The secret of getting into vet school...

[Marylou]

...is to eschew all the advice to study science A-levels and do whatever you like as long as one of them is Biology OR Chemistry but not both.

DD1 has just heard that someone studying Biology, Art and PE A-levels has been offered a place at DD's first choice of university to study Veterinary Science on a 6-year course which includes a preliminary year for people with the "wrong" A-levels (i.e. Chemistry OR Biology BUT NOT BOTH, plus two others). This will automatically qualify her for the full 5-year Vet course the following year. So presumably the decision to become a vet was relatively recent, otherwise why the odd choice of A-levels?

DD now knows where she went wrong...clearly three science A-levels and maths to pursue a dream that she has had since childhood was a bad idea... Apologies for the rant, but I really haven't been this cross in a very long time!

[hermanmunster]

ugh Marylou - what a pain.

DS has gone for scattergun approach at A level (didn't know what he wanted to do at the time) - result looks remarkably like the IB I think and doesn't seem to have limited to many options (any that he is interested anyway).

Yr DD's friends As look a really odd bunch and deffo a late change of career plan .... not lived all their life on a farm have they?? still think Vet school are obsessed by vast quantities of hands on experience.

Still KFC for her

[Marylou]

ugh Marylou - what a pain.

DS has gone for scattergun approach at A level (didn't know what he wanted to do at the time) - result looks remarkably like the IB I think and doesn't seem to have limited to many options (any that he is interested anyway).

Nowt wrong with that imo - a good spread of subjects still leaves lots of options open (including some that may have been considered closed...QED!) My second daughter doesn't have a clue about a career just yet, but next year's GCSE options shouldn't be difficult as she is very clear about which subjects she doesn't like!

Yr DD's friends As look a really odd bunch and deffo a late change of career plan .... not lived all their life on a farm have they?? still think Vet school are obsessed by vast quantities of hands on experience.

- Don't think so, but certainly very horsey.

Still KFC for her

?

[Loopyloulou]

This is fascinating. I hadn't realised this sort of thing is going on, but having done some research I find it is common in both vet schools and medical schools. Here is something about the Royal College of Vets approach:
http://www.prlog.org/10776490-royal-vet ... areer.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is also much less competition for one of these "thicko" places, only about four applicants per place it seems.

It is glaringly obvious that the easiest way for a bright grammar school child to get a place at vet school nowadays is to move to a comp or FE college to do A-levels (making sure to do the "wrong" ones) then opt for one of these "Gateway"-style courses. The offer will be lower and the competition vastly easier.

Food for thought.

I so sympathise with you and your DD Marylou, she has certainly been the victim here.

[Marylou]

There is also much less competition for one of these "thicko" places, only about four applicants per place it seems.

Thanks for your support. I don't think they are all necessarily "thicko" courses exactly, in the case highlighted in the OP you have to get the same grades but with only one science. It does seem crazy, though, that the university in question has 30 or so of these courses and only 100 for those entering via the more traditional route. Especially when what most vet colleges are looking for is passion and commitment. This is an aspect that really had not occurred to us when DD set out on this route.

It is glaringly obvious that the easiest way for a bright grammar school child to get a place at vet school nowadays is to move to a comp or FE college to do A-levels (making sure to do the "wrong" ones) then opt for one of these "Gateway"-style courses. The offer will be lower and the competition vastly easier.

Indeed so. It does make you wonder whether we are coming at this the wrong way. We could of course disown her, so that the fact that her parents went to university and have always been supportive doesn't have to be a millstone around her neck...

[hermanmunster]

Still KFC for her

?

Sorry - medical terminology "keep fingers crossed"

[Snowdrops]

Not chicken then? Bet she's dead disappointed

[Loopyloulou]

Mmm. It has got me thinking.

[Marylou]

Not chicken then? Bet she's dead disappointed

Yes, I was thinking chicken too!

[familyinthevalley]

There is also much less competition for one of these "thicko" places, only about four applicants per place it seems.

It is glaringly obvious that the easiest way for a bright grammar school child to get a place at vet school nowadays is to move to a comp or FE college to do A-levels (making sure to do the "wrong" ones) then opt for one of these "Gateway"-style courses. The offer will be lower and the competition vastly easier.

Food for thought.

I so sympathise with you and your DD Marylou, she has certainly been the victim here.

Sorry Loopyloulou, but I find the above extremely offensive. Maybe they're not so much 'thicko' spaces, as spaces for kids who are going in with a broader variety in their life - something that alot of universities take into account. Maybe the students aren't thick, but maybe can think outside the box