Veterinary Medicine- which route?

lalee17

Apologies if this has been asked before.. I searched but didn't find the answer I was looking for.

OK well I have my heart set on doing veterinary medicine in UCD after I leave school (I'm currently in 6th year) and I know that I'll get around 460 points which I know isn't enough to get into the course.

So is it a good idea to try to get in via the graduate entry? I intend on putting Vet Med on the top of my CAO, then as number 2 Science in Trinity, then Science in NUI Maynooth as number 3, etc. and then after I finish the Science degree, specialize in something like Microbiology, and afterwards try to get into UCD through the graduate entry.

Leaving the country isn't an option for me. Are there any alternative ways into the course? I've asked everywhere I can but to no avail... Hopefully someone can help me out.
Thanks.

degausserxo

As far as I know, there are only five places for graduates, and seeing as UCD is the only university in Ireland that does vet med, it's a pretty long shot. I'm repeating in 2011, having done the LC for the first time this year. Weirdly enough, it was at around this point last year that I gave up and thought 'feck it, there's not a chance that I'll get anywhere near 550', which was a huge mistake, cause I definitely could've gotten it if I'd put my mind to it, so don't give up already!! I started in TCD this year doing Irish and German and realised that I absolutely have to do vet med, so I dropped out and am repeating. There's always the repeating route, but seriously, don't give up now, you can do it!

Good luck!

lalee17

I actually can't get 550 points, as I'm doing ordinary maths and Irish... So there aren't any other ways in?

theowen

lalee17 wrote: »

I actually can't get 550 points, as I'm doing ordinary maths and Irish... So there aren't any other ways in?

Budapest!...or you could repeat next year and pick up one or two honours?

lalee17

lalee17 wrote: »

Leaving the country isn't an option for me.

And I can't get my head around those two subjects, that's why I'm doing ordinary.

Fad

Would Science in UCD not be a good idea?

Specialise in Zoology, and then apply for Grad Vet?

aoifeX

im kind of like you at the mo! have my heart set on vet med.. if it wasnt for those feckin points!!:(
i kept up two honours this year as like you i had to many pass subjects.
what subjects are you doing? if you have biology i would consider ag science. you have 6 months to do it and theres a lot of overlap with biology!
plus even if you dont get the points this year if your willing to do a science course and transfer it wouldnt be to bad for you to repeat.
thats what il prob end up doing and was talking to a few lads who are all in there 3rd year of veterinary at the mo and the 5 of them had repeated to get in! i know someone who did there LC 3 times to get in!
good luck!:D

lalee17

I'm putting Science on my CAO in UCD as my fourth option.

And aoifeX, I'm doing Biology and Chemistry, so I thought that maybe doing a general Science degree would suit me better?

Also, regarding the science course/transferring, how did those lads do it exactly? I'm a bit confused.

aoifeX

sorry meant to say ag science as an extra subject this year!
i think people know themselves if there capable of getting the points even if it means repeating and if you are its a way quicker way of getting into vetmed!

sorry cant help you at all with the transferring and science degree side of things! and i know this is going back to ag science but i know of a few people who did an ag science degree and then applied for veterinary in edinborough! but id say science degree would be just as good!

lalee17

Okay, thank you. Does anybody else know any other routes into this course?

lorna100

There isnt really any other routes except for 1.direct entry through the CAO and 2. postgraduate entry.
I did my leaving last year, knew I wouldnt get the points. I was doing 8 subjects, one pass the rest honours. I knew especially with my subjects I wouldnt get my points, so I concentrated in getting the matriculation requirements for veterinary. This year I am repeating with my best 7 honours subjects (1 picked up one new this year). I am not doing irish or maths (pretty crap at both and even though I got a B2 in hons irish I spent way too much time on it), it means I can focus completly on my best subjects.

The way I am looking at it is that I got 3 B1s last year, if I bring these 3 up to A1's (which is difficult but not impossible) and bring 3 others up to B1s (not that difficult to get - got my three last year with cramming) that will give me 550. Hoping that I can get 3A1s, 1A2 and B1s to be sure (555points).

Its not that bad repeating, if you really really want it and have no other choices that you would be satisfied with, go for it - its only an extra year.

Hope that helped

degausserxo

You could apply for HEAR. http://www.accesscollege.ie/hear/index.php

If you get accepted for this you only need to get 80% or so of the points needed, but you still need the matriculation grades. So, assuming you're doing six subjects, two of which you've said are at ordinary level, the max you can get is 520. For vet med with HEAR you'd need to get around 450 points.

Instead of doing science maybe you could do animal science or vet nursing in UCD instead? That way if you apply for postgrad it'd give you something extra to stand on to show that you're serious about doing something animal-related.

lalee17

Thats great, degausserxo. I had no idea about this scheme. I also asked my guidance concellor and a professor in NUI Maynooth if they think I should apply for an animal-related subject but they said it shouldn't make any difference.

theowen

degausserxo wrote: »

You could apply for HEAR. http://www.accesscollege.ie/hear/index.php

If you get accepted for this you only need to get 80% or so of the points needed, but you still need the matriculation grades. So, assuming you're doing six subjects, two of which you've said are at ordinary level, the max you can get is 520. For vet med with HEAR you'd need to get around 450 points.

Instead of doing science maybe you could do animal science or vet nursing in UCD instead? That way if you apply for postgrad it'd give you something extra to stand on to show that you're serious about doing something animal-related.

You have to tick a number of boxes though^. The main being your parents income under 50,000 or so, and then you have to have attended a disadvantaged school have a medical card. Then you might get 20% off, my friend only needed 40 points off his course, which was like 8% needed and he didn't get in.

degausserxo

theowen wrote: »

You have to tick a number of boxes though^. The main being your parents income under 50,000 or so, and then you have to have attended a disadvantaged school have a medical card. Then you might get 20% off, my friend only needed 40 points off his course, which was like 8% needed and he didn't get in.

You don't have to have a medical card. And aren't they letting it apply to all schools this year?

Delta Kilo

Can I ask why isn't leaving the country an option?

My friend was like you last year; he had his heart set on vet med in DCU but deep down he knew he wouldn't get it. He ended up with 480 in the LC.

He toyed with the idea of repeating and doing science but in the end he said: "fvck it, I wan't to be a vet!"

So he went to Budapest and is now having the time of his life over there. You will only realise when you get to college how insignificant your old school was and you will quickly make a raft of new friends, regardless of where you are. And, you will also get a strong desire to travel, do a J1 etc and you will find that you will go home less and less as the college year progresses.

So don't rule out going abroad. If vetirinary is what you really want then you should be willing to go to the moon to get it. It could, in fact, be the making of you!

Fad

Money could be just one of many factors keeping a person within the country.

theowen

degausserxo wrote: »

You don't have to have a medical card. And aren't they letting it apply to all schools this year?

You have to fit under the income number, and either have a medical card OR attend a disadvantaged school, and then a few others. Not sure about it applying to all schools though

theowen

Delta Kilo wrote: »

Can I ask why isn't leaving the country an option?

My friend was like you last year; he had his heart set on vet med in DCU but deep down he knew he wouldn't get it. He ended up with 480 in the LC.

He toyed with the idea of repeating and doing science but in the end he said: "fvck it, I wan't to be a vet!"

So he went to Budapest and is now having the time of his life over there. You will only realise when you get to college how insignificant your old school was and you will quickly make a raft of new friends, regardless of where you are. And, you will also get a strong desire to travel, do a J1 etc and you will find that you will go home less and less as the college year progresses.

So don't rule out going abroad. If vetirinary is what you really want then you should be willing to go to the moon to get it. It could, in fact, be the making of you!

Officially that degree(from Budapest) may hold the same merit as one from UCD, but if there's a job vacancy the UCD graduate would surely have the edge, no?

degausserxo

OP, would you not consider vet nursing?

Tequilita

Getting in by graduate route can be as tough as getting the LC points - many end up going back to repeat the LC having failed to get in the graduate route.. They seem to prefer good general science degrees often with masters rather than animal science degrees. And yep, unfortunately, as it stands these are the only two options to get into veterinary in this country..

Aru

lalee17 wrote: »

So is it a good idea to try to get in via the graduate entry? I intend on putting Vet Med on the top of my CAO, then as number 2 Science in Trinity, then Science in NUI Maynooth as number 3, etc. and then after I finish the Science degree, specialize in something like Microbiology, and afterwards try to get into UCD through the graduate entry.

Leaving the country isn't an option for me. Are there any alternative ways into the course? I've asked everywhere I can but to no avail... Hopefully someone can help me out.
Thanks.

Heya
Its fairly common for people to repeat to get into veterinary med.

Im in 3rd year vet med in UCD at the minute and I repeated to get the points and off the top of my head i think there around 7 or 8 other people in my year who repeated probley more.
I didnt get the points the first time but i set my mind that if i got 3 A1's and decent other grades id go back and try it again.

When i repeated i dropped Irish, english and maths,took up Geography and Home Ec(did it outside school the 1st time)and took grinds in german especially for the aural and oral parts.
Ag science is also a good one to pick up as it is relevent to the course and it apparently overlaps with Biology.

Obvoiusly you need your chemistry C3 to just to fill the requirements but if you pass this first time round you have the requirment done.Its a tough year but it is the quickest way in.

You could also apply for UCAS when your repeating(to late now for this year)the fees are very manageable particularly for the scottish collage(there no fee's i think*)But you will need to have a lot of work experience,sheep cattle,horse, abbatoir work etc

The graduate route option is there but if your going down this route you are going to have to be very commited.
UCD has both a graduate entry for the 5 and 4 year courses...im not sure how many irish students are taken for the 4 year though,it only came in this year.The 5 year course take in around 10-15 graduate's most of these are international students.The graduate 4 year take in 40 i think 10 of these places are for EU students

You will have to get a lot of work experience,should have good university grades(harder than you'd think particularly in a science degree)and you will need to be good at appearing keen in interviews.
Of course if your a boy you will have a bit of an advantage but it's not a hugh one and of your going to have to pay fee's.

http://tobeavet.com/index.html is a good website for the basic's of what u'll need for applying to UCAS which is the sort of standard they would be looking for as a graduate as well.Decent website in general for a potential vet student actually.

Another warning about Vet is that this is a course that makes it very difficult to keep a part-time job.
Between 1st and 2nd year you will have aroun 10 weeks work experience to do in your own free time.
Between 3rd and the start of 5th year you have to do 24 weeks of seeing practice so be prepared to say good by to your holidays.

The workload is also quite frankly horrible.
The exams make the LC look easy in comparison,be prepared to fail and get used to getting low grades.You might be a great student now but in vet everyone is at that level and its very much sink or swim with the workload.Plus you will have long hours... 8 o clock lectures and the occasional exam are a feature from around 2nd year on.

So make sure its what you really want to do.You will likely have to remind yourself why your inflicting it on yourself.

On the other hand you will be entering a course where you will get to know all your classmate's, where all the other years make a point of bringing the 1st years out so that everyone get's to know eachother,we have our own rugby,soccar,equestrian clubs as well as a vetsoc which helps fund nites out and trips away.The lecturer's are general sound.You will be studying some very intreasting subjects...cutting up various creatures for anatomy,going out to spend the day on farms for animal handling experiences that sort of thing(and some vry boring ones...cell metabolism etc)
overall there is a great atmosphere in the building.

The only ways to do Vet.Med in Ireland are
The 5 year undergraduate course.(quickest)
The 5 year graduate course.
THe 4 year graduate course.

If you are doing another course 1st make sure it's one your intreasted in.The grade's will be easier to get.The graduates in my year are from a wide range of previous course
Engineering,vet nursing,Neuroscience,Science,Commerce(i think might be arts)some have there master's or doctorates done.

Either way god luck with what you do.If you have any questions about the course feel free to PM...but i warn you now it might take a while for me to get back to you exams are starting next week...

Anthony16

Fad wrote: »

Money could be just one of many factors keeping a person within the country.

true,but with the cost of living so low in budapest compared to dublin,i think Dublin works out at about 5k more per year in total.Still a lot but not absolutely awful

Anthony16

theowen wrote: »

Officially that degree(from Budapest) may hold the same merit as one from UCD, but if there's a job vacancy the UCD graduate would surely have the edge, no?

Not necessarily.My Dad and lots of his friends are vets and they all say they would consider all candidates as equal regardless of where they did their degree.Budapest shows that it is a true vocation for those people,while you could end up with some1 like me who got the points for it in ucd but doesnt really want to do it.

Anthony16

degausserxo wrote: »

OP, would you not consider vet nursing?

Nt much point.There wont be a lot of vet nursing jobs available in ireland in the coming years with the increased number of vets.Maybe as a graduate route but its ultra competitive.

OP,i dont know your situation but going to budapest is a good good option.If homesickness is your worry,that can be overcome.If its something more serious well then,thats up to you