Hi,

I'm after any advice on the best steps to becoming a vet.

GCSE Results
B - Biology
C - Chemistry
C - Physics
B - Mathematics
B - English Language
C - English Literature
C - Geography

I've applied to do an A level in Biology which is good enough (providing I pass) to apply to do a foundation degree (3 years) in veterinary nursing.

If I did all that, and hopefully with good results would it be enough to apply for a veterinary degree?

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

You will need to offer much better grades in the science subjects at Advanced level than Bs and Cs .

w

hi i'm in school at the momet and i wasnt sure what qualifications you would definitly need to qualify as a vet. Any advice?

I am doing my GCSE'S next year and I was wondering what subjects I needed to take to be able to become a vet. Also I was wondering what results I would need to be able to get a degree. Thankyou

I just thought i'd say that all the answers to your questions about option choices e.t.c are available on the previous posts, some are very detailed. You should check them out.

Hope this helps

Hey all,

There are no qualifications that would "guarantee" you becoming a vet unfortunately... it takes more than just qualifications. However, as a general guide you should be getting 10+ GCSEs from A* - B (possibly C depending on subject) and 3 A levels + 1 AS at grades A - B... though more As than Bs.

HOWEVER, there are exceptions to this rule!! I know someone who left school with no qualifications, farmed for a few years and then did an animal science degree at UWE. He got a 2:1 and got into Glasgow and is now a successful vet. It is not impossible... but to get in by this route meant him qualifying when he was 34 and badly in-debt. Much easier to get the grades first time round IMO.

hi, i'm picking my options now and i to was stuck. Now though, after emailing several universities and vets i know which ones to take. Sciences maths english but also languages and perhaps business studies of some sort?? xx

Hi,

You will find all the information you need in earlier posts on this site.

W

Hello,
i am writing to ask what sort of grades i will need in my GCSE's to become a vet?
i am still in school, and am studying for my GCSE's.

Thanks,

Lauren Roberts.

Please refer to my reply to a similar message on this site immediately ahead of yours.

Anonymous User Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi,
i would like to no what i need to become a vet
would it be okay to get a c in maths ???

I very much doubt it.

Hi
You dont need maths to be a vet, it is good to have maths to help YOU. So if you get a c then that wont matter. Aslong as you get good science grades such as Chemistry and Biology (which you will need) then you will be fine. Physics wouldnt go a miss either.
xx

hi
im currentl studying for my gcses and very interested in becoming a vet. In most my subjects im aimed to get b's and c's s that enough to get into college to become a vet.
Thankyou

x

No chance.

You need A's or A* in most subjects as far as I know.

Hi,
I have already chosen my options for gcse yet it is only now i realize i would really like to be a vet.
Options I took were Art,PhysicalEd,Drama,BusinessStudies -but all 3 sciences and maths are compulsury anyhow and have done my science a year early to make room for doing an AS level in the sciences in year11.
I also hope to carry on to 6th form and university.
Does this mean i still have a chance at becoming a vet?

Hi - I'm stuck in the insurance world and as I'm now 40 feel it's too late to change profession but I'm so unhappy... I wanted to be a vet when I was young and I often ask myself why I didn't go down that route. I already have a degree (BA (Hons) 2:2 in Business Studies and Economics) and Insurance exams (ACII) but I think - I still have years left to work so why not follow my dream. I need some advice about what to do first... I have CSE Chemistry (grade 2) and O'level Biology (Grade D) so I'm guessing I'd have to do Biology A' level before I would even be considered for a degree course? Is it at all possible to do the required "veternary" degree, part time or as a correspondence course as I'm not in a position to leave work... HELP! Jools xx

Hi, Jools,

Sorry if I am going to disappoint you, but the veterinary course is (very) full time for 5 years at University.
Some universities - Edinburgh for one- will accept mature students, such as you, with lower academic qualifications than school leavers.
The cost of the veterinary course as a mature student is considerable - I doubt if you would have covered your costs by the time you retire!

W

Hi Jools!
If becoming a vet is what you have set your heart on, I wouldn't give up hope just yet. I'm currently at vet school, and one of my classmates has just turned 38, while another is 43. So it does happen! Both of these people previously had very different careers.
Unfortunately, as Walter said, a veterinary degree is relentlessly full-time and it is expensive. However, vet schools such as the RVC in London and Nottingham have much lower graduate fees (around £3, 500, I think, instead of over £20,000). If you really want to do this, your best option is to contact the vet schools and ask the admissions tutor about your chances, or what you would have to do to be considered. The RVC in particular has a reputation for taking on more unusual candidates - it has a gateway program for those with more vocational qualifications, for example.
Best of luck in whatever you decide!
Rachel x

hiya

I want to be a vet when i am older as i love animal, but i am bad at maths so i probably wont get a B. Im in Second year so there is still so years ahead of me before i get a job. Do you know any other jobs that involve working with animals and you still get paid a decent amount of money.

Lesleyann x

Hi, Lesleyann,

You could think about trying to become a Veterinary Nurse. You can get details from the RCVS - www.rcvs.org.uk but if you want to earn megabucks, forget it.

W

i have chosen to do all of those gcses to become a vet but we can only take one english which one would be the best to pick literature or language??

Language, without doubt. Fewer and fewer people can speak or write good English these days. Just look at some of the posts that come into the Ask the Vet site!

Anonymous User Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey all,
>
> There are no qualifications that would "guarantee"
> you becoming a vet unfortunately... it takes more
> than just qualifications. However, as a general
> guide you should be getting 10+ GCSEs from A* - B
> (possibly C depending on subject) and 3 A levels +
> 1 AS at grades A - B... though more As than Bs.
>
> HOWEVER, there are exceptions to this rule!! I
> know someone who left school with no
> qualifications, farmed for a few years and then
> did an animal science degree at UWE. He got a 2:1
> and got into Glasgow and is now a successful vet.
> It is not impossible... but to get in by this
> route meant him qualifying when he was 34 and
> badly in-debt. Much easier to get the grades first
> time round IMO.


Hey. I really wanna be a vet, but most my family think ill be useless. Anyway what are the subjects you need to do?

Ifb you loo at some of the other posts you will find all the information you require.

Hi,

so here's the thing i don't know what to do i was thinking about becomming a vet because i love animals and i want to be able to help them if i get chance someday.
Well I finished High School but i did it in Germany and the system is different there and the way they grade u also so i don't know if my grades are good enough.
I did a 2 year's course at College in ND Horse Managment here in the Uk and i finished it on DDD so know i was wondering what to do next and if u could give me some advise please??

Thanks

Hi,

All that I can suggest that you do is to write to the Admissions Dept of the various UK vet schools and ask if your German school qualificatiobs are sufficient ot admit you to a place on the vet course.

W

Hey im a student still in high school and next year is my final year and i have no idea what to do. I love animals and always dreamed of becoming a Vet but i did work experience and couldnt stand how the animals screamed in pain from either an injection or sore leg because it hurt them. I know vets help the animals and that would include hurting them but will i ever get over this scared feeling of hurting the animal myself?

Hi,

Of course you will.
Just tell yourself to stop being silly and that it is being done in the animal's best interests

W

No no no.
Literature. Language is included in literature, so universities value it more as it is seen as more academic.
Hope this helps
xx