[myyrh]

(Original post by CameronLee)
I want to be a doctor, but I'm using physio as a way to get into grad medicine If I don't get in this year

If you want to do medicine, I would recommend reapplying if you don't get in first time round.

[16dan2life]

yeah i've just done some research, physiotherapy is really competitive and apparently there aren't many places in UCAS extra

If you really want to study medicine I recommend your original idea 4+1 physio

If you get 5 rejections and still can't find any good physio courses in extra, I say you take a gap year and reapply for medicine/5 physio options

[Chiringuito]

I would recommend emailing/phoning any universities you are considering applying to as your 5th option and telling them your grades etc and the fact that you would have a medical PS and see what they say. I stupidly made the mistake of not doing this, and ended up getting an almost immediate rejection from my 5th choice (luckily I got 4 offers for Med haha! ). But yes, turns out that if I had checked before applying they would have told me that they automatically reject anyone who has a personal statement that is not directly related to the course.

I have no idea whether physio would be a good pathway into grad medicine but all I know is that applying for post grad is so so so soo competitive (even more competitive that under grad medicine) so personally I would have taken a gap year and reapplied if I had not got in this year!

[Supportive mum]

I think you could have additional problems with doing physio first (if you managed to get a place) as the fees for that are paid by the NHS. I would imagine that you would be expected to work for a few years as a physio before applying for graduate medicine. To apply in the third year of a physio degree would look rather obvious, and would be frowned upon!

[Maes Seren]

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[Supportive mum]

(Original post by Maes Seren)
I know people who are qualified physios, worked for a year or two minimum before applying for graduate medicine. For the grad med, you fund the first year and the final 3 years are NHS funded.

I honestly think you'll struggle to get a physio place with a med PS given that most physio applicants get declined with a physio PS. You'd have to seriously shine through. Given the recent NHS cuts, the physio places are down at unis and making it more competitive to get in. You'd need to prove to the uni that you would not drop out of the degree, making their choice pointless.

Funding for graduate medicine is quite different now!

[Jambo]

If you're thinking of doing Pharmacy as the 5th as others have suggested you need to think about the length of the course. It's 4 years then the 5th year pre-reg that you'd be mad not to do after graduating. A long time to study something completely different to what you want to do at the end of it. You should probably only do a pharmacy degree if you actually want to be a pharmacist otherwise you're just wasting years on it.

Personally i'm really enjoying my pharmacy degree and looking forward to being a pharmacist, but if it's not your passion then it is a 5 year commitment before you'll get the chance to apply for medicine..

[TheRigorRotor]

(Original post by Supportive mum)
Funding for graduate medicine is quite different now!

How is it different- the first year you pay up front then NHS pays for the last 3 years. It says on the NHS website it's not changing until 2015.

[Picture~Perfect]

(Original post by CameronLee)
HEY !

What I'm thinking of doing is applying to 4 med courses and a Physio course as my 5th at Birmingham if I get 4 rejections.

Would a med personal statement be a disadvantage of applying ? + would doing physio be beneficial if I was to then do grad entry med ?

Cam

When you apply for Medicine you can only choose four courses, you have to use your fifth option for an additional course. Universities are understanding of this and will consider you even though your personal statement is aimed at Medicine. You may struggle with a competitive course though, in which case the best thing to do may be to email the admission officer at the Universities that you are considering for Physio, ask if they consider people with a medical based personal statement. That will give you a better idea of the chances of getting in. Good luck with your application.

[dogie]

Biomed is still extremely strong and sets you up for an excellent post grad or full clinical training. Pharmacy subjects are also very strong and lead to get post grads, but are generally less appealing to those who wanted a clinical experience.

[Maes Seren]

(Original post by Supportive mum)
Funding for graduate medicine is quite different now!

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[TheRigorRotor]

(Original post by Maes Seren)
How? My friend is doing grad med (going into 2nd yr) and has told me that is how it works. I'm not making it up, nor dragging it out of the dark ages.

It is how it works and wont be changing until 2015/2016. I think. :P I could be wrong though.

[Normandy114]

(Original post by Maes Seren)
How? My friend is doing grad med (going into 2nd yr) and has told me that is how it works. I'm not making it up, nor dragging it out of the dark ages.

It's somewhat different now due to the fee hike, now in first year you pay £3375 up front and a loan covers the rest, and in subsequent years it's a combination of NHS Bursary and loan. Still no maintenance loans/grants though IIRC, the only real difference is there's now an extra £30,000~ debt on top of all that other debt.