Urgent advice re vet appllication needed please!!!

[BCBG]

Could really use some advice please, DS has got two A* and two A in the three sciences and Maths. He got pooled for vetmed at Cambridge this year but no further. He wants to reapply but his head of year is putting pressure on him to ring the vet schools and see if there are spaces, they think reapplication to Cambridge have low success rate. can anyone please help him with advice, he is feeling miserable on what should be a day where he is celebrating success! All his mates are off to uni except for him thanks

Bump? [hopeful emoticon]

Sorry nothing really useful to add but didn't want you to go unanswered..

In general though - he should do what he feels best rather than what the school think best as they will have, unfortunately, their own agenda re figures getting into prestigious courses etc.

If his heart is set on Camb- maybe he should take a year out to strengthen his app with work experience etc and reapply. Been a few ( plus) years since I applied to med school but we could apply to four- can he reapply to Camb plus three next yr to maximise chances?

HTH.

Just a layperson with a 4 year old... If he likes the idea of a gap year anyway he could have a good year & strengthen his application doing vet stuff. Achieved grades are better than predicted grades, after all.

However DP applied to vet school twice & didn't get in. He ended up doing engineering followed by graduate medicine.

Being pooled does mean he has a good chance though, I would have thought.

Just heard on the radio that A grades are down, & acceptance rates are down 7%. So maybe it is worth ringing around?

I am a vet, who went to Cambridge a long time ago and now has a daughter who's just done AS levels (in arts subjects), so I'm reasonably in touch with the system from both ends. Does he have his heart set on Cambridge? If so, why? If he would like to be a GP vet down the line, going to Cambridge will confer absolutely no advantage for employment, etc over any of the other vet schools, whereas if he wants to go into academia or just want to experience the whole Oxbridge thing, he may value a Cambridge place over any other - it probably is slightly helpful to go there if he wants to become an academic down the line, and certainly the university experience is a bit different from elsewhere. If Cambridge is where he really wants to go, then surely there is no harm in giving it one more shot, since that would also mean reapplying elsewhere and thus also getting a chance of more offers from other vet schools.
His grades are certainly good enough for vet school, and being male won't do him any harm either, so I should think if he does reapply he has an excellent chance of getting in somewhere, especially if he already has a good statement and/ or strengthens it with lots of relevant work experience.
If any vet place would do, then of course he can give it a go through clearing, but I wouldn't have thought all that many places would come up, although of course they might. I don't know much about clearing. He also needs to consider whether he would be happy to go to any vet school at all - the reputations do vary over time, and personally at the moment I think Nottingham is a leading light at the moment - some of the others, not so much. If he reapplies he will of course have more say in where he ends up. Doing a gap year may not be a bad thing; the other possibility might be to see if he can get in to veterinary Biomedical Sciences somewhere that offers that and transfer? He should be very pleased with the grades, anyway, and if he does reapply, the gap year can be an excellent chance to do some really cool stuff in the way of work experience, as he'll be 18 and therefore have more options - so it really could turn out to be an opportunity for him. Hope this helps.

First of all, well done your DS! I think it boils down to how much he wants to go to Cambridge and if he's prepared to wait another year to reapply there. I have heard this morning of people without offers phoning around the vet schools with their grades, and two were successful (Liverpool and Nottingham) though I think they might have already been interviewed there. I don't think it's worth bothering with clearing, to be honest - phone the schools directly, it's not as if there are that many of them!

Otherwise I can vouch for the fact that reapplying with grades in hand is a good move - my DD got AAAA last year, no offers but didn't ring around on results day as she had not been interviewed anywhere...besides, I think the squeeze on places was even tighter than normal last year due to the imminent fee increase. The enforced gap year turned out to be a good move as it helped her to get more work experience to strengthen her application, and she secured 3 interviews out of 4 applications and will be starting the course this year.

What I wouldn't recommend is to embark on an alternative course such as Bioveterinary Sciences - it's virtually impossible to transfer onto a Veterinary Medicine course, you end up getting lumbered with two lots of fees and the fees for a graduate entrant can be fairly colossal, with no finance available in the form of loans.

So...it he wants to go this year but doesn't care where, try ringing around. If he's got his heart set on Cambridge, try again next year - they've pooled him once so he clearly meets the standard required. Is it worth contacting Cambridge today?

Thank you all, I really appreciate all your responses! We did contact Cambridge, but no dice. He really wants to reapply there because he a) probably wants to be an academic and wants the six year structure, and b) he is a choral singer and keeping that going is very important to him right now. He has refused to contact the other schools so I guess we have to go with what he wants to do! We have a long shot application into Dublin but we don't know anyone who has studied there. Well done to your DD, Hottie

Thanks! I read on Student Room that the Dublin offers come out on Monday but don't quote me! DD also has an application there but decided ages ago that she would stick with what she has, even if offered which is unlikely as she probably doesn't have enough points. Your DS is in with a chance though as their average offer last year was AAAA (points equivalent). DD and DH went over to have a look in March, she loved Dublin but wasn't overly impressed by the vet school itself and the shortage of student accommodation is dire, and even if you do find something it's really expensive - as is the general cost of living there. And even though the course fees are much lower than here, you can't get a student loan from the UK.

Good luck with the reapplication! BTW Bristol also has an intercalation option bringing the overall total to 6 years, and I they also offer musical scholarships - don't know about choral ones, but might be worth investigating.

Sorry if this comes across a bit unpleasant but he should IMO be trying for a place at a Vet course anywhere, if he really wants to be a vet this is what he would do. It won't do him any harm to learn that one can't always have things the way one wants, there are many different paths to the same end destination, and that compromise will be required in his working life so he may as well start now !!

Well, if he doesn't get Cambridge second time around, he'll know he needs to rethink at that stage. He won't really get the chance to be a choral singer anywhere else, or not in the same way, so I think that's a valid reason for giving it another go. If his application is generally strong then he should very likely get something else as a post A level applicant, anyway, and if he doesn't get Cambridge then he'll know he needs to settle for another vet school at that stage if he really does want to be a vet. He really should be thinking about what he can do to enhance his statement before he reapplies, given he's only got till October. I looked at the PS for an applicant a couple of years ago who didn't get in first time around and did the second, and the difference in her statement between the two applications more than explained the difference in the results. This wasn't Cambridge, though.
Just a long shot - has his statement dwelt on the singing? - because if so, I doubt the people selecting the applicants will be as interested in that as they would be in veterinary work experience. Apologies if I'm off target here, but I would be looking urgently at what I could do to improve my chances of getting in next time, if I were him.

mollymole, he is of course applying to the maximum four schools you are allowed, as he did this year....my point about him refusing to contact other schools was related to the fact he thought clearing places would be pointless given the fact he can take a gap year. The number of available veterinary places is government controlled, and the example rough stat is one in ten applicants get interviews, and one in ten interviewees get a place. He will apply to four again this October, and if he doesn't get Cambridge but gets another then of course he will go there, I never suggested otherwise . he has already had feedback from the two who interviewed him to say he needs more work experience as he only had 4.5 weeks by March and some stipulate 6-10. He is currently up North in a racing yard. Yes Alice, the choral singing IS the main reason he wants to go there as he has spent several years singing, recording and touring, and he would really miss it if he has to put it entirely aside for his studies . His statement didn't mention it directly, no. He does understand the amount of work he is taking on but he has always been up for the challenge and is an incredibly focused hard worker so I hope he gets the chance. Having said all that, it IS a lottery, and if he gets an offer from elsewhere instead then he will be fine. I just hope he gets an offer next time around and that he's happy with his choice - that's all I care about.

On the other hand it won't do him any harm to have a year out will it?

He can work during this time, save a bit of money. If he either works with animals or does some voluntary stuff out of work then it will stregnthen his pplication. Cambridge will see he's committed, he already has great grades. He would have a good chance of getting in next year.

I can see the benefit in waiting a year to do what you really want rather than accepting second best and always having regrets.

Can I suggest that he maybe also takes a look at London the ULU chamber choir was originally formed by a vet twenty years ago regularly tours and records. I qualified from RVC and had many friends who sang is this choir (musical and vet actually very common).
Though would disagree with your figures from RCVS central data base 2011 applications 1.75 applicants for every place this year only 1.5 applicants for every place. As a business ambassador for veterinary medicine and mentor for applicants I keep very close tabs on these figures.
From my mentoring if he is reapplying he really needs to find employment in the veterinary field for this year to support his reapplication.

Thanks Lizcat for advice re ULU CC, will point that out to him. Also interesting re link between music and vet - sounds like he should find some soulmates then! Figs I was given came from Bristol. Not sure DS cares about the stats though as it is irrelevant to application. By 'employment in the veterinary field' do you mean with a vet, or simply relevant? So far he has three weeks mixed vet practice, one week with an equine vet, two weeks lambing, and by time of reapplication will have added working at a livery yard, a short spell at a racing yard, and a week on a dairy/beef farm. He intends to spend most of his gap year working but that may well be sheep in Australia, and is projected work so not stuff he will be able to draw on in interview. Does that sound the right sort of thing?

Last three reappliers I have mentored have spent the year working in UK practice either as nursing assistants or receptionists. As a re-application it seems they will be looking for face to face interview and these seem to be in March don't know how that fits in. Critical to the interview seem to be good knowledge of UK TB situation and real life examples of euthanasias.

lizcat, thanks again, have taken careful note for him. You are very kind.
As a matter of interest, would you mind very much just explaining how mentoring works and how is one eligible, please? I had never heard of such a thing and I'm fairly sure DS hasn't either.

I do it through my local education business partnership not certain it runs everywhere.

He has a place at Dublin . Now hoping he doesn't stick to his plan to reapply/have gap year....

Dear Lizcat

I am very interested to read your comment about local education business partnership re mentoring students re their university applications. My daughter is hoping to apply for vet med to begin 2017. I'm helping as much as possible to find her placements but as the time draws to next year, I would appreciate some more specific help. how can I find out whether a similar scheme works close to where I live?

I have named change, but am who you are seeking. Tommy I have replied to your other thread. Firstly and I say this kindly you need to step back, I only accept work experience applications that come from the student themselves.
Some of the applying for work experience is what develops the essential resilience and tenacity that it is essential she develops. She will get knocked back, but the career consists of a lot of knocks and you need to be able to pick yourself up dust yourself down and move on to the next thing.
Sadly the cut in government funding for education business partnerships has resulted in the end of mentoring. I still work with my EBP, but in a much more general way with groups. I was never paid the cut in funding has reduced the staff available to organise such things. So you are unlikely to find this formally. Building a relationship with an independent practice with partners who have been round the block with helping students get into vet school is probably the best thing.