To think I can go to Uni to become a Vet

[Lilt1992]

Im mid twenties in a dead end job. I was brought up on a council estate with nothing, never had anyone to look up to, never took school seriously but I had potential, all my teachers kept telling me. I left with fairly ok GCSE's. Signed onto benefits by 18 years old and then went into full time work. Now that I have money behind me and I'm older, I'm regretting not going to Uni and getting a career. My dream would be to be a vet and I'm considering studying Veterinary medicine, a 6 year course. I've been doing a bunch of research but my next step is to speak to a Uni or vet surgery to get an idea of how I'll get accepted. However, part of me feels stupid to even consider myself good enough to do it. I'm having these constant doubts. Family have told me that anything is possible. Has anyone else got any experience with something similar?

OP look up Judy Puddifoot on Twitter. It took her a long time to get to veterinary school. She left school with virtually nothing. Was finally diagnosed with dyslexia etc but upshot is she is now a vet.

Also some have mentioned being a vet nurse. Whilst that is a great job in many ways, and much easier to get into in terms of academic requirements (although competition is fierce for the non university entry route), the pay is poor for many vet nurses. Those in senior positions can get more of course

Most colleges don't run A Levels beyond 18 now. Look up HE Access courses. The college I work at offers this. Progression includes veterinary

Of course it’s possible, but you have a long hard road ahead of you.

Step one is to study for three science A Levels. You will need AAA as an absolute minimum. Veterinary Medicine is ultra-competitive and most candidates will offer better than this.

You will also need substantial sharp-end work experience on farms and in veterinary practices, obviously, but also at places like RSPCA kennels & animal rescue charities. This real-world experience is vital and you cannot have too much because it will demonstrate to admission tutors that you’re serious and that you understand the realities of the industry.

No, of course its not SnackSizeRaisin and I never said it was. But the fact remains that in popular professions including but not restricted to veterinary medicine, there will be far more people who want to do it than there are places available. Many, probably most, will be unsuccessful. I am sure there are far more people who would make good vets, lawyers, doctors or whatever than there are available places on courses and when supply exceeds demands the Universities will use other factors to differentiate. The OP will, without doubt, be competing against a lot of multi talented and committed people for a place on a course. She may well be those things too, but she is going to have to convince people wno have the choice of a lot of high performing students of that.

You do not need 3 As for Gateway courses. And some level 3 BTECS are accepted instead of A levels as stated.

I used to work in a Vet School. You don't necessarily need A-levels, an Access course is acceptable at some Schools, as long as they have vetted it and it is an approved course. You will need to have done work experience prior to applying, although I'm not sure what is happening with that this year due to COVID. The amount of work experience required varies between Schools and some put more emphasis on it than others. Having interviewed Vet applicants, I always enjoyed talking with mature applicants as their journey to applying for Vet Med was always varied, as opposed to the A-level students who generally had a similar background - Ten Tours/D of E/sporting backgrounds.

Pity the UK is leaving the EU. There are courses in places like the Czech Republic that are much cheaper and easier to access than the UK universities that run vet courses. If you were willing to travel, getting your degree might be much easier, but I guess there will be no guarantee of reciprocation after Brexit.

Courses like the ones @Bridecilla mentioned will not generally get you onto a vet degree. A levels/highest in Scotland would open a lot more doors.

You might get onto a VN degree or a bioveterinary sciences degree, both of which might qualify you to work in a veterinary practice but not as a vet.

Check entrance requirements carefully and make sure you're looking at actual veterinary degrees
animalowners.rcvs.org.uk/veterinary-careers/i-want-to-be-a-vet/

Another way is to do another degree first - lots of vets seem to have a degree in something else like biosciences or something and then go on to veterinary medicine.

Look at the RCVS website

The RVA have a guidance document full of helpful info.

The Widening Participation agenda is aimed at people exactly like you 🙂

You need to take some level 3 quals- like an Access course.

Typically you need work experience. Tis tricky now, but see what you can do. Vet surgery/ Farm/ w Exotics/ abattoir/ zoo / animal rescue.

Extra research. Sign yourself up for online courses ( ie Fururelearn, EdX, Coursera. Universities have online lectures. Look at research posted on uni websites and the RCVS website)

Virtual open days. Ask the unis their advice. Some are more flexible with accepting an Access course, others aren't. Do your research.

Good luck!

Btw, does it have to be vet medicine?
Have you thought of biochemistry, vet science ( not the medicine route), zoology or similar?

Have a look at the www.prospects.ac.uk site.

I went to Liverpool university where vet science was incredibly competitive to get into. My friend have 4 A at A-Level (all 3 sciences and maths) and had work experience at a vets and a zoo. She didn’t get onto the course. She ended up doing medicine and is now a doctor. It was her dream but the criteria is insane. This was few years ago so might have changed. More pragmatic to actually be an assistant to a vet / work in a vet practice

@Veterinari most places won't offer A Levels for those too old for 6th form though

Courses like the ones @Bridecilla mentioned will not generally get you onto a vet degree

Yeah, the career paths of “biomedical, doctoring” kind of give it away that they have no idea....

At least one of the Vetmed schools - look at Liverpool and Nottingham - I cant remember which - has a course for people who had a more unconventional start. Have a look.

Also, I think you can get in via a Btec from eg harpur Adams - the agricultural college - have a look.

There’s probably an apprenticeship route too.

But it is a hard slog getting in - you need to show real commitment, especially chasing down the right work experience.

Speak to admissions - there are generally concessions made for mature students or those from unusual backgrounds. Even for veterinary medicine.

When you say ok GCSES, what were they and in what subjects? Do you have any A levels? Do you have any experience of working with animals?

I am not a vet or any sort of clinician, but I am fairly senior in a profession that has a reputation for seeking candidates with top marks at all levels (A-levels,uni and beyond). We see a lot of mature applicants who came back to study late and whilst we would want to see evidence of academic excellence, if a mature applicant had blah GCSEs but excellent A levels/ university degree, we would be unlikely to pay a huge amount of attention to GCSEs taken 15ish years earlier. However, all prospective candidates should be realistic about their ability to excel academically in any highly subscribed profession. I got a high 2.1 which together with a pretty packed CV and decent interview skills was more than enough to get me through the door, and I am pretty good at my job and have a decent reputation in a fairly niche field. So those marks were enough to give me the foundation to succeed - but so many people have firsts and get comparable life experience that these days my academic results would leave me struggling to get interviews. Crap but true. So be realistic about your abilities - not pessimistic or negative, not wildly over optimistic, just think about what you feel you can achieve and if that is likely to be enough. And if it is, bloody well go for it!

And if it isn't enough for that job - I am in a career that lots of people would call their dream job but I can think of at least five other jobs I would be really interested in doing that aren't anything like mine 😂 so have a think and if you don't think being a vet is right after all, go for something else instead!

God, I should have split that into at least four more paragraphs

Veterinary nurses are not 'settling'. They are not doing the job because they couldn't get into vet medicine. Most of us are doing it for the love of the job (it's certainly not the pay!). We aren't all looking at the vets and wishing it was us. More often than not, we are the ones who spend the greatest amount of time with the animals (rehabilitation/post op care etc). We also don't have half the hassle the vets do dealing with clients. I know you already said you didn't mean to cause offence by using the word 'settling' but it is quite irritating when people assume vet nurses are somehow second class to the vet. It's an entirely different job.

@Figmentofmyimagination

At least one of the Vetmed schools - look at Liverpool and Nottingham - I cant remember which - has a course for people who had a more unconventional start. Have a look.

Also, I think you can get in via a Btec from eg harpur Adams - the agricultural college - have a look.

There’s probably an apprenticeship route too.

But it is a hard slog getting in - you need to show real commitment, especially chasing down the right work experience.

Nottingham has a Gateway year

Vet medicine is up there with medicine, dentistry and law as one of the most difficult courses to get a place and complete. Universities have widening participation targets but whilst they may allow entry with slightly lower academic qualifications, the course is extremely challenging academically. The fees are pretty steep too and the course is so intensive, working part time to support yourself could be difficult.

But.... it can be done. Start looking at prospectuses for different universities and see if they have widening participation routes. See if there is an admissions tutor or officer you can talk to. Good luck!

@Undead76

Veterinary nurses are not 'settling'. They are not doing the job because they couldn't get into vet medicine. Most of us are doing it for the love of the job (it's certainly not the pay!). We aren't all looking at the vets and wishing it was us. More often than not, we are the ones who spend the greatest amount of time with the animals (rehabilitation/post op care etc). We also don't have half the hassle the vets do dealing with clients. I know you already said you didn't mean to cause offence by using the word 'settling' but it is quite irritating when people assume vet nurses are somehow second class to the vet. It's an entirely different job.

I can see that would be annoying Undead. Most spheres of work have a range of related careers within them and opting for one that is lesser known or maybe less prestigious absolutely doesn't mean that a person is of lesser value or has taken the second best option. Often they are doing exactly what suits them best. It may not be until you start to explore an area that you discover there are other options. I get the "Didn't you want to be an X?" comments about my job and the honest answer is "Yes, as a teenager I did actually, and maybe I could have been. But then I discovered that they work alongside Ys and that being a Y was way more interesting to me, so I chose that." And people smile and nod, but probably don't believe me. Just like they don't believe that my neighbour who is a part time GP, actively chose that route because he wanted to "just" treat patients and not be involved in the management/finance side of running a practice. (His partner is a hospital consultant so he is always seen as "lesser" because of that anyway....ridiculous....) I would encourage anyone, looking at any career, to look at all the associated ones because the most well known job in that field isn't always the best one for you.

There are only 9 Unis that do Vet Med and nearly all do a Gateway year. Some of the 5 year courses require AAB so not all As even for those. It is competitive but someone has to get in. And there are several ways for mature students to get in with different qualifications. Good luck.

I got all my GCSE's but only a C in the main ones: science, maths, English. Highest grade was a B in art.
I have had experience in an animal rescue centre but I'd love to have some experience in a veterinary practice or a farm. I've done a paid animal welfare course online which was on the university of Edinburgh website. I currently work in retail and have done for years so I'm happy dealing with all kinds of people and having abuse thrown at me, personal insults etc. I don't have any commitments so thought I'd go for it.
Thanks for the helpful links I will look into it!