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Do I have a hope?

I'm thinking of applying for a veterinary medicine course to start next year, i'm currently in lower 6th form. I know these courses are difficult to get into and I really want to know if I have a chance because if not i need to start making other plans. Can someone please give me the truth if they can or i could end up making a big mistake. Ive put my entry info below:

GCSE: AAAAAABBBBC (a's in maths, english and science)
AS level: Taking chem, bio, maths and english lit...hoping for AABB (maths and biology being the A's...possibly english as well)
A-level: Chem, bio and maths next year

Experience:
1 week in a veterinary practice
18 months working weekends in an animal boarding centre (cats, dogs, rabbits)

Extra-curricular:
Journalism club
Current affairs and topics society
Senior official of environment (prefect)
Library official
CSLA (sports leadership award)
Almost complete D of E (bronze)
Peer mentoring (like a student support system)
Volunteering with disabled children (1.5 hours a week)
Millennium volunteer 200 hour award
Saint John ambulance cadet (lots of proficiencies and first aid experience)

Reply 1

Sarah_V

Of course you have a hope! There is so much stuff said about how you won't get in without a million A*s etc, it's just not true!! You go for it!

The only thing I will say is you definitely need a lot more work experience. What you've got is obviously a good start, but you will need a lot more variation there.
DEFINITELY get some large animal work (I did lambing and some time at a cattle market, which was a good one), including horses if you can (I started riding young and helped out in stables a while back, although I don't ride atm), some more time in veterinary practices is good. I did mine at two different places, one mixed practice, one small animal hospital - again, that was good as you get a bit more variation and different perspectives on it.
Anything you can do is a bonus, and the more varied the better really.
Check out the specifics for the unis you want to apply to. I know Nottingham say a minimum of 6 weeks wrk exp, but check where you're thinking of and make sure you meet what they ask.

Reply 2

devilindisguise

Thankyou, im going to arrange some experience for the summer but I didn't want to go out and do a load of experience only to be told that I don't have a hope of getting in. My teachers seem really pessimistic about anyone getting places on these courses. Thanks x

Reply 3

Sarah_V

Sounds familiar, honestly, they sat me down and gave me the whole "you'll never get in" (not phrased quiiite like that though :tongue:

) spiel too, well, the careers lady did, a few of my teachers were quite supportive, and everyone's always said they reckon I'd make a good vet and it'd be silly to let people put me off.
Just get your head down and achieve those grades and get some good wrk exp under your belt and you'll be fine.

Reply 4

doolie_xx

You're doing exactly the same subjects at AS and A2 as I did, hehe!

As already said, you have as much chance of getting in as anyone else with your grades, the subjects you're studying and your EC activities. Get yourself some more work experience sorted out. Large animal work is especially useful and you could do with some more veterinary practice work too. Start to read up on veterinary related issues in the news at the moment too. You'll be grand; get your application in and good luck!

Reply 5

Mad Prospective Vet

All i can do is Echo what sarah_v has said... and as a general rule of thumb...ignore what the schools tell you...as on the whole they know F all about the reality....

TRUST me on this one..i got told i was too thick...lol...erm how about no! :biggrin:

Best of Luck...

and yeah...the work experience needs a boost...look on the university's websites that will give you the minimum spec's so you can tailor your time by fitting in what you need the most- then spend any spare time you have left on what you think will be interesting/benefit you the most/ whatever else the mad lot of us on here recommend you try!

Reply 6

Joe87

99% of my teachers talk out their ass and make it sound like they are world leaders in that topic. Unless you seriously respect them dont take their advice on much, go with your own gut.

Edit: Dont take their advice, end of. :P

Reply 7

Sarah_V

Definitely. The feeling when you march into the careers office to tell them you've got an interview is brilliant.
The feeling you get when you march in there and declare you've got an offer is AMAZING. I've never seen such a look on someone's face :biggrin:

Reply 8

julietbooth

Ditto. Advice from schools and particularly careers advisors is generally complete crap! If you've got the determination to get there then just go for it! You'll find sooo many vet students who were told they wouldn't get in. I hope you go for it x

Reply 9

00nay00

Yes you definitely have a shot! Just as sarah and others have said, the work experience is the only thing that needs improving upon there. Particularly try to get more vet practice experience, doesn't have to be in mixed practice is you don't have one near by (as I didn't) but just try to make up for this by getting some large animal work experience, a dairy farm I found was particularly useful. It's too late to do lambing to put on your personal statement, but again no worries about that as I wasn't able to get that and I still got an offer, there's hope! An abattoir is also an interesting one as you can just go for a couple of days and it gives you an insight into anatomy and into the slaughter industry.

As long as you get more work experience this summer and write a good personal statement you shouldn't have a problem getting interviews. Good luck!

O and yeah schools know very little about vet med.

Reply 10

doolie_xx

My school didn't even know there was such thing as a BMat. I didn't end up doing it anyway because I was stressed enough with resits. They also tried to give me predicted grades of AAB but the B was in Chemistry and I knew I wouldn't get an offer with that so I asked them to put it up and my VP was all like, "Well, if we do this, you can't hold us to anything if you don't make the grades...". Generally, the school is unhelpful and only encourages students who go to our local university and not ones in England, Scotland or Wales. Therefore, I got zero support except from my subject teachers who were brilliant and so pleased for me on results day because they didn't think I could make it (in the nicest way possible). What annoyed me the most about my school was that they held a special meeting for those applying to Medicine and talked to them about the stress of getting onto that course. I never got any special talk like that...and, at the end of the day, it's a hell of a lot harder to get into vet school than med school.

The injustice of it all!

Reply 11

SlipperyWhenWet

As everyone else has said, just get more work experience this summer and you'll be sorted. I did most of my work experience the summer before applying too. Ideally, get a couple of weeks horses, dairy, large/mixed vets and then maybe a couple of days at a abattoir and you'll be sorted. Just cram you're summer full of work experience. And even arrange to go lambing next Easter, because you can always write down that you have it arranged on your PS.

They certainly cant say you haven't got enough extra curricular stuff!! Very impressive!

Reply 12

Joe87

Haha, "The unjustice of it all"

Its what seperates the vets from the medics :P

Reply 13

Sarah_V

We started off in yr11 with around 3-4 people who were considering vet med, by the end of year 12 it was only me, and the number of people considering medicine had also diminished to 1. Our "talk" consisted of "are you still applying? Okay, well make sure you apply on time."

Reply 14

doolie_xx

Joe87

Haha, "The unjustice of it all"

Its what seperates the vets from the medics :P

Very true! Thank God I'm not one of those...hehe!

Reply 15

Kim Hassell

You most definatley have a chance! I was always told that i never had a chance but i have made it now! For GCSE i got A*AABBBBBBCC and my maths and science were b's and c's! i then did my a-levels but had lots of personnal problems and came out with EEUU so moved colleges and now have an offer from RVC for the gateway course and predicted grades of AABB for a-level (i didnt apply for vet med as i thought my predicted grades were going to be lower than they were!) and it was so good to go into my old college and tell them i had an offer! just to prove to them that i can do it! But definately make sure that you have the work experience! you8 need to get a lot more than you already have and get a variety also maybe silver d of e would be and idea? But dont give up just keep trying and you will get there is you want it enough! look at me i have got there eventually it might take me 2 more eyars than most alt the end of it but it will be worth it!xxxxxx

Reply 16

Woppit_1

Of course you have a chance - you have the academic qualifications, the most important thing now is that you get lots of experience at the sharp end of the animal industries; i.e. getting up at 5 for milking, slaughterhouses, all the sort of stuff that sorts the ppl who really want to be vets from those who only 3/4 want to be!! Remeber that you're competing against some people who have been building work experience for up to 5 years in some cases, so make use of ur holidays etc and take all the chances you get.

Good luck!

Reply 17

Skipper

Just thought i'd agree with all the above points. I haven't applied to be a vet (i'm no good with animals!) but i've got an interview in a few weeks for medicine.

Don't listen to what your school tells you. I was told not to apply for medicine. I didn't but took a chnace through extra and I could end up the only one out of our year going onto to med school ( if all goes well).

Good luck in your exams!

James