Veterinary Medicine 2015 hopefuls!

Original post by skatealexia

Sorry if this is a little long and bashing. I just think you need a kick. :redface:

Don't apoligise! You're being totally honest and I agree with you 100%! I'm the only one that's going to know if VetMed is the course for me, and as I clearly don't know at this point in time I completely appreciate that I should put in the effort with my A-Levels 'just in case', so to speak. As usual you're the voice of reason :tongue:

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Reply 1983

hannapoole

9

Original post by Little Tail Chaser

Hey guys, sorry for another absence :tongue:

. I was camping over the weekend, then I went off for two days to the stable where I worked last summer. Every year they put on a little show for all of the helpers and they invited me back to watch :biggrin:

. I'm so glad I went, everyone put in so much effort it was amazing! The final competition was fancy dress, and I never thought I'd see ponies dressed up as Sulley from Monsters Inc, Gary from Spongebob, a Giant Peach, complete with James and his insect friends, or a beef lasagne (very clever :wink:

) ! I wish I could put up photos to show you all, but they obviously include the riders, and I don't think putting pictures of people without permission would be fair, sorry :redface:

.

Thanks so much for all your replies, I've spoilered my responses and cut down some quotes just to stop this post being a page and a half long :tongue:

.

Spoiler

Phew, I think that's everyone! Again, thanks so much for all your replies. I second what Skatealexia said above :h:

. You guys are all awesome and helpful. I'm so grateful for all your help. Apologies that I took so long to reply.

On an unrelated note, are any of the English people on here back at school yet? I know you Scots have been back for a while! I go back tomorrow, which I have mixed feelings about. I'd like to see my friends again, although not all of them will be there as some have moved to colleges or other sixth forms (or other countries!). I think the next two years will be better than the previous two, and I'm glad I'll finally be able to focus my efforts on the subjects I enjoy most. I'm really unprepared though, I haven't even bought stationery yet :tongue:

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I went back today (well started a new sixth form) was absolutely terrified but loved it. I doubt that love will carry on with all the work I have ahead! I agree that these two years will be better though. Even though they are coupled with so much harder work we can do subjects we want to do!

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Reply 1984

Original post by hannapoole

I went back today (well started a new sixth form) was absolutely terrified but loved it. I doubt that love will carry on with all the work I have ahead! I agree that these two years will be better though. Even though they are coupled with so much harder work we can do subjects we want to do!

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself :smile:

! I'm sure it will be less scary once you've been there a few days. After much deliberation I've *finally* decided on which subjects I definitely want to do, and I've settled with biology, chemistry, maths and physics (cliché ahoy!). I wanted to take a non-sciencey subject just to be more well rounded and keep my options open and blah blah blah, but at the same time I like physics and I don't mind it too difficult, so physics it was!

Reply 1985

Eevee13

1

Original post by Little Tail Chaser

X

Hiya,

skatealexia has covered everything really well, but your post has struck a chord with me, you sound exactly like me when I was at school! Here is some random waffle, I'll spoiler it as it's big :tongue:

Spoiler

Reply 1986

Original post by Little Tail Chaser

or a beef lasagne (very clever :wink:

) ! That's hilarious!! :biggrin:

On an unrelated note, are any of the English people on here back at school yet? I know you Scots have been back for a while! I go back tomorrow, which I have mixed feelings about. I'd like to see my friends again, although not all of them will be there as some have moved to colleges or other sixth forms (or other countries!). I think the next two years will be better than the previous two, and I'm glad I'll finally be able to focus my efforts on the subjects I enjoy most. I'm really unprepared though, I haven't even bought stationery yet :tongue:

. I'm meant to be going back on Thursday, but this week I'm at the equine hospital, so will be starting Monday coming up instead. I'm really excited, but kinda sad as loads of my friends have left to go to different sixth forms. And I'm crapping myself about Chemistry! & me neither, my sister and I are planning a big Staples trip on Saturday though :tongue:

Hope you have a good day, let us know how it went.

..

Reply 1987

Original post by Eevee13

Hiya,

skatealexia has covered everything really well, but your post has struck a chord with me, you sound exactly like me when I was at school! Here is some random waffle, I'll spoiler it as it's big :tongue:

Spoiler

Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to share your experiences. Everyone on here is so lovely and supportive, I really appreciate your kind words :redface:

What you say makes a lot of sense, and after what everyone has said I wonder if I've been a bit hasty to dismiss the idea of doing VetMed. I'll try to keep an open mind and have another think about it once I have a bit of an idea of how I'm going to do in my AS exams.

Best of luck for vet school! It has been a long and winding road but you've made it there in the end, congratulations! I'm sure you'll make an amazing vet, and I hope you enjoy your time at vet school :smile:

Reply 1988

Original post by ABC05

I'm meant to be going back on Thursday, but this week I'm at the equine hospital, so will be starting Monday coming up instead. I'm really excited, but kinda sad as loads of my friends have left to go to different sixth forms. And I'm crapping myself about Chemistry! & me neither, my sister and I are planning a big Staples trip on Saturday though Hope you have a good day, let us know how it went.

Oooh, what have you seen at the equine centre :smile:

?

A lot of my friends have left too, which I think is a shame considering that no new students are coming in, so I won't be able to meet different people. Still, most of the guys who have gone were the really clever kids who earned places at posh grammar schools, so I'm really happy for them :smile:

. I think they'll do better there than they will here, so while I'll definitely miss them, I'm genuinely proud that they got into better establishments. I managed to get a load of free folders today (albeit ring binders and not lever arch files), but I still need pens and such. I really want to get some of those spiffy Staedtler fineliners too. They're expensive as hell but my trusty 10-pack lasted all the way from year 8 until year 11 so I'm hoping that if I invest in a pack of 20 and treat 'em well they should last at least a couple of years into university :teeth:

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My first day was alright. It was technically only enrolment, so it was only a half day and I was at the farm in the morning, cleaning out the ducks and chookies. I didn't have time to return home so I arrived at school in my work uniform :tongue:

. We just had little interviews to confirm our subject choices, then after that I waited with friends as some people spoke to teachers about potential resits of exams. I'm really disappointed because some genuinely intelligent people have missed out on being able to do subjects they were really looking forward to :frown:

After that we went home after speaking to a few more teachers. My ICT teacher stopped me to inform me that apparently I got 80/80 for my ICT exam?! :lol:

I'm shocked, that is the exam I put literally no effort into. Most people in my school sat it in January, but I decided to spend that morning spewing my guts out and sleeping, so I was one of six people to do the exam in June (the other five were retaking). Since most people sat the exam in winter, I hadn't had a proper ICT 'lesson' since then and all of our time was spent doing coursework. I didn't revise at all because my coursework was dire and I'd essentially given up. I thought the exam was horrific and I was expecting a B at best. I'm still in shock, I 'beat' all my friends that are amazing at the subject and that spent hours revising. I even did better than the kid that managed to get 13A*s and 2As (no snobbery, we're very close :wink:

)

Anyway, tomorrow is induction, so we'll get our timetables, planners etc. We'll also find out our new form tutors. I'm quite excited, there's going to be three forms and I know who two of the form tutors are going to be, they're my biology teacher and chemistry teacher and they're really nice :biggrin:

. To be honest I slag off my school, but I can't really fault my science teachers. The science department is a real mixed bag, but the teachers I've had have been fab.

From Thursday it's school as normal, which is when the hard work begins. **** is about to get serious :lol:

!

Reply 1989

Original post by Little Tail Chaser

Oooh, what have you seen at the equine centre :smile:

?

A lot of my friends have left too, which I think is a shame considering that no new students are coming in, so I won't be able to meet different people. Still, most of the guys who have gone were the really clever kids who earned places at posh grammar schools, so I'm really happy for them :smile:

. I think they'll do better there than they will here, so while I'll definitely miss them, I'm genuinely proud that they got into better establishments. I managed to get a load of free folders today (albeit ring binders and not lever arch files), but I still need pens and such. I really want to get some of those spiffy Staedtler fineliners too. They're expensive as hell but my trusty 10-pack lasted all the way from year 8 until year 11 so I'm hoping that if I invest in a pack of 20 and treat 'em well they should last at least a couple of years into university :teeth:

.

My first day was alright. It was technically only enrolment, so it was only a half day and I was at the farm in the morning, cleaning out the ducks and chookies. I didn't have time to return home so I arrived at school in my work uniform :tongue:

. We just had little interviews to confirm our subject choices, then after that I waited with friends as some people spoke to teachers about potential resits of exams. I'm really disappointed because some genuinely intelligent people have missed out on being able to do subjects they were really looking forward to :frown:

After that we went home after speaking to a few more teachers. My ICT teacher stopped me to inform me that apparently I got 80/80 for my ICT exam?! :lol:

I'm shocked, that is the exam I put literally no effort into. Most people in my school sat it in January, but I decided to spend that morning spewing my guts out and sleeping, so I was one of six people to do the exam in June (the other five were retaking). Since most people sat the exam in winter, I hadn't had a proper ICT 'lesson' since then and all of our time was spent doing coursework. I didn't revise at all because my coursework was dire and I'd essentially given up. I thought the exam was horrific and I was expecting a B at best. I'm still in shock, I 'beat' all my friends that are amazing at the subject and that spent hours revising. I even did better than the kid that managed to get 13A*s and 2As (no snobbery, we're very close :wink:

)

Anyway, tomorrow is induction, so we'll get our timetables, planners etc. We'll also find out our new form tutors. I'm quite excited, there's going to be three forms and I know who two of the form tutors are going to be, they're my biology teacher and chemistry teacher and they're really nice :biggrin:

. To be honest I slag off my school, but I can't really fault my science teachers. The science department is a real mixed bag, but the teachers I've had have been fab.

From Thursday it's school as normal, which is when the hard work begins. **** is about to get serious :lol:

!

I was going to do a post about it when the week has finished. It's an amazing place, I'm so lucky to have a placement there! That's annoying that some people didn't get their chosen subjects, do you know why they didn't? Did they just clash with other subjects that they were doing? And gosh, well done for your ICT result, that's fantastic! & It's always good to have form teachers you like :biggrin:

Reply 1990

I bet it's perfect for you, as an aspiring LA vet :biggrin:

! Looking forward to reading about it when you're finished :smile:

There was a variety of reasons. Mainly it was because people didn't get the grades they needed at GCSE, which is a massive blow to all of the aspiring medics. Resits are being offered at £50 a pop, and people aren't being allowed to do A-Level science until they bump up their GCSEs. Problem is, resits aren't until June, so they're going to have to take a year out pretty much. Some people were not allowed to take their chosen subjects because of clashes, or because the spaces filled too quickly, which I thought was grossly unfair. Our interviews were in alphabetical order and the classes were first come, first served and not based on grades or anything, so some people missed out purely due their last name :lolwut:

.

Haha tell me about it! My biology teacher is amazing, she doesn't mind having loads of inside jokes and such, but she's still a great teacher. I've had her for three years and frankly I'll be devastated if I don't have her for year 12 and 13 :frown:

Reply 1991

Original post by LadyEcliptic

Jesus... I think this gave me a little kick! :colondollar:

Problem is around me, no one seems to be willing to help me out with Veterinary. my school still insists that I do something else, and there is no guarantee of A, B, C... It's really disheartening... Especially when some family relatives think the same, but I mean... I waver a lot with my decision. I don'tm have to confidence to believe in myself, but I know I have to, and I know what to do...

It's the motivation I am struggling to find. There have been so many downs this past 2 years so I'm finding it hard to see the light out of this rough patch...

But that was a really good talk hey... Made me think anyway, Thank you :o:

D

It must be really disheartening not to have that support network behind you. May I ask why they are so unsupportive in your decision?

Reply 1992

Tiffanya

Original post by LadyEcliptic

Jesus... I think this gave me a little kick! :colondollar:

Problem is around me, no one seems to be willing to help me out with Veterinary. my school still insists that I do something else, and there is no guarantee of A, B, C... It's really disheartening... Especially when some family relatives think the same, but I mean... I waver a lot with my decision. I don'tm have to confidence to believe in myself, but I know I have to, and I know what to do...

It's the motivation I am struggling to find. There have been so many downs this past 2 years so I'm finding it hard to see the light out of this rough patch...

But that was a really good talk hey... Made me think anyway, Thank you :o:

D

My school is like this too. My parents don't even care :frown:

when I told my mum about doing work experience at a farm she just made fun of me and said " so you want to be a farmer now!" I don't think she even knows the entry requirements for vet med!! I know it is very disheartening, but we still have to try for ourselves!!! :biggrin:

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(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1993

Original post by Tiffanya

My school is like this too. My parents don't even care :frown:

when I told my mum about doing work experience at a farm she just made fun of me and said " so you want to be a farmer now!" I don't think she even knows the entry requirements for vet med!!

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That's really not ideal. Poor you. I feel so lucky now, having such supportive parents and teachers! (Well, apart from a pretty inept careers advisor who was supposed to organise work experience for me- she 'organised' it by printing off about 100 sheets of Yellow Pages with the nearest vets were, and then told me that I could be a vet nurse if I didn't get into vet school. So, so helpful.)

Reply 1994

chaarlotte

1

Aw man, reading those last few posts have given me a major guilt trip and made me realise how lucky I am that my school are making such a big fuss. I'm the only person in my year applying to vet medicine and the careers advisor has hauled me in for interviews and is chasing me up for my personal statement etc. the chemistry department happily give mock interviews and you can choose a mentor to help you with your application process eg if you were applying for vet med you could choose your biology teacher and such. Basically the school are really, really supportive and are doing everything they can. My parents want me to do medicine (typical Asians...) and they don't understand why I want to work with animals.

Anyway I hope your family and friends can be more supportive of you all, and have fun with your work experience placements. I'm about to start at another small animal vet clinic on Friday and a petting zoo/urban farm on Saturday. :biggrin:

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Reply 1995