It has been a rollercoaster ride for me to get into RVC to study Veterinary Medicine. Let me show you, through my journey, how you can succeed too if you put your mind to it.
Secondary school
I was an average student, finishing with 6B, 4AS and one A*. I knew I wanted to be a vet and what A levels I needed to achieve this.
Results day - A levels
I put all my eggs all in one basket and only applied to one college. When it was time to enrol, I was told the subjects I needed to become a vet were no longer available to study, instead I would have to do an animal BTEC. Because I thought doing a BTEC would disadvantage my application, I started applying to other colleges where I could pick the A levels I needed. The only one that accepted me was a good hour away from home and had a bad record. Disheartened by my time there, I managed to get into my friend’s sixth form and do the subjects I needed for Veterinary Medicine.
I had not anticipated just how big the jump between GCSEs to A levels was, and I didn’t put in the work needed to secure my grades. I stayed in sixth form for 3 years, only to leave with Cs and Ds…. With these grades, I tried to get into the 6 year gateway programme but my grades were nowhere near close enough as to what I needed to get into Vet school.
Undergraduate
Despite not getting into Vet school straight away, with my grades I was able to get accepted onto the Animal Biology course at the Nottingham Trent University and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I had put my desire to become a vet to bed, and decided to go into animal conservation.
Masters
Following my bachelor’s degree, I then embarked on studying for a master’s in Conservation and Wildlife Trade. Again, this was a great experience for me and I managed to get an internship upon graduating.
First job…Wood Green the animal charity
This was where my vet fire was reignited. As a manager, I had to organise the vet team who would always have students on placements from the RVC. During the lunch time breaks, I would hear them talking to the vets about their past experiences and that’s where I learned that some of them had completed an Accelerated Graduate Veterinary degree. This is a 4 year shortened version of the normal 5 year course, specifically for those who have already competed an undergraduate degree. It was at this moment that I decided that I should give my vet dream one more go. This time, I got all the way to the interview stage of the application process, before I received the news that I was unsuccessful for a place on the course. My heart shattered. Nevertheless, some time after receiving my rejection, I got a phone call from the RVC offering me a spot on the 4-year Graduate Accelerated course. I was over the moon!
First year on the Graduate Accelerated Course
My first year was by far the hardest experience I have ever had which required a lot of trial and error, tears, laughter, in which I passed and failed exams.
But here I am, now, in third year almost halfway through the Vet Med course already! I wanted to show you through my story, that YOU can do anything you set your mind to. Of course, you may not enter though the conventional way, however, do not disregard one option because it is not what you initially imagined. One or several detours might be necessary to get where you want to be.
Written by: Tinashe Marange
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