Just wondering about medical school...

Hi, im currently in year 11 so university is still quite a while off, but my ambition is to go to medical school (hence the name medic) and i have looked up about it. I have seen that universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial with AAA requirements. Then i see mostly the rest of medical schools with requirements like AAB. I realise that these are all extremly hard to get but it left me thinking that it isnt that much harder to get into the top universities than say others. I know that they require different entrance tests such as the BMAT or the UKCAT, is there much difference in these two tests? So overall my question is that when it comes to choosing a medical school to go to should you just aim for the top if you can meet the AAA requirement? Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 1

No Future

17

Oxbridge and Imperial are good unis, yes. However, they are not ''the top''. All medical schools in the UK are''the top'' - it's medical school.

You should choose based on where you want to live, what the course is like etc. For some people, the course at Oxbridge would not be the right one for them e.g. heavily science based, little patient contact.

Reply 2

lotusx

9

To answer your first question, yes, the BMAT and the UKCAT are very different. The UKCAT is an aptitude test, and so whilst there's nothing that you can specifically revise, you can do all the practice tests etc. have a look at the UKCAT thread started by Holsy, it'll give you some more info. The BMAT, on the other hand, is only required by Oxbridge, UCL and Imperial (for medicine), and you are able to revise for that, as you require a (supposedly) GCSE knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology & maths. there's a BMAT thread on here as well, so check there.
When choosing a medical school, don't just take the predicted grades into account; look at the course structure, the location, do you want an intercalated BSc, etc. Besides, since you're in Year 11, it might be that the required grades change by the time you're in sixth form; obviously, i'm no expert, but i'm thinking that the A* grade may possibly factor in there somewhere.
By all means, aim for places with an AAA requirement if you think that you can get it, but don't forget that there are other factors involved in a) getting into medicine (ie. extra curriculars, volunteering, etc) and b) picking a uni. :smile:

Reply 3

No Future

17

Bear in mind that to up your chances, you should be aiming for AAA anyway

Reply 4

medic24

OP

Thanks for the comments!
I personaly hope that they don't introduce the A* grade to A levels because it might make it harder than it already is. :frown:

I know that work experience is important to have so i plan to help out in my local hospital over the summer and see if that helps me at all. But i think this won't be enough yet as i know that it is very competitive to get in.

Reply 5

lotusx

9

everything counts! but long term volunteering is helpful, as is a paid job. it depends on your circumstances and timings, but any work experience (where you can reflect on what you learned/saw) is good.

Reply 6

jaderocks

5

Although the grade requirements are very similar for all unis, you have to remember that all medical courses are very oversubscribed and so some are more competative then others. for example this year PMS had something like 2000 applicants for 200 places and Bristol had something like 7000 for 250 places (i think...don't quote me!) so even though they ask for similar grades some are still harder to get into.

even if you are getting AAA you need to remember that it will not guarantee you a place at any uni (even ones asking for AAB). I would say that apply to 4 'top' unis would be a bad move and that you should apply to 2 'top' unis and 2 less competitive ones.

hope i've been helpful. good luck!

Reply 7

AEH

8

Jaderocks has fallen into an elephant trap. Before anyone runs off the all-medical-schools-equal bit, which you're quite welcome to do when you're good and ready, consider ye this idea.

UCAS students look at medical schools. People who's cousins applied for medical school, that guy from the open day and their head of biology say Betwys-y-Coed Medical School wasn't very competitive last year. Therefore they put Oxford, Imperial, Edinburgh and Betwys-y-Coed on their form (Following Jade's sound advice) expecting one offer and three maybes from their super-duper-mega-top schools with the photos of the pretty girls in the Daily Mail practicing nice medicine for rich people in a wipe-clean setting. Now imagine every wazzock-pants student in the country follows this same advice. Which medical school is going to have its pick of applicants? Why does this have to happen every single year?

And so the whole sorry, sorry story continues without relent.

Reply 8

jjkkll

medic24

Thanks for the comments!
I personaly hope that they don't introduce the A* grade to A levels because it might make it harder than it already is. :frown:

I know that work experience is important to have so i plan to help out in my local hospital over the summer and see if that helps me at all. But i think this won't be enough yet as i know that it is very competitive to get in.

When you apply for 2011 entry the Requierments will almost ALL be AAA.

Reply 9

airtones

3

You just fell hook line and sinker into the biggest trap:

"Universities require AAA for medicine so why not apply to oxbridge/imperial?"

Everyone who applies to medicine has AAA or AAB. Having straight A's for medicine doesn't make you special, it makes you average. Even for the brightest of students those choices are a big gambel. Would you rather be a doctor or would you rather go to oxford?

Also, when you apply, there wont just be people from sixth form applying, how are your straight A's going to look against someones first class honors degree?

Go to some open days and get a feel for it and you will see that medical schools are about an ethos not a grade. Its quite debatable aswell as to how good oxbridge/imperial medical schools actually are. But I'm not even going to touch that with a barge pole.

Just wondering about medical school...

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