does my son have good enough gcse grades to become a vet?

[Shazy123]

My son had his gcse results this summer: 6A's, 5b's and 2C's. I personally know he could have done better! He's resitting his Chemistry as he had a 'C' in the summer module but all ready had 2A's and an A in his courswork, so he had a 'B' overall. By resitting that one module hopefully he'll then have 7A's. He's taken Bio, Chem, Phys and Maths for A level, which he's finding hard work. He's also doing the bacc. I've told him to drop one of the A levels if he's finding it too much work but he says he's enjoying them all. He is working very hard at the moment, so long may it continue. The problem we have is that people are telling him that his Gcse grades are not good enough to even think about applying for veterinary, as he will be competing against those who have straight A*. He's done aprox 5 weeks work experience and has got some lined up as well. We also live on a beef and sheep farm, so he has a lot of experience with lambing etc. Personally if he manages to do well in his A levels, he'd make a really good vet. Do you think his grades will let him down??

Also, you need to have your personal statement sorted out by September as the deadline is 15th October for these courses. There is also an entrance exam called the BMAT which is used to differentiate between the A/A* grade students.

The GCSEs should be ok with his pretty substantial work experience. My only concern would be his grades. IMO a straight A/A* student, which he needs to be, wouldn't struggle at AS level, and you say he's finding it pretty hard going? He mustn't drop a subject though until next summer.

He sounds lovely and the 'animal sense' he has from his farming background will give him a real advantage. As others have said though, grades will matter at AS and A level. If he is having to work really hard to get them, do be careful that he doesn't do so much work experience and extra activities that he limits the time available to get the grades.

If he has good grades but is turned downed on his first attempt, could he usefully work on the the farm and keep gaining work experience while taking a gap year and re-applying? iIwould be concentrating on exams first, especially since he already has good experience. Good luck

Thanks all for your lovely comments. He is working hard so I hope the luck will come his way x

Oxbridge Vet study
No such thing.
Cambridge maybe but Oxford do not do Vet. It is the single most competitive course there is.

Lonecat
Trude has quite a lot to answer for methinks!!!!
That and the number of girls who do not realise that vets have to have PTS days ....

The best course of action for your son is to apply to vet med with acheived A level grades (the odd A* wouldn't go amiss). And during his year off he should work at something that will bolster his dedication for a career in vet med.

Sorry to be virtually the only person to doubt his chances as things stand, but I'm doubtful he would make the cut, as on paper there will be so many applicants who have shown their commitment more consistently.

Hello lonecat my DD is very keen to become a vet and a very kind vet in our local practice her offered to let her come to help out on Saturdays when she is old enough. Funnily enough I was just thinking about that yesterday and wondering when "old enough" would be, can you please tell me the minimum age? thanks

For private placements we put a lower level of 16 years we take 14 and 15 years on school work experience for 3 days at a time.

ok, so DD has a few years to go! And am I correct in thinking that the positive discrimination in favour of men would reduce her chances of getting a university place?

Also, you mentioned to the OP that her DS should consider other courses such as zoology, are there any others you could recommend that would lead to good employment prospects? I know that Bristol Uni offers quite a few animal-related degree courses.

many thanks!

There is a vet science degree run by several of the Unis the cream of the crop get to transfer to the vet medicine degree and become a vet. Regardless of whether you are male or female it is really hard to get in boys have a very slight advantage.
Zoolgy and animal science degrees often lead to work in associated industries. Associated industries are in big flux currently drug companies taking each other over etc so difficult to speculate about employment prospects.
Veterinary nursing is now also run as an honours degree course and is another option. Nurses are really well qualified think like a human nurse practitioner.

that is really helpful lonecat thanks!

I have already looked into veterinary nursing courses and the honours degree sounds very interesting.

His GCSE grades are not spectacular, and he will be up against other candidates with near perfect qualifications.

A lot depends on where he applies and the emphasis they put on GCSE grades. Cambridge, for example, puts more emphasis on AS-module results (requiring a minimum of 90% in the three most relevant subjects). Other places may put more emphasis on GCSE results for their first cut, so it may be better to think hard about putting these types of places on his UCAS form (no more than two of this type of place).

If he gets an offer, it is likely to be in the region of AAA to A*AA.

Although modest GCSE results may just be the sign of a late developer, they may also indicate that the candidate is not self-motivated to study (has to be nagged) or relishes hard work. These are qualities they will be looking for, because the course is hard and intense.

His work experience looks great.