry, physics, maths, English language and English literature and RS. I chose geography, history, French and German (exciting I know :wink:), and also the AQA Level 2 Further Mathematics Course (which is sooo hard!!). What about you? :smile:
Reply 17
Original post by SilverstarDJ
Im happy to help too. I will be in in my last year of vet school in 2016. I can't believe time flies so quick!!


Hi SilverstarDJ , How old were you when you got your work experience???


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Reply 18
Original post by Jigsaw Puzzle
Hello fellow Year 10-er :wink: the compulsory subjects were biology, chemistry, physics, maths, English language and English literature and RS. I chose geography, history, French and German (exciting I know :wink:), and also the AQA Level 2 Further Mathematics Course (which is sooo hard!!). What about you? :smile:


Haha i chose the maths one as well!! Its soo hard!! My compulsory ones were eng lit and lang, philosophy and ethics, spanish, maths, and i chose triple science, add maths, pe, and history...
Reply 19
Do we have to take the BMAT, or is that just for rcvs??

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