Graduate applying for second undergrad degree.

Hi, I'm applying to BSc Physiotherapy and I'm a graduate. I've been looking at some other Physio statements and they're all school leaver statements so I'm not really sure how to write mine. Do I have to explain the career switch, why I did my first degree and what I've done since? Or do I just go straight in with why I want to do the degree and the relevant work experience I have? I feel like I have way more to write than space to write it in.

Also, once I've completed it, is there anywhere on TSR to submit it to be checked?


Thanks!

Hi, I'm applying to BSc Physiotherapy and I'm a graduate. I've been looking at some other Physio statements and they're all school leaver statements so I'm not really sure how to write mine. Do I have to explain the career switch, why I did my first degree and what I've done since? Or do I just go straight in with why I want to do the degree and the relevant work experience I have? I feel like I have way more to write than space to write it in.

Also, once I've completed it, is there anywhere on TSR to submit it to be checked?


Thanks!

Have you considered how you will fund it? im not sure SFE will give you funding for a second degree

NHS degrees are the exception to that rule as the NHS pays tuition so you only borrow about 2k from sfe if that a year .

Oh cool i didn't know that, thanks

Thanks Claire, I think since mine is a bit of an odd jump I might include a couple of sentences but not go too in depth. I want to try to keep it mostly about Physio and my first draft seemed to have a lot of stuff about why I'd moved on from my previous degree which could be interpreted negatively.

Thanks

Hi, I'm applying to BSc Physiotherapy and I'm a graduate. I've been looking at some other Physio statements and they're all school leaver statements so I'm not really sure how to write mine. Do I have to explain the career switch, why I did my first degree and what I've done since? Or do I just go straight in with why I want to do the degree and the relevant work experience I have? I feel like I have way more to write than space to write it in.

Also, once I've completed it, is there anywhere on TSR to submit it to be checked?


Thanks!

I thought you wanted to do medicine?

This.
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Hi, I'm applying to BSc Physiotherapy and I'm a graduate. I've been looking at some other Physio statements and they're all school leaver statements so I'm not really sure how to write mine. Do I have to explain the career switch, why I did my first degree and what I've done since? Or do I just go straight in with why I want to do the degree and the relevant work experience I have? I feel like I have way more to write than space to write it in.

Also, once I've completed it, is there anywhere on TSR to submit it to be checked?


Thanks!

I was, but for a lot of reasons, I don't think it's right for me regardless of how much I wanted to do it. I think I can realistically get a place for Physio next year. I enjoyed my Physio placements and can imagine being happy with that as a career. I'll apply next month and hopefully have a place for 2016. But for med, I'd have to apply next Sept (not GAMSAT ready this year) and I still may not get a place for 2017.

For Medicine, there are too my loops to jump through as an Arts grad without Science A-Levels and even if I jump through them I'm not guaranteed even an interview. It's too uncertain and I need certainty - it could take me years to secure a place and I'm not in a position to do that (financially/personally).

I know I can't get a place for 2016 but beyond 2016 who knows what the funding will be like for GEM or if it will even exist - so I can't base my future on something that may or may not even be possible/exist. Whereas I'm confident I can get at least one offer for Physio and secure funding for next year.

Plus, I'm not sure I'd be happy with a career as a doctor - FY1/2 seem super stressful and from reading through the junior doc thread on here they seem overworked. I'm not sure I could handle that. I need work/life balance. All of the junior rotational physios I met were happy and they didn't work crazy shift patterns. Medicine also means taking exams for the rest of my life - I just don't want that.

Finally, I want to stay with my family during my degree because I'm prone to stress/anxiety/depression (a major reason I'm not sure I could get through GEM) and they are my support network - I can stay at home for Physio and be financially comfortable but my only Med School options are at the other end of the country - I would barely see my family and my finances wouldn't be so great.

So, at this time in my life Medicine is not the right choice for me and I've made my peace with that. I just want to earn a living helping people and I want to learn anatomy/physiology - so Physio is a sensible choice and it means my life will be stable during uni, I'll be financially secure and I'll be surrounded by people who can support me. If at some point in the future I want to do medicine then I'll look at the GEM entry reqs for someone with a BA/BSc and no means of acquiring funding . To be honest, I think I'll be happy as a Physio and happiness is more important to me than anything else now.

Bit of a detailed reply there but I know that a lot of people wanted to follow my GEM application. Ultimately, I think regardless of whether you meet the academic and work experience requirements for Medicine - you have to ask yourself if it's right for you and even though I tick the boxes for entry I don't think it's right for me.

Hey

Thanks for your reply. I completely understand you viewpoint and I really commend you for not letting other people's experiences deter you.

For me, I feel that I'm just not at liberty to make a long term commitment of applying to Medicine.

I think if I was in a different set of circumstances in my life i.e. supporting myself, living independently and in a profession then I would apply to med and it wouldn't concern me if it took a few years. I've met a lot of people in their 20s who have degrees and careers and for them, Medicine is a career change and they have the reassurance of knowing that if they don't get an offer then they still have their career to go back to.

But I'm mid-twenties and depending on family and I don't have a career - I have a job but it's not paid very well and doesn't allow me to live independently. Medicine was never a career change for me - it was a career choice. I've spent the last 3 years since I graduated in low paid work between spells of unemployment. I just want my life on track ASAP. I want a career with room for progression which allows me to help people and support myself financially. I can have that with Physio and I can have that before I'm 30. There's no guarantee that I'll ever even get a place for Medicine.

By the time I make a competitive application to Medicine it will be for the 2017 cycle and most people don't get in on their first attempt and I have no confidence in my ability to score competitively on the GAMSAT first time. I'd be looking, realistically, at 2018 entry by which time I'll be 28/9. As I say, that wouldn't concern me if I was supporting myself and in a career that I could use as a fall back if Medicine never worked out but I'm not in that position at all - I'm living with family until I can get a career and I'm unable to support myself until I do so. My life is in limbo. For me, my career choice is a practical decision based on what I want to do coupled with my chances of being able to get a place at uni & how long overall it will take me. I don't want to be 30 something and living at home, desperately applying to GEM courses. Compromise comes into play out of practicality.

The idea of spending yet more years remaining in such a situation with only hope of getting into Medicine is not how I want to live my life. I've come to learn that you need to enjoy the present and not just pin all of your happiness on things that may or may not occur in future because you just spend your life miserable hoping for better days ahead. I've had a really terrible time since graduating and I don't want to prolong it. I know that I have a very good chance of starting Physio in 2016 and I know that by the time I'm 29 there's a very good chance that I will be qualified and applying for full time work as a Physio. I don't even know if I'll be on a GEM course by the time I'm 29.

So, it's different for different people and my decision might seem odd to some people who might think ''but you meet the criteria for GEM'' but Physio feels the right decision and for the first time in a long time I feel really positive and I can see a future ahead of me.

Under different circumstances, my decision might have been different, but we don't get to choose our cards, only how we play them. At this point in my life, under these circumstance, it would be a bad move for me to choose Medicine - I have nothing to fall back on and could end up being 30 and still with no career and unable to support myself financially.

I was, but for a lot of reasons, I don't think it's right for me regardless of how much I wanted to do it. I think I can realistically get a place for Physio next year. I enjoyed my Physio placements and can imagine being happy with that as a career. I'll apply next month and hopefully have a place for 2016. But for med, I'd have to apply next Sept (not GAMSAT ready this year) and I still may not get a place for 2017.

For Medicine, there are too my loops to jump through as an Arts grad without Science A-Levels and even if I jump through them I'm not guaranteed even an interview. It's too uncertain and I need certainty - it could take me years to secure a place and I'm not in a position to do that (financially/personally).

I know I can't get a place for 2016 but beyond 2016 who knows what the funding will be like for GEM or if it will even exist - so I can't base my future on something that may or may not even be possible/exist. Whereas I'm confident I can get at least one offer for Physio and secure funding for next year.

Plus, I'm not sure I'd be happy with a career as a doctor - FY1/2 seem super stressful and from reading through the junior doc thread on here they seem overworked. I'm not sure I could handle that. I need work/life balance. All of the junior rotational physios I met were happy and they didn't work crazy shift patterns. Medicine also means taking exams for the rest of my life - I just don't want that.

Finally, I want to stay with my family during my degree because I'm prone to stress/anxiety/depression (a major reason I'm not sure I could get through GEM) and they are my support network - I can stay at home for Physio and be financially comfortable but my only Med School options are at the other end of the country - I would barely see my family and my finances wouldn't be so great.

So, at this time in my life Medicine is not the right choice for me and I've made my peace with that. I just want to earn a living helping people and I want to learn anatomy/physiology - so Physio is a sensible choice and it means my life will be stable during uni, I'll be financially secure and I'll be surrounded by people who can support me. If at some point in the future I want to do medicine then I'll look at the GEM entry reqs for someone with a BA/BSc and no means of acquiring funding . To be honest, I think I'll be happy as a Physio and happiness is more important to me than anything else now.

Bit of a detailed reply there but I know that a lot of people wanted to follow my GEM application. Ultimately, I think regardless of whether you meet the academic and work experience requirements for Medicine - you have to ask yourself if it's right for you and even though I tick the boxes for entry I don't think it's right for me.