*MEGATHREAD* - The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread Mk II

Will a AAA prediction at A level be okay? I know it sounds stupid but a lot of universities say on their websites "many of our students exceed academic requirements", I say this as i'm unsure if I can get any A* predictions.

AAA prediction is definitely ok for medicine, just make sure you apply to the right med schools

Check this site ^^

That should help narrow down your list of university choices

Lord of Medicine

I can only begin to decipher what some of those words may mean...

One simple rule of thumb is that the body regulates water by sodium, and for every molecule of sodium, retained, you must excrete either a molecule of potassium or hydrogen...

Someone hasn't been doing their chemistry for some time

Hi, I'm after some feedback from some medical students, or anyone who knows about the ins and outs of the application process.

I was a straight A student in high school, predicted 10 A/A*s. I fell pregnant with my daughter in my last year and my final results suffered.
I'm now in college doing Chem, Human Biology, Psychology and Maths predicted As. I've done a year's foundation course in Humanities for mature students with Swansea Uni and I'm my UKCAT test scores are pretty good and improving. I have a background in dealing with long term illness, as my mother suffers with fibromyalgia, and I have some volunteer work lined up.

I'm working my ass off since I know I wont be happy unless I try.

But the big question is, will my GCSEs ruin my chances of getting into med school or can they take mitigating circumstances into account?


PS. I've particularly got my eye on Peninsula, so any info about you can give would be great.

Thanks!

Depends on your GCSE's, I got no A*s at A-level and have an offer from Peninsula

Mostly As and Bs, couple of Cs at GCSE, but against the super-docs with a million and one A*s, its a bit of a black mark.

How are the interviews at Peninsula?

At the risk of being really arrogant, and because I'm in a particularly bad mood because I've just noticed how much work revision is, admittedly this is my own fault.

**** off. I haven't done chemistry in a while, that's because I'm at medical school.

How could i decide what i want to even do? I'm deciding between medicine and chemistry and natural sciences.

If i'm not this sure about medicine now, is it not the right thing for me? Everybody seems to go on about being 100% for it, and all passionate.

I love human biology and the idea of being active as a doctor is something i would enjoy (i can't sit in one place for too long without getting fidgety and annoyed).

SO WHAT DO I DO?!?!

The reason why people say you need to be 100% is because it's so hard to go through the rigorous process of applying with every chance you could end up with no offers. Not everyone who applies is 100% on medicine, some put down fifth choices in a subject which they would seriously consider doing at university. You need to have a certain degree of passion and dedication to medicine because you need to be able to convey that in an interview situation. The degree is long and you will continue to study even after you graduate so you need to really be prepared for what you are getting yourself in to. Work experience and volunteering really help you decide whether its the career for you. It's a chance for you to familiarise yourself within a clinical environment and if gives you an insight into what you could potentially be doing in five years time. Out of the three degrees you have listed which is the one you want to do most? If you decide on medicine your application has to be completely devoted to the subject but you could send a supplementary personal statement to your fifth choice institution.

Thanks for all the information. I can't really decide on which i favour the most, i want to do all of them! They all interest me a lot! But my mum clearly wants me to do medicine. I'm just unsure right now, but i need to decide soon. I think i'll do work experience in the summer (hopefully) and see how it goes, but i really like biology and chemistry, so i'm looking for anything involving those subjects, BUT well paid. I need to do some volunteering too (i've done nothing except get good grades )

Somebody told me that if you're applying to medicine, you can only apply to 4 universities, because it's so competitive.

BUT, Could you explain why everyone says it's so competitive? In many prospectuses, it says that there is 1 place given per 7 applicants. I'm not saying that's good or anything, but i've seen a lot worse for natural sciences/chemistry/etc. So why? Thanks for the help.

Thanks for all the information. I can't really decide on which i favour the most, i want to do all of them! They all interest me a lot! But my mum clearly wants me to do medicine. I'm just unsure right now, but i need to decide soon. I think i'll do work experience in the summer (hopefully) and see how it goes, but i really like biology and chemistry, so i'm looking for anything involving those subjects, BUT well paid. I need to do some volunteering too (i've done nothing except get good grades )

Somebody told me that if you're applying to medicine, you can only apply to 4 universities, because it's so competitive.

BUT, Could you explain why everyone says it's so competitive? In many prospectuses, it says that there is 1 place given per 7 applicants. I'm not saying that's good or anything, but i've seen a lot worse for natural sciences/chemistry/etc. So why? Thanks for the help.