Non-financial pros and cons of GEM vs Undergrad Medicine

Hi everyone, really sorry if this has been asked before, but I did a quick search and most of the threads, understandably, are looking at it from the funding side of things!

So basically I applied for all GEM courses and have been lucky enough to end up with two offers and an alternate offer for the undergrad course at King's. For personal reasons, King's/London was my top choice and I'm actually maybe, possibly considering the financial sarifice for these reasons. So my problem is an incredibly luxurious one and I hope that this in no way comes across as ungrateful or spoilt (wary of the wrath of a particular Warwick thread participant...)!

But finances aside, what are the pros and cons of the 5 year course vs the GEM course? These are the few I could think of, but I realise I'm coming up with these whilst emotionally charged- so if you can think of any more rational points/things I should consider, that would be greatly appreciated:

4 year (Warwick)
Pros:
-entirely graduate intake
-one year less of being a student/not earning
-the proposed national FY1 exams would only be in trial the year I graduate (I think?!)

Cons:
-I can't actually think of any that aren't emotional

5 year (King's)
Pros:
-with it not being an accelerated course there's slightly more breathing space and a more manageable workload
-possibly enough time for this mess with the junior doc contracts to be rectified ( very optimistic I know)

Cons:
-predominantly undergrads

As you can see I couldn't really come up with much- since the signifcant consideration is the financial side of things. Are there any professional considerations?

I most likely will decide on the 4 year course, but I just wanted to make sure I'd looked at everything. Sorry for the essay and thanks for any help you can give!

A wonderful problem to have
Firstly, congratulation on getting your offers!
I'm afraid that I don't know much about those 2 universities as they are not ones that I looked at. But might be worth looking at their teaching styles to see if they are different and if there is one that you prefer.
Also, may be an idea to get a current student perspective. Do they have offer holder days? Any current students on forums/facebook that you can ask?
I believe there is usually a fair amount of group work - how are people assigned to groups? What proportion of the intake are graduates (for Kings)? How do you feel about being in a group with non-graduates and do you think that might impact your learning?

I appreciate some people may find that last question slightly controversial - It's not intended to be. I do believe we can all learn from each other, but I think it is important to take that into consideration when making that decision.

That's just a few questions that came to mind.

Hope that helps. Good luck whever you decide to go.

I think the main things you personally want to consider (aside from finance, which it sounds like you have sorted) is whether you would prefer to live in London or the Warwickshire (VERY different places to live in!) and what pace of learning you would prefer. I have a feeling that most 5 year courses require a dissertation (or similar) in the 3rd year, whereas the 3 year courses don't. Weirdly this was the main thing that put me off the 5 year course, other than the cost. I really disliked doing my undergraduate dissertation!

I think you also get extra points when applying for foundation for finishing in the top tier of your cohort and it might be easier to get there amongst a group of people who largely won't have done a dissertation or worked at undergraduate or postgraduate level before. (this would be in addition to extra points for your other degree/s). You would also need to do well in the SJT but if you're wanting a London or SouthWest foundation school then you'll need a very high score

I think you also get extra points when applying for foundation for finishing in the top tier of your cohort and it might be easier to get there amongst a group of people who largely won't have done a dissertation or worked at undergraduate or postgraduate level before. (this would be in addition to extra points for your other degree/s). You would also need to do well in the SJT but if you're wanting a London or SouthWest foundation school then you'll need a very high score.

I'm nearly 30 and I have a child (and I'm £36k short anyway) so I feel like I might fit in better with a grad only cohort so I'm going to Warwick this year but if I was hugely tempted by Barts.

This is a good point and something I hadn't really considered until starting; the level amongst grads is pretty high (I'm sure it is at undergraduate too but there are loads of PhD holders etc). Thankfully I get the impression that the SJT is partially luck and time management so it kind of levels the field!

Hey so I'm a graduate doing A100 at Southampton.

Firstly I personally chose this as my degree is an arts degree, I didn't feel I had the recent scientific exposure to keep up on A101. So far I think this was the best choice, the pace is great for me without being overwhelming and they really did start from the very basics. I think because of this I will have a better grasp of the science than I would have on A101.

So for me the pros are -
-Having reasonable free time in 1st and 2nd year to pursue other hobbies and get settled into a new city life.
-Feeling as though the course is well rounded, for example we have a medical humanities module. (Comparatively I don't know how A101 feels in this sense, but I know they don't have medical humanities).
-Great group of other graduates in my year (I know you'd get this on A101 too, but I'm just pointing out you certainly wouldn't be the only graduate on A100.)
-Some people have mentioned a competitive edge. After exams, we shared results amongst the graduates, I felt a little disappointed as I was nearing the lower end compared to their scores (despite receiving very high marks). However I realised in our feedback lecture I was actually almost 20% higher than the year average and in the top 10%. Decile ranking within your cohort is directly scored on Foundation year applications, so I would say that is a consideration.
-Having a large cohort of 200 brings with it variation. Many A101 courses have 30 or so per year. (Although I know Warwick and Swansea are much bigger).
-Anatomy has been my favourite subject and I live the practical way it is taught. I believe on our A101 it is taught very differently and not as well, but again this depends on the course I suppose.

Pros
-The age/maturity gap is bigger than I was expecting, for example sometimes talking in lectures or lack of professionalism is frustrating. Particularly after I have sacrificed a well paid job etc. and worked extremely hard to have the privilege to be there, it can be a bit disheartening. Although I would say the majority of the time this can be ignored if you just concentrate on yourself.

Anyway, hope that helps. Whatever you choose you'll love it all the same!


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Which course did you go for in the end?

I was in the incredibly lucky situation of choosing between a 4-year offer and a 5-year offer this year too. For me, the financials were actually pretty evenly split when you'd taken lost earnings into account, but boiled down to 'pay money now' (term time work, savings) or 'pay money later' (loan).

I have actually ended up choosing the 5 year course. Partly this was due to the particular medical school - it has a reputation of being one of the friendliest and best supported courses in the country, even if it is in the ****ing middle of nowhere. As a grad who's been out of education for quite a few years now, and who's made a lot of sacrifices to get here, I suppose somewhat selfishly I want to feel looked after when I get there rather than rushed through a slightly bigger and less friendly medical school. And the extra breathing space of a 5 year course will hopefully give me time to nosy around different specialties, enjoy being a student again, maybe do some research, and spend time with my family in my home country during the holidays.

I suppose even the shortest possible route to being a doctor (GEM -> GP) is 9 years. You should make the choices that maximise your happiness along the way!

Hi! I chose the 5 year in the end too. For me the time didn't factor at all- an extra year is nothing in the grand scheme, especially since I'm going to be investing so much time into this career anyway! And the extra financial cost was worth it for me to live where I would like to live, as you said have the longer holidays to earn money and just catch my breath, and also the extra time learning can't be a bad thing!

I'm really happy with my decision and very lucky to have the means to finance it- I also like to think that someone who was on the Southampton or Warwick waiting list who didn't have the luxury of choice has potentially now got one!


Thanks everyone who has kindly replied- good luck with courses you are about to start or are currently on, or any applications 😁😁


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