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May 26, 2015

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Working hard brings strong sense of satisfaction

I’ve known, without a doubt, that I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was seven years old, but I knew I would need to find the right university to make that happen. Returning to the United States for university would imply four years of graduate school on top of four years of undergraduate, which is just about as daunting as it is tireless.

My junior year of high school, I was introduced to a different option — attending university in the United Kingdom. Rather than an eight-year journey, I can go straight into veterinary school and be done in five years. Though this was a dream come true, all the schools in the UK require high grades in AP chemistry, AP biology, and AP calculus, all of which I would have to take my senior year.

The next step was the hard part. There are five American accredited vet schools in the UK to choose from, all with great programs. In the end, I narrowed my choices down to the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Veterinary College, and the University of Glasgow. Applying for these universities was relatively low stress. All that was required was predicted exam scores and a personal statement outlining why I want to be a vet. After the universities reviewed the applications, interview invitations were sent out to about 40 to 60 percent of the applicants. Interviews were by far the most intimidating part of the process. Each was a series of 10-minute stations testing different topics from knowledge to ethics.

In the end, I decided to choose the University of Edinburgh, the best fit for me. Being accepted was the highlight of my year. The program was extremely competitive, and being accepted made me feel good about my efforts. Though the steps I had to take to get in were hard, it was worth it.




 

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