Map for Y8 to vet school please

[Belinda]

This is not specifically directed at anyone... I don't know any of you or your children, it's general. However...

If a student truly wants to be a vet / doctor they should know a lot more than parents about everything [to do with it].
They are usually very bright, proactive, self disciplined and dedicated individuals. They have infinite resources at the touch of a button. They all know all the info on TSR. Or at least they should do! They have to work at achieving their own goals.

I acknowledge they do need their parents to wholeheartedly support them through the process. It's tough.

If students don't know everything there is to know then a wise parent might step back and play wait and see for a while. IMO Vet Med / Medicine are vocations that have got to come from the child and be sought by the child. Parents can be helpful, supportive and pay, but shouldn't 'direct' or facilitate what appears to be a good idea at 12 years old. If children really, truly want it, they will work and strive for it.

Most parents support their kids choices, whatever they are, and have a wealth of knowledge to impart and some other resources (money) to help them on their way but sometimes a few lovely, helpful parents forget who should be the leader, and who the follower.

Over the years mine have wanted to be an olympic gymnast, an ice skater, a ballerina, a princess, a pilot, a soldier, a vet, a zookeeper, an actress, a shopkeeper, a butterfly and a fairy amongst many other things.

Never say never but I think 'the fairy' and 'butterfly' might just be out of reach!

Best wishes to all those on their journey to be doctors and vets! Direct them all to TSR!

[KB]

If DD is at a school that doesn't generally send vets/medics etc its worth checking out programmes that focus on widening participation. The government is putting pressure on elite Universities to increase intake from State schools and some offer special open days/information sessions or more.

Either check out web sites or help your DD to email each to ask.


A few ideas -
Help her to write a letter that she can take round to each possible location asking for work experience - even if its just a day to get her foot in the door and demonstrate she is serious.
Worth trying stables and kennels - I know some under 16s who have managed to get work - mostly mucking out
Or even part time work in a pet shop once she is old enough.
Any elderly people she can help with dog walking? - helpful to demonstrate interest when applying for volunteering places.
Charities often have volunteering days - you might have to accompany her though - when they undertake specific projects. Again it can be a foot in the door for longer term opportunities.
Private cat/ dog breeders who might let her help out with new litters.

Any village fetes running pet shows that she could help with.

Local agricultural shows/ young farmers days to make contacts?

generally, this also has some info
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.c ... 97c0ae4577" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Selective and private schools will be set up to help their students so you will need to be extra on the ball to compensate!

If you can find a supportive member of staff see if they will give your details to any recent ex students who have gone on to vet school to see if they will talk to your DD. If they found it hard they might be happy to help her.

[KB]

Best wishes to all those on their journey to be doctors and vets! Direct them all to TSR!

As with everything on the internet just be careful of sending a year 8 on TSR without monitoring it (not a slur on TSR but there are adult themes discussed for example)

[Belinda]

Best wishes to all those on their journey to be doctors and vets! Direct them all to TSR!

As with everything on the internet just be careful of sending a year 8 on TSR without monitoring it (not a slur on TSR but there are adult themes discussed for example)

Yes, it's for older teens and 12 yr olds would very likely come across content that was too mature for them. It beggars the question... If they are too young for the mature themes of TSR, are they also too young to be making an informed, mature decision about being a doctor or vet too perhaps?

[franticmum]

I wholeheartedly agree that they should make their own steps but I think the parent should ensure they are starting at the beginning of their intended path. It is such a competitive option that you want to be as clued up as possible to ensure that the decisions they make on the way are not going to jeopardise that and prompt them if they should be doing something that they're not. I'm not sure a Y8 would go and find out at this stage what GCSE's they need, exact experience, etc. I think they probably have an idea which they would firm up on later.

I'm afraid I'm a control freak where information gathering is concerned - I don't like to be ignorant or in the dark but that doesn't mean I will take over.

I know you weren't directing your post at me, Belinda, but I felt I needed to explain in case I came across wrong in my thread.

By the way, there's a one-day course on in both Nottingham and London in February, aimed at telling year 9 and 10's, exactly what's involved for medicine and veterinary (with a specific split at certain times). This will be my turning point to taking a step back as it then seriously becomes up to them as they have no excuses then for not knowing!

[Belinda]

The post wasn't directed at anyone, honest, just borne from having four post 16 kids. The eldest is home from university (results next week) and still has no idea what she would like to do. Says she may save up and travel / work abroad for a few years - and why not. Good for her.

Life is not a race.

And, yes, my niece tried two years for medicine and was unsuccessful. My sister could have done more to help, but chose not to. Few med / vet applicants are successful without some form of parental support I think? It is very competitive and kids need all the leg ups they can get for sure but... it's just a general post highlighting the parent needs to follow the child's footsteps and not the other way round.

Sorry, I know it may not have come across well, but it is meant well, for the benefit of both parents and students.

[Marylou]

I just wish that someone had told us about the information available on TSR years ago! Though agree with KB that very young teenagers should perhaps not be let loose on it without supervision...!

My own take on parental support - whilst I agree that children must choose for themselves, it's also important to remember that not all children attend a school where they receive full backup and support for their career ambitions, so that help can only come from the family. And courses such as medicine and veterinary science are different from other university courses - by nature of their vocational content, preparing for and submitting an application is a full-time job, on top of all the studying and work experience that's needed. The focus for the student should first and foremost be on getting the top grades needed, so support from home is paramount. They need someone there to help with all the letters and phone calls to fix up what amounts to an inordinate amount of work experience required (20 weeks is not unusual). They need someone to support them through the crushing disappointment of yet another rejection, despite apparently meeting all the criteria, when all their friends had offers from university months ago without even needing an interview. They need someone to help them start again when their former classmates are all off to pastures new, to restore their confidence and banish the niggling feeling that "maybe that teacher who told me to be realistic, was right".

Something else we wish we'd known - if my DD had been aware just how difficult it would be to secure work experience placements, she would have started trying so much earlier. There are clearly implications with insurance etc. but there may be openings for 12/13 year olds to help at stables or rescue centres, for example, which could lead to more placements later.

Seeing DD happy and fulfilled at the end of the first year makes it all worth it. We knew DD had made the right choice when she posted on her Facebook page "Spent an hour scraping fat away from the stomach of a cat. Living the dream!"

[Belinda]

Seeing DD happy and fulfilled at the end of the first year makes it all worth it. We knew DD had made the right choice when she posted on her Facebook page "Spent an hour scraping fat away from the stomach of a cat. Living the dream!"

I remember your posts of a few years ago regarding your DD's initial (and second) application and am very pleased to read that your DD is loving it - 'living the dream' and coming to the end of her 1st year.
Where did the time go?

[Daogroupie]

Lovely to hear it is all going so well for your dd Marylou. I can only imagine the work that your family put in to help her realise that dream. Neither of my dds are interested in being a vet or a medic but if they were they would have had to be doing something by the end of Y8 to convince me they were serious. They would need to be doing something towards the goal each weekend no matter how small. If you look on your school website silverysea you will see that they have applying to Oxbridge, Vet and Medic course as a separate category to be dealt with in a different way. So they are clearly aware of what it will take. My niece was interested for a while and my sister set her up some voluntary work at a vets which cured her in one day. She had confused liking animals with having to manage their health, two quite different things. I like people but have no interest in looking after their bodies! In terms of parental input I can see that it would be impossible without it. A local mum has got her dd five offers for Medicine including Cambridge and she has run the whole show leaving her dd to get the grades in the four A levels she is doing. How many universities offer medicine? I had no idea until this thread that only seven offer the vet course. DG

[Sallyltb]

My daughter will be applying for Vet Med in a few months time, for 2014 entry. The current advice is tht most unis look at the best 8 GCSEs and will usually want maths, English and three sciences included in this.

A wordof caution: most unis want to see work experience in the two years before application. They will want to see a week each of dairy, lambing, stables andkennells as basics,together with four weeks minimum at two different vet practices. Lambing experience can be tricky to get and tends to be booked up well in advance.