Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry

It’s great that you’re planning ahead. In your situation, I would approach a few local GP practices and see if you can have a regular shadowing placement with them or if they would have you for a few days in one of your holidays. Try to get a shadowing experience in a hospital as well. There’s usually standard routes to apply for these, but you may be able to get the opportunity by reaching out to individual members of staff (if your uni has a medical school, consider approaching staff with connections to the medical school - you should be able to find their contacts on your uni website). If you have any personal connections in medicine, make use of them. Voluntary work is also good. A lot of people do St John Ambulance (I did), but it’s not very hands-on a lot of the time, so something like volunteering in a care home may prove to be more valuable.
As you have lots of time, something that could really help you stand out, is if you get some work as a health care assistant. You can usually fit this in around your studies and it shows a lot of good things: you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, you work as part of a team and you have incredibly good insight into working in healthcare, because you’ve actually done it. It would also give you a bit of extra money which is nice too.
For UCAT just use the books and if you’re slow at reading, use some speed reading software to help you get faster. In both GAMSAT and UCAT being slow at reading can hold you back.

I actually didn’t get into GEM first time. With hindsight, I wasn’t very well prepared. I had work experience in a top specialist hospital, but that ultimately didn’t give me insight into the rest of the NHS with all its funding problems. I got experience in a district hospital with a lot of problems and I had much better insight after that. It’s good to see the mistakes that were made and to think about why they were made and the effect on the patient.

For work experience, keep a reflective diary every day where you write about the cases you saw or any interesting conversations you had. You can read this again just before your interview and everything will be fresh in your mind.

As you have a science background, I’d definitely recommend considering taking the GAMSAT. It’s a big exam, but it’s never too early to start preparing for that, so have a look into it and what it involves.

How do I manage to become an HCA? Do med schools accept working in a care home?

I’m a current GEM student and I have noticed a lot of people saying that GEM is harder to get into than standard medicine. I don’t feel that they are directly comparable and I’m not sure how true it is to say that one is harder than the other. The student demographics applying are very different.

For standard medicine, most people have been working towards their application in some form for several years. With that in mind, only the people that are very well prepared and expecting good grades are going to apply. There’s not a lot to differentiate the students who are applying, as they’re all top students. So they have to look at things like personal statements and work experience more.

for GEM the applicant demographic is really different. People may be coming straight from uni, a lot of people are working, some people have had a whole other career before they apply. I think for that reason, people apply to GEM with far less preparation than would be needed to get into a standard course which might make it look like competition ratios are higher. It’s easy to differentiate between GEM applicants, because there is a lot more variation between them. GAMSAT score and work experience can count for a lot when it comes to securing an interview. Personal statements and A levels are barely used at all. At interview, the best applicants really stand out for their insight, experiences and soft skills that are developed more from life experience than anywhere else.

I didn’t do a single science a level, so there’s no way I could have got in from school, but GEM was accessible. I had 5 unis I could have to applied to that accepted my background, but if you have science a levels there’s a lot more options. I focussed on GAMSAT, did some varied work experience and reflected a lot. That helped a lot when it came to interviews.

As a side note, GEM students are typically better regarded by clinicians. We are trusted more and given more responsibility earlier. Life experience can count for a lot.

Rather than approaching GEM vs standard medicine as being harder, just think about which is the better fit for your position in life. It would have been impossible for me to go standard route and for a lot of people without the right grades, it would be the same, but GEM can be much easier if you’ve got some life experience behind you.

Virtually no A100 courses look at PS or WEx. GEM is harder to get into as these courses almost always require higher UCAT scores, or to do GAMSAT, which is a massive exam on top of degree work or a job. They also generally have a higher interview to offer ratio



Far higher UCAT scores are needed for GEM interviews, on the whole, than for A100 shortlisting. There is also historically a far worse interview to offer ratio for GEM than A100



There are currently 3 non-GEM medicine courses that will accept you with no science A levels, and almost certainly 2 more back in the day



The better students are the better students and GEM students are certainly not universally better regarded than standard entry students


It would not have been impossible for you to get a place, as there are med schools for non-grads with no science A levels.
For most people, if no science A levels then sitting 1 or 2 in a gap year will mean they do not need to do GAMSAT - tough with no science background - plus they can potentially obtain 4 offers with a UCAT of around 2650+, as opposed to needing far higher than this for most GEM courses that use it

Thank you for such a detailed response and for so thoroughly looking into my comments. I am just giving my personal opinions on here that are based on my experiences and not research. I hope everyone knows that they need to look at university websites etc. to get all the information they need - TSR is not a substitute for that type of research. It is also worth bearing in mind that things will have changed in the 4 years since I applied 'back in the day', so I'm no expert, but hopefully my insights from my personal experiences of applying to medicine and sitting on interview panels will be of value to people on TSR.

Some responses based on the issues you raised:
When I was a school leaver, I was not aware of any undergraduate medicine courses in the UK that would accept people with no Science A Levels. To my knowledge, it was not possible, but I did not look into every UK medical school and their entry requirements 'back in the day', so if GANFYD knows of some courses that accepted people without a science A levels, straight from school, they may well be correct. It's just something I never came across and I knew a lot of medical applicants at the time, so this does surprise me.

The idea that it is 'harder' to get into GEM is still a matter of opinion and I don't want to tell people what to think. Don't be put off from applying to GEM because it's 'harder', because you may well have certain advantages from being at the stage of your life that you're in, that you wouldn't have had at A Levels. I know that when I applied, I was a very different person than when I was at high school. I had learnt study skills at university that helped me teach myself for the GAMSAT and prepare for UCAT; I had more life experience; I had more money behind me; I had a more strategic and analytical approach which I think helped me in my application; I had experience of reflective writing practices. which informed how I responded to my work experience and other learning opportunities. Some people may well have found it easier to get into a standard undergrad programme than GEM, but for some people the GEM application will probably be an easier experience. A lot of people on GEM courses didn't get in to standard undergrad programmes and I wouldn't want anyone to feel put off by the idea that it might be even harder to get into GEM. Your additional life experiences and also the experience of failing at something can make a huge difference when it comes to your approach to future applications and interviews. If you are applying for GEM it is worth spending some time to consider the advantages you have by applying at this later stage in your life - it will help set you up well in your application and is especially important to consider when preparing for your interviews.

Newcastle have required no science A levels for years. There are also A104 courses (Foundation year) at Manchester, Dundee and previously Cardiff. 4 years ago, there were 4 med schools that would have accepted your A levels, presuming you achieved AAA, though you would need good GCSEs and UCAT to be shortlisted for interview.

For many people, GEM is the only option, but it is undoubtedly statistically harder than A100 to get a place.
GEM should be a consideration for people who did not know they wanted to do medicine at school, so have embarked on another course, or for those who cannot get AAA (or lower if contextual) at A level.
If an applicant can realistically acquire AAA (or down to BBC if WP) in any subjects, but preferably some sciences, then standard entry medicine is going to be the easiest, cheapest and quickest route to medicine.
For those who have already moved on to uni, GEM is possibly their only option, so does not matter how hard it is, it is about how much you want it!

I had no idea about Newcastle - only knew their GEM course didn't need science A levels. I had also completely forgotten about Foundation Courses. I didn't know about them at school, but that's interesting.

I would absolutely agree that GEM may be statistically more difficult to get into, but I guess I wanted to stress that it's not necessarily more difficult for everyone, because people have different life experiences when they come to apply to GEM. I'd also agree with you that the standard route is definitely the quickest and for some people may be easier, but I wouldn't say that's true of everyone even with good A levels in the right subjects, although it may look like it on paper.

The financial aspect of GEM is interesting. Obviously, debt from student finance is higher because you have an undergrad degree to pay for as well, but to my knowledge, we do get more financial support from NHS bursaries which doesn't have to be paid back (worth checking that properly if you want to be sure). I'm from a low-income background and I think I would have struggled to finance a medical degree straight after school - there's a lot of additional costs to a medical degree that you simply don't have with most academic Arts degrees. I worked for 3 years before Medicine and it set me up in a much better financial position. Just something to think about if anyone is worried about the financial side of things. In line with that, I'm very happy to have private messages about the financial aspects and barriers to medicine for people from low-income backgrounds without parental support. I have limited use, but I can always share my experiences with you if you feel it may be helpful in any way.

Guys, after the above string of messages, I am very conscious that some of you may not have found my comments on here helpful. I'm really sorry if that's the case. I was just trying to share my perspectives from my experiences. If you have found my comments helpful, let me know and I'll keep following the thread and engaging with it, otherwise I'm happy to get off and leave you guys to it. Please feel free to send me DMs though if you want any advice on GEM, applying to GEM as an Arts grad, or financial barriers to medicine. I am happy to help, but only if you feel I am actually being helpful.

Thank you, I do appreciate that you can fill in the blanks for people. I just wasn’t sure if maybe I was doing more harm than good.

For the people saying they're considering re-sitting A-levels, most medical schools don't accept resat grades, sadly. Not sure why, and it's cruel. But yeah. They have to all have been taken at the same time after 2 years of study...

hi everyone!

I graduate next year and plan on taking a gap year which is why I'm interested in applying for 2025 entry. Just wondering if anyone has started doing a bit of research about medical school choices, particularly if anyone is considering applying for A100 as a graduate? I recently had work experience shadowing a consultant and he said to me that I should definitely put at least one of my choices down as an A100 course.

My top choice at the moment is Liverpool, I pretty much have my heart set on going there for the A101 course. I am also interested in the uni of manchester, who have just announced an A101 course starting from 2024 entry. I am really excited about this because I had Manchester as my insurance for undegrad and I regret not choosing it tbh. I love the city so much and it would be much closer to home, same as Liverpool. I am set on wanting to go to medical in the North West, although I am currently at Newcastle Uni who also offers an A101 course. I think I am still going to apply for Newcastle but I'd rather not be here any longer.

just wondering as well when people are going to start prep for the admissions test? Liverpool requires the GAMSAT so I think I going to try prepping for that from September and aim for the March 2024 test. I will also be doing the UCAT, I'll focus on that more next year. Would love to connect with anyone looking at 2025 entry!

Hi! I’m looking at 2025 entry too! I’m only going to be taking the UCAT and could only take 2 alevels due to bad health at the time, so I’m looking at Newcastle, St Mary in London, Warwick, and potentially Chester although it’s a new course so I’m very wary. I got very excited when you mentioned Manchester are starting a grad course bc that would be ideal for me but they require BBB on first sitting and I only have A*A and an EPQ 😭 Applying for A100 is good because it can be less competitive and graduates stand out, but financing it is a lot more complicated as we can’t easily get a loan.

oh great, it's nice to finally talk to someone in a similar situation as me! I was interested in Chester too but it's only open for international students I didn't even realise. your a-levels are much better than mine...don't even stress!! I got AAC, the C being in Chemistry which really has me worrying. I think most unis look at the degree classification mainly so I'm hoping I'll be fine? I think closer to the time I will email and ask. I just emailed Liverpool about it, they are currently in the process of approving their new entry requirements and stuff, they have a PDF showing what the requirements will be for 2024 entry and it has no mention of A-Levels anyway only a 2:1. that's what I thought, the financial aspect. I'm hoping I'll just get onto A101 but then maybe I should just try anyway?

have you started any sort of work experience or things related to your application / personal statement?

Chester should be open for UK students in 2025 but it being very new makes me wary! I live in the north west so really do want somewhere not to far but I’m open to moving a couple of hours away. Manchester is BBB so I don’t think either of us would be accepted but I have emailed them to ask, because to me it’s unfair if a person’s UCAS points are higher (both of ours are higher than BBB). I don’t have chemistry so my options are limited. The course I’m doing is Operating Department Practice which is a healthcare degree so I’ve had hundreds of hours already of experience. I’ll also probably get some other experience of another role just for a bit of variety. UCAS has recently revealed they’re scrapping personal statements as we know them and replacing them with questions after this year, but I don’t know if that will apply to medicine or not! What work experience are you looking at? I’d love to apply for Liverpool but I’m not sure about doing the GAMSAT… it seems like an awful lot to prepare for an a long exam to take!

I had a feeling that C in chemistry would mess me up somewhere down the line. I've even been thinking about resitting it? I just don't have the time and I'd only be resitting it to get into medical school, not because I'm upset about the grade or anything. Where abouts in the NW are you? I'm from Preston. I've had my experience living out of the NW in Newcastle and I don't want to be out of the NW definitely. Those two cities are perfect for me, I wouldn't be living at home but I can visit my family so easily if I'm at either med school. My bf is currently doing his undergrad at the Uni of Liv, I visit him there all the time and I love it. We also both love Manchester, I'd just rather be near him and my family. Please let me know what the UoM say. I asked Liverpool about the grade C so I will lyk what they say.

I had no idea about the UCAS personal statement thing, where did you see that?? You're really lucky then that you've had that clinical exposure, I'm sure you will have a lot to talk about reflection wise for your application. I have just finished a week of WE at a Psychiatry hospital being supervised by a Consultant Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist and it was amazing! I am also in the process of starting a job as a Receptionist in the Cardiothoracic Ward of a hospital in Ncl. I am just trying to apply for volunteer roles in trusts in Newcastle so I can continue gaining that experience alongside third year. I think I'm so willing to do the GAMSAT bc of how much I want to go to the UoL. Its heavy though and seems so hard but I'm going to try prep from september. What are you using to help with UCAT prep?