Is veterinary unachievable now?

[RainBearr]

Results on Thursday showed 4As and 5As.
Chemistry coursework was somehow marked down from a (apparently) strong A to a B which brought overall grade to an A after achieving A in exams. 3 UMS overall off an A
History was also 3 UMS off.

The A*s were in seemingly useless subjects:
English lit
English Lang
Biology
Spanish

As in:
Chem
physics
RE
history
maths

A level choices are
bio, Chem, psychology, maths and Spanish

Is it time to give up on veterinary medicine?

Very achievable, imo.

What are your concerns?

Biology isn't useless! I'd ask about the chemistry coursework though.

I think it might be ok tbh (with a strong personal statement/work experience) - but remember, if you get no offers but good A level results you can always apply a year later, and get extra experience in in that time.

Not at all unachievable!

Coursework marks rarely change as they are internally moderated and then a sample is externally moderated.

Your DC needs to be doing LOADS of work experience. You cannot underestimate how much - every weekend and in every area, from zoos to abattoirs. And then write up what they've done.

No, still achievable. But as BastardSockBalls said work experience is the key!

Also, I have a friend who did Veterinary as a second degree some years after a first degree in biology. He did it in Budapest and has recently completed his studies. We are early(ish) 30s and he was not short of funding (family). So, if you've got the cash it's never really off the cards!

Regarding the Chem c/w - they can only really estimate the grade based on previous year's grade boundaries. These are always subject to change (a point which should be laboured by teachers).

One of my children is doing Vetmed. The GCSE grades are fine. I would question 5 A levels though! Only need 3 at A2. Quite a few students get in even if they are slightly below the 3 As at A level.

Like other posters have said work experience is key to getting interviews and having something to talk about when you get there.

Vet medicine is perhaps one of the hardest university courses to get into but I don't think missing a few A*s at gcse will be critical. Read admissions policies with a fine tooth comb to work out which courses to select. Work experience and what you have learnt from it is the most important factor( along with perfect A level grades) The students I have seen who have been successful often have links to a farming background so their work experience shows an ability to be around large animals and a realistic view of the role of the vet in what is essentially food production ( hence the abattoir being useful) if your dc recoils at that idea they probably wont make it as a vet)

I would definitely say it's achievable, A*s aren't everything. Academics is one factor in veterinary applications, the others are just as important. Lots of varied, relevant work experience in line with their requirements will also be extremely important, as will a good personal statement. I would question the need for 5 Alevels though. 4 AS and 3A2 with excellent grades would be more impressive than 5 lesser grades.
I think an important factor to remember is the number of good candidates who do not get a place first time, perseverance is important, reapplying is often necessary.

yeah, totally unachievable.

I don't think it's unachievable. But I also would question the 5 A levels. Drop either the Spanish or Psychology and concentrate on four. or even three. And agree work experience is vital. No point in concentrating on five subjects and fitting in work experience.

What on earth? All A*s and A's at GCSE and it's off the table?

And not just work with animals either. Try and get some customer service experience. You need good people skills to be a good vet.

University of Bristol has a very good guide to the type of work experience they want to see.

Biology and Chemistry are very important A levels and as vet med offers are AAA, I think your DC might have to think carefully regarding whether Chemistry is achievable at an A grade at A level. The University gives a very good guide regarding what they want to see on a personal statement. I think that as the courses are so competitive, AAA these days is a starting point unless you are at a contextual school. There are, of course, very few veterinary schools so it won't take long to see what is required but very competitive courses do look at GCSE results but brilliant work experience can overcome this, but not ABB at A level!

Also, don't do 5. What vet needs Spanish? We were told not to think about Oxbridge or Vet med or Med if you didn't have 6 A*s in relevant subjects. So I think you are right to have some concerns.

Volunteered at a zoo since last October but can't find any vet practices that take under 18s.
Also done charity shop work but that doesn't really count. I think the plan was to drop Spanish and continue with the other 4 at A2.

Your DS still does not need 4 A levels. It will be quality, not quantity. Although plenty of people don't get in with 3 As at A level.

Look at the Bristol work experience list and get DS on the phone/email the types of establishments they mention. They were not all working at a vets. Does the school's work experience provider have any vets on their books? Around here vets do offer placements to 6th formers. There was one in the room the last time my cat visited the vet! Can your DS help on a farm, help with lambing, assist in a stables? There are lots more ideas on Bristol's web site and the next two years will be crucial to pack it all in. So 4 x AS and then 3 A2 and varied work experience.

My friend's DD did work experience with a vet, volunteered at a zoo and did a some work on a farm. Had Maths, Chemistry and Biology at A grade at A level and after 2 years of applications to vet schools did not have a single offer. There are shorter courses such as animal biomedical science that are not vet med but are still worthwhile - and hard work! Look around to see what else the vet schools offer.

I regularly mentor applicants to vet school it is achievable, but as others have said quality not quantity 3 A levels is entirely sufficient.
Charity shop work experience does count as you are dealing with people.
Without some experience with a vet there will be no interview so they will need to keep looking. It must be the student themselves I do not accept work experience when the parents are doing the asking. This is so important a lot of our work is very mundane and many students drop out when they realise that a lot of our day is vaccinations, anal glands and V and D.
Other things farm experience, cats protection league, dogs trust etc.
I also ask students to consider the current situation in veterinary practice, the number of UK graduates is increasing, we are flooded with EU graduates and salaries are falling. Many, many vets are leaving the profession disillusioned a staggering number within the first year of qualifying. It is definitely not all roses in the veterinary profession. I love my job, but after 17 years I am working on an exit strategy before retirement.

If your DC has never done any work experience they can have no concept of what veterinary work is like. Work experience is essential - that's why it's an entry requirement. You must have vet practice work and farm work (and no, living in a city is not an excuse not to get this)

As Lonecat says, your DC needs to be proactive in arranging their own work experience and also paying attention/actively learning when they are there. They will be asked questions at interview

5 A levels is daft.

Is there an animal rescue place near you he can volunteer at? Age shouldn't be a problem there. And try every single local vets. Stables? Farm Park?

There are vets that will take on younger work experience students. Keep asking.

Dont forget the A levels are changing, there will be a hellva lot of extra pressure at exam time with 4 subjects instead of 3, you run the risk of a grade dropping due to extra revision for an additional subject.

Go to some uni open days, ring the admissions team and get their advice.

Re the work experience - think wider than just vets, helping at the zoo is good but he could also volunteer with training classes, pet shops, PDSA, animal rescue places, local stables, community farms

Get him suscribed to an industry magazine, the uni's will want to see a level of knowledge of what's happening within animal care i.e micro-chipping, avian flu etc

You can subscribe to email updates from defra and other organisations. All of this will be better than an additional A level.

The school might expect him to take five AS levels though - mine did. I did carry all five on to A level, but it was hard work. I'd definitely drop one after AS if I had the choice again.

Having said that, I loved my 'fun' subject (Spanish actually), because it was so different to the others and gave me a nice break!

Do some schools expect 5? Good lord- how ridiculous!

Reading the OP again I'm not sure if this is a wind up, or a stealth boast.

But if it's serious -
Work experience in the same zoo for months is not adequate. You need to think of every single species/area that you can, and plan WE accordingly. So for example -

Sheep/lambing/shearing
Cows/calving/dairy
Goats
Pigs
Abattoir
Feed merchant
Nutritionist
Horses (NOT just riding schools)/stud work/AI centre
Livestock scanners
Exotics
Reptiles
Insects
Rodents
Birds
Birds of prey
Wildlife
Cats
Dogs
Pet shop
Small animals/rabbits/hamsters
Fish
Marine
And obviously, Vets. Of all different kinds.

I could go on.
She needs to google these subjects and find people willing to take her. It could range from a day in a feed merchants to 2 weeks or more at a farm lambing. It could be private farms, or rescues or sanctuaries.

LOADS of places take WE, we have a friend who is a livestock scanner who takes them, it's just a matter of asking. And she WILL need to travel the country, lots of places will put you up if you're keen to help, or b&b.

Then she needs to keep a journal of all the work experience, writing up what she's learned etc.

And she needs to organise it - not you.

Also agree with the 3 A Levels. She won't have time for 5 with all the other stuff you have to do to get an interview.