online a levels and vet uni
i did my gcses in 2017 and got brilliant results. tried college for half a year doing bio, chem and maths but hated it, found the teachers to be very hard to get along with and understand, and that they generally didn't suit my learning style. i got very fed up very soon in the course and entirely lost interest and turned to more 'fun' elements of college life instead. i wanted to train to be a vet surgeon, but that was forgotten.
eventually ended up in full time work.
then, tried art college. fun for the first few months till i realised it just wasn't for me or what i wanted for my life. with lots of hard work, i somehow landed myself the most brilliant opportunity; patient care assistant at my dream vets. its a full time job acting as a preliminary year before, if i pass the end exams, going on to train as a veterinary nurse. i was thrilled. however, working here i have realised.. i still want to be a surgeon. everything's very exciting and challenging here, but i just worry i could be doing better for myself and really achieving my dream.
at the moment i'm still working here full time. i'd love to do my a levels online whilst working here, for experience and the security of having my initial position to fall back on if i fail again. i just need advice. the courses are expensive and my time is more than limited. i work 5 days a week for 8 hours, and 2 Saturdays a month for five.
what i'm wondering is;
-would vet universities class my patient care assistant work as a benefit or a hindrance? it means ive experienced life in a vet surgery to the max, done lots of hands on work, helped monitor anaesthetics, ect?
-how do online a levels really work? i've called up a few companies that offer them but they seemed far too interested in just getting me to sign up, although they had lots of info, it just didn't answer all my questions. will i get an as and an a level, or is that no longer the way things work? some more info about vet uni would be great, ive read loads and looked at entry req ect (as far as gcses go im more than fine, but im so worried that i won't be able to do my a levels)
eventually ended up in full time work.
then, tried art college. fun for the first few months till i realised it just wasn't for me or what i wanted for my life. with lots of hard work, i somehow landed myself the most brilliant opportunity; patient care assistant at my dream vets. its a full time job acting as a preliminary year before, if i pass the end exams, going on to train as a veterinary nurse. i was thrilled. however, working here i have realised.. i still want to be a surgeon. everything's very exciting and challenging here, but i just worry i could be doing better for myself and really achieving my dream.
at the moment i'm still working here full time. i'd love to do my a levels online whilst working here, for experience and the security of having my initial position to fall back on if i fail again. i just need advice. the courses are expensive and my time is more than limited. i work 5 days a week for 8 hours, and 2 Saturdays a month for five.
what i'm wondering is;
-would vet universities class my patient care assistant work as a benefit or a hindrance? it means ive experienced life in a vet surgery to the max, done lots of hands on work, helped monitor anaesthetics, ect?
-how do online a levels really work? i've called up a few companies that offer them but they seemed far too interested in just getting me to sign up, although they had lots of info, it just didn't answer all my questions. will i get an as and an a level, or is that no longer the way things work? some more info about vet uni would be great, ive read loads and looked at entry req ect (as far as gcses go im more than fine, but im so worried that i won't be able to do my a levels)
From what I know of vet school, you have to have just got everything nailed first time, a levels, GCSEs the lot and as far as I know there isn't any second chances with it. I could be wrong but all I could suggest is to call up the university's you were thinking if attending and ask them the questions because Veterinary is one of the most difficult to get into. But Good Luck to you and I really hope you do get sorted and get the chance to pursue your dream! We need more animal lovers in this world 😽
i didn't actually take my a levels, never sat the end of year exams because i realised i was doing so badly and didn't want to tarnish my cv with awful results. would this still effect things? i don't have any official grades at all, was only there for a few months.
but thanks so much for your response and your kind words 
wishing you luck too with whatever you're pursuing.
wishing you luck too with whatever you're pursuing.All you can honestly do is try. If you like into the life story of Noel Fitzpatrick he faced a lot of setbacks and now he's one of the best Veterinary Orthos in the world! I say, go to college, call the uni, find out your best route of action, get your A-levels nailed and get yourself where you want to be in life. I was a patient care assistant for a while in Surrey, not far from Fitzpatrick's and I'd still be doing it now if the people I worked with weren't so crappy! I hope you're enjoying it, looking after the animals was the best part.
same situation to be honest! thats all the encouragement i need :')
You got this!!! 😸
I think your current job is definitely a plus - it shows you know what working in small animal practice is all about! You will still need all the work experience in other areas and if you could see large animal practice or another small animal practice to be able to make some comparisons that would be beneficial.
I don't think AS exist anymore so you just do the full qualification in one go but I'm not sure whether it is still split into two lots of exams. The hardest part about doing science A levels as a distance course is you need to use a company that will arrange the practical element (or go through a college that will host you for it) because that needs assessing in person and not many places will do that (because at school most students undergo 'continuous assessment' of practical skills throughout their course) so you may have to travel quite far and do it all over 2 days or so.
I hope that helps a bit!
I don't think AS exist anymore so you just do the full qualification in one go but I'm not sure whether it is still split into two lots of exams. The hardest part about doing science A levels as a distance course is you need to use a company that will arrange the practical element (or go through a college that will host you for it) because that needs assessing in person and not many places will do that (because at school most students undergo 'continuous assessment' of practical skills throughout their course) so you may have to travel quite far and do it all over 2 days or so.
I hope that helps a bit!
Original post by KiwiCanary
what i'm wondering is;
-would vet universities class my patient care assistant work as a benefit or a hindrance? it means ive experienced life in a vet surgery to the max, done lots of hands on work, helped monitor anaesthetics, ect?
-how do online a levels really work? i've called up a few companies that offer them but they seemed far too interested in just getting me to sign up, although they had lots of info, it just didn't answer all my questions. will i get an as and an a level, or is that no longer the way things work? some more info about vet uni would be great, ive read loads and looked at entry req ect (as far as gcses go im more than fine, but im so worried that i won't be able to do my a levels)
-would vet universities class my patient care assistant work as a benefit or a hindrance? it means ive experienced life in a vet surgery to the max, done lots of hands on work, helped monitor anaesthetics, ect?
-how do online a levels really work? i've called up a few companies that offer them but they seemed far too interested in just getting me to sign up, although they had lots of info, it just didn't answer all my questions. will i get an as and an a level, or is that no longer the way things work? some more info about vet uni would be great, ive read loads and looked at entry req ect (as far as gcses go im more than fine, but im so worried that i won't be able to do my a levels)
The information above is incorrect. Most veterinary courses do not require you to get the grades the first time around. Of course, it's better if you do. Although resits are accepted. You need to look at the entry requirements for the courses and email admissions for each uni if you have any doubt.
Secondly, I don't recommend taking a distance course without first finding a centre which will allow you to sit the practical aspects of the course. For veterinary, this is vital. As far as I know, there is no way around it.
How old are you? Could it be possible for you to take an Access course or similar? It is harder to get back into doing A Levels after you have left college.
Secondly, I don't recommend taking a distance course without first finding a centre which will allow you to sit the practical aspects of the course. For veterinary, this is vital. As far as I know, there is no way around it.
How old are you? Could it be possible for you to take an Access course or similar? It is harder to get back into doing A Levels after you have left college.
i'm 18, so not that old haha. there just aren't any colleges around me that i can realistically get to, or that do the courses i wanted to take, and i don't want to leave my current position in case it doesn't work out. i have been having trouble finding a open study college that is close enough to have a practical center i could get to, though. in terms of access courses; if i trained as a vet nurse and then tried to become a vet surgeon, im assuming i'd still need a levels? my ideal college would be nottingham uni of vet med and science, which i know is the most lenient, generally.
Some of the distance courses do the practical assessment as a 2day intensive course where you get signed off all in one go - that may be an option? You would then just need to arrange your exams as an external candidate with any exam centre (school or college) that do that. But this isn't a cheap option because it all adds up.
If you trained as a vet nurse through the degree route rather than the diploma route then you could apply for graduate veterinary medicine courses but I don't think anyone on this forum would advise you to do so because it would take a minimum of 7 years, is very competitive to get a place and costs a fortune. Just as an aside, I don't think anyone would say that Nottingham are particularly lenient, none of them are to be honest!
I would suggest maybe looking at the entry requirements for each uni because there are alternative qualifications to A levels that some of them will accept such as access to HE diploma or BTEC level 3 extended diploma etc. Whether it is possible/feasible to complete something like this while working I'm not sure. It may come to a point where you have to decide between staying in your current job and leaving to be able to obtain the necessary qualifications to move on.
If you trained as a vet nurse through the degree route rather than the diploma route then you could apply for graduate veterinary medicine courses but I don't think anyone on this forum would advise you to do so because it would take a minimum of 7 years, is very competitive to get a place and costs a fortune. Just as an aside, I don't think anyone would say that Nottingham are particularly lenient, none of them are to be honest!
I would suggest maybe looking at the entry requirements for each uni because there are alternative qualifications to A levels that some of them will accept such as access to HE diploma or BTEC level 3 extended diploma etc. Whether it is possible/feasible to complete something like this while working I'm not sure. It may come to a point where you have to decide between staying in your current job and leaving to be able to obtain the necessary qualifications to move on.
Original post by KiwiCanary
i'm 18, so not that old haha. there just aren't any colleges around me that i can realistically get to, or that do the courses i wanted to take, and i don't want to leave my current position in case it doesn't work out. i have been having trouble finding a open study college that is close enough to have a practical center i could get to, though. in terms of access courses; if i trained as a vet nurse and then tried to become a vet surgeon, im assuming i'd still need a levels? my ideal college would be nottingham uni of vet med and science, which i know is the most lenient, generally.
Original post by KiwiCanary
i'm 18, so not that old haha. there just aren't any colleges around me that i can realistically get to, or that do the courses i wanted to take, and i don't want to leave my current position in case it doesn't work out. i have been having trouble finding a open study college that is close enough to have a practical center i could get to, though. in terms of access courses; if i trained as a vet nurse and then tried to become a vet surgeon, im assuming i'd still need a levels? my ideal college would be nottingham uni of vet med and science, which i know is the most lenient, generally.
Some vet schools allow vet nurses their own route into their school. Although, I think it's just one uni that does this. So it's risky and not a good option. For the others, yes you would need A Levels in combination with your nursing qualifications.
As you're 18, you will be able to apply to college this year and hopefully get an advanced learner loan. I recommend finding a suitable Access or Btec course if you can't find anywhere to do A Levels. Maybe you can ring some of the schools in your area and see if they would take you. My friend failed her AS at the age of 17, took a year out to go and work, decided she made the wrong decision and the school allowed her to come back when she was 20! It does happen sometimes.
Ultimately, you will have to find somewhere that allows you to take the practical parts of the course or else you will have to go to a college. If this is the case, you just have to find some way to get to college. What about when you need to do weeks of work experience? How will you travel to do this? If you want to study veterinary medicine you need to be determined to make it work.
Can't you get a bus to your closest college? Do you have a part-time job? Could you get a car? I bought a car to get to my college Access Course which is fifteen miles away! Anything is doable if you really want it!
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