Hi!
yes, I transferred, I worked harder in my first year of Uni than I ever thought possible in the HSC, in fact, If I had worked that hard in the HSC i prob would have gotten in first go!
You need "above a credit average" (I had a D Average of marks in the high 70's with a HD thrown in here and there) a good STAT score ( I had 99.8, but its not that hard of a test, and if you get in early you can do it twice, giving you two chances to do better) and as much work experience as you can cram in -
I had WIRES, volunteer work and both small and large animal clinics (if you call up one in Dubbo or Tamworth etc, they might let you come up for a week or so), a reptile keepers licence, memberships to the RSPCA, animal welfare league, WWF, etc, and other stuff I guess, like I listed all the pets I've had over the years etc. Oh, and if you go some work exp with like AQIS or something, thats good too, cos it shows you're not just interested in small animal mainstream vetting.
Its hard work, but not impossible, a number of people from my Animal science course made the transfer 1st time around, and others transferred a year later. You just have to be determined, study hard and get in as much work experience as possible.
And the benefits of doing a year of another course are great too, you get a year to settle in to uni, get used to the way of life, and the workload, you get to know your way around campus, and meet different people, cos in vet its hard to meet other people who aren't in Vet as much since we're all in classes together. It opens your eyes to the bigger picture of uni, rather than just the section of it that you see in vet.
I'm actually really grateful that I had that year, because my life would be so different now if I had got in first go. I met my boyfriend that year, at Uni, I got a job at uni, and a weekend job I wouldn't have got otherwise, and many of my closest friends came from the course i originally enrolled in, who are now doing all sorts of different things.
So if you miss out, have your cry or whatever you need, then enrol in something else, and if you are determined, you may well be able to transfer. Its not the end of the world, its only the beginning! You may end up liking another course and deciding not to transfer! or you may end up in vet in 08, more prepared, more mature, and more certain that it's what you want to do.
Good luck!
