veterinary

Hi! My dream career would be to work as a veterinary surgeon and i was hoping you guys had recommendations on how to get there? Im taking biology, chemistry and art as a A level is there anything else that could help me get to where i wanna be? Also will art effect my chances? I got a c in maths and dont think taking A levels in it would be a good choice as i didnt enjoy it or was overly good at it. Physics i just managed to get a b but dont think thats a good idea. Art is my hobby and something ive alwayd loved and would hate it to effect my chances as its also for if i dont get the required grades. Ive taken part in NCS in the hopes it gives me an advantage over others and im really looking for something to help move forward. Sorry if this is all over the place and confusing!

Reply 1

LogicalFallacy

12

Hey there, depending on where you want to go for uni it is usually an A* in Chemistry and A/A* in two other sciences or maths. NCS is rather useless as it stands, but what is useful are the experiences that come from it (First aid). Perhaps art should stay a hobby? Don't trust every bit of advice you hear from some person behind a keyboard on The Student Room, though. All I can say is best of luck for the future.

EDIT: I see you don't particularly like maths or physics, and whilst these may be the more advisable choices, computer sciences or psychology might be favourable too. If not, just stick to doing something you really enjoy. I hope I helped. I, too, would like to become a veterinary surgeon.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

beccac94

19

Original post by ConstantPanic

Hi! My dream career would be to work as a veterinary surgeon and i was hoping you guys had recommendations on how to get there? Im taking biology, chemistry and art as a A level is there anything else that could help me get to where i wanna be? Also will art effect my chances? I got a c in maths and dont think taking A levels in it would be a good choice as i didnt enjoy it or was overly good at it. Physics i just managed to get a b but dont think thats a good idea. Art is my hobby and something ive alwayd loved and would hate it to effect my chances as its also for if i dont get the required grades. Ive taken part in NCS in the hopes it gives me an advantage over others and im really looking for something to help move forward. Sorry if this is all over the place and confusing!

Hi, I'm a vet student about to go into 3rd year. Theres asection just for vet med where you might get more help but I'll try to answer some of your questions. I'd say email the universities whether they accept art as a 3rd a-level, I'm pretty sure some say a science/humanities as 3rd alevel but I'd double check this.

I'd definitely advise work experience (in fact I'd say its a must) so I recommend again contacting the unis regarding work experience requirements but I'd say do at least 1 week in the following as a minimum cats/dogs, lambing, dairy, horses, small animal vets, large/mixed/equine vets and then have things like pigs or poultry (can be hard to get depending on where you live), abattoir, zoo, lab etc but these are really the icing on the cake. I'd probably say get more than the minimum requirement as you'll be competing against people who've had to take gap years.

If you need any more advice don't hesitate to message me though :smile:

x

Reply 3

LogicalFallacy

12

Original post by beccac94

I'd definitely advise work experience (in fact I'd say its a must) so I recommend again contacting the unis regarding work experience requirements but I'd say do at least 1 week in the following as a minimum cats/dogs, lambing, dairy, horses, small animal vets, large/mixed/equine vets and then have things like pigs or poultry (can be hard to get depending on where you live), abattoir, zoo, lab etc but these are really the icing on the cake. I'd probably say get more than the minimum requirement as you'll be competing against people who've had to take gap years.

I have certainly heard that lambing and other forms of work experience are very useful.

Reply 4

beccac94

19

Original post by LogicalFallacy

I have certainly heard that lambing and other forms of work experience are very useful.

Most unis do require at least some form of work experience, plus if you end up getting in its good to have those contacts for EMS :smile:

Reply 5

LogicalFallacy

12

Original post by beccac94

Most unis do require at least some form of work experience, plus if you end up getting in its good to have those contacts for EMS :smile:

Personally, I've only done veterinary work experience, nothing particularly hands-on yet. I am planning on doing lambing, however.

Reply 6

beccac94

19

Original post by LogicalFallacy

Personally, I've only done veterinary work experience, nothing particularly hands-on yet. I am planning on doing lambing, however.

I'd definitely advise doing some, every little helps. I do have a friend who got in with just vets and lambing but for the most part everyone I've spoken to (especially at liverpool) has quite varied work experience with lots of animals

Reply 7

Little Tail Chaser

19

Original post by ConstantPanic

Hi! My dream career would be to work as a veterinary surgeon and i was hoping you guys had recommendations on how to get there? Im taking biology, chemistry and art as a A level is there anything else that could help me get to where i wanna be? Also will art effect my chances? I got a c in maths and dont think taking A levels in it would be a good choice as i didnt enjoy it or was overly good at it. Physics i just managed to get a b but dont think thats a good idea. Art is my hobby and something ive alwayd loved and would hate it to effect my chances as its also for if i dont get the required grades. Ive taken part in NCS in the hopes it gives me an advantage over others and im really looking for something to help move forward. Sorry if this is all over the place and confusing!

See the vet school A level requirements. Most universities are okay with art as your third A level. A user above also mentioned needing A* predictions in chemistry but this isn't true at all. For most vet schools the offer will be AAA, but even for those that ask for an A* it doesn't necessarily have to be in chemistry.

NCS is a good thing to have done, but alone it probably will not be enough. I'm going into my second year of vet school now and when I applied I mentioned NCS on my personal statement in the context of teamwork and organisation; it's important that you link everything back to how it means you're a better applicant for vet med. Other extracurriculars you could consider include Scouts/Guides/Cadets etc, part time job, Duke of Edinburgh, sports, playing a musical instrument, awards such as Jack Petchey, Crest award, vInspired, Wings of Hope etc etc, Nuffield Foundation placements, additional qualifications e.g. Junior Sports Leader, Youth Parliament, writing for local magazines and (non animal-related) volunteering (charity shops, Young Leader at Scouts/Guides, U3A, nursing home etc etc)... there's tonnes of things for you to do.

As beccac94 has mentioned, work experience is essential, not just for making you stand out as an applicant, but for actually meeting the requirements! Prioritise this over other extracurriculars in my opinion. You definitely want to have done more than just vets and lambing. There's loads of information in the veterinary medicine forum, especially in the work experience thread.

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