The Student Room Group

London medical schools, do I need a backup outside London?

Hi guys, so I want to apply for medicine in September and we have a teacher that is dedicated to be a mentor for aspiring medics and she is trying to get us to proactively research and make choices now, rather than in September because she says "from experience you can be really rushed otherwise". Obviously I haven't received my AS grades yet, so there isn't even a guarantee that I can apply for medicine. However, I want to start thinking about it early.Providing I achieve the grades, at the moment I'd really like to apply to:Cambridge (worth a punt I guess)UCLImperialBarts/King'sAs you can see 3/4 are London unis and this worried my teacher who said I should "definitely replace one of the London ones with a backup such as Hull York or Southampton". However I was under the impression that basically all of the medical schools are about the same standard anyway. Also here on TSR it says that UCL and Imperial have some of the lowest place:applications ratios compared to other medical schools. Another point my teacher made was that the London ones are "immensely competitive" and that this is because all the London private school kids want to go there. I wouldn't be surprised by this, but then again I'd like to hear other peoples' opinions. I mean, if I'm going to be spending 5/6 years of my life somewhere, shouldn't it be somewhere I actually want to be? I know that I am definitely set on London, and have already had a look around a few of them.thanks! :wink:
Original post by Dobbo30
Hi guys, so I want to apply for medicine in September and we have a teacher that is dedicated to be a mentor for aspiring medics and she is trying to get us to proactively research and make choices now, rather than in September because she says "from experience you can be really rushed otherwise". Obviously I haven't received my AS grades yet, so there isn't even a guarantee that I can apply for medicine. However, I want to start thinking about it early.Providing I achieve the grades, at the moment I'd really like to apply to:Cambridge (worth a punt I guess)UCLImperialBarts/King'sAs you can see 3/4 are London unis and this worried my teacher who said I should "definitely replace one of the London ones with a backup such as Hull York or Southampton". However I was under the impression that basically all of the medical schools are about the same standard anyway. Also here on TSR it says that UCL and Imperial have some of the lowest place:applications ratios compared to other medical schools. Another point my teacher made was that the London ones are "immensely competitive" and that this is because all the London private school kids want to go there. I wouldn't be surprised by this, but then again I'd like to hear other peoples' opinions. I mean, if I'm going to be spending 5/6 years of my life somewhere, shouldn't it be somewhere I actually want to be? I know that I am definitely set on London, and have already had a look around a few of them.thanks! :wink:


All UK med schools are excellent and extremely competitive but have different selection criteria - you really need to apply to your strengths and look at the med schools where you are most likely to get an interview, that way you will increase your chance of success.

If you have a high number of GCSE's at A* - look at med schools that favour GCSE's for example Cardiff, similarly some med schools look at AS results/ A2 predictions and some look at high UKCAT/BMAT - and then there are those who favour a really strong PS and experience once grades have been achieved. Criteria can change each year so check carefully for most up to date information.

Once you have narrowed down your choices use TSR threads from previous years to get help from previous applicants. Don't make any decisions until you have your AS results/UKCAT but do plenty of research to enable you choose wisely and strategically. Good Luck!!!
Reply 2
meh.. throw in George's as a backup and you'll probabaly be OK :tongue:
Original post by Dobbo30
Hi guys, so I want to apply for medicine in September and we have a teacher that is dedicated to be a mentor for aspiring medics and she is trying to get us to proactively research and make choices now, rather than in September because she says "from experience you can be really rushed otherwise". Obviously I haven't received my AS grades yet, so there isn't even a guarantee that I can apply for medicine. However, I want to start thinking about it early.Providing I achieve the grades, at the moment I'd really like to apply to:Cambridge (worth a punt I guess)UCLImperialBarts/King'sAs you can see 3/4 are London unis and this worried my teacher who said I should "definitely replace one of the London ones with a backup such as Hull York or Southampton". However I was under the impression that basically all of the medical schools are about the same standard anyway. Also here on TSR it says that UCL and Imperial have some of the lowest place:applications ratios compared to other medical schools. Another point my teacher made was that the London ones are "immensely competitive" and that this is because all the London private school kids want to go there. I wouldn't be surprised by this, but then again I'd like to hear other peoples' opinions. I mean, if I'm going to be spending 5/6 years of my life somewhere, shouldn't it be somewhere I actually want to be? I know that I am definitely set on London, and have already had a look around a few of them.thanks! :wink:


At the end of the day, your coming out of university regardless of whether you go UCL or Leicester, it's the same degree. I suggest apply for the Univeristies you actually have a chance at getting into. Although I fit into the criteria of UCL and Imperial, compared to the other students my grades are no where near as good. I'm sort of focusing on universities that look at UKCAT and personal statement more than grades, although my grades are reasonable.
A lot of my school members are applying to only london Univeristies which for me, sounds like a huge risk, but ultimately it's up to you.
I'm only applying to one London university btw.


Posted from TSR Mobile

Quick Reply

Latest