Medicine Forum FAQs and Useful Threads - Please read before posting!
Welcome to the Medicine Forum
FAQ
What GCSEs/A levels/work experience/UKCAT did you have? Where did you apply/get interviewed/get offers from?
Some medicine applicants profiles can be found here APPLICANT PROFILES
To see successful and unsuccessful applicant profiles for specific universities have a look here: A-K and L-W
If you would like to discuss the applicant profiles, please do so in this thread rather than in the profiles thread itself.
Are my GCSEs/AS levels/A levels/IB good enough? Which subjects should I be doing?
Is the UKCAT important? How do medical schools use it?
Different medical schools use UKCAT in different ways, some use it to rank all the applicants and then invite the top X number to interview, others use it to distinguish between two otherwise identical candidates in deciding who to invite to interview/offer a place to. Information on how they use the UKCAT is available on some medical school websites so it would be worth having a look to see what they say.
A table showing how each medical school uses it can be found here.
Which medical schools are easier to get into?
The simple answer here is none of them, all medical schools are very competitive and those with a lower applicant to offer ratio one year are likely to have a much higher one the next year.
However, it is possible to apply smart - for example getting into Birmingham if you don't have the requisite number of A*s would be very difficult where the same number of A*s at another medical school are fine. Similarly, if your UKCAT is not brilliant, applying for medical schools which love the UKCAT might not be very sensible. You can make it easier for yourself by doing some research into the medical schools.
Should I apply for a 5th option? If so, what should I apply for?
This is a very personal decision. The important thing to consider is whether you'd be happy studying the alternate subject for 3 years or not. The one time it might be particularly worth having a 'back-up' subject is if you are unsure you'd be able to get the AAA/AAB required in your A levels. Having a subject that needs lower grades can be useful in this situation. If you decide you'd like a 5th option, then there are a large number of subjects you can apply for. The popular choices are subjects such as 'anatomy,' 'medical genetics,' 'biomed' etc. They all have their advantages but remember that if you're considering applying for medicine after doing one of these subjects, in general you need to actually enjoy them in order to do well in them and 2:i is needed for most grad entry programmes.
I have offers from X university and Y university. Which should I make my firm?
This is another very personal decision you have to make on your own as it is where you may be studying for 5 years. Remind yourself of why you applied to each place in the first place. Do you have a gut instinct over which to go to? What was it you liked about each? What didn't you like? Have you visited both, if so, which did you feel more 'at home' at? Some people find it helpful to draw up a list of pros and cons for each if they're really struggling to decide.
I've heard that (insert myth here)
In which case, you need to have a look at the lovely Myth Busting page compiled by current students and applicants.
Is it worth all the effort?
Depends who you ask. Some people realise that medicine's not for them for many different reasons. Others love it. A lot of people go through stages where they aren't sure whether medicine is right for them, some of them leave, and others work through it and grow to love it again.
When you're applying for medicine, getting in seems like the most important thing in your life and people forget that once they're in, there's a lot of work to be done.
Is medicine hard/difficult?
In general, the things you need to learn aren't particularly complex. It's the sheer volume of 'stuff' that you need to learn that makes medicine difficult. There's a lot to remember and it's not just about rote learning, you need to be able to apply the knowledge as well.
back to top Some Guidelines for Posting in the Medicine Forum
The main site rules can be found here. Please read them.
Please do a search and look at the FAQ before starting a new thread for a question as a lot of the more common questions will have already been answered. Also, please think carefully about what you post, try to make sure it is correct and avoid any sweeping generalisations.
Spam
Please keep all general chat to the chat thread. Any chat elsewhere in the forum may be moved to the relevant thread or binned and repeat offenders may be warned.
Try to stay on topic in threads and don't derail them.
Language
Use English (or provide a translation if posting in a foreign language).
No text speak.
No personal attacks/insults.
Other
Don't post your e-mail address/telephone number etc.
Don't post your personal statement in the public forums.
Don't ask for rep.
If you're linking to something (whether it is a webpage or a youtube video), please make sure any swearing is censored and the content is not inappropriate for the site.
If you get a warning, don't post the warning message in public forums.[/expand]
A medicine specific comment
We know that applying for medicine can be a very stressful time and people get very upset at rejections. However, please do not insult a medical school as current students may find it offensive and upsetting.
The Current Medical Students subforum
The Current Medical Students forum is primarily for those who are already at medical school to discuss issues affecting them. If you wish to contribute to a debate, you may, but bear in mind that any attempt to aggravate the current students or cause trouble within the forum will be taken very seriously. This is also not a forum to ask the current students for their opinion on x medical school or y a-level.
If you see someone breaking the rules; or need to ask a moderator to intervene by moving or closing a thread where appropriate, please use the Post Report function which is the warning symbol on the top right of each post.
Discussion about medicine applications and medicine.
