• Question: How could I become a vet?

    Asked by chazzax to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 16 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      I think you will need good science A levels.

      You will be able to find more information at the Royal Veterinary Medicine University of London website!
      The site should have some useful contact information that you can email your questions to!
      On the left hand side – you will see where it says Entry Requirements and you can read more about it 🙂
      Have a look if the course is suitable for you otherwise you can google other universities that have Veteriniary medicine courses and see if they are more suitable 🙂
      If your school have a UCAS book – it will have a list of all the courses available and all the UK universities listed in it and it will have more details 🙂

      http://www.rvc.ac.uk/Undergraduate/BVetMed/Index.cfm

    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      As Jess says you need to make sure you do good science A-levels and get good grades – it is quite tough getting on to vet courses because they are so popular.

      It obviously helps if you like animals as well of course! It might be good to try and get some experience working with animals as well to see if you like it – you could volunteer with your local vet or wildlife rescue charity.

    • Photo: Christine Switzer

      Christine Switzer answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      I wanted to be a vet at one point, too. As Jess and Zara have said, you have to do well in your science A levels. Vet courses are really competitive so you have to get good grades. There are a lot of good vet courses in the UK so it’s worth reading more about the options that you have and what a vet programme requires. It’s a longer degree course than a regular university course, so make sure that’s what you want. You can get experience by volunteering. The Dogs Trust and other charities let their volunteers work with the animals so you can get some hands on experience.

    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi chazzax!

      There’s already some really good advice here. I think you should try and get good grades in your A levels and it’s important to take science subjects (especially biology!). If you have a look at the link Jess posted then you’ll find more information on what you need.

      As well as good grades, obviously you should have an interest in animals and their welfare! Also, you must be comfortable with the idea of performing surgery on animals and even putting them to sleep. You need good communication skills too, in order to speak with and reassure pet owners.

      Hope that helps! 🙂

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