Mature student - vet science

Hi, I'm looking for some advice. I am thinking of studying Veterinary science (preferably Liverpool.) However I'm 21 and have been looking at fast track A-levles or an access to HE as I really don't see myself attending college full time for the next two years. I have been in touch with Liverpool and they said the access to HE is for adults who have been out of education for 5 years. And have additionally spoken to some vet friends who have said universities prefer A-levels as an oppose to Access to HE.

I had a bereavement during my A-levels which led to me not taking my exams. So though I have only been out of college for 3 years, I can't really count my A-levels regardless. Please can anyone offer any advice on how to start my path on getting into uni. I feel quite out of my depth but have been doing lots of research.

Thank you!

Reply 1

ALEreapp

21

I did an access to HE course (I’ve just turned 21) and received offers from HK, Bristol (where I’m currently a student), Nottingham foundation and an interview from UCLan but I withdrew.
You can defo do them but different unis have different requirements as a result so you just need to contact them. Tbh a levels will be long as expensive due to the practical component involved in the science ones x

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

Zoe101!

11

Hello, I am a mature student and sitting my A levels I decided this over HE as it opens you up to more possibilities for uni. You have to do biology and chemistry. chemistry is difficult due to the massive jump and it's probably just as expensive and time consuming as HE but a 2 year course. If you haven't got a full level 3 there maybe ways you can get this funded. Deffo do some research. Good luck. Check what the unis require as you may need to resit some GCSES as well.

Reply 3

Araad

1

Original post by Zoe101!

Hello, I am a mature student and sitting my A levels I decided this over HE as it opens you up to more possibilities for uni. You have to do biology and chemistry. chemistry is difficult due to the massive jump and it's probably just as expensive and time consuming as HE but a 2 year course. If you haven't got a full level 3 there maybe ways you can get this funded. Deffo do some research. Good luck. Check what the unis require as you may need to resit some GCSES as well.

Hello, which college are you attending? I am 19 and I applied to several colleges, but they had an age restriction (16-18). Could you tell me about the fees too. I want to do Maths, Chemistry and Biology.

Reply 4

BethYoung28

2

Hi!
I am currently doing the HE access course in vet science via Learn direct, I am 28 and have been given a conditional offer to Bristol. my A - levels were not very good but I did get them, after years of employment and chasing money, I have decided to throw myself in the deep end and go to Uni. I love the course, it is quite hard to study with no other student support and only tutor support online but I worked from home for 3 years so I am used to the lonely work life! My Alevels never would have got me into uni, this access course is the only reason i have an offer.. I also found A levels really hard because the work was not relevant to anything i enjoyed!
Good Luck :smile:

Reply 5

hollywoods01

OP

4

Original post by ALEreapp

I did an access to HE course (I’ve just turned 21) and received offers from HK, Bristol (where I’m currently a student), Nottingham foundation and an interview from UCLan but I withdrew.
You can defo do them but different unis have different requirements as a result so you just need to contact them. Tbh a levels will be long as expensive due to the practical component involved in the science ones x

I was quite set on Liverpool as it's super close to home, however I have spoken to them and they have suggested that I retake 3 GCSE's as I only have two GCSE's at grade 6 or above to meet their criteria. I would then be eligible for their year 0 course. Which would take me 2 years (GCSE and year 0) rather than sitting one year of access to HE, very frustrating however I am going to have a look around and see what other Universities requirements are. Thank you for your help :smile:

)

Reply 6

hollywoods01

OP

4

Original post by BethYoung28

Hi!
I am currently doing the HE access course in vet science via Learn direct, I am 28 and have been given a conditional offer to Bristol. my A - levels were not very good but I did get them, after years of employment and chasing money, I have decided to throw myself in the deep end and go to Uni. I love the course, it is quite hard to study with no other student support and only tutor support online but I worked from home for 3 years so I am used to the lonely work life! My Alevels never would have got me into uni, this access course is the only reason i have an offer.. I also found A levels really hard because the work was not relevant to anything i enjoyed!
Good Luck :smile:

Hi, congratulations on your offer! My A-levels are not very good also. I had no clue that I would want to be a vet fast forward a few years... Thank you, I will have a look into your course, I was quite adamant about Liverpool uni however it looks like I may need to resit some GCSE'S and a year 0 course whereas a access to HE will save me time and like you said, be relevant to what I want to go on and study.

Reply 7

Zoe101!

11

Original post by Araad

Hello, which college are you attending? I am 19 and I applied to several colleges, but they had an age restriction (16-18). Could you tell me about the fees too. I want to do Maths, Chemistry and Biology.

I'm at a local college. Best recommendation would be to call or email your local colleges and explain your age and that your wanting to do A Levels or HE and they will put you in the best position. I unfortunately didn't get into vet school and was rejected from all of them. So rather than waste a year of doing nothing and then reapplying I have now applied to a vet science degree with a foundation year. providing I can get a 2:1, 3 C's in my A levels and the additional funding I can then progress onto the 5 year vet med. A level fees were around £3,000 for each one. however if you have't completed a level 3 course I believe this is free and you can apply for student funding to help with these costs.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 8

MrsBillyBob

1

Original post by BethYoung28

Hi!
I am currently doing the HE access course in vet science via Learn direct, I am 28 and have been given a conditional offer to Bristol. my A - levels were not very good but I did get them, after years of employment and chasing money, I have decided to throw myself in the deep end and go to Uni. I love the course, it is quite hard to study with no other student support and only tutor support online but I worked from home for 3 years so I am used to the lonely work life! My Alevels never would have got me into uni, this access course is the only reason i have an offer.. I also found A levels really hard because the work was not relevant to anything i enjoyed!
Good Luck :smile:

So pleased to hear you've had success with Access to HE course. I'm studying the same one now and am so paranoid about failing a unit or running out of time to get my predicted grades to apply for September 2025!

Your story has given me a little boast of confidence - Bristol is my top choice (30, married, 1 child, farm) it's Bristol or nothing for me!

Reply 9

Mollll

2

Original post by hollywoods01

Hi, I'm looking for some advice. I am thinking of studying Veterinary science (preferably Liverpool.) However I'm 21 and have been looking at fast track A-levles or an access to HE as I really don't see myself attending college full time for the next two years. I have been in touch with Liverpool and they said the access to HE is for adults who have been out of education for 5 years. And have additionally spoken to some vet friends who have said universities prefer A-levels as an oppose to Access to HE.
I had a bereavement during my A-levels which led to me not taking my exams. So though I have only been out of college for 3 years, I can't really count my A-levels regardless. Please can anyone offer any advice on how to start my path on getting into uni. I feel quite out of my depth but have been doing lots of research.
Thank you!

Hi! I did the access course and once completed I used a year to get loads of work experience under my belt. This then took my to 5 years out of education and I am now starting veterinary science at Liverpool in September. I would definitely recommend the HE access course and if you need to take a year or two out after it I would still do it. It not only bought me time to make sure it’s definitely what I want to do, but it also gave me time to get lots of good quality work experience.

Reply 10

bcking4

5

I’ve accidentally stumbled across this thread and it has been amazing in providing me with knowledge for what to do in the future! I just resat my A-levels (after getting BCD last year) and I am awaiting the results but I struggled a lot in the college I was in mentally because it wasn’t the right environment for me so I fear I will again not meet my conditional offer of AAB. I’ve been looking at what to pursue next to gain access on the course and emailed Surrey who recommended doing the online access to Higher Education Course. From those who have completed it already, do you have to be 21 at the time of applying in October on UCAS, or do you have to be 21 when you start the course? (I’m 20 this november 2024 so if I want to apply I’ll have to wait until next september 2025 so that I am 21 when I start university in 2026 - if that makes sense because it’s quite confusing). Also, I find it daunting moving away from Ireland - where I live and can’t study here as it is not offered - and I’m worried if I start uni at a slightly older age I will struggle a little more to make friends than I would if I were to have gone last year or this year, how have you found it going to uni as an older student??

Reply 11

Cherico

7

Original post by ALEreapp

I did an access to HE course (I’ve just turned 21) and received offers from HK, Bristol (where I’m currently a student), Nottingham foundation and an interview from UCLan but I withdrew.
You can defo do them but different unis have different requirements as a result so you just need to contact them. Tbh a levels will be long as expensive due to the practical component involved in the science ones x

Please can I ask which HE course you did? ☺️

Reply 12

ALEreapp

21

Original post by Cherico

Please can I ask which HE course you did? ☺️

I did the gateway qualifications access to HE course in science x

Reply 13

Cherico

7

Original post by ALEreapp

I did the gateway qualifications access to HE course in science x

Ohh ok 🙂 I decided upon the HE veterinary science instead, as an RVN I'm hoping this will be more familiar for me and a big of a leg up into it so to speak. I checked and it covers the relevant credits needed for my applications 👌🏻

Reply 14

Suzanne0911

3

My 27 year old Daughter did the access course at Liverpool college last year and has just started Vet Science at Liverpool this month.
The access course was for a year however the hours were not crazy.
She decided to do the access course over A levels as she could not find anywhere within the area who would accept mature students. She’d also just missed the intake for the foundation course and didn’t want to miss another year waiting to apply.
We were told that A levels would be preferable however she did get accepted to Liverpool Uni on a conditional offer.
It’s definitely worth looking at the access. You do have to get distinctions in the majority of your grades however if you’re prepared to work hard then it shouldn’t hold you back.
Good Luck!

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 15

lbraker1995

2

Original post by hollywoods01

Hi, I'm looking for some advice. I am thinking of studying Veterinary science (preferably Liverpool.) However I'm 21 and have been looking at fast track A-levles or an access to HE as I really don't see myself attending college full time for the next two years. I have been in touch with Liverpool and they said the access to HE is for adults who have been out of education for 5 years. And have additionally spoken to some vet friends who have said universities prefer A-levels as an oppose to Access to HE.
I had a bereavement during my A-levels which led to me not taking my exams. So though I have only been out of college for 3 years, I can't really count my A-levels regardless. Please can anyone offer any advice on how to start my path on getting into uni. I feel quite out of my depth but have been doing lots of research.
Thank you!

I am currently doing an access to HE and been in education for the past 4 years. Just changed career choice. An access is equivalent to A levels just like functional skills is equivalent to GCSE.

Reply 16

mpl001

1

Original post by MrsBillyBob

So pleased to hear you've had success with Access to HE course. I'm studying the same one now and am so paranoid about failing a unit or running out of time to get my predicted grades to apply for September 2025!
Your story has given me a little boast of confidence - Bristol is my top choice (30, married, 1 child, farm) it's Bristol or nothing for me!

Hi, thanks for sharing, I am in my 30s and also looking to do something similar. Do you have an update on how it went for you and any advice on funding for vet school? thank you so much

Mature student - vet science

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you