Roxane: from two repeated years to veterinary studies 1,300 kilometres from home

At 24, Roxane knows the distinctive sound of alarms going off too early, suitcases repacked in a rush and video calls freezing at exactly the wrong time. A few years ago, she pictured herself joining a veterinary school in France, white coat over her shoulders and anxious dogs waiting outside. Two repeated years, a failed entrance exam, then a choice that surprised those around her: moving 1,300 kilometres from home to study. Now in her third year, she is still learning how to care for animals, but she has also learnt to live away from her family, translate her course material and stop mistaking a detour for failure. Her journey challenges the usual assumptions.

Two repeated years and a failed entrance exam: when everything starts to unravel

In the corridors of her former secondary school, Roxane eventually knew the faces of the staff supervising pupils better than those of some people in her year group. Repeating one year is hard enough to explain, particularly when everyone else is moving on to higher education with boxes packed and carefully mapped-out plans. Repeating two years is different: the questions carry more weight, as do the silences. Yet her aim remained unchanged: to enter veterinary training, despite uneven grades and the constant feeling that she had to prove she was capable.

When the entrance-exam results came through, what she remembers most is a screen, a list of names and a knot in her stomach. Her name was not there. In that moment, disappointment did not look like a dramatic film scene; it was more like forcing down a meal without an appetite, leaving messages unanswered for a while and dreading having to share the news. We all know that moment when a very specific plan slips away just before we can reach it.

Veterinary entrance exams remain highly demanding selection processes, where academic results never tell the whole story. Places are limited, applicants are extremely well prepared and pressure often builds over several years. For Roxane, failing had a harsh but almost helpful effect: it made her consider options she had not wanted to explore. Her dream had not disappeared; she simply had to accept that it might not be reached through the door she had initially chosen.

Studying far from home when staying feels safer

At 1,300 kilometres from home, Roxane encountered a daily life without familiar reference points. She had to find somewhere to live, get used to a new city, navigate unfamiliar administrative systems and shop in a supermarket where none of the brands meant anything to her. Moving away to study is not simply about the distance shown on a map. It is a chain of small choices: catching a bus, asking for directions, cooking alone after a long day of lectures, calling your parents without letting them see how difficult the day has been.

Her advice to students who are unsure would be straightforward: do not wait until you feel completely ready. No one truly is when it is time to leave their teenage bedroom, friends and routines behind. Before moving, Roxane compared course content, living costs, placement opportunities and the arrangements for recognition of the qualification. That stage can seem cold beside the emotion of leaving, but it prevents many disappointments. A robust plan is also built with a spreadsheet, a few phone calls and very practical questions.

A common mistake is to think that choosing a different direction wipes out the years that came before. For a long time, Roxane saw her repeated years as a stain on her record, when they had actually given her a particular resilience in the face of difficulty. Let us be honest: nobody really does this every day, congratulating themselves for having failed. It can take time to see what those years taught her: how to work differently, ask for help and absorb bad news without giving up everything else.

“I stopped counting the years I had lost on the day I realised I was finally where I belonged,” Roxane says.

• Check exactly how the intended qualification will be recognised.
• Set a realistic budget for accommodation, transport and trips home.
• Speak to students already enrolled at the institution you are considering.
• Plan a support network, even at a distance, for periods of discouragement.

In her third year, Roxane is no longer trying to catch up with anyone

Today, Roxane's days are divided between lectures, practical work, revision and student life away from those close to her. Third year leaves little room for regret: there are subjects to master, technical skills to practise repeatedly and exams that approach quickly. In her everyday life, she is no longer “the girl who failed the entrance exam”. She is a veterinary student like any other, with her strengths, her tired moments and that very real joy when a difficult concept finally makes sense.

Other people's view of her has changed, or perhaps it is her own perspective that has shifted. At first, some relatives asked whether she planned to return quickly, as though this move could only be temporary. Now, they speak more about her placements, favourite subjects and the next stage of her course. Sometimes you have to move away before others understand the direction you are taking. That distance has given her a kind of independence she had never expected.

Her story highlights an uncomfortable reality: straightforward journeys are often easier to tell than uneven ones. Yet detours are far from unusual. Moving country, starting again after rejection or allowing yourself an extra year guarantees nothing, but it can create an unexpected opening. At 24, Roxane does not feel behind. She is moving forward at her own pace, with a heavier bag than expected and a determination no ranking can truly measure.

Roxane's journey speaks to far more students than we might think

There is something deeply familiar in her story for anyone who has ever felt ashamed of a school report, a change of course or a year that bore no resemblance to the plan. Academic success is often presented as a straight line: the right subject pathway, the right entrance exam, the right age, then the right job. Real life is rarely so tidy. It overflows with delays, closed doors, unexpected departures and difficult conversations around the family table.

Roxane does not turn her two repeated years into trophies. She knows what they cost her in confidence, energy and sometimes money. But she also refuses to let them become the only sentence that can describe her future. This change in perspective matters: failure can remain painful without becoming permanent. It can even teach us to make choices more clearly, away from other people's expectations and prescribed routes.

At a time when many students compare themselves on social media with seemingly flawless journeys, her path brings a simple truth back into focus: the age printed on a student card says nothing about a person's perseverance. Those who feel out of step may see in it a quiet permission to seek another route. Vocations do not always disappear after a rejection; sometimes, they simply take a longer train.

Key point	Detail	Value for the reader
Failure does not erase a plan	Roxane failed the veterinary entrance exam after repeating two years.	Understand that rejection can lead to an alternative route.
Mobility requires genuine preparation	She studies 1,300 kilometres from home, with a new daily life to organise.	Plan for the budget, accommodation and recognition of the course.
Age does not define success	At 24, she is in her third year of veterinary studies.	Put the pressure of the “right age” and detour-free journeys into perspective.