Should I do biomedical sciences for a year or reapply for medicine after a gap year?

This thread has been done a trillion times I know even though I'm new.

But I'm so conflicted it's killing me, and I really just want another perspective

My gap year was forced upon me I didn't get into med school even thought I really really wanted to go to uni this year.

I got into Sheffield for biomedical sciences so should I take it and try transferring after a year (I don't know how difficult that isn't) or possibly try post graduate? I don't want to take a gap year I didn't plan it I didn't want it I have no clue what I'd do but at the same time I want the best option so that hopefully this time next year I am studying medicine.

Thing is my grades weren't too good especially for medicine I screwed it a bit I got at a levels
Russian A* , (Bio + Chem + maths A) and a A at AS Spanish.

So...anyone got any ideas? I literally cannot decide for myself I've thought and thought a thousand times over and I'm cutting it pretty close help maah

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

Mark8346

10

If you do it postgraduate you won't get any loans if you apply to regular undergraduate courses. The only way to get loans would be to apply to graduate courses, which are much more competitive than regular medical courses.

Were all your rejections pre interview?

Reply 2

Xlxl23

3

Your grades are fine for med. try re-applying

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Reply 3

08dgraham

OP

3 were pre interview one after an MMI which I think I did extremely well in. Everyone in my year applying for med didn't get even, even my friend who's like a golden boy, 5A*s at a2 etc we just don't know why.

Money and loans isn't too much of an issue I've worked and saved a lot and I'm lucky in that my family, grandparents and parents, have been saving for my uni since before I was born. So my issue isn't at all financial it's not pert of my dilemma.

And my grades are good by normal standard but I've been told for med even that's low, it's A*s or the highway

Reply 4

Mark8346

10

Did you ask them for feedback? For all you know, your UKCAT or BMAT was too low for the other 3.

Reply 5

GANFYD

18

Original post by 08dgraham

This thread has been done a trillion times I know even though I'm new.

But I'm so conflicted it's killing me, and I really just want another perspective

My gap year was forced upon me I didn't get into med school even thought I really really wanted to go to uni this year.

I got into Sheffield for biomedical sciences so should I take it and try transferring after a year (I don't know how difficult that isn't) or possibly try post graduate? I don't want to take a gap year I didn't plan it I didn't want it I have no clue what I'd do but at the same time I want the best option so that hopefully this time next year I am studying medicine.

Thing is my grades weren't too good especially for medicine I screwed it a bit I got at a levels
Russian A* , (Bio + Chem + maths A) and a A at AS Spanish.

So...anyone got any ideas? I literally cannot decide for myself I've thought and thought a thousand times over and I'm cutting it pretty close help maah

Your grades are fabulous and more than good enough for most medical schools. If medicine is what you really want to do, then don't give up at the first hurdle. Most people get rejections at their first attempts, so prepare thoroughly and resit the UKCAT (and maybe BMAT), start making some plans for some Medical related work for your gap year which will give you lots to talk about at interview, get your UCAS form in applying to your strengths, interview practice ++++, then use your year off constructively until you are through the interviews. After that, travel and live it up a little. This is the best chance you will get in your whole life to work/travel/experience new things without worrying about additional responsibilities. University is not going anywhere, and there will be a place on a Biomed course to start next year if you are unlucky and get no offers again, but why spend a year at Uni doing a course you are not interested in with only a small chance of transfer when you could spend it working, travelling and gaining new experiences-trust me, very few people end up regretting a gap year, forced or otherwise! Reapply with achieved grades, and make sure you do so to Med Schools that suit your strengths-good luck! :smile:

Reply 6

08dgraham

OP

Original post by GANFYD

Your grades are fabulous and more than good enough for most medical schools. If medicine is what you really want to do, then don't give up at the first hurdle. Most people get rejections at their first attempts, so prepare thoroughly and resit the UKCAT (and maybe BMAT), start making some plans for some Medical related work for your gap year which will give you lots to talk about at interview, get your UCAS form in applying to your strengths, interview practice ++++, then use your year off constructively until you are through the interviews. After that, travel and live it up a little. This is the best chance you will get in your whole life to work/travel/experience new things without worrying about additional responsibilities. University is not going anywhere, and there will be a place on a Biomed course to start next year if you are unlucky and get no offers again, but why spend a year at Uni doing a course you are not interested in with only a small chance of transfer when you could spend it working, travelling and gaining new experiences-trust me, very few people end up regretting a gap year, forced or otherwise! Reapply with achieved grades, and make sure you do so to Med Schools that suit your strengths-good luck! :smile:

Thanks for the perspective, it has helped me weigh some pros and cons. I just don't want to miss a year in case I end up getting rejected again and then I'd have to do biomedical but I'd be a year down that's what I'm afraid of.

If I do take a gap year I need to think of what to do gah.
Any ideas anyone lol, don't want to spend a year working in tescos but at the same time if I do medical work experience (which I've done loads of, several hospitals shadowing nursing home volunteering a going abroad for public medicine experience) I'd most likely be doing it for me but I'd want to get paid.

Who took a forced gap year when applying for med? What did you do?

Reply 7

GANFYD

18

Original post by 08dgraham

Thanks for the perspective, it has helped me weigh some pros and cons. I just don't want to miss a year in case I end up getting rejected again and then I'd have to do biomedical but I'd be a year down that's what I'm afraid of.

If I do take a gap year I need to think of what to do gah.
Any ideas anyone lol, don't want to spend a year working in tescos but at the same time if I do medical work experience (which I've done loads of, several hospitals shadowing nursing home volunteering a going abroad for public medicine experience) I'd most likely be doing it for me but I'd want to get paid.

Who took a forced gap year when applying for med? What did you do?

I am now 176 years old, and would love for something to have forced me to have a gap year! In my day, unless you came from a wealthy background, you didn't even know such things existed, but life is such a treadmill, that the chance to step off and spend a year where the journey matters, not the end point (you've got your exams and will have done everything you can towards your applications pretty early on) is a special gift that you are unlikely to get again, as F1/2 jobs, mortgage, relationships, kids etc pretty soon take over.
There is no reason you cannot do Medical related work and get paid. Why not look at HCA work, or phlebotomy, or GP receptionist work. Do you type? Get in on the typing pool. Or get some other job in a field you have always thought would be interesting-chances are, if you do, any Medical Interviewers will too, and most things can be related back to qualities needed for a Dr if you think about it and reflect on it. And you say money isn't a major issue for you, so please consider some travel. If you have nobody to go with and don't feel comfortable winging it alone, there are organisations out there set up for travelling singles. Or look at Gap Medics or similar opportunities. It is not cheap, but my son did this and found it an amazing experience. Or there are a million and one similar volunteering jobs out there you could look at, where you could get good medical experience, great life skills, and have some fun.
If you go to Uni and do a degree you are not sure you want to do and then do not get a transfer place, you will have wasted more than a single year! And if you get rejected again, it is likely you can still have a Biomed place next year. I have been a Dr for nearly 25 years now, and am only now in a position where I can again consider stepping off the treadmill again for a while. So see this as an opportunity, not a disaster-you have your grades, now you just need to prove to a Medical School what a great person you are, and you are far more likely to stand out having done something different from the crowd that you can talk about with passion and enthusiasm (my son went into his Med applications with ABBD at AS, but by careful application got 4 interviews and then by careful preparation and having a genuine interest in what he was talking about-he is convinced it was a rambling chat about when he was in Tanzania and his thoughts re HIV-he got 3 offers, and starts at Uni in a few weeks). You are most likely to get this by stepping back and really using this year as a chance to do something different-the Interviewers are human beings and they find interesting human beings interesting and are more likely to offer those people a place on the course! Good luck with all of this and if you need help with where to apply, come back on here with all your stats.

Should I do biomedical sciences for a year or reapply for medicine after a gap year?

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