[E11A]

I'm just starting sixth form in september so there's no rush on deciding where I apply, but I've started thinking about what uni's I might want to go to and wondered whether it really matters where you study medicine? My parents want me to apply to oxford, but I don't particualy like the city, I don't really want to have to sit the BMAT as well as UKCAT and considering how competative any medical school is the chances of getting in are extremely low and so it's probably a waste of an option. I'd also prefer to study an intergrated course than one which is too traditional. But regarding getting a place on a speciality trainging post (particualy if I end up wanted to do something very competative like cardiology) would it make a big difference if your degree as from oxbridge?
I as thinking of applying maybe to leeds, birmingham, bristol and nottingham, as far as I can see these all have well regarded medical schools so would this give me a good grounding to getting onto my first choice of speciality?

[Palindromic]

(Original post by E11A)
I'm just starting sixth form in september so there's no rush on deciding where I apply, but I've started thinking about what uni's I might want to go to and wondered whether it really matters where you study medicine? My parents want me to apply to oxford, but I don't particualy like the city, I don't really want to have to sit the BMAT as well as UKCAT and considering how competative any medical school is the chances of getting in are extremely low and so it's probably a waste of an option. I'd also prefer to study an intergrated course than one which is too traditional. But regarding getting a place on a speciality trainging post (particualy if I end up wanted to do something very competative like cardiology) would it make a big difference if your degree as from oxbridge?
I as thinking of applying maybe to leeds, birmingham, bristol and nottingham, as far as I can see these all have well regarded medical schools so would this give me a good grounding to getting onto my first choice of speciality?

medical school that you study at makes no difference at all since they're accredited my the GMC. when applying for special training after foundation years your medical school isnt disclosed so is irrelevant just focus on getting in!

[izpenguin]

My cousin is a doctor and she tells me that it doesn't matter where you go, there is no benefit to going to Oxbridge, all medical degrees have equal prestige.
To be honest, medicine is such a competitive subject that to get in anywhere is a fantastic achievement, so you are probably best off applying to the unis that you like and think you have the best chance of getting in to.

[Beska]

Have a look here.

[Intriguing Alias]

"Is it important what medical school you go to?"

In a word, no.

It's important to go to one where you think you'll learn best, but other than that it doesn't matter. It does not factor in when trying to apply for further places in your career - they will not have access to which medical school you studied at.

[Holz888]

I think it is important in some respects, as in whether you want wet anatomy, how far from home you want to be (remembering that travel is expensive), whether you want lecture-based courses or not, whether you want to live in a city. From visiting open days, I have realised that I can see myself in some places but not in others, and that is important.

For your career prospects? Again, it depends. Do you want to go somewhere that is renowned for research, or somewhere that give you a great foundation anatomy knowledge for surgery (a Birmingham student once told me that Birmingham is rubbish at anatomy, and if you are considering surgery as a career, consider elsewhere).
If you want to do cardiology, there are places that have a tertiary hospital which specialises in cardio. Will this help you on paper? No. Will it allow you to get a better knowledge of cardio for personal benefit? Possibly.

Then, there's the fact that it's all well and good selecting your university, but remember that they are the ones who select you. I think that admissions criteria is going to be what contributes to your choice most. You really need to play to your strengths for the best chance, but that doesn't mean that you don't get to decide on what you like at all, it just means you don't apply to, say, Manchester with a UKCAT of 600.

[carcinoma]

(Original post by Holz888)
For your career prospects? Again, it depends. Do you want to go somewhere that is renowned for research, or somewhere that give you a great foundation anatomy knowledge for surgery (a Birmingham student once told me that Birmingham is rubbish at anatomy, and if you are considering surgery as a career, consider elsewhere).

Anatomy is something you can learn on your own, outside of scheduled teaching. Whether you you use textbooks and anatomical models or textbooks and dissection/prosection is make very little difference.

Yes at some medical schools you can get by without learning anatomy well or the bare minimum, but this goes without saying. You can even cram anatomy without learning it just to pass exams.

How it is taught is irrelevant, its down to the individual students. If you are really keen on surgery you can learn anatomy in a month on you own at any medical school.

[carcinoma]

As I have said many times applying to medicine is just an unnecessary hurdle due to the demand but realistically there is very little difference where you study medicine other than the location and the course structure.

Wherever you go, whichever course you do EVERYONE learns the same information from the same resources - be that textbooks, biomedical researchers or consultants. Everyone will learn a ridiculous amount of information about the human body, normal processes, disease and management.

Where you go is just a formality!

[Holz888]

(Original post by carcinoma)
Anatomy is something you can learn on your own, outside of scheduled teaching. Whether you you use textbooks and anatomical models or textbooks and dissection/prosection is make very little difference.

Yes at some medical schools you can get by without learning anatomy well or the bare minimum, but this goes without saying. You can even cram anatomy without learning it just to pass exams.

How it is taught is irrelevant, its down to the individual students. If you are really keen on surgery you can learn anatomy in a month on you own at any medical school.

Fair enough. I was just saying what I heard

[xadmin]

It matters more if you are going to work abroad

[katyness]

It is important to know how to search on a forum though.

[Chief Wiggum]

(Original post by J1994D)
medical school that you study at makes no difference at all since they're accredited my the GMC. when applying for special training after foundation years your medical school isnt disclosed so is irrelevant just focus on getting in!

I thought the medical school you attended was only hidden when applying for foundation years?

[carcinoma]

(Original post by Holz888)
Fair enough. I was just saying what I heard

Yea I know, lots of people say the "dont go to X medical school if you wanna do Surgery, they dont teach anatomy well" ect. But in reality, the undergraduate medical qualification has little influence over a career in surgery, its the postgraduate training that has more of an impact.

[Solid.Snake]

I'm not a doctor or a medical student myself but from what i've heard it really doesn't matter as it doesn't get disclosed to others when you apply for positions and roles.
Anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

[x[Aa$iyah]x]

not really....but generally whichever medical school you decide to go to...you generally undertake your foundation year in a hospital in that city and then you carry on practising there

generally

i guess you could move if you wanted to but that would be too much of a hassle

[4RealBlud]

Forgive me if im wrong, but being an ex-medicine applicant, i remember being told that where you study doesnt make any difference to your likelihood of getting a job, but it does play a part of where you are more likely to work. For example, if you go to UCL you are likely to be able to get a job in london than someone who graduated at somewhere like Keele. Is this correct?

[carcinoma]

(Original post by J1994D)
medical school that you study at makes no difference at all since they're accredited my the GMC. when applying for special training after foundation years your medical school isnt disclosed so is irrelevant just focus on getting in!

Your medical school is only undisclosed for foundation applications, for further speciality training your medical school is disclosed but almost irrelevent.

They will be far more interested in whether you have done Part 1 of the MRCP/MRCS and what experience you gained during FY1 relevent to your specility.

[carcinoma]

(Original post by x[Aa$iyah]x)
not really....but generally whichever medical school you decide to go to...you generally undertake your foundation year in a hospital in that city and then you carry on practising there
generally

i guess you could move if you wanted to but that would be too much of a hassle

Really? Thats not how it works at all. Infact less and less people stay in the city their medical school was in.

The FY1/FY2 application system is entirely seperate from the undergraduate system, you can go wherever you like.

Some medical schools have less than 50% of their graduates staying in the region let alone the same city.

[carcinoma]

(Original post by 4RealBlud)
Forgive me if im wrong, but being an ex-medicine applicant, i remember being told that where you study doesnt make any difference to your likelihood of getting a job, but it does play a part of where you are more likely to work. For example, if you go to UCL you are likely to be able to get a job in london than someone who graduated at somewhere like Keele. Is this correct?

No, a Keele graduate can score higher (and many will) than a UCL (or any other graduate) and can be more likely to get a London job over a UCL grad.

In general terms, the UCL students will have done a compulsaory iBSc, where as it is optional for Keele students therefore the UCL student will already have more points (albeit 2-4) more than the Keele Student, therefore increasing their chanses of scoring higher in the FY application.

[4RealBlud]

(Original post by carcinoma)
No, a Keele graduate can score higher (and many will) than a UCL (or any other graduate) and can be more likely to get a London job over a UCL grad.

In general terms, the UCL students will have done a compulsaory iBSc, where as it is optional for Keele students therefore the UCL student will already have more points (albeit 2-4) more than the Keele Student, therefore increasing their chanses of scoring higher in the FY application.

No i meant if say an applicant from ucl and keele got the exact same score, would the ucl student have a better chance to work in london, because of a combination of ucl having a more prestigious medicine faculty and the fact that ucl is in london anyway. Is this correct?