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Questions from a mature student

Hi all. I am currently 38 years old and I am looking to apply to one of the accelerated medicine courses for September 2015, when I will have just turned 40. I have been a registered nurse since I was 21 and I have a BSc (Hons) in health and social care, and an MSc also. It's looking like I only have the entry requirements to apply for Leicester, Warwick or kings college. As a mature student, please can anyone advise if there is scope to work part time as a medical student? Also, if I would be considered to apply at age 40? I really can't stop thinking about having a real go at applying. Then, I'll think about fees and funding if I were to ever be offered a place. Thank you so much. I'll look forward to hearing from people.
Original post by Jfcuk1975
Hi all. I am currently 38 years old and I am looking to apply to one of the accelerated medicine courses for September 2015, when I will have just turned 40. I have been a registered nurse since I was 21 and I have a BSc (Hons) in health and social care, and an MSc also. It's looking like I only have the entry requirements to apply for Leicester, Warwick or kings college. As a mature student, please can anyone advise if there is scope to work part time as a medical student? Also, if I would be considered to apply at age 40? I really can't stop thinking about having a real go at applying. Then, I'll think about fees and funding if I were to ever be offered a place. Thank you so much. I'll look forward to hearing from people.


Hey there - I am in my 30s and just applied for 2014 entry - you should just go for it!! Also have you looked at Newcastle for a poss 4th option?? Entry requirements are similar to Kings... I work as an HCA at the moment and if I get in am planning on doing bank work or I'll not be able to eat!! Haha!! As long as you are organised you should be able to do a few shifts :smile: feel free to message me if you want to...


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Reply 2
Hi! Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it. Good luck and very best wishes with your application. Can I ask what you are a graduate in? I will send you a private message. Thank you!
Hia - I did my degree in forensic science, and since graduating have worked for a government department - nothing scientific or remotely helpful for applying!! I've just started as an HCA - and so far I'm really enjoying it!!! Hopefully it's going to be good experience!! :smile: yeah send me a msg - I don't know if I can be much help, but it's good to talk to someone in a similar-ish boat!! :biggrin:


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Reply 4
Hi ! Very best wishes with your application. Whereabouts are you based and where do you hope to study? Do you have a family? I am single and have no dependants, and whilst I would love to study medicine, I am just worried about how I would fund my studies and accommodation as I recognise that I would need to move away, wherever I studied. I really don't know if my aspirations are practical or possible, but I'll worry about the details, when and if I come to apply. Please do keep me posted on your progress!! Can I ask how you prepared for the UKCAT exam? That's another hurdle to contend with for me!! Haha
I'm on a 5 year course and started at 44. On top, I have a 4 y.o. (2 when I started). It certainly is a challenge but I'm now in 3rd year and loving it. Don't let your age be a barrier.

As for finances, I pay some fees but as a Scottish student, get some help as I'm doing medicine despite having previous degrees. I get a loan and have a very supportive partner.

I did not consider a 4 year due to having a young son and thought the workload would have been unmanageable for me.

Good luck!
Original post by Jfcuk1975
Hi all. I am currently 38 years old and I am looking to apply to one of the accelerated medicine courses for September 2015, when I will have just turned 40. I have been a registered nurse since I was 21 and I have a BSc (Hons) in health and social care, and an MSc also. It's looking like I only have the entry requirements to apply for Leicester, Warwick or kings college. As a mature student, please can anyone advise if there is scope to work part time as a medical student? Also, if I would be considered to apply at age 40? I really can't stop thinking about having a real go at applying. Then, I'll think about fees and funding if I were to ever be offered a place. Thank you so much. I'll look forward to hearing from people.


Hi there

I am also a mature student and have applied for 4 year courses for 2014 entry. I also have 2 children aged 22months and 4years. Do you have An A-level in Chemistry? That would broaden your options a bit. I also think that you would qualify for the graduate programme at QMUL due to your previous nursing experiences. Worth taking a look.

My previous degree is in languages (Arabic) and I have worked as a Police Officer since graduating in 2005. Lots of people think it is a big change, but actually I see enormous similarities between my current job and the. Doctors that I interact with.

I spent my undergraduate years working as bank auxiliary nurse at my local general hospital which is where I caught the medicine "bug", but it has take a long time for me to get to a place where I am ready to scratch this particular itch. Finance has played a huge role in my decision making, my parents told me at 17 that they couldn't put me through 5years of University to study medicine and I knew from my experiences in the hospital that I did not want to be a nurse (not that I have any issue with nurses at all, I just didn't think it was the occupation for me). So it's been a long road working, earning, and trying to find a way to do this.

I have applied to a couple of places but the only real option for me will be my nearest University so that I can stay living in the family home. I sympathise with your concerns about funding and how you'll afford things, the 4-year courses have a more comprehensive support package which is what has drawn me to them over the five-year courses (personally) and of course the shorter gap between periods spent earning. The downside is that they are more competitive to get into.

My biggest worry is some of the intellectual snobbery that I have encountered in my experiences in healthcare and whilst preparing to apply. When I turn up in A&E in my police uniform a large percentage of the doctors look down their nose at me and my colleagues (not the nurses or allied professionals I have found) and give the impression that they think we are educationally subnormal thugs. I do worry about how this might affect my chances at application, as people think that coppers are devoid of compassion, but the opposite is usually true. Likewise, as an auxiliary nurse I found a number of the doctors were very rude and arrogant towards me as a "lower" class of employee or person than them. Not for one moment am I suggesting that everyone in the profession is like that, but it does concern me that such stereotypes might adversely affect my chances of securing an interview.

I would love to stay in-touch if you want to send a PM?

Pitta x
Reply 7
Dear Pitta, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my message. I am very grateful to you and I wish you every success with your application. As I said, I have been a nurse since I was 21. I am 38 now, but I will be 40 by September 2015, when I am looking at starting a course if I am successful with my application. Over the years, I've contemplated applying for medicine, but something has always held me back. Whether it be confidence, practicality, or quite simply the 'effort' of applying. But now, for some reason, I feel so committed and really motivated to at least see how far I can get with an application, despite all of the potential sacrifices that I would need to make (job, mortgage, home). I really don't know if what I am considering is sensible or indeed possible, but I am getting older, and I don't want to grow any older, wondering 'what if' and having potential regrets. With regard to your question, no I don't have any A Level sciences. I appear to hold the entry requirements for 4 universities, but I really don't know how my application would fair against others. We'll just have to wait and see. I am also concerned about the potential 'intellectual snobbery', but in all of my years of nursing and working with many doctors over the years, it is my opinion that such attitudes aren't shared amongst the majority of medics. Unfortunately, for me, I can't seek any specific funding or fee advice until 2014, due to a provisional start date not being until 2015. I really am unsure where I would stand financially, as I have previously received an NHS bursary for my nurse training, back in the 1990's. I am interested to read that you previously studied Arabic. Would you believe that I have also contemplated studying Arabic at uni, just because I love the middle East, and I have been contemplating a career change for some months now. I really don't think I want to nurse for my entire adult working life. Life is too short!! Where are you from anyhow? I'll look forward to hearing from you. Have you sat your UKCAT exam? How was it? I really don't know if I'd do particularly well at that. But I'd never know unless I try. Please do keep me posted with your application!! Jx
Thanks for your reply, I'll head over to the PMs in a bit.

The only other thing I was going to mention (although I'n sure you're already aware) is that were you to obtain a place, you would probably earn enough to subsist as an agency nurse around your studies, rather than going on the bank, as it pays that much better.... X


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