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Will I ever become a vet????????/
Hi everyone......after roaming the site, i have finally registered!
As you have probably guessed...i want to fufil my dream of becoming a vet.
The only thing is i think im in a completely hopeless position.
I have wanted to be a vet since i was little, but didnt do well at all on my GCSE's (only took 5 and gained 4 d's and 1 b). I was taken out of high school when i was in year 10 due to bullying. As a result i didnt succeed to well in the exams. I never did my a-levels, instead taking a GNVQ Intermediate Science (achieving a merit).
By this stage I had given up all hope of becoming a vet and planned on going into vet nursing. When i was 19 i was a trainee vet nurse, studying for the Pre-vet nursing qualification (ANA as its now known).
Due to unforseen circumstances i couldnt finish my training.
I then somehow managed to complete an Access to H.E course in Health Studies & Psychology before going to uni and doing a Psychology degree.
After 4 months doing this, the passion for working in the veterinary field re-surfaced and i really want to do it, but at this point (im 23 now) just feel that it not feasible.
I would have to take GCSE's again...then a-levels.....work experience and that would take ages.
I would really appreciate any of your advice on this matter, in terms of my next step.
I really dont know what to do.
HELP!
Kirsty
As you have probably guessed...i want to fufil my dream of becoming a vet.
The only thing is i think im in a completely hopeless position.
I have wanted to be a vet since i was little, but didnt do well at all on my GCSE's (only took 5 and gained 4 d's and 1 b). I was taken out of high school when i was in year 10 due to bullying. As a result i didnt succeed to well in the exams. I never did my a-levels, instead taking a GNVQ Intermediate Science (achieving a merit).
By this stage I had given up all hope of becoming a vet and planned on going into vet nursing. When i was 19 i was a trainee vet nurse, studying for the Pre-vet nursing qualification (ANA as its now known).
Due to unforseen circumstances i couldnt finish my training.
I then somehow managed to complete an Access to H.E course in Health Studies & Psychology before going to uni and doing a Psychology degree.
After 4 months doing this, the passion for working in the veterinary field re-surfaced and i really want to do it, but at this point (im 23 now) just feel that it not feasible.
I would have to take GCSE's again...then a-levels.....work experience and that would take ages.
I would really appreciate any of your advice on this matter, in terms of my next step.
I really dont know what to do.
HELP!
Kirsty
Scroll to see replies
Wannabe_vet
the passion for working in the veterinary field re-surfaced and i really want to do it, but at this point (im 23 now) just feel that it not feasible.
I would have to take GCSE's again...then a-levels.....work experience and that would take ages.
I would really appreciate any of your advice on this matter, in terms of my next step.
I really dont know what to do.
HELP!
Kirsty
the passion for working in the veterinary field re-surfaced and i really want to do it, but at this point (im 23 now) just feel that it not feasible.
I would have to take GCSE's again...then a-levels.....work experience and that would take ages.
I would really appreciate any of your advice on this matter, in terms of my next step.
I really dont know what to do.
HELP!
Kirsty
Hello
First of all - if you really really want to be a vet, there are ways and means of doing it. All is not lost if you don't get in by the traditional route!Don't give up hope if you really want to do it - I met a vet who didn't qualify until he was 35 (At 23 you have years yet!!)!
Also, its likely that if you have exceptional circumstances, these will be taken into account. One way of doing it would be to apply as a post graduate - your A levels may not be neccessary (nb. I know little about this!). The only problem with that is that you will have to pay full fees, but if you apply to London or Nottingham, I think they're only charging £3000 a year. Loads of people apply as post-grads, it s a fairly common thing to do.
You could spend the summers off from uni doing various work with vets, farmers etc. - it will take time to get work experience but everyone's gotta do it! It'll also confirm that it is what you really want to do.
Having said all that if I was to give you one piece of advice it would be to call the universities and ask them yourself - explain your situation and ask them what you would need to do to be considered. You might be able to do 3 a levels, for example, and not have to re-do GCSEs. But honestly, if you want to do it enough, you will be able to find a way, it just might not be easy!!
Good luck xx
I sit here wondering if my hard work at GCSE and A-Level was worth it when you can buy your way onto the course with d's at GCSE. I am here, but I worked f**king hard to get here and get pretty indignant at the ease at which you can get here if you have a chequebook that fills all the criteria.
Why did my last post get deleted?
I retract that, it didn't.
Hi,
I'm in almost the exact same position as you (almost...exact, nice use of words!) I also had to leave school early due to bullying and didn't take science a-levels etc. I tried my hand to other things but the desire to be a vet never left me (I also did 2 years as a trainee vet nurse). I'm currently studying pre-vet in Canada (extreme solution...don't necessarily recommend it!). I'm 29 and don't feel like I'm too old.
First off - contact all the vet schools, even go to their open days and talk to them. Explain you're doing a psychology degree and would they look at that as an acceptable degree for you to make an application with. If they say no - ask what they want. They're the ones that have all the answers. DON'T GIVE UP!! If you want it, you will find a way.
You say it will takes ages...I used to think that...then I realised I would rather spend even just 5 years doing what I really want to do, than a lifetime thinking "If only I'd just..." As it is, I should (fingers doubly crossed) qualify by the time I'm 35 (ish!) - that leaves plenty of time...you're even younger!
I'm in almost the exact same position as you (almost...exact, nice use of words!) I also had to leave school early due to bullying and didn't take science a-levels etc. I tried my hand to other things but the desire to be a vet never left me (I also did 2 years as a trainee vet nurse). I'm currently studying pre-vet in Canada (extreme solution...don't necessarily recommend it!). I'm 29 and don't feel like I'm too old.
First off - contact all the vet schools, even go to their open days and talk to them. Explain you're doing a psychology degree and would they look at that as an acceptable degree for you to make an application with. If they say no - ask what they want. They're the ones that have all the answers. DON'T GIVE UP!! If you want it, you will find a way.
You say it will takes ages...I used to think that...then I realised I would rather spend even just 5 years doing what I really want to do, than a lifetime thinking "If only I'd just..." As it is, I should (fingers doubly crossed) qualify by the time I'm 35 (ish!) - that leaves plenty of time...you're even younger!
Thanks for the feedback guys.
I have just looked back on my previous post and i didnt exactly make myself clear.........after 4 months of doing my Psychology degree i dropped out because i didnt wanna continue on a course that my heart was not in.
At this point in time, im looking for a job....i have written to lots of local veterinary clinics and am awaiting their responses.
Having said all this......what is that i should be doing (i.e - gcse's again...a-levels....animal care course????)
Kirsty
I have just looked back on my previous post and i didnt exactly make myself clear.........after 4 months of doing my Psychology degree i dropped out because i didnt wanna continue on a course that my heart was not in.
At this point in time, im looking for a job....i have written to lots of local veterinary clinics and am awaiting their responses.
Having said all this......what is that i should be doing (i.e - gcse's again...a-levels....animal care course????)
Kirsty
Wannabe_vet
Thanks for the feedback guys.
I have just looked back on my previous post and i didnt exactly make myself clear.........after 4 months of doing my Psychology degree i dropped out because i didnt wanna continue on a course that my heart was not in.
At this point in time, im looking for a job....i have written to lots of local veterinary clinics and am awaiting their responses.
Having said all this......what is that i should be doing (i.e - gcse's again...a-levels....animal care course????)
Kirsty
I have just looked back on my previous post and i didnt exactly make myself clear.........after 4 months of doing my Psychology degree i dropped out because i didnt wanna continue on a course that my heart was not in.
At this point in time, im looking for a job....i have written to lots of local veterinary clinics and am awaiting their responses.
Having said all this......what is that i should be doing (i.e - gcse's again...a-levels....animal care course????)
Kirsty
If you want to be a vet, you have to show committment and hard work in everything you do. Dropping out doesn't look good but you have to look to the future. I got lousy grades and can't go to vet school now but after my Forensic Science degree i hope to apply then. As far as I know, and I've researched a lot about this, Nottingham accept the Open University course "Discovering Science" and if you have to get a first. If you take the course then you can study at home, work and earn money during the day and get a bit of work experience at a vet clinic. Try stables, kennels and all else. You have to really work hard though cos the vet schools are quite strict and you have to know your stuff for the potential interview. Best of luck and I hope you get what you want.
Wannabe_vet
Does anyone know of anybody who has become a veterinary nurse and then applied to vet school?
Maybe i could go back into my vet nurse training and possibly apply to vet school after i qualify.
Is this a possibility????
Maybe i could go back into my vet nurse training and possibly apply to vet school after i qualify.
Is this a possibility????
Yes, sarahbeth was a vet nurse and got into Edinburgh. Search the posts and you'll find her. Good luck!
To get in as a vet nurse you need to either:
-Do a vet nursing degree, achieve at least a 2(i) and apply as a second degree. This usually incurs full cost fees (£16000 per year) however a couple of uni's are cheaper (£3000). But of course, the cheaper uni's are harder to get into as there are many more applicants.
-Do a VN qualification (takes two years), this gives you exemption from one A'level. You still need to take 2 A'levels (Chemistry and Biology) and achieve A grades at one sitting. If a university particularly likes' you, you may get a slightly lower offer, however they seem to be keen to ensure that the calibre of students remains similar between traditional applicants, and non.
I hope this is helpful. Remember policy changes from year to year, and there are now vet nurses in our vet schools, even though it wasn't that long ago that they weren't considered...
-Do a vet nursing degree, achieve at least a 2(i) and apply as a second degree. This usually incurs full cost fees (£16000 per year) however a couple of uni's are cheaper (£3000). But of course, the cheaper uni's are harder to get into as there are many more applicants.
-Do a VN qualification (takes two years), this gives you exemption from one A'level. You still need to take 2 A'levels (Chemistry and Biology) and achieve A grades at one sitting. If a university particularly likes' you, you may get a slightly lower offer, however they seem to be keen to ensure that the calibre of students remains similar between traditional applicants, and non.
I hope this is helpful. Remember policy changes from year to year, and there are now vet nurses in our vet schools, even though it wasn't that long ago that they weren't considered...
Hey,
Im a vet nurse, did the degree route. i would say that doing the degree is not an easy option either, we were doing 3 full days of lectures and 2 days of employment (unpaid) or 3 work, 2 lectures throughout the whole degree, we also had to work in our holidays. I then worked weekends at the rspca to earn some money. in my final term we had over 18000 words to write in essays and dissertation then our portfolio for the nvq qualification. the degree was 4 years long and of 49 that started 17 of us graduated, nooone got a 1st and only 5 of us got a 2:1.
you do need a-levels to get onto the degree (I got A,B,B,E) and a C grade or above in 5 gcses including maths, english and science. plus you need animal experience.
im not trying to put you off doing because i am so glad i did it, but you really have to be committed for a long slog, i now have another 4 years ahead of me but i cannot wait as it is what i have always wanted and refuse to give up my dream.
if its what you really want you will do it, but no route there will be easy, be it straight from school at 18 or the long way like a lot of us! Ill be 28 when i graduate, but every vet i have spoken to doesnt think i will be disadvantaged in any way, if anything they think it will be a bonus as clients sometimes find it hard to accept the opinion of a 23 year old, just out of vet school. so dont let age be a factor
feel free to ask me anything else if i can be of use
sb x
Im a vet nurse, did the degree route. i would say that doing the degree is not an easy option either, we were doing 3 full days of lectures and 2 days of employment (unpaid) or 3 work, 2 lectures throughout the whole degree, we also had to work in our holidays. I then worked weekends at the rspca to earn some money. in my final term we had over 18000 words to write in essays and dissertation then our portfolio for the nvq qualification. the degree was 4 years long and of 49 that started 17 of us graduated, nooone got a 1st and only 5 of us got a 2:1.
you do need a-levels to get onto the degree (I got A,B,B,E) and a C grade or above in 5 gcses including maths, english and science. plus you need animal experience.
im not trying to put you off doing because i am so glad i did it, but you really have to be committed for a long slog, i now have another 4 years ahead of me but i cannot wait as it is what i have always wanted and refuse to give up my dream.
if its what you really want you will do it, but no route there will be easy, be it straight from school at 18 or the long way like a lot of us! Ill be 28 when i graduate, but every vet i have spoken to doesnt think i will be disadvantaged in any way, if anything they think it will be a bonus as clients sometimes find it hard to accept the opinion of a 23 year old, just out of vet school. so dont let age be a factor
feel free to ask me anything else if i can be of use
sb x
Wannabe_vet
Does anyone know of anybody who has become a veterinary nurse and then applied to vet school?
Maybe i could go back into my vet nurse training and possibly apply to vet school after i qualify.
Is this a possibility????
Maybe i could go back into my vet nurse training and possibly apply to vet school after i qualify.
Is this a possibility????
It is far more likely than not having seen anything through to the end. There are a couple of girls in my year who were nurses initially, have a lot of aptitude and a vet rather than a nurse attitude and they are some of the top students and will undoubtedly make very good vets.
The risk of a vet school taking you is of course that you have a higher likelihood of other people of not making it all the way, for several reasons. I wouldn't deter anyone from following their dream all the way, but you'll have to pull some serious tricks out of the bag so that they're not put off by your history, which i am sure was beyond your control.
Good Luck.
Thanks for the advice. I would just like to say that being bullied (for which i recieved 8 months counselling as a result) and being taken out of school so i was unable to finish, having home tuition for my GCSE's and only taking 5, was completely beyond my control...and an experience which i did not predict nor would i appreciate to remember.
As i result of my poor GCSE grades, i could not progress to my a-levels (something which i am gutted about).
I was doing very well whilst doing my vet nurse training, but could not continue due to personal/upsetting issues that i do not care to discuss.
None of this i could have prevented and it was completely beyond my control. If i could have my time over, i would (without a shadow of a doubt)have studied veterinary medicine.
At this point in time and from your comments, it just isn't going to happen for me.
Kirsty
As i result of my poor GCSE grades, i could not progress to my a-levels (something which i am gutted about).
I was doing very well whilst doing my vet nurse training, but could not continue due to personal/upsetting issues that i do not care to discuss.
None of this i could have prevented and it was completely beyond my control. If i could have my time over, i would (without a shadow of a doubt)have studied veterinary medicine.
At this point in time and from your comments, it just isn't going to happen for me.
Kirsty
Seems to me like your giving up slightly easily, if you put yor mind to it and really wanted it you could get there!! Don't let the past stop you from getting where you want to be, like you said if you lived your life again you'd be a vet, well you'll be saying that till you're 50 and more when its too late to do anything!!! You should do something now if its what you really want to do!
Wannabe_vet
Thanks for the advice. I would just like to say that being bullied (for which i recieved 8 months counselling as a result) and being taken out of school so i was unable to finish, having home tuition for my GCSE's and only taking 5, was completely beyond my control...and an experience which i did not predict nor would i appreciate to remember.
As i result of my poor GCSE grades, i could not progress to my a-levels (something which i am gutted about).
I was doing very well whilst doing my vet nurse training, but could not continue due to personal/upsetting issues that i do not care to discuss.
None of this i could have prevented and it was completely beyond my control. If i could have my time over, i would (without a shadow of a doubt)have studied veterinary medicine.
At this point in time and from your comments, it just isn't going to happen for me.
Kirsty
As i result of my poor GCSE grades, i could not progress to my a-levels (something which i am gutted about).
I was doing very well whilst doing my vet nurse training, but could not continue due to personal/upsetting issues that i do not care to discuss.
None of this i could have prevented and it was completely beyond my control. If i could have my time over, i would (without a shadow of a doubt)have studied veterinary medicine.
At this point in time and from your comments, it just isn't going to happen for me.
Kirsty
I'm a vet nurse hoping to go on and do vet med. My advice to you would be try and get back into veterinary nursing. It will at least test your resolve to work with animals and either reinforce your desire to be a vet (as it has for me) or it will put you off. Veterinary nursing in itself is a very rewarding career - I love my job, I just know that I want to take it to the highest possible level and become a vet.
Most of all, if it's what you really want - DON'T GIVE UP!!
You will spend the rest of your life thinking 'what if?...' if you do.
Good luck x
Wannabe_vet
Thanks for the advice. I would just like to say that being bullied (for which i recieved 8 months counselling as a result) and being taken out of school so i was unable to finish, having home tuition for my GCSE's and only taking 5, was completely beyond my control...and an experience which i did not predict nor would i appreciate to remember.
As i result of my poor GCSE grades, i could not progress to my a-levels (something which i am gutted about).
I was doing very well whilst doing my vet nurse training, but could not continue due to personal/upsetting issues that i do not care to discuss.
None of this i could have prevented and it was completely beyond my control. If i could have my time over, i would (without a shadow of a doubt)have studied veterinary medicine.
At this point in time and from your comments, it just isn't going to happen for me.
Kirsty
As i result of my poor GCSE grades, i could not progress to my a-levels (something which i am gutted about).
I was doing very well whilst doing my vet nurse training, but could not continue due to personal/upsetting issues that i do not care to discuss.
None of this i could have prevented and it was completely beyond my control. If i could have my time over, i would (without a shadow of a doubt)have studied veterinary medicine.
At this point in time and from your comments, it just isn't going to happen for me.
Kirsty
You might not like to hear this, but hey - I'm gonna say it anyway. Apologies in advance if the tone seems harsh.
If you *really* want to study veterinary medicine and it's *really* what you dream of doing then you wouldn't drag up the past. You would get out there and you would, if necessary, go right back and do your GCSE's again. Then you'd go and do your A-levels. Then you'd apply to vet school.
I can say this because I went through EXACTLY what you've described - the difference is I've now stuck two fingers up at the past and I'm 100% focussed on what I want.
I've worked hard to put myself in a financial position which means I can study pre-vet in Canada and apply to UK vet school after 2 years. If I get rejected then I will continue for a further 2 years in Canada and get a full BSc degree - then I'll apply again to UK vet school. If I didn't have the finances then I'd be doing my A-levels at night school - whatever it took. I chose the BSc route because, at my age (ahem), I wanted to, at the very least, come out of this with a degree...but that is my absolute last choice!!
Maybe you're not ready yet to realise how much you really want this - it took me until I was 28 for the wake up call. I've been wide awake ever since.
Fight for it - it may seem like a long road, but the destination is going to be worth the wait.
Thanks for the positive feedback guys...appreciate it.
I wrote off to LOTS of veterinary clinics in my local area...have had two responses so far and at the moment they have no vacancies to offer me a training position to do vet nursing...but i am on their records.
Hopefully will hear from the rest of them during the week *she says fingers crossed*
Otherwise i might re-take my gcse's and a-levels (evening classes if possible so i can work during the day).
Kirsty
I wrote off to LOTS of veterinary clinics in my local area...have had two responses so far and at the moment they have no vacancies to offer me a training position to do vet nursing...but i am on their records.
Hopefully will hear from the rest of them during the week *she says fingers crossed*
Otherwise i might re-take my gcse's and a-levels (evening classes if possible so i can work during the day).
Kirsty
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