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Vet med rejections ( please give advice )

Heyy,
I applied for my Vet med choices this year and unfortunately got 4/4 rejections. I have gotten and offer for Animal science at Nottingham and Bristol suggested applying to Zoology which I soon got an offer for.
Unfortunately even thinking ab zoology makes me excited but a little sad at the same time , because at the end of the day I want to be a vet. Looking at the percentages of people who get spots in postgraduate veterinary medicine is terrifying as it seems more competitive that undergraduate, between <25% of people getting offers.
I'm scared on what to do as I'm not too sure you can transfer at university of Bristol in the first year through ucas for undergrad vet med , and I would be forced to finish zoology ( if I get the grades guys I'm so scared lol ) and then apply of postgraduate.
If I were to take a gap year I do have a job as an ANA at a vet clinic which is useful but the thought of a gap year scares me a little. Like what if the same exact rejections happen next year?
Any advice would be appreciated, especially if any Bristol vet student had similar experiences.
❤️❤️❤️

Reply 1

You definitely cannot transfer at Bristol to vet med. You can reapply as a normal applicant and then drop out but you would be applying as any other there’s no preference given.
I would personally reapply next year and take a gap year and if the same happens again you can go from there. I missed my grades on results day first time round and missed both my firm and insurance, I took a different route in and am now finishing up second year at Bristol.
No one has ever said they regret a gap year, you will need all the money you can get on this degree x

Reply 2

If this is your first application round then a gap year to work on your application strength is by far the best plan. You would not get funding for vet med as a second degree and the application process for graduate entry is even more competitive.
Whilst a gap year might not be what you planned it can be very useful to earn some money, boost a grade if necessary, learn to drive if you haven't already, and generally get a lot more experience to improve your chances when you apply next year.
Good luck

Reply 3

You didn't get a place. I know the feeling. I had that happen to me.

You're going to reapply next year.

In the meantime go away and have a think about what you will spend the next 12 months doing to improve yourself and make you a better vet by the end of it. Post your thoughts here when you have some ideas.

I wrote a thread about people not getting into medical school which may be applicable to your situation.

Reply 4

Original post
by Karola_o07
Heyy,
I applied for my Vet med choices this year and unfortunately got 4/4 rejections. I have gotten and offer for Animal science at Nottingham and Bristol suggested applying to Zoology which I soon got an offer for.
Unfortunately even thinking ab zoology makes me excited but a little sad at the same time , because at the end of the day I want to be a vet. Looking at the percentages of people who get spots in postgraduate veterinary medicine is terrifying as it seems more competitive that undergraduate, between <25% of people getting offers.
I'm scared on what to do as I'm not too sure you can transfer at university of Bristol in the first year through ucas for undergrad vet med , and I would be forced to finish zoology ( if I get the grades guys I'm so scared lol ) and then apply of postgraduate.
If I were to take a gap year I do have a job as an ANA at a vet clinic which is useful but the thought of a gap year scares me a little. Like what if the same exact rejections happen next year?
Any advice would be appreciated, especially if any Bristol vet student had similar experiences.
❤️❤️❤️

I’ve had 4/4 rejections as well. So my plan is just to take a gap year, focus on my grades and use the summer to get as much work experience as possible and then just reapply in ocotber

Reply 5

Original post
by jo.myb123
I’ve had 4/4 rejections as well. So my plan is just to take a gap year, focus on my grades and use the summer to get as much work experience as possible and then just reapply in ocotber


And this... is the correct answer. 👍️

Reply 6

Original post
by ErasistratusV
And this... is the correct answer. 👍️

When did you apply and what did you apply for that you got rejected from?

Reply 7

Original post
by ErasistratusV
You didn't get a place. I know the feeling. I had that happen to me.
You're going to reapply next year.
In the meantime go away and have a think about what you will spend the next 12 months doing to improve yourself and make you a better vet by the end of it. Post your thoughts here when you have some ideas.
I wrote a thread about people not getting into medical school which may be applicable to your situation.

Thank you you so much❤️

Reply 8

Original post
by Karola_o07
Heyy,
I applied for my Vet med choices this year and unfortunately got 4/4 rejections. I have gotten and offer for Animal science at Nottingham and Bristol suggested applying to Zoology which I soon got an offer for.
Unfortunately even thinking ab zoology makes me excited but a little sad at the same time , because at the end of the day I want to be a vet. Looking at the percentages of people who get spots in postgraduate veterinary medicine is terrifying as it seems more competitive that undergraduate, between <25% of people getting offers.
I'm scared on what to do as I'm not too sure you can transfer at university of Bristol in the first year through ucas for undergrad vet med , and I would be forced to finish zoology ( if I get the grades guys I'm so scared lol ) and then apply of postgraduate.
If I were to take a gap year I do have a job as an ANA at a vet clinic which is useful but the thought of a gap year scares me a little. Like what if the same exact rejections happen next year?
Any advice would be appreciated, especially if any Bristol vet student had similar experiences.
❤️❤️❤️

If you want to be a vet, don’t start another degree just because you didn’t get in. Take a year out, get some experience (or resit exams if you need to). Once you’ve got your grades, you’re in a much better position because universities see you as a “banker” as they already know you’ve got the results, which massively improves your chances (this is word for word the advice i got from prof at nottingham who does interviews and applications etc). Adding more experience on top of that will only make you even stronger. If it still doesn’t work out after that, then you can think about graduate entry.

As for graduate vet med, you can still apply for the normal 5-year courses even after doing a degree, and the acceptance rates are usually a lot higher. For example, at Nottingham, the offer rate for school leavers is usually around 10%, but for graduates in recent years it’s been more like 30-40% (partly due to you being a "banker" like above but mostly more expirence and confidence). So it’s definitely possible just be aware that there usually aren’t tuition loans available for a second degree and some unis charge higher than the minimum for eg edinburgh who charge about £40k.

Reply 9

Original post
by Anonymous9795
If you want to be a vet, don’t start another degree just because you didn’t get in. Take a year out, get some experience (or resit exams if you need to). Once you’ve got your grades, you’re in a much better position because universities see you as a “banker” as they already know you’ve got the results, which massively improves your chances (this is word for word the advice i got from prof at nottingham who does interviews and applications etc). Adding more experience on top of that will only make you even stronger. If it still doesn’t work out after that, then you can think about graduate entry.
As for graduate vet med, you can still apply for the normal 5-year courses even after doing a degree, and the acceptance rates are usually a lot higher. For example, at Nottingham, the offer rate for school leavers is usually around 10%, but for graduates in recent years it’s been more like 30-40% (partly due to you being a "banker" like above but mostly more expirence and confidence). So it’s definitely possible just be aware that there usually aren’t tuition loans available for a second degree and some unis charge higher than the minimum for eg edinburgh who charge about £40k.

Thank you for the advice. Yeah I think I'm just going to do the gap year and try focus completely on my exams now as that will just put me in a better position. And financially I'm not too sure if I could afford graduate entry.

❤️❤️

Reply 10

Original post
by Karola_o07
Thank you for the advice. Yeah I think I'm just going to do the gap year and try focus completely on my exams now as that will just put me in a better position. And financially I'm not too sure if I could afford graduate entry.
❤️❤️


No worries graduate entry is possible most people just have to take a couple years out so it’s best to avoid. Good luck!

Reply 11

As with any other competitive course, it is inevitable that a lot of good solid applicants will not obtain an offer for veterinary medicine. This is not a reflection of them academically nor does it reflect badly on their suitability for the course, it's just statistics and a bit of luck on the day in the main.

I discuss this on my thread 'So you didn't get into medical school' a bit but I can offer similar advice here as a friend of mine is a veterinary medicine student at present.

My first question is either the most simple and most obvious one to answer or it may be more difficult than people envisage.

It is simply: do you still really want to be a vet?

If the answer is yes, then this setback will not impede you for very long. It will take time (I raged at the world when I was completely rejected a long time ago I can tell you) to get over, but it won't bother you for long. That's because you now have an entire 12 months to:

Improve yourself academically (you can read books, watch videos or use other in your spare time)

Improve yourself personally (develop your personal traits, learn to drive, hit the gym, pursue more clinical work experience or just look for paid work with animals: do farm work or whatever)

Enjoy a bit of time-to-self. A lot of you will have sweated for 4 years just to be at this point: GCSEs, A levels or whatever. Now you can afford to ease up the gas and actually study something in your own time that you genuinely want to study. Get hold of a veterinary anatomy Anki deck. Get an AI to list common conditions in the usual species and then read an old copy of Mercks to learn about these things gently. Consider a Saturday job in the local vet practice or just shadow them as much as you can. Learning to drive if you do not already is a BIG deal in Uni because you'll be all over the place later on when on placement

All of the above can be shaped into a 12 month (or longer, it makes no difference if you apply this coming September or next year or the year after that, it's your life) period which will all combine to make you a better clinician by the end of it.

Reflect honestly on your interview performance and then consider how best to improve your prospects and what personal development you need. If you think that your soft skills really let you down, a role facing the public can alter that radically within months and give you the personal confidence and skills to put that weakness away forever. If it's more clinical in nature, heck you have an exciting 12 month period to go out and find opportunities now (animal parks, rescue centres, RSCPA, shelters, zoos, riding ponies for the disable etc)- lots of places will I am sure be keen to take you if you are enthusiastic, reliable and aren't looking to be paid. If you want money, learn to milk cows. An intensive introduction where you will learn about the husbandry of domestic livestock whilst being paid. All it requires is the ability to get up in the morning and withstand rain and cold and you'll get insight into a lot of the more routine veterinary aspects of livestock- something you're going to have to learn about anyway even if you really think small animal practice is your eventual goal.

So, don't let despondency bury you for too long. You've got 12 months to dig deep and put the finishing touches to your application next year. An entire 12 months of personal development after which you will hit far harder in interview and get your place.

Trust me, I was totally rejected for my course the first time around but it worked for me and made me a far better applicant and improved my world in more ways than I can count later.
(edited 2 months ago)

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