The Student Room Group

A level options

If I were to take for my A levels Biology, Psychology and Economics and then go on to study vet nursing at university, would I still need an A level in Chemistry to study veterinary medicine as a second degree or would it not matter?
All I can tell you regarding the requirement for A level chemistry is what websites say (e.g. RVC https://www.rvc.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/bvetmed-graduate-accelerated#panel-degree-in-addition-to-g-c-s-es ) which seems to be that there is no specific A level entry requirement (but I'd encourage you to check).

However, I do want to question why you want to take the route that you have chosen. Graduate courses for veterinary medicine are very competitive to secure a place on, and you will not be able to get any tuition fee loans (check out this thread https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6646486 ). If you know you want to do veterinary medicine, I would encourage you to consider doing that as your first degree. If you are undecided, try doing some work experience (you'll require this anyway) in vet practices to see which role you would prefer. If you take chemistry, you will meet the entry requirements for both courses.
Original post by TheVirtualPhoton
All I can tell you regarding the requirement for A level chemistry is what websites say (e.g. RVC https://www.rvc.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/bvetmed-graduate-accelerated#panel-degree-in-addition-to-g-c-s-es ) which seems to be that there is no specific A level entry requirement (but I'd encourage you to check).

However, I do want to question why you want to take the route that you have chosen. Graduate courses for veterinary medicine are very competitive to secure a place on, and you will not be able to get any tuition fee loans (check out this thread https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6646486 ). If you know you want to do veterinary medicine, I would encourage you to consider doing that as your first degree. If you are undecided, try doing some work experience (you'll require this anyway) in vet practices to see which role you would prefer. If you take chemistry, you will meet the entry requirements for both courses.


Hi thank you,
I’m currently taking Chemistry, Biology and Psychology and was considering changing chemistry for economics but I’m not anymore. I’m thinking of taking veterinary medicine as a second degree because i didn’t think that my GCSE grades were strong enough (i got downgraded a lot because of the cancellation)and I wasn’t planning on retaking them because I want to focus on my A levels and get the best grades possible and do lots of animal related work experience as i only did horse farm work through the quarrentine and didn’t get as much as i hoped for done and then i was planning on applying for zoology or animal science as a first degree and then after doing veterinary medicine.
Is it posssible to apply for zoology and veterinary medicine at the same time or not ??
I would do some research into GCSE requirements for vet schools if you haven't already. Some GCSE requirements are low (e.g. Bristol at least a 4 in English and maths) or aren't even mentioned - you could contact vet school admissions too, to ask about any specific GCSE requirements. There may also be some leniency when you apply due to the events of this year (but again, admissions teams will be better to answer this).
Getting good A level grades and your work experience is definitely a good aim!

Yes you can apply for zoology and veterinary medicine at the same time. When you apply to uni you have 5 choices for universities/courses, up to 4 of which can be for veterinary medicine. Vet applicants often apply for a 5th choice in a similar field (e.g. zoology, bioveterinary, gateway courses if you're eligible, etc etc) to use as a backup in case they have no vet offers or miss their grades. However, many ignore this 5th choice with the vision that they would take a gap year and reapply if they got no offers. There is also the option to resist A levels and apply with better grades, although you would need to pay attention to which universities accept resits. Veterinary medicine is competitive and even good applicants may not get any offers the first time around. It is for this reason that even though you could, in principle, apply for 3 vet courses and 2 zoology courses, I would encourage you to apply for 4 vet courses.

You understand best your abilities in getting your grades, so it's up to you how you go about it. Carefully check the GCSE requirements and think if you will get the required grades at A level. If you meet the requirements then I would advise that it's best to do veterinary medicine as a first degree. There are also gateway courses that you may be eligible for. Then go for graduate entry when you're certain that you're not going to meet the grades.

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