The Student Room Group

Need some vet advice

Hiya, I’m currently doing makeup for my first year at college, I know this isn’t what I want to do when I’m older Becuase I want to be a vet. To get into vet school I need 3 a levels which I don’t have . I passed my gcses but only got a C in maths and science, however I got an A in English so I could do that as an A level next year but I don’t know how to get the other two to get in as I didn’t get a high enough grade to do the A level . Is there any way to get them or is there any other way to get in without the a levels?? Would love to know, Thankyou :smile:
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 1
Not too sure what you have to do to get into veterinary nursing haven’t looked into it too much , I love animals my dream job would be working in a shelter rescuing and taking care of animals however the money isn’t good and I don’t want to spend my life worrying about money as I’ve seen people I know well have to do
Don’t stress you can still do it, with your gcse grades you’d be able to do btec applied science which will let u study veterinary science in most universities (unless u want to go to Russel group ones) do some research and see if your college offers the course
I’m studying vet nursing September this year, I had planned to take the uni route (currently studying Alevels) but during work exp I was offered a sat job and now I’m staying on as a student vet nurse with CAW so that may be something to look at, you don’t need alevels just 5 GCSEs at A-C.
For vet medicine they’re very hot on having really good work experience and top grades it’s really up to you, go for some work experience an speak to people already in the job and get involved to see what you think
Reply 4
Hi I'm from London and I applied for Veterinary science this year and I'm doing an Access course.
(Original post by Jenjenss)Don’t stress you can still do it, with your gcse grades you’d be able to do btec applied science which will let u study veterinary science in most universities (unless u want to go to Russel group ones) do some research and see if your college offers the course

Pretty sure most (if not all) vet uni's are russel groups. Correct me if im wrong though
Original post by jessxox
Hiya, I’m currently doing makeup for my first year at college, I know this isn’t what I want to do when I’m older Becuase I want to be a vet. To get into vet school I need 3 a levels which I don’t have . I passed my gcses but only got a C in maths and science, however I got an A in English so I could do that as an A level next year but I don’t know how to get the other two to get in as I didn’t get a high enough grade to do the A level . Is there any way to get them or is there any other way to get in without the a levels?? Would love to know, Thankyou :smile:

My first thought would be that you would need to resit your GCSEs so that you meet the minimum requirements and can sit Biology and Chemistry A levels in which you will need an A (along with the English A level). I know some universities do accept access courses however but I am not very knowledgable with respect to those and others on this forum will know more. You will also need to fulfill the work experience requirements to apply. Bear in mind though that the veterinary medicine degree is extremely demanding academically. Another option you might like to consider is veterinary nursing. You may be best to try and get some veterinary work experience now as this may help you decide if this is the career area for you and if so if you definitely want to be a vet or if you prefer nursing.
I would disagree that Liverpool is a bit more relaxed. All the vet med courses are highly competitive and difficult to get into, Liverpool is no different.
Veterinary isn't particularly well paid including for emergency night work. The best paid are practice owners (assuming their practice is doing well), referral clinicians and clinical directors. No one should ever do a veterinary career to make fortunes and most vets (myself included when I owned my own practices even though they performed very well) do still have to worry about money unfortunately.
Original post by Jenjenss
Don’t stress you can still do it, with your gcse grades you’d be able to do btec applied science which will let u study veterinary science in most universities (unless u want to go to Russel group ones) do some research and see if your college offers the course

This anwer is unfortunately totally incorrect, there are only 6 universities in England (another one is due to start offering vet med in 2020) and 2 in Scotland that offer veterinary medicine degrees. The Russell Group comment is totally irrelevant therefore.
Original post by animalmagic
This anwer is unfortunately totally incorrect, there are only 6 universities in England (another one is due to start offering vet med in 2020) and 2 in Scotland that offer veterinary medicine degrees. The Russell Group comment is totally irrelevant therefore.


https://www.rvc.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/bsc-bioveterinary-sciences#panel-diplomas-and-further-certificates-including-access-and-l3-extended-diploma

What about here? They accept btec applied science

That is for Bioveterinary Science and not Veterinary Medicine. They are totally different courses and only the latter leads to you being a vet. Also from the same page "All qualifications below are considered on top of existing Level 2 requirements (e.g. GCSEs, National 5s, O Levels, etc). If you are not sure you have equivalent qualifications, please contact us". The GCSE requirements are at least grade B (6) in:
Science & Additional Science or two individual sciences, if taken separately
English Language
Mathematics
Original post by jessxox
Hiya, I’m currently doing makeup for my first year at college, I know this isn’t what I want to do when I’m older Becuase I want to be a vet. To get into vet school I need 3 a levels which I don’t have . I passed my gcses but only got a C in maths and science, however I got an A in English so I could do that as an A level next year but I don’t know how to get the other two to get in as I didn’t get a high enough grade to do the A level . Is there any way to get them or is there any other way to get in without the a levels?? Would love to know, Thankyou :smile:

The RVC for example does accept other qualifications - see here https://www.rvc.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/bachelor-of-veterinary-medicine#panel-g-c-s-e-only-in-addition-to-other-qualifications . However you still need to fulfill the GCSE requirements which are at least five A (7) grades including:

Science and Additional Science OR Biology and Chemistry.
with at least a grade B (6) in:

English Language
Mathematics
Physics (if taken as a separate GCSE)
Original post by animalmagic
That is for Bioveterinary Science and not Veterinary Medicine. They are totally different courses and only the latter leads to you being a vet. Also from the same page "All qualifications below are considered on top of existing Level 2 requirements (e.g. GCSEs, National 5s, O Levels, etc). If you are not sure you have equivalent qualifications, please contact us". The GCSE requirements are at least grade B (6) in:
Science & Additional Science or two individual sciences, if taken separately
English Language
Mathematics


Lmao Ok
Original post by jessxox
Hiya, I’m currently doing makeup for my first year at college, I know this isn’t what I want to do when I’m older Becuase I want to be a vet. To get into vet school I need 3 a levels which I don’t have . I passed my gcses but only got a C in maths and science, however I got an A in English so I could do that as an A level next year but I don’t know how to get the other two to get in as I didn’t get a high enough grade to do the A level . Is there any way to get them or is there any other way to get in without the a levels?? Would love to know, Thankyou :smile:

Hi, I am wanting to be a vet too. I got the requirement grades for my GCSES and am currently studying Bio, chem ,physics and psychology. But there are other ways to get in i know if you can always do a foundation year/preliminary year or something. If i don't get the grades i want to work in conservation of animals and travel etc and help look after animals at wildlife reserves. there is no limit to what age you go to university to do veterinary medicine but you might have to research to find out. :smile: hope this helps
Reply 15
Original post by animalmagic
My first thought would be that you would need to resit your GCSEs so that you meet the minimum requirements and can sit Biology and Chemistry A levels in which you will need an A (along with the English A level). I know some universities do accept access courses however but I am not very knowledgable with respect to those and others on this forum will know more. You will also need to fulfill the work experience requirements to apply. Bear in mind though that the veterinary medicine degree is extremely demanding academically. Another option you might like to consider is veterinary nursing. You may be best to try and get some veterinary work experience now as this may help you decide if this is the career area for you and if so if you definitely want to be a vet or if you prefer nursing.

Animalmagic makes some very important points.

Veterinary medicine is very academically rigorous - obviously if you are extremely determined, you could resit GCSEs, then take A Levels and apply (perhaps at colleges that are flexible and whilst working part time if finances are an issue?), but that represents quite a difficult route. Access courses are available for people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and could not take A Levels for this reason, however they may still require certain GCSE grades - you will have to research this yourself. Have a look at websites for different vet schools to get reliable info.

You also think carefully about whether a career in veterinary medicine or nursing would be right for you. People often view it in an idealistic way, as a career with amazing pay where you just care for sick animals until they are better, but it is incredibly demanding and much of your work will be not just with animals but their (often trickier!) human counterparts. In the nicest way possible, I wouldn't enter into this just because you want to work with animals and you want to get paid enough - I think there's far more to it. I hope this doesn't come across too harshly - I don't mean to be rude, I just want to offer realistic advice to help you make your decision.

As animalmagic says, the best thing to do is get some work experience. Go into a vet practice and observe what goes on for a couple of weeks, asking the vets and vet nurses lots of questions; work in kennels, farms, rescue centres, abattoirs - as many settings as you can to be sure this is the career for you. This might spur you on and make you realise that veterinary is the path you want to go down, in which case great! Otherwise, you might discover alternative careers that equally appeal to you - so really you've got nothing to lose.

I realise financial considerations are important but I would encourage you to look at other careers that involve working with animals alongside veterinary ones - there's so many options out there that I'm sure there will be something that pays you enough to live on and allows you to pursue your interest in working with animals.

If you want to know more about a veterinary career feel free to ask - I'm a first year vet student. I hope this helps and all the best xx
Original post by animalmagic
I would disagree that Liverpool is a bit more relaxed. All the vet med courses are highly competitive and difficult to get into, Liverpool is no different.


Same here. I'm at Liverpool vet school right now and their entrance requ are no different.

Just remember that ALL vet schools in the UK HAVE to be pretty much the same in terms of standards and teaching content and exams, because they are all governed by the RCVS. So whilst they all have ever so slightly different methods of teaching (when animal handling is done, group sizes, etc), they are all very level. Not modular or varying in content or requirements like the majority of other courses 🙂
Original post by animalmagic
Veterinary isn't particularly well paid including for emergency night work. The best paid are practice owners (assuming their practice is doing well), referral clinicians and clinical directors. No one should ever do a veterinary career to make fortunes and most vets (myself included when I owned my own practices even though they performed very well) do still have to worry about money unfortunately.

Second that. PLEASE PLEASE don't think it'd the sort of career to go into for the money. You do it as a true animal health and science nerd!! 😊 I'm still a student but I house share with two older vets, both great at what they do but work 60hour weeks some weeks and are still saving for their own house.
Plus, the course is intense at times and what gets you through is the passion for what you're doing. It would likely be bad for your mental and physical wellbeing to go into the course without that drive, or just for a salary at the end. The myth that vets are rolling in cash is not true in 98% of cases.

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