Applying to medical school - what unis?

[VS02]

I was going to post this on a more suitable forum (The Student Room) then I realised that they were all morons so I decided to post on a more mature site where people aren’t up their own arse. Just like the motoring section on that website.

I have a huge passion for medicine (and cars obviously) and I really want to apply to medical school, but with neither of my parents going to uni, or theirs, and nobody in my family being a UK based doctor, I don’t know where to start or where to apply to university, or what to aim to specialise in.

I come from a single parent household, my mum works ridiculous hours and doesn’t earn enough, we rely on child support from my dad. I am on government funding (LIH) and the school also believes I have mild Asperger’s and ADHD for which I received GCSE provisions but I don’t really think I do have that and I am also worried it will bite me on the ass so I never went to see a doctor. I am stating all of this because will it give me help when applying to uni? School said I might be able to go on lower entry requirements.

I received DBS clearance and I’m starting volunteering at my local hospital. I’m also looking for a part time job to support my mum and earn some extra cash for driving lessons (savings are drying up fast)
Did anyone on PH do Medicine at university and would you recommend any universities?

(It might seem like an early post, but our school is starting early applicants for courses like mine. My school also has no help with medicine because barely anyone at my school went on to do it. Academy state school)


Thanks

[boxst]

My daughter is at Southampton in her second year doing medicine. Enjoying it so far and throwing herself into lots of good causes (Medicine for all etc..). She also looked at Oxford and Edinburgh and decided that Southampton was a good choice for her style of studying.

[buckline]

My sister went to Glasgow; she and her cohort spoke very highly of it.

[g3org3y]

I finished medical school in 2008 (Guy's, King's and St Thomas', London). I'm now a GP Partner.

Most prospective medical students will be getting top marks across the board so you need to do some extra curricular activities to differentiate yourself. What are your hobbies/interests? Can you demonstrate dedication and achievement? Can you demonstrate team working (+/- comm skills)? Can you demonstrate leadership skills?

I understand the vast majority of medical schools require you to sit the UCAT or BMAT admissions test. More information in this link here. Unfortunately this was before my time so don't know that much about it. It is something that can be revised for so it is definitely worth doing some practice in this regard.

I think if the Asperger's and ADHD would be a factor for consideration in your application, you would require a formal diagnosis.

Good idea re volunteering at the local hospital. Consider also local nursing homes. Speak to your local GP surgery, you may be able to shadow a GP for a day (we occasionally get students from the local grammar and private school sitting in with us).

Re which medical school, tricky question. You may want to stay near your family so that will affect your choices. Otherwise, for prestige you'd be looking at the Russell Group Universities. Medical school entry is very competitive wherever you apply.

Edit: I notice you're based in London. Lots of medical school options but worth considering that London living as a student is very expensive, especially when you consider it will be 5 years (more likely 6 as you'll probably do an intercalated BSc) before you're earning any money. You'll be leaving university with some serious student loan debt. I ended up with around 30k debt (which by today's standards isn't that much). Finally paid it all off last year.

Feel free to ask any other questions you have and I'll do my best to answer.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 1st February 23:27

[N Dentressangle]

g3org3y said:

I finished medical school in 2008 (Guy's, Kings and St Thomas', London). I'm now a GP Partner.

Most prospective medical students will be getting top marks across the board so you need to do some extra curricular activities to differentiate yourself. What are your hobbies/interests? Can you demonstrate dedication and achievement? Can you demonstrate team working (+/- comm skills)? Can you demonstrate leadership skills?

I understand the vast majority of medical schools require you to sit the UCAT or BMAT admissions test. More information in this link here. Unfortunately this was before my time so don't know that much about it. It is something that can be revised for so it is definitely worth doing some practice in this regard.

I think if the Asperger's and ADHD would be a factor for consideration in your application, you would require a formal diagnosis.

Good idea re volunteering at the local hospital. Consider also local nursing homes. Speak to your local GP surgery, you may be able to shadow a GP for a day (we occasionally get students from the local grammar and private school sitting in with us).

Re which medical school, tricky question. You may want to stay near your family so that will affect your choices. Otherwise, for prestige you'd be looking at the Russell Group Universities. Medical school entry is very competitive wherever you apply.

Feel free to ask any other questions you have and I'll do my best to answer.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

All good advice.

This is my field, so you're welcome to PM if you'd like some help

[NGRhodes]

When applying, go to open days and arrange appointments with appropriate teams so that you can discuss in detail your situation and see what provisions can be put in place. Make a list of your all your concerns, no matter how small/large, if you can't get immediate answers, someone should be able to point you in the right direct, before/during/after the open days.

Also most Universities publish information on their websites on how they help, eg for Leeds (where I work), https://students.leeds.ac.uk/info/10710/disability... is run by a great team. So have a good google when thinking about where you would like to study.

You may be eligible for funding for example - https://students.leeds.ac.uk/info/1000031/disabili...

There is also plenty of advice from Autism charities/groups available about studying at Universities such as: https://www.autism.org.uk/about/transition/startin...

Good luck.

Edited by NGRhodes on Saturday 1st February 22:46

[Baldchap]

I went to Leicester uni many years ago and they have a medical school.

The city is now an absolute st hole. Go elsewhere.

[GOATever]

Medical school is a tough choice. It’s also not all about academic prowess. There’s an ‘old boys network’ / ‘old school ties’ system at work, at most / all of them. You’ll need top grades in all A-level subjects, or you won’t even get past 1st base, due to the levels of competition for places. Every bit of volunteer experience in a medical field you can get will be to your advantage. Even with all that, if your face doesn’t fit, you won’t get through the front door. If you want to get a medical degree that is considered ‘better’ look at applying to med schools at Russell group universities ( like Southampton). It’s a very tough course, and very expensive. The top students tend to take an interstitial degree as well ( another degree course at the same time). The drop out rates are fairly high usually, most of the drop outs end up doing degrees in genetics ( for some odd reason). Anyway, good luck with it.

[Jaska]

A good alternative hint should you not get the grades or get directly into medicine for any reason is to look at doing a BSc at a university that also has a graduate medicine course. These tend to (from what I hear) look more positively on students already at the university as they know you're settled there already etc.

[Honk]

Go where they will take you. Nobody ever asks where you qualified from.

[Sophisticated Sarah]

If unable to become a doctor, consider nursing with the aim of becoming a nurse practitioner.

[elanfan]

I think it’s brilliant of you to have decided you want to be a doctor despite the various challenges put in front of you. All power to you!

I quite literally owe my life to the medical profession and could have passed on 5 years ago. I am very grateful to one particular vascular surgeon even though I’ve been left disabled.

I’m going to drop you a PM for some of your details. I will chip in £50 towards your driving lessons which hopefully will give you a bunk up. Maybe there are others here that are grateful to doctors and who might also offer a few quid to help out.

I’m not looking for any thanks but would love it if you came back to us and let us know how you are getting on. Good luck!

Edit:

Can you enable your email so I can contact you please.

Edited by elanfan on Sunday 2nd February 01:07

[EarlofDrift]

I know someone that became a Dr and went to a Russell Group uni, some of the stories.

Said at the end of the year they had a memorial service for the deceased body he'd spent the last few months hacking bits off.

[davhill]

I don't know the relevance but you might consider
M.U.M.S. - Manchester University Medical School.
I only say this because I did a couple of years there
as medical imaging tech/photographer/illustrator.

Also the tradition of teaching medics goes back
a long way over the border so there's Edinburgh Medical School.

[OzzyR1]

Note from your profile that you are "London".

One question; are you looking to study at a fairly local uni? Living at home can save a lot of cash over the length of your course rather than being in rented digs. It's also great that you are trying to help your mum out, but medicine is hard graft, particularly after the first year and you might not be able to sustain a part-time job on top.

Have you started volunteering yet? That is good on the CV and will read well to any university interviewer.

Perhaps also ask the doctors at the place you are volunteering at if they have any ideas too.

Best of luck to you, hope you achieve your ambition.

[sawman]

I think most uni’s have a scheme where students from lower achieving schools are offered lower grades, i think they have a look at you and take a more holistic view. Someone my daughter knows did this with newcastle uni, ironically that school is no longer failing and is one of the better schools in the county.
You should have an idea what learning style suits you best, my daughter is in 2nd year at UEA where they have a problem based learning approach. She has been in clinical situations since about week 4 and it seems to suit her in preference to spending the first couple of years in a lecture room which is the more traditional model. But its very much horses for courses.
Good luck with your study.

[g3org3y]

Baldchap said:

I went to Leicester uni many years ago and they have a medical school.

The city is now an absolute st hole. Go elsewhere.

You've sold it to me

Jaska said:

A good alternative hint should you not get the grades or get directly into medicine for any reason is to look at doing a BSc at a university that also has a graduate medicine course. These tend to (from what I hear) look more positively on students already at the university as they know you're settled there already etc.

Indeed. A common alternative path is a Biomedical Science degree and then a graduate conversion course.

Honk said:

Go where they will take you. Nobody ever asks where you qualified from.

That's a fair comment TBH.

Most medical schools are actively trying to recruit students from disadvantaged background and will make allowances with regards to grade entry.

All the courses are hard. It's worth noting that Oxbridge and London favour the more traditional preclinical/clinical split. This means that the first couple of years are primarily lectures/lab work/dissection/lectures/tutorials/more lectures and minimal actual patient contact. Years 3, 4 and 5 are the clinical years where you spend time on the wards in different hospitals.

Other medical schools are more likely to follow a more integrated pathway where they get students more exposure to patients from year one. These often involve a more 'problem based learning' approach and fewer formal lectures.

It's definitely worth doing an intercalated BSc if you can (it counts for extra points for job applications in Foundation Year and beyond). I did mine in Physiology including a really interesting module of 'Physiology at the Extremes' which was the effect of extreme environments on the body (eg weightlessness in space/high G force in fighter jets/high pressure when diving/subzero temps etc). This involved a fun trip to QinetiQ and a go on a centrifuge!

EarlofDrift said:

I know someone that became a Dr and went to a Russell Group uni, some of the stories.

Said at the end of the year they had a memorial service for the deceased body he'd spent the last few months hacking bits off.

I believe it's only a minority of medical schools now that do full body dissection. It can feel very surreal.

OzzyR1 said:

Note from your profile that you are "London".

One question; are you looking to study at a fairly local uni? Living at home can save a lot of cash over the length of your course rather than being in rented digs. It's also great that you are trying to help your mum out, but medicine is hard graft, particularly after the first year and you might not be able to sustain a part-time job on top.

IMVHO if you lived at home, you'd miss out on the proper university experience. A colleague of mine did and still looks back with regret years later. You would save A LOT of money though.

I know a few people who worked in the Student Union (typically bar) for extra money during the course but yes, it's a difficult and time consuming course. You're typically doing full days of lectures/tutorials etc (Weds afternoon off for sport). Spending your weekends holding down a part time job would be tough.

Edited by g3org3y on Sunday 2nd February 08:47

[this is my username]

My daughter recently started medical school. She took an interesting approach to selection which was far more intelligent than anything I would have managed at that age. It went like this:

Decide whether you are going to do the UKCAT or the BMAT. She chose the UKCAT as you can take it at a time of your choosing and you get the results straight away. She was also less interested in the places which use the BMAT.

Do a lot of prep for the UKCAT. Nothing in the test should be a surprise.

Once you have your UKCAT test results then research what universities look for in their admissions. There is no point in applying to a university which applies a cutoff on the UKCAT score which is above what you have. She did well in the UKCAT so applied for places which used the UKCAT score as the primary selection criterion for interview. If your UKCAT score isn't so good then you need to look at places which put more emphasis on your personal statement. She took the UKCAT during the summer holidays so had time to prepare and then time afterwards to get her UCAS application finished.

If your school doesn't provide support for medical school interviews (mock interviews etc) then find one that does - you don't necessarily need to move there, you could see if they will let you attend their support sessions.

If at first you don't succeed then keep trying - there was someone on the course at one of the universities we visited who was late 20s and had been applying every year since he was 18 .....

Edited by this is my username on Sunday 2nd February 08:58

[sawman]

Also check out the medic portal, they rin day courses to help with things like interview techniques and have some good resources

[VS02]

elanfan said:

I think it’s brilliant of you to have decided you want to be a doctor despite the various challenges put in front of you. All power to you!

I quite literally owe my life to the medical profession and could have passed on 5 years ago. I am very grateful to one particular vascular surgeon even though I’ve been left disabled.

I’m going to drop you a PM for some of your details. I will chip in £50 towards your driving lessons which hopefully will give you a bunk up. Maybe there are others here that are grateful to doctors and who might also offer a few quid to help out.

I’m not looking for any thanks but would love it if you came back to us and let us know how you are getting on. Good luck!

Edit:

Can you enable your email so I can contact you please.

Edited by elanfan on Sunday 2nd February 01:07

WOW I am so grateful for this but please! Don’t worry about it!! Driving lessons are a second priority anyway and my Dad has decided to help me.

I am however so touched by this gesture, thank you for the offer