Welcome to the sixth post in the Vet Viernes series! It’s been exactly a year since my life took an unexpected turn and lead me to a place I never imagined I’d be going – Vet School at the University of Sydney! This is how it all happened…
I
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got into vet school by being turned down from one first.
Let me share with you how I learned first-hand that landing yourself into vet school is not such an easy feat.
Competition can be fierce when it comes to vet school enrolment. In every twelfth grade of every school of every country, there is a line-up of aspiring vets.
Those who are
in admiration of animals,
in wonderment of wildlife,
passionate about pets, or
zealous about the zoo!
(And more!)
They're simply everywhere!
And it's such a beautiful thing that so many people are so devoted to improving the lives of our animals. So much so that universities don't have enough space to fit all of us inside!
(I guess this is true for every course though)
And that is why the first university I applied for did not have room for me.
All throughout high school, I knew that there was only one university close by that offered vet science. So I had always envisaged that I would be studying there.
This university – let’s call it ‘FirstUni’ – was smaller relative to the University of Sydney, and with strict entry requirements and limited spaces available, you really had to be the crème de la crème if you wanted to get in to this university.
So I didn’t make it. What I learnt from the experience was this: Getting the grade doesn't guarantee entry!
That was the university probably 50km from my hometown. Now the vet degree isn't simply offered at any university. It's taught by a select few that are scattered over Australia, and it seems that they like to keep their distance. Which is only a problem when the next closest university that offers the course you want is 900km away!
I clearly remember the moment when I found out I didn’t get accepted. It was the 16th of January, 2018. I was in Japan and had no internet so the only way to find out was through my dad who was at home in Australia. The morning that the first offers were released, he logged on and from the other side of the world, told me that I did not get in.
I was shocked. There I was on the other side of Earth clinging to a telephone with sweaty palms, in stunned silence. A few seconds went by where I didn't say anything. It was so hard to process what I had just heard because I never really put any thought into what would happen if I had to go to another university. I had naïvely etched one perfect picture of life after school in my mind, and for that, I was ashamed of myself.
All of a sudden, I had no idea what I was going to do or where I would end up studying that year. I had to act quickly because it was already mid-January and most universities commence in February! A flurry of questions were racing through my mind…
Do I just accept my second preference at ‘FirstUni’ and do an extra year (or more!) of study until I get into vet school there?
Do I find another uni elsewhere?
Do I wait till second offer rounds come out to see if I got in?
What if I don’t get in then?
Do I have to move? Live alone?
How much will it cost?
Do I cancel my accommodation at ‘FirstUni’?
Do I wait and see if ‘FirstUni’ offered me any scholarships?
What about my sport team? My life here? The comfort of home?
How do I just pack up and leave?
Maybe I was making too big of a deal out of it, but it is pretty dizzying going from thinking you’ve got everything planned out to realising you actually have NO IDEA what you’re doing.
But life would be boring without its twists and turns, right? After all, life is a rollercoaster, not a flat one-way street.
That night, I had written in my diary these words,
“Why was I so naïve to think my future would be so clear? How innocent and foolish of me. … There’s suddenly a million things to think about and I was so babyish to think my future would be so straightforward. Life will never ever be simple. Ever! … I didn’t think it would be this difficult but that’s life! The big wide world! The future!”
I had pretty much lost all enthusiasm for the year until later that day, an email popped into my inbox from the University of Sydney.
The University of Sydney? I forgot I even applied there! My imagination of the future had been so tunnel-visioned that I hadn’t put any serious thought into other universities or any Plan B for that matter.
Now that I look back, I am so glad I had applied to Sydney, and Melbourne too. I kind of applied interstate on a casual whim because I remembered someone telling me that it might be a wise idea. Well, they couldn’t have been wiser.
I remember applying for these universities without paying that much attention to them. In fact, I had run a 10km race which ‘FirstUni’ was holding, and the division winners were to receive some money to go towards their future ‘FirstUni’ degree. I was very fortunate to score the prize, and after that, I basically lost all interest for any other uni. So although I did still apply to Sydney and Melbourne, when it came to applying for scholarships and things like that, I couldn’t really be bothered by that point.
Big foolish mistake.
Because as it turned out, when I opened the email from ‘The University of Sydney’ that day, I found out that unlike my own state who didn’t seem to want me (hehe), Sydney had offered me a place in their six-year veterinary science course.
I should have been excited. I got into the course I dreamed about! But a part of me was like, ‘no, I have no interest in moving.’
When you’re put into a situation like that, you really have to have an open mind and make sure your priorities are set straight.
Am I choosing convenience over an amazing opportunity?
Am I choosing easy lane over the exciting unknown?
Am I choosing my comfort zone over new horizons waiting to be discovered?
In the words of Neale Donald Walsh, “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.
The day I found out that I hadn’t been accepted into ‘FirstUni’, I had concluded that it was all some sort of punishment I rightly deserved. I knew that during my final year at high school, the vicious cycle of stress and sleep-deprivation had caused me to lose motivation and start falling into the traps of disorganisation and distraction. I was so disgusted by my lack of drive that I genuinely believed I would never deserve to get into vet school straight-up. That I didn’t deserve my dream. The fact that I wasn’t accepted had basically proven to me that it was punishment for my sins.
I have evidence of this from when I put these thoughts to paper in my diary that night:
“I don’t deserve it and I need to learn how to cope with punishment for my sins. … The main reason why I didn’t get accepted is crystal clear: I DID NOT PUT IN MY VERY BEST EFFORT DURING TWELFTH GRADE AND THEREFORE I MUST SUFFER THE NECESSARY CONSEQUENCES SO THAT I MAY LEARN TO RIGHT MY WRONGS, FIX UP MY MISTAKES, AND AMEND BAD HABITS! REMEMBER, TRUE CHARACTER SHINES THROUGH FROM THE PAIN!”
The next few weeks were a blur. I made phone calls, submitted applications, enrolled, selected subjects, arranged accommodation, my mum tried to teach me how to cook for myself(!!), packed suitcases, booked travel tickets, and within a month and a bit, I was in Sydney, and officially a student of a uni I still didn’t really know that much about.
Yes, it's far away from the familiar comforts of home but a lovely teacher from high school once told me that a vet degree is a vet degree is a vet degree. So for the same reason that you shouldn't pick your university because it's where your friends are going, you shouldn't deliberately cement your future self into one place because of the convenient location of the uni closest to home.
If you got into the course you wanted, don’t settle for second best just because you don’t want to venture out into the unknown and take a little leap of faith.
For me, ‘FirstUni’ ended up being ‘SecondBest’ because The University of Sydney had opened a door.
I’m grateful to my parents for supporting me through all the decision-making and for trusting me enough that they could let me go. I’m grateful to my understanding family who I missed dearly when I was away in Sydney. I’m grateful to my grandpa for encouraging me to seize the opportunity, take on Sydney’s offer and not be afraid.
And of course, I’m grateful to God because what I thought was a punishment turned out to be a blessing.
Vet School at The University of Sydney has been an incredible journey so far. Full of its ups and downs and learning curves all along the way! I met some great people and was taught by some great people. The whole experience at the University of Sydney taught me a bit about independence, responsibility, and self-discipline. What’s also great is that I finally learnt that the future is not straightforward and easy. Life can throw some unexpected twists and turns onto our paths, and it’s up to us whether we’re going to be adaptable, flexible, and able to see the bright side of every situation.
I may have gotten into vet school by being turned down from one first, but it made me grow stronger as a result of it, and it was the life lesson that I needed.
If there are three things I want you to take away from this, it’s these:
1. Apply for universities in other states or cities! Don’t be like me and create a picture-perfect image for yourself in one university. Life is hardly ever perfect! Just in case, apply elsewhere, even if it’s far away, because you never know what will happen.
2. Apply for scholarships in the other universities too! I made the foolish mistake of being so sure I’d get into a certain university that I didn’t bother applying for scholarships elsewhere. When I ended up going to a different university, I seriously regretted not taking the time to apply. Remember, life is not a flat one-way street; anything can happen!
3. Don’t make the same mistake I did and have a tunnel-visioned mindset for the future! Life is elastic and ever-changing! That’s what makes you grow! So prepare yourself for the unexpected, have Plan B ready, and if things do take an unexpected twist, remember that “Like everything in life, it is not what happens to you but how you respond to it that counts.” - Steve Backley.
If things don’t turn out your way, remember, you either win or you learn. Turn every problem into an opportunity for greatness, and never forget that everything happens for a reason.
If it is your dream, you will find a way.
To finish, I will leave you with these words from Lemony Snicket…
“When things don’t go right, go left!”
Love, Young and Unheroic
If you are considering studying a veterinary science degree in Australia, firstly, that's AWESOME!!! Secondly, here are the universities that offer it:
New South Wales
· The University of Sydney
· Charles Sturt University
Queensland
· The University of Queensland
· James Cook University
Victoria
· The University of Melbourne
Western Australia
· Murdoch University
Southern Australia
· The University of Adelaide
P.S. Sorry I uploaded this on Saturday, not Viernes (Friday)!!
This is a really inspiring story :)
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