Hi
Really sorry to bother you again!
I went back and had a look at some earlier posts and lots of people have said that getting work experience now is a good place to start.
My Grandparents own a farm and I was wondering whether spending time there counts. I spend basically every weekend and school holidays there anyway.
Thanks a lot for all your help
x

Hi, Beth,

If it is a farm with livestock and you could get some exeprience in lambing sheep or calving cows it would be very useful experience indeed.

W

I could end up doing both this week!!!
Thank you for all the help it's really appreciated.
x

Hi Beth,
Your option choices sound great, it's good that you're able to do all three sciences! I do German, History & Geography and the courses so far have been really good, so I think you'll enjoy them too.
PE will be helpful too (my best friend does it & she loves it!) - not only do you get loads of exercise and build up large amounts of strength & stamina (especially handy for farm work, as I'm sure you will know!), you also learn a lot about the body & nutrition, which will be handy in the future!!
Have a good time on the farm this week! (I'm assuming you're on half term now?!) It's handy that you're getting lambing & calving experience BEFORE your GCSE's start, as you will find you don't have loads of time in Year 11+!
Sarah xxxx

To leanr about day-to-day interactions of a vet student, check out my blog at [caymanvet.blogspot.com]
I am a third year student at St. Matthews University in the Cayman Islands. Have a look

I got a great experience this week. No lambs but one of my favourite cows had a backward calf.
x

hiya, my name is Georgina Moss and i am 13 years old. i am choosing my options on the 28th march 2008 and was wondering if their are any other subjects that i do need except for science, maths and english. is it true you need at least 5 GCSE's in these subjects. i am absolutely in love with animals and it would be an hounour to become a vet and would love to hear from someone who can help me with my options. thankyou.

Hi, Georgina,

If you read back through some of the earlier postings on this site you will see a lot of discussion and advice about the subjects you need to get into a vet school in the UK,

W

Hi my name is Lauren and I am 13 yrs old and i live in the uk.
I have wanted to be a vet ever since i can remember as i love animals, but one problem thogh (sorry about spelling) iam rubish at science,maths and a little wobberley on english, what can i do i whant to start learning all about this GCSE stuff as soon as possible.
i realey love guinea pigs and other animals like that and have all ways wanted some do you think having some would boost my learning and understanding of animals?

please help me
thx from
Lauren
xxx

Hi, Lauren,

There is no way that you will ever become a vet if you are no good at science. A 'love of animals' is not enough.

You must get down to some hard studying and improve your scientific knowledge. Chemistry and Biology at good grades are essential if you want to get into a university veterinary school.

You might polish your spelling up a bit. too!

W

hello
i'm rachael and i realy want to be a vet sooo much but i'm stuck on what options to take and if i can make it or not. i know that you have to have GCSEs in sciences, english and maths. but to get into university you have to have A* and A grades but i'm afraid i wont make it. also i know it takes a long time to qualify to be a vet , but exacly how long does it take? and what if you become like 30 by the time you have qualified and that is quite old to be starting your life. i would appriciate it very much if someone could tell me how they became a vet and what courses they went on and what they done after that. just to give me a general idea on how to achieve my goal

many thanks
rachael

p.s: yes i did sound very formal in that paragraph thing, and no i dont know what hardly any of them words ment

Hello Rachael,
I'm assuming you are in year 9 if you are picking options. If you are allowed 4 like I was, I would advise trying to take triple science if it's offered, a language or two and a couple of humanities eg. history & geography. Try to avoid 'soft' subjects or those which are blacklisted by universities such as business studies and ICT. Yes, A* and A grades are pretty important, if you think you are bright enough aim for a minimum of 4/5. If you don't do well in your GCSEs, the prospects of you becoming a vet or slim, you need excellent grades if you even want to secure a place at university! As for how long it takes to become a vet, you study for 5 years at university and 6 years if you manage to get into Cambridge. Therefore, assuming you do not take a gap year you would qualify around the age of 22/23, not 30! There are only 7 vet schools in Great Britain : Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, London Veterinary College, Liverpool and Cambridge. Just to clear it up, you don't go on any 'courses' , you simply apply to read veterinary medicine at university. You cannot practise veterinary medicine without a recognised degree from one of the 7 universities. I hope this answers your questions. Remember to study hard if you truly believe that veterinary medicine is for you!

I've been selected to do business studies which would mean dropping either geography or german. Which one should I drop or should not bother with the business studies at all?
Thanks
XX

Hi, Beth,

As long as you are able to do enough science, it really does matter, but if you ever were to have your own practice. a good grasp of business procedures could prove to be very useful.

W

Beth, business studies is NOT a well respected GCSE! don't drop german or geography, both will prove very useful.

Ok well I'll talk to my careers advisor and see what she suggests. Thank you for all the help!

X

Hia!
I'm in year nine and I want to be a vet since I was about three!My teachers say I could do it so I've decided to choose the extra science and History but I can't choose between art and geography. teachers say that I could get good grades in boath subjects. HELP!!! I need to decide before the end of next week!!

Hi,

I do not think it would make much differerence - go for the one you are best at and would most enjoy doing.

take geography!!
art takes up so much time, might affect your other grades

I would definitely go for Geography - it is much easier to get higher grades in this than Art. Students I've spoken to found they spent more time doing Art coursework than all of the other subjects put together!
If you really like Art, then of course go for it, and as long as you keep on top of the workload it will be fine. Personally, I decided to go for Geography, as I didn't want the risk of all the Art work affecting my other grades.
Hope this helps. xx

Hello.
I am about to pick my options this year for GCSES and I wondered if anyone could help me make my decisions. I have decided to go for english, maths and triple science as my teacher said i could get an A* in this subject.
I just need help in picking my other 3 subjects. I would like to do 3 of these but if there is anymore anyone would sugest then im more than happy to have better ideas. Heres the list:

German
History
Art
Textiles
Graphic

or anymore than anyone would sujest. please help me. thans

Hi, my name is Anton Ouradnik I am only twelve years old, but I love animals. And I want tips on how to be a good vet. I want to know what classes to take so I learn more about how to be a vet.I would like to help the animals in need. so the faster you contact me the faster I become a vet.

Hi!
My name is Hayley and I'm 13 years old. I have wanted to be a vet ever since I have known what a job is! I love animals and I have expirience with dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, and hamsters. I have been researching the grades I need to get into a vet school and options I need to take for GCSE's. I read somewhere that you need to take a foreign language. Is this needed or is it just a helpful subject to have?

Please Help Me!!!

Thanks,
Hayley

hello!!! i need some help. i am a first year veterinary student and i am looking(desperately ) for a summer job. it can be all over europe. please if anyone is interested my email is:reni.pl@hotmail.com
feel free to write
thanks

Hi Hayley,
No, for vetmed you don't need to take a foreign language. As long as you're doing as much science as possible and Maths, then you're fine!
Sarah xx

Hi
I have just finished taking all of my GCSEs and am waiting on the results. I was wondering what the average GCSE requirements are to study veterinary science at university (particularly maths).

Hi
I have just finished taking all of my GCSEs and am waiting on the results. In my future career I would like to work with animals but do not necessarily want to work in a vet’s surgeon. I feel that I would be more interested in studding wild animals. Would this carer path require me to study veterinary science or are there other courses that I could take at university? Please help.

Hi my name is Eva,i am from Bulgaria i am vet student too,if you want you can write me on my e mail evgenija_m@abv.bg

hi
I am due to take double science for my GCSEs and am really worried that I may have taken the wrong GCSEs.

I don't quite understand the difference between the two.

Can I still become a vet?

thank you
X

Hi,
Your careers Master or Mistress should be able to advise you - if not, contact the University veterinary school you would most like to attend and ask them. Write to the Student Admissions Secretary at the relevant veterinary school - you will get the addresss of the university web site.

W