[star95]

First I am due to start medicine in 2013. Currently I am in England looking for Universities but I live in Spain.
I need advice about Universities. My grades are very good but I am confused about what University to choose from. So far I have been in Cambridge, Imperial College and Kings College. At the end of the month I am going for an Open Day ton Brighton University. I like Brighton as a town, I found London too busy for me although I loved Imperial and Kings.
Will I have more job opportunities once I finished my degree if for instance I have studied in Cambridge instead of Brighton Medical School?. Do my job opportunities go down depending in which University I studied. It's important to me because I would like to choose the right University and don't want any regrets later on in life.
Now I would like some advice about UKCAT or BMAt exam. ~Are they similar exams? I know that Cambridge requires BMAT and Brighton UKCAT. So willl ~I have to do both? How about if I fail, do I have to wait another year?
Which book is the best to prepare for those exams? And Does it involve a lot of studying because the exams are in October?

I will appreciate your advice it seems a bit complicated at the moment

Thank you for reading my post xx

[carcinoma]

(Original post by star95)
First I am due to start medicine in 2013. Currently I am in England looking for Universities but I live in Spain.
I need advice about Universities. My grades are very good but I am confused about what University to choose from. So far I have been in Cambridge, Imperial College and Kings College. At the end of the month I am going for an Open Day ton Brighton University. I like Brighton as a town, I found London too busy for me although I loved Imperial and Kings.
Will I have more job opportunities once I finished my degree if for instance I have studied in Cambridge instead of Brighton Medical School?. Do my job opportunities go down depending in which University I studied. It's important to me because I would like to choose the right University and don't want any regrets later on in life.
Now I would like some advice about UKCAT or BMAt exam. ~Are they similar exams? I know that Cambridge requires BMAT and Brighton UKCAT. So willl ~I have to do both? How about if I fail, do I have to wait another year?
Which book is the best to prepare for those exams? And Does it involve a lot of studying because the exams are in October?

I will appreciate your advice it seems a bit complicated at the moment

Thank you for reading my post xx

OK, this has now been move to the right sub-forum.

To answer your question.

1) Which medical school you go to makes absolutely no difference to your job prospects. You will have a GMC approved Primary Medical Qualification. Entry into the Foundation Programme after graduation is only based upon your performance compared to your cohort, as the medical school which you graduate from is blinded from the application form.

Which country do you intend to work in?

2) The UKCAT and BMAT are not similar exams.

Start here for the UKCAT: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/UKCAT
and here for the BMAT:http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/BMAT

[Helloworld_95]

The university you go to makes almost no difference, and the only reason it's almost is because some schools allow more/force people to intercalate which gives you a few extra points in your foundation years application.

However certain schools may prepare you for certain routes a bit more, e.g. Cambridge has a very scientific course so may be preferable if you're considering lab research or academia.

As for the UKCAT and BMAT, 1) get the 600Q's and 400Q's books, they're very helpful although harder than the actual test. Practice for about 3 or 4 weeks plus before your UKCAT, you'll need it to get used to what you should be looking for and to familiarise yourself with the test. For the BMAT buy some GCSE core and additional science revision guides to revise Section 2, the UKCAT stuff should be enough to help with Section 1. For Section 3 you'll need to write an essay and you'll be assessed on quality of writing so brush up on your English and read about science topics in the media around the time.

[star95]

Thanks for all your advice, sorry if I landed in the wrong forum, I am a new member so I am still a bit lost .
Your answers gave me a bit more of an idea about which university to choose.
I still don't understand why they have two different tests depending on the University people choose from, a big business if you ask me!!
In future I would like to do research-investigation work, I was going to go for Biology but my Biology teacher advised me to do Medicine mainly because it will give me more career opportunities. Luckily in the last year or so I have developed a passion for Medicine and I am now a big fan of Embarrassing Bodies!!!

Thanks again xx

If anybody would like to add anymore posts I will greatly appreciated.

[Helloworld_95]

(Original post by star95)
Thanks for all your advice, sorry if I landed in the wrong forum, I am a new member so I am still a bit lost .
Your answers gave me a bit more of an idea about which university to choose.
I still don't understand why they have two different tests depending on the University people choose from, a big business if you ask me!!
In future I would like to do research-investigation work, I was going to go for Biology but my Biology teacher advised me to do Medicine mainly because it will give me more career opportunities. Luckily in the last year or so I have developed a passion for Medicine and I am now a big fan of Embarrassing Bodies!!!

Thanks again xx

If anybody would like to add anymore posts I will greatly appreciated.

They have 2 tests as they measure two different things, the BMAT is more of an entrance exam and measures more of your application of knowledge while the UKCAT is an aptitude test and measures more of your ability to do clinical duties (Just guesses here but AR links with Diagnosis, DA links with ability to convert your scientific knowledge to something your patients can understand, QR for calculating doses and VR for updating your knowledge).

If you want to do research then consider a specific area you would like to research e.g. Stem Cells, as it might be better to do a Biosciences degree followed by a masters in that area.

Also you'll need to get some form of work experience in a GP or a Hospital to apply for medicine in the UK, preferably shadowing a doctor and you will need to convey what you learnt from it in your personal statement.

[Zedd]

Due to start in 2013? Someone is confident!

[Normandy114]

All medical schools in the UK are accredited by the GMC, so it really doesn't matter where you apply in terms of job prospects, you should really choose by teaching style, personal preference, and likelihood to get accepted. However, if you plan to work as a doctor outside of the UK you'll have to look into it some more, since I have no idea how it works elsewhere.

With regards to the UKCAT/BMAT, the UKCAT is similar to an IQ test, whereas the BMAT is more like a standard exam. The BMAT consists of 3 parts including an essay and science section. The majority of UK Medical schools require the UKCAT, four use the BMAT (Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial) and a handful use neither. If you want to know more about either use the links carcinoma posted, or visit their respective threads in this forum, there's a lot of advice and useful information in those. You can't fail either exam, you get given a certain score, and depending on the university the higher the score the more likely you get an interview.

[star95]

(Original post by Zedd)
Due to start in 2013? Someone is confident!

Are you been sarcastic or are you meaning well?

[Zedd]

(Original post by star95)
Are you been sarcastic or are you meaning well?

Neither?

'Due to start' implies that it is already confirmed that you will start a medical degree, hence my comment that you are confident. More typically you would say that you are 'applying to start'. Ciao

[Hippokrates]

(Original post by star95)
Thanks for all your advice, sorry if I landed in the wrong forum, I am a new member so I am still a bit lost .
Your answers gave me a bit more of an idea about which university to choose.
I still don't understand why they have two different tests depending on the University people choose from, a big business if you ask me!!
In future I would like to do research-investigation work, I was going to go for Biology but my Biology teacher advised me to do Medicine mainly because it will give me more career opportunities. Luckily in the last year or so I have developed a passion for Medicine and I am now a big fan of Embarrassing Bodies!!!

Thanks again xx

If anybody would like to add anymore posts I will greatly appreciated.

If you want to do research do a science degree not medicine otherwise it's a waste of the NHS' money to train you for a job you don't want to do.

[Democracy]

(Original post by Hippokrates)
If you want to do research do a science degree not medicine otherwise it's a waste of the NHS' money to train you for a job you don't want to do.

Doctors (i.e. MB ChB trained) do research too, whether in the lab or out e.g. clinical trials, epidemiology etc. Having a medical degree does open more doors in research and academia (because you can do clinical research).

When you go to med school many of your lecturers will be medically qualified (having worked in the NHS) but will also have doctorates and conduct research too