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HELP?!?! Can I still do medicine?

hello all,

So I am currently going into year 13, studying History, Psychology nd English literature. I have wanted to do medicine for the longest time now but thought it was not possible because of the subjects I study, however I found out that I could still do it if I did a preclinical/foundation year of med at uni.

the problem is yesterday I had my UKCAT, and entirely flopped it. my average comes to 480. Its horrible I know.

here are my stats;
GCSEs: 5 As, 3 Bs, 3 Cs
A levels: currently A in history, B in english lit, C in psychology
UKCAT: 480 avg.
some voluntary work here and there but nothing exponential.

is there any Unis that do a foundation year that would accept me with such low ukcat scores? :frown:
You will struggle tbh but it may not be impossible. This really is the sort of thing you should be able to research yourself. TSR has a lot of resources for applying to med school.
Reply 2
Original post by alleycat393
You will struggle tbh but it may not be impossible. This really is the sort of thing you should be able to research yourself. TSR has a lot of resources for applying to med school.


thanks for the reply, I've been looking around online and emailed some unis but haven't got any replies (probs busy with uni applications). I'm a bit lost as to what I should do.
Err wait for replies. There's not much to do at the moment. You've picked your subjects and can't exactly undo that now. Grad entry medicine is also an option if you can't get into med school at this stage.
(edited 7 years ago)
Take a look at foundation degrees, they're usually for A level students who had picked the wrong/non-sciency subjects. It's very competitive though, like any regular medicine course. I'm not sure about the UKCAT; you're gonna have to do your own research.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 5
no do something like nursing becaus that is not high enough
It's still possible but will be very difficult. Be prepared to take a gap year

Original post by Evess
no do something like nursing becaus that is not high enough


Ignore this.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 7
Original post by Mrs House
It's still possible but will be very difficult. Be prepared to take a gap year



Ignore this.


thank you :smile:

why do you suggest a gap year?
Original post by Leilachent
thank you :smile:

why do you suggest a gap year?


Because even strong applicants have to take a gap year if they didn't get in first time.
Reply 9
Original post by Mrs House
Because even strong applicants have to take a gap year if they didn't get in first time.


i see, thank ya
Reply 10
Original post by Mrs House
It's still possible but will be very difficult. Be prepared to take a gap year



Ignore this.


no, medicine is very competitive and that is not good enough to keep up with competition and you know it
Original post by Evess
no, medicine is very competitive and that is not good enough to keep up with competition and you know it


Competitive does not mean 'impossible' the last time I checked, or does it now?

Let the person decide what they wanna do with their life and if they want to pursue medicine, let them. The work they put in whilst chasing after their goal will determine if they can make it, not you.
Reply 12
Original post by AnnaRainbows
Competitive does not mean 'impossible' the last time I checked, or does it now?

Let the person decide what they wanna do with their life and if they want to pursue medicine, let them. The work they put in whilst chasing after their goal will determine if they can make it, not you.

lol....
Reply 13
The ukcat score is low, a gap year is probably needed
Original post by Evess
no, medicine is very competitive and that is not good enough to keep up with competition and you know it


She can apply for the foundation medicine courses and get a better UKCAT average next time.

It's still possible and I know it.
Reply 15
Original post by Mrs House
She can apply for the foundation medicine courses and get a better UKCAT average next time.

It's still possible and I know it.


Thank you :smile:
Reply 16
Original post by AnnaRainbows
Competitive does not mean 'impossible' the last time I checked, or does it now?

Let the person decide what they wanna do with their life and if they want to pursue medicine, let them. The work they put in whilst chasing after their goal will determine if they can make it, not you.


Thank you so much
There are always more options. If you're that keen and you don't get into foundation medicine or fancy the graduate routs you can always get some practical experience for a few years and do an access to medicine course. I've just completed one and start medicine in a couple of weeks. It's not ideal from your perspective as someone still very young, but it's definitely an option down the line.
Reply 18
Original post by Alan1980
There are always more options. If you're that keen and you don't get into foundation medicine or fancy the graduate routs you can always get some practical experience for a few years and do an access to medicine course. I've just completed one and start medicine in a couple of weeks. It's not ideal from your perspective as someone still very young, but it's definitely an option down the line.


Thank you so much for your response! Can I ask, what did you do in terms of practical experience? It's nice to see that there are definitely a lot more alternative routes to get into medicine than the conventional way.
Original post by Leilachent
Thank you so much for your response! Can I ask, what did you do in terms of practical experience? It's nice to see that there are definitely a lot more alternative routes to get into medicine than the conventional way.


I was a firefighter for 15 years. I will clarify that I didn't always want to be a doctor. I didn't join the fire service to get experience to apply for medicine later in life. However the development of access courses recently has allowed people with similar backgrounds to me to get in, and allows longer term planning for those still keen to apply later in life.

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