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Thread: A levels, universities, and other things, an update on how things are going =)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    At university in Hertfordshire, UK
    Posts
    4,944

    A levels, universities, and other things, an update on how things are going =)

    Hey everyone!

    I fear that the gaps between my visits to Pet Talk are getting longer and longer; the schoolwork is just piling on at the moment and I seem to be working overtime with all my subjects. I just thought I'd take this opportunity whilst I have a quiet night to let you all know how I'm doing (if anyone vaguely remembers me or is remotely interested, wouldn't blame you if you weren't! ).

    Even though the workload is horrible, I'm enjoying my A levels. For those that don't remember, I'm studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths with Further Maths and Latin, with the intention to study Veterinary Medicine at university. I can't believe that I'll be making my application in a few months time! One minute I was taking my GCSEs, this year just seems to have whizzed by.

    I've taken a few modules for my A levels already, and was very pleased to receive the news that I scored 100% in biology, and not that far off in chemistry either. Of course now, though, I've got to try and keep that up!

    It doesn't help that I'm basically cramming in an entire maths A level in a year either, in order to take my further maths A level next year (usually A levels are spread out over a period of two years). And maths has got SO unbelievably complicated. Most other maths A levels are individually divided up into categories also, such as Pure, Statistics and Mechanics. In further maths, you do the lot, PLUS further pure! I look back at my GCSE revision notes and wonder if I could have done it in my sleep! There are frequent times in my maths lessons now when I feel like I can't do maths at all. Fortunately due to a few weekends of intense, shut-away-in-my-bedroom revision, I managed to secure an A in my mocks, but had I not worked that hard it certainly would have been nowhere near that!

    Still, suppose I am a glutton for punishment, as I plan on taking all five of my AS levels (the first stage of A level) to A2 level (the second stage), where it is normally conventional to drop one subject. So, if starting this September, I don't pop up for an entire year, you'll know why!

    All this hard graft is to give myself the best chance possible of realising my childhood dream and becoming a veterinary surgeon. It is so difficult to get into university regarding most subjects these days, but veterinary degrees are always oversubscribed six-fold every year, so I am continually conscious, and perturbed, by the fact that academia itself is not going to give me one-way ticket to success.

    I'm going down to Cambridge University next week to attend a short, two-day course that gives you a taste of what it's like to be a vet student there. Cambridge is definitely a place I want to aim for, but it is SO incredibly difficult to get in, you really have to be the best of the very best to even warrant them looking at your application twice.

    Also, costs are really scaring me. After a five or six year course, I'm going to be looking at a debt of up to £45,000. I know that there is no fixed time period in which a student loan has to be paid back, but when you've never known what it's like to be deficient of that amount of money before you've even started making it, it's incredibly daunting! Plus the fact that I will be ineligable for a government grant - as my parents earn over a fixed rate, I won't be entitled towards any help towards my education. Which is totally stupid, in my opinion, as I will never see a penny of what my parents earn, and that money is going towards my brother's high school education, just as it is now paying for mine. The education system in this country, at times, can be utterly ridiculous.

    Anyway, that's my update! I miss you all a lot, and of course everyone's pets.

    How are you all? And have I missed anything interesting in my absence?

    Zimbabwe 07/13


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Land of the Ducks...quack!
    Posts
    7,007
    Not a whole lot going on over on my end...work and trying to figure out how I am going to go back to school. Great to hear from you and congrats on your exams! I took the ACT and SAT which are college entrance exames over here in the States and got darn near perfect scores in my writing and english sections but I got relatively poor marks in math . I sped through calculus and statistics but anything more complecated than that I fail at miserably, so my childhood dream of going into any type of vetranary work went out the window lol. Thats why I stick to things involving reading and writing

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    14,038
    It's great to hear from you, Zara!! I've been wondering how you are.

    My goodness, you are a glutton for punishment. I really admire your tenacity. You're going to go far in everything you want to do. Keep up the good work and keep in touch!

    Thanks a million for updating us.


    I've been Boo'd...
    Thanks Barry!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Munich
    Posts
    15,285
    I am very impressed to hear how focussed you are for your aim to become a veterinary surgeon. Just don't overdo it because if you have a breakdown that will not help either.
    The more maths you do, the more abstract it becomes. I studied maths at university as my main thing but after two years I shifted to theoretical physics which is still analytical enough but not as much as pure maths. I stillo think there has never been a time in my life when my brain was working so hard
    Good luck for everything.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Ploss's Halfway House for Homeless Cats
    Posts
    18,311
    I am SO proud of you, girl!!

    Rest In Peace Casey (Bubba Dude) Your paw print will remain on my heart forever. 12/02
    Mollie Rose, you were there for me through good times and in bad, from the beginning.Your passing will leave a hole in my heart.We will be together "One Fine Day". 1994-2009
    MooShoo,you left me too soon.I wasn't ready.Know that you were my soulmate and have left me broken hearted.I loved you like no other. 1999 - 2010See you again "ONE FINE DAY"
    Maya Linn, my heart is broken. The day your beautiful blue eyes went blind was the worst day of my life.I only wish I could've done something.I'll miss your "premium" purr and our little "conversations". 1997-2013 See you again "ONE FINE DAY"

    DO NOT BUY WHILE SHELTER ANIMALS DIE!!

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