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Veterinary Medicine Advice

I am hoping to go into veterinary medicine in the future, and I was wondering if there were any current/future veterinary medicine students who'd be able to give me some advice?

I am currently studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology and will study further mathematics next year. I am really enjoying maths, biology and chemistry, however, I am struggling quite a lot with physics. I know that to do veterinary medicine really good grades are needed and so Im unsure of whether or not it is worth carrying it on. Some people have recommended that I continue doing it at AS level and considering dropping it at Alevel. I feel that Id be able to get a decent grade if I studied incredibly hard, but Im worried that it'd mean I studied less for other subjects and then I'd end up with lower grades in those also. Help!

A lot of work experience is needed for veterinary medicine and I wondered if anybody had any advice on certain types of places that would make me stand out? Eg zoos, farms, etc. I currently volunteer at a cat shelter each weekend and have done a total of 160 hours so far, along with a week at a veterinary hospital. I also have a further two weeks planned in veterinary clinics.

I am also wondering about which universities I should consider, though this isn't urgent. I have so far looked at Cambridge, Surrey, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Royal Veterinary College. A veterinary surgeon at the hospital I did work experience in also told me to consider Liverpool, though after looking they only offer veterinary sciences. Is this the same degree as veterinary medicine, and is it worth as much?

Thanks.
Original post by GreenWizard
I am hoping to go into veterinary medicine in the future, and I was wondering if there were any current/future veterinary medicine students who'd be able to give me some advice?

I am currently studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology and will study further mathematics next year. I am really enjoying maths, biology and chemistry, however, I am struggling quite a lot with physics. I know that to do veterinary medicine really good grades are needed and so Im unsure of whether or not it is worth carrying it on. Some people have recommended that I continue doing it at AS level and considering dropping it at Alevel. I feel that Id be able to get a decent grade if I studied incredibly hard, but Im worried that it'd mean I studied less for other subjects and then I'd end up with lower grades in those also. Help!

A lot of work experience is needed for veterinary medicine and I wondered if anybody had any advice on certain types of places that would make me stand out? Eg zoos, farms, etc. I currently volunteer at a cat shelter each weekend and have done a total of 160 hours so far, along with a week at a veterinary hospital. I also have a further two weeks planned in veterinary clinics.

I am also wondering about which universities I should consider, though this isn't urgent. I have so far looked at Cambridge, Surrey, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Royal Veterinary College. A veterinary surgeon at the hospital I did work experience in also told me to consider Liverpool, though after looking they only offer veterinary sciences. Is this the same degree as veterinary medicine, and is it worth as much?

Thanks.

Have a look around the Veterinary Medicine and sciences forum. The stickied threads will answer most of your questions
Reply 2
Original post by GreenWizard
I am hoping to go into veterinary medicine in the future, and I was wondering if there were any current/future veterinary medicine students who'd be able to give me some advice?

I am currently studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology and will study further mathematics next year. I am really enjoying maths, biology and chemistry, however, I am struggling quite a lot with physics. I know that to do veterinary medicine really good grades are needed and so Im unsure of whether or not it is worth carrying it on. Some people have recommended that I continue doing it at AS level and considering dropping it at Alevel. I feel that Id be able to get a decent grade if I studied incredibly hard, but Im worried that it'd mean I studied less for other subjects and then I'd end up with lower grades in those also. Help!

A lot of work experience is needed for veterinary medicine and I wondered if anybody had any advice on certain types of places that would make me stand out? Eg zoos, farms, etc. I currently volunteer at a cat shelter each weekend and have done a total of 160 hours so far, along with a week at a veterinary hospital. I also have a further two weeks planned in veterinary clinics.

I am also wondering about which universities I should consider, though this isn't urgent. I have so far looked at Cambridge, Surrey, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Royal Veterinary College. A veterinary surgeon at the hospital I did work experience in also told me to consider Liverpool, though after looking they only offer veterinary sciences. Is this the same degree as veterinary medicine, and is it worth as much?

Thanks.


Hello :smile: it sounds to me like you're doing all the right things. I'm a current vet student at Cambridge and can highly reccomend you apply here, but yes Liverpool are a vet school and the Liverpools degree is the same as all the others. With regards to work experience, Cambridge is more interested in the quality of the experience you've got, and what you feel you got out of it, than the quantity. One you may not have considered is seeing if you could get a couple of days with an abattoir vet - they play a vital role, and veterinary is not just about lambs and puppies!
Original post by GreenWizard
I am hoping to go into veterinary medicine in the future, and I was wondering if there were any current/future veterinary medicine students who'd be able to give me some advice?

I am currently studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology and will study further mathematics next year. I am really enjoying maths, biology and chemistry, however, I am struggling quite a lot with physics. I know that to do veterinary medicine really good grades are needed and so Im unsure of whether or not it is worth carrying it on. Some people have recommended that I continue doing it at AS level and considering dropping it at Alevel. I feel that Id be able to get a decent grade if I studied incredibly hard, but Im worried that it'd mean I studied less for other subjects and then I'd end up with lower grades in those also. Help!

A lot of work experience is needed for veterinary medicine and I wondered if anybody had any advice on certain types of places that would make me stand out? Eg zoos, farms, etc. I currently volunteer at a cat shelter each weekend and have done a total of 160 hours so far, along with a week at a veterinary hospital. I also have a further two weeks planned in veterinary clinics.

I am also wondering about which universities I should consider, though this isn't urgent. I have so far looked at Cambridge, Surrey, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Royal Veterinary College. A veterinary surgeon at the hospital I did work experience in also told me to consider Liverpool, though after looking they only offer veterinary sciences. Is this the same degree as veterinary medicine, and is it worth as much?

Thanks.


Hello!

I'm a third year at Liverpool vet school.

I think if you don't enjoy physics, and it's not a strength, don't carry it on to A level. Your predicted grades will be based off your As level results, so you should pick something you'll enjoy, and you think you'll do well at. I did physics for As level and I hated it. I've never been so disengaged in a lesson and I wasn't particularly good at it so it was a waste of time for me, and I was actually much better at psychology. You don't NEED physics, and you'll drain yourself if you put all your efforts into doing well in physics when you could concentrate on a subject which suits you better.

For work experience, get what they ask for to begin with. Once you have the core work experience you can then concentrate on getting some things which will make you stand out. One i would suggest would be to visit an abattoir. A lot of people think that being a vet is all about treating animals etc, but the other side of it is rarely seen by applicants before they go to vet school, and it shows you've been and understood what happens to animals at the end of their lives and how they enter the food chain.

Veterinary science and veterinary medicine are the same degree. Liverpools vet med degree is no less of a vet degree than any of the other universities, you end up with a BVSc at the end of it and registered with the RCVS, and the course is just as good as the other courses offered by other universities. Liverpool look at an applicants work experience as a way of choosing applicants for interview, so out of all the universities liverpool relies heavily on your work experience when selecting. All the unis have a different structure to the course, some are similar and some are very different - I'll give you a little info about liverpool-

Years 1-3 are spent in liverpool on the main campus. You do clinical skills from day 1 in a brand new state of the art veterinary teaching suite. Your lectures are split into 2 week blocks, so forelimb, hindlimb, GI system etc, and during those two weeks you have a dry practical (bones) and a wet dissection. You are able to start clinical EMS from year 1 with liverpool, they like you to get into practice to begin learning from day 1

Years 4 and 5 are based at leahurst on the Wirral. You spend half of year 4 and the whole of year 5 on clinical rotations, working with the large animal practice, the massive equine practice and the smallies referral practice - all of which are amazing and on one campus in the countryside of the Wirral!



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Thank you ..is math or further math a must in Top grade to further this
Original post by Jeannieyee
Thank you ..is math or further math a must in Top grade to further this


I never did maths, it's not essential, and I'm glad because I absolutely suck at maths haha!


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Jeannieyee
Thank you ..is math or further math a must in Top grade to further this


Certainly not, in fact, I suggest you check with the course providers to see if they accept Further Maths as a separate A Level.
Also, most of the schools you have listed require Physics GCSE; I am doing mine this year (which is my final year)!

In terms of WE, I suggest you complete the basics that are required, then add variety to those. Do farm work with dairy cows for two weeks, then follow up with a week of lambing and a week with pigs. Spend a week at a dog shelter, then another at the kennels; bonus points if you can mention a difference that caught your eye in your PS!
If you are good at music, or a sport, do something with that! Get a grade certificate, teach young kids, organize charity events, you name it! Your extracurricular is way more important than academics achievement (just don't let one come into the way of the other). Attend youth conferences, spend a day reading to the elderly, etc.
Another unique experience would be if you can arrange a shadowing placement at a government department that deals with agriculture and farming! You will most likely not be tasked with anything but that's a very different viewpoint than what most of your competitors will have.

Follow animal related news, developments in science and ethical debates.

While choosing schools, think about what you want to do when you graduate; for example RVC and Glasgow are the only providers that let you deal with exotic animals so those would be the go to choices if you want to be a wildlife vet.

Best of luck with your application!

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