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Hey! I’ve firmed an offer for Uni of Liverpool for Veterinary Science this year but due to unforeseen circumstances I don’t think I’m going to be achieving my offer, does anybody have any advice? I’m unsure on whether to take a year out and resit, or go through clearing to do something like biology and eventually move into vetmed. If anyone has any suggestions or is in a similar situation let me know! (Also my insurance is Glasgow but it was the same grades and so it’s not so much an insurance rather than a second option for the same grades)

If you have extenuating circumstances, I believe you can ask the exam board to take this into account? Please let your tutor or someone know so they can get the ball rolling on this as it's a bit late.
If you don't get the exam board to take extenuating circumstances into account, then sometimes the vet schools will, but you will still need decent grades - you need to contact them to find out what their policy is with this.

If neither of these above options work out to get you into vet school then your next choices are:

Take a year out and resit - if you can get over the mental barrier of feeling 'left behind' when your friends go off to uni, this is by far the best option. Many people you know will end up taking a gap year anyway, so try not to feel like this is the 'bad' option - it'll give you the chance to become even more prepared for vet med, and you'll still be roughly the same age as most other students when you arrive at uni.

Or, go through clearing and try to enter the graduate vet med route after completing your first degree in biology/zoology/other. This is not only time consuming, but very expensive. Additionally, graduate vet med is more competitive than undergraduate, so you may find it much harder to get a place and there is no guarantee that after all this work you will even get in. You are also unable to get a loan for your vet med course after the first degree - you would need to fork out £9k per year at least for your tuition fees. Also, it's worth noting that if you are really passionate about veterinary medicine, you would have to spend 3 years studying biology or something - this is not where your passions lie, and you may struggle to remain interested in the course you choose for 3 years.


I think your first step should be to contact someone from school/college to see how you can get your extenuating circumstances taken into account.
I hope this helps. Good luck.

Firstly thank you for your advice it’s helped so much! And yes, my exam board board is CCEA (a northern irish exam board), by the time I had sorted out doctors notes etc (as it was for a family member), school had finished for summer and so they couldn’t send off the application for special circumstances, I emailed the exam board separately and they said it can only be done through school so I was then ineligible.
I didn’t know you would have to pay yearly for a postgrad so that’s so helpful to know, thank you!!
I don’t mind staying at home for an extra year as most courses are 3/4 years anyways so in reality with vetmed generally being a 5/6 year course I’d be in uni longer than my peers.
Considering the advice I’m definitely leaning towards a resit which means I also have an extra year for work experience etc.

Ah, I'm really glad you aren't dissuaded by retaking the year. I'm sure it'll be worth it in the long run. Viewing it as an extra year for work experience is very positive. With such a mature and determined outlook, I'm sure you will make a great vet student when you get there.

I didn't know you were Irish - double check that you can't get a loan for the graduate route as an Irish student before fully taking my advice. However, I do expect that the outcome is the same.

Good luck on your journey, if you need any future help let us on the forum know.

My daughter also missed a grade last year, has taken a gap year and resit of a subject. I think the extra work experience, and paid work she had really helped with interviews. So although it will be disappointing if on results day you don’t get what you hope for, use it as an opportunity to become an even stronger applicant. Also a chance to mature and have a rest before a hard 5 years on the course.

Hey! I’ve firmed an offer for Uni of Liverpool for Veterinary Science this year but due to unforeseen circumstances I don’t think I’m going to be achieving my offer, does anybody have any advice? I’m unsure on whether to take a year out and resit, or go through clearing to do something like biology and eventually move into vetmed. If anyone has any suggestions or is in a similar situation let me know! (Also my insurance is Glasgow but it was the same grades and so it’s not so much an insurance rather than a second option for the same grades)