*MEGATHREAD* - The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread Mark 5
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Original post by study_buddy7
HELLO PLEASE HELP URGET
a couple weeks back i got my gcse results. I got 9 9's and 2 7's (in eng lit and drama)
i really want to get into oxford, but idk if its possible w/ the 2 nines as they lower my average. im so sad For oxford the average gcse grade was 10.2 8/9s mine would be 9 and that is very low. I dont think i stand a chance
For a levels, im currently studying bio, chem, maths, andb art (prob as)
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO SECURE A PLACE IN OXFORD, DESPITE NOT MEETINGAVG CRITERIA
a couple weeks back i got my gcse results. I got 9 9's and 2 7's (in eng lit and drama)
i really want to get into oxford, but idk if its possible w/ the 2 nines as they lower my average. im so sad For oxford the average gcse grade was 10.2 8/9s mine would be 9 and that is very low. I dont think i stand a chance
For a levels, im currently studying bio, chem, maths, andb art (prob as)
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO SECURE A PLACE IN OXFORD, DESPITE NOT MEETINGAVG CRITERIA
Oxford really isn't everything. A medical degree is a medical degree, you get the same qualification at the other unis. Instead of stressing about how to get into one school just focus on doing well in your A-levels and the entrance exams.
Original post by study_buddy7
HELLO PLEASE HELP URGET
a couple weeks back i got my gcse results. I got 9 9's and 2 7's (in eng lit and drama)
i really want to get into oxford, but idk if its possible w/ the 2 nines as they lower my average. im so sad For oxford the average gcse grade was 10.2 8/9s mine would be 9 and that is very low. I dont think i stand a chance
For a levels, im currently studying bio, chem, maths, andb art (prob as)
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO SECURE A PLACE IN OXFORD, DESPITE NOT MEETINGAVG CRITERIA
a couple weeks back i got my gcse results. I got 9 9's and 2 7's (in eng lit and drama)
i really want to get into oxford, but idk if its possible w/ the 2 nines as they lower my average. im so sad For oxford the average gcse grade was 10.2 8/9s mine would be 9 and that is very low. I dont think i stand a chance
For a levels, im currently studying bio, chem, maths, andb art (prob as)
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO SECURE A PLACE IN OXFORD, DESPITE NOT MEETINGAVG CRITERIA
Why is Oxford such a draw for you??
I am not sure how much you know about med application but there is so much more than aiming for a "prestigious" uni.
It's a great thing to have aspirations and everyone starts out with a preferred uni in mind but along the way ( work experience, volunteering, A levels, UCAT, SJT) things can go astray. So please do not fixate on a uni as you could be disappointed. Instead, keep an open mind and the end goal in sight. I guess that would be to study med at uni. Med is not like many other degrees as to get into med school is an achievement in itself. It is the very few who can choose and most med students will end up where they can get in to(providing they apply strategically). You will all become doctors in the end.... hopefully
Hi wondering whether anyone has any advice/ information as to whether I would be able to apply to medicine in 2024 in my current situation...
I am currently doing a 6 year degree apprenticeship in Law. I am 21 and have just gone into my second year. However, I am having a bit of a crisis in that I'm feeling uncertain as to wanting to do this apprenticeship anymore. I don't hate it and I do love the on-the-job learning aspect but I don't love it and I've slowly been realising law doesn't really peak my interest. When I think about where I will be in say 5-10 years time, the idea of being sat in an office fills me with dread. One thing I used to be confident in when thinking about. career when I was in school was that I definitely didn't want an office job/ job that required be to be sat down a lot. Life is always throwing surprises at you and when I had the opportunity to do this apprenticeship at the time, I just took it because it seemed like such a good prospect. I have no regrets as I was not 100% in what I wanted to do when I chose it. However, since I was about 12, I always liked the idea of a career in medicine in mind but for various reasons I lost confidence and a passion to go for it come the age to apply and I knew I needed to want and work hard for it if I was to be successful in getting a place - but my heart wasn't in it enough then. I have done various work experience/ volunteering over the year including in hospital and would look to do some more over the next year if I knew I would confidently be able to apply just like everyone else.
I did science and maths a levels and achieved A*AA first time. However, there doesn't seem to be any information out there for someone in my situation - they all seem to be either school leavers or mature students already with a degree. Will my chances be hindered by applying to medicine being that I would be turning 22 if I applied with the 2024 cohort and the fact that I'm doing an apprenticeship in something completely different?
I am currently doing a 6 year degree apprenticeship in Law. I am 21 and have just gone into my second year. However, I am having a bit of a crisis in that I'm feeling uncertain as to wanting to do this apprenticeship anymore. I don't hate it and I do love the on-the-job learning aspect but I don't love it and I've slowly been realising law doesn't really peak my interest. When I think about where I will be in say 5-10 years time, the idea of being sat in an office fills me with dread. One thing I used to be confident in when thinking about. career when I was in school was that I definitely didn't want an office job/ job that required be to be sat down a lot. Life is always throwing surprises at you and when I had the opportunity to do this apprenticeship at the time, I just took it because it seemed like such a good prospect. I have no regrets as I was not 100% in what I wanted to do when I chose it. However, since I was about 12, I always liked the idea of a career in medicine in mind but for various reasons I lost confidence and a passion to go for it come the age to apply and I knew I needed to want and work hard for it if I was to be successful in getting a place - but my heart wasn't in it enough then. I have done various work experience/ volunteering over the year including in hospital and would look to do some more over the next year if I knew I would confidently be able to apply just like everyone else.
I did science and maths a levels and achieved A*AA first time. However, there doesn't seem to be any information out there for someone in my situation - they all seem to be either school leavers or mature students already with a degree. Will my chances be hindered by applying to medicine being that I would be turning 22 if I applied with the 2024 cohort and the fact that I'm doing an apprenticeship in something completely different?
Original post by Footy96
Hi wondering whether anyone has any advice/ information as to whether I would be able to apply to medicine in 2024 in my current situation...
I am currently doing a 6 year degree apprenticeship in Law. I am 21 and have just gone into my second year. However, I am having a bit of a crisis in that I'm feeling uncertain as to wanting to do this apprenticeship anymore. I don't hate it and I do love the on-the-job learning aspect but I don't love it and I've slowly been realising law doesn't really peak my interest. When I think about where I will be in say 5-10 years time, the idea of being sat in an office fills me with dread. One thing I used to be confident in when thinking about. career when I was in school was that I definitely didn't want an office job/ job that required be to be sat down a lot. Life is always throwing surprises at you and when I had the opportunity to do this apprenticeship at the time, I just took it because it seemed like such a good prospect. I have no regrets as I was not 100% in what I wanted to do when I chose it. However, since I was about 12, I always liked the idea of a career in medicine in mind but for various reasons I lost confidence and a passion to go for it come the age to apply and I knew I needed to want and work hard for it if I was to be successful in getting a place - but my heart wasn't in it enough then. I have done various work experience/ volunteering over the year including in hospital and would look to do some more over the next year if I knew I would confidently be able to apply just like everyone else.
I did science and maths a levels and achieved A*AA first time. However, there doesn't seem to be any information out there for someone in my situation - they all seem to be either school leavers or mature students already with a degree. Will my chances be hindered by applying to medicine being that I would be turning 22 if I applied with the 2024 cohort and the fact that I'm doing an apprenticeship in something completely different?
I am currently doing a 6 year degree apprenticeship in Law. I am 21 and have just gone into my second year. However, I am having a bit of a crisis in that I'm feeling uncertain as to wanting to do this apprenticeship anymore. I don't hate it and I do love the on-the-job learning aspect but I don't love it and I've slowly been realising law doesn't really peak my interest. When I think about where I will be in say 5-10 years time, the idea of being sat in an office fills me with dread. One thing I used to be confident in when thinking about. career when I was in school was that I definitely didn't want an office job/ job that required be to be sat down a lot. Life is always throwing surprises at you and when I had the opportunity to do this apprenticeship at the time, I just took it because it seemed like such a good prospect. I have no regrets as I was not 100% in what I wanted to do when I chose it. However, since I was about 12, I always liked the idea of a career in medicine in mind but for various reasons I lost confidence and a passion to go for it come the age to apply and I knew I needed to want and work hard for it if I was to be successful in getting a place - but my heart wasn't in it enough then. I have done various work experience/ volunteering over the year including in hospital and would look to do some more over the next year if I knew I would confidently be able to apply just like everyone else.
I did science and maths a levels and achieved A*AA first time. However, there doesn't seem to be any information out there for someone in my situation - they all seem to be either school leavers or mature students already with a degree. Will my chances be hindered by applying to medicine being that I would be turning 22 if I applied with the 2024 cohort and the fact that I'm doing an apprenticeship in something completely different?
You should be fine, if you have the right a level subjects and grades, the right gsce grades and a ucat score above the cutoff then you shouldn't have many issues x
the only thing that may cause an issue is an incomplete degree so youd just have to look carefully to ensure the unis you apply to dont have that stipulation x
Hi all will try to keep short. I want to study medicine but not sure if I should even apply? My GCSE's are not great as I was kicked out in yr 11 and had to study completely new exam boards and do my GCSE's in less than a year as I moved halfway across the UK, I didn't get my maths GCSE to begin with an did an equivalent in functional skills. I don't have A levels but did an access course [subjects nursing, biology, psychology and sociology]. I've found myself on a nursing degree as it felt like the natural progression from being a HCA for several years and felt I wouldn't be good enough for med. So my plan was to apply for graduate entry. But not sure there's any hope for me due to the grades, I'm also near pushing 30 lol and will be 32 by the time I finish my nursing degree.
Hi, so I will be applying for medicine this year and I currently have the following experiences;
- Interned under a professor specialising in public health
-Organised charity concerts (I play the piano); one for the local elderly, one as a fundraiser for kids with leukemia.
My circumstances are as follows: Where I'm from, we only got 2 specific weeks for us to complete our work experience and it was just after covid which made it super hard to find a placement, if any. I also was (and still am) unable to do any paid work for legal reasons.
So with those in mind, are they enough? What are my chances here?
Note that I will do a gap year before I start uni, in which I plan on getting work experience in clinical setting, as with most of the applicants. I will mention this, but again I'm not sure if it will be enough to just be talking about the future.
- Interned under a professor specialising in public health
-Organised charity concerts (I play the piano); one for the local elderly, one as a fundraiser for kids with leukemia.
My circumstances are as follows: Where I'm from, we only got 2 specific weeks for us to complete our work experience and it was just after covid which made it super hard to find a placement, if any. I also was (and still am) unable to do any paid work for legal reasons.
So with those in mind, are they enough? What are my chances here?
Note that I will do a gap year before I start uni, in which I plan on getting work experience in clinical setting, as with most of the applicants. I will mention this, but again I'm not sure if it will be enough to just be talking about the future.
Original post by Chi chi5
You should be fine, if you have the right a level subjects and grades, the right gsce grades and a ucat score above the cutoff then you shouldn't have many issues x
the only thing that may cause an issue is an incomplete degree so youd just have to look carefully to ensure the unis you apply to dont have that stipulation x
the only thing that may cause an issue is an incomplete degree so youd just have to look carefully to ensure the unis you apply to dont have that stipulation x
Many thanks - that's really useful!
Original post by JP_1967
Agreed. I managed to work as a HCA on the bank for my local hospital fairly easily. Just have to be persistent and keep emailing them.
Did you have to apply via trac or was the recruitment system different?
Original post by Musicat26
Hi all will try to keep short. I want to study medicine but not sure if I should even apply? My GCSE's are not great as I was kicked out in yr 11 and had to study completely new exam boards and do my GCSE's in less than a year as I moved halfway across the UK, I didn't get my maths GCSE to begin with an did an equivalent in functional skills. I don't have A levels but did an access course [subjects nursing, biology, psychology and sociology]. I've found myself on a nursing degree as it felt like the natural progression from being a HCA for several years and felt I wouldn't be good enough for med. So my plan was to apply for graduate entry. But not sure there's any hope for me due to the grades, I'm also near pushing 30 lol and will be 32 by the time I finish my nursing degree.
Age is just a state of mind (and a number we use to check confirm patients... 😁). I am 35 years young and in my first term of medical school.
The questions you need to ask yourself are 1) are you happy to spend another 4 years in school, not earning money 2) why medicine over nursing 3) do you know all the challenges doctors face and do you still want to be doctor despite that.
GEM is REALLY intense. But it is also very interesting. If you come to it from a nursing background you will have some great transferable skills. If you want it, go for it. You have nothing to lose by applying (other than your sanity whilst you prep for the UCAT or GAMSAT).
I don't know how scientific the nursing course gets so I can't say whether it is helpful in gauging how well you would do with the science content but your access course sounds like it was around A-level standard if it was for entry to uni, how did you find the access course?
Hi, I'm just wondering what kind of medical schools I should be looking at, as I'm really not sure as there's so many options. I just want to know where I'd have the highest chance of having a successful application for 2025 entry.
GCSES: 99999988887
A-levels (predicted): A* - bio, A* - chem, A* - maths, A - music (i'm expecting this to go up in the new year though)
Work experience: second year of tutoring, experience of tutoring students with dyslexia. Booked in a week of shadowing with a general surgeon and a week of shadowing with a GP next summer.
Hobbies/extra-curriculars: Working towards my grade 8 in singing, hoping to sit a diploma during year 13 too. Working towards taking grade 7 or 8 saxophone next year. Sitting grade 8 theory in year 13. Played lead roles in school musical. Commended during a regional debate competiton during year 11.
Super-curricular: MOOC on treating HIV in underdeveloped areas
GCSES: 99999988887
A-levels (predicted): A* - bio, A* - chem, A* - maths, A - music (i'm expecting this to go up in the new year though)
Work experience: second year of tutoring, experience of tutoring students with dyslexia. Booked in a week of shadowing with a general surgeon and a week of shadowing with a GP next summer.
Hobbies/extra-curriculars: Working towards my grade 8 in singing, hoping to sit a diploma during year 13 too. Working towards taking grade 7 or 8 saxophone next year. Sitting grade 8 theory in year 13. Played lead roles in school musical. Commended during a regional debate competiton during year 11.
Super-curricular: MOOC on treating HIV in underdeveloped areas
Original post by biology_nerd
Hi, I'm just wondering what kind of medical schools I should be looking at, as I'm really not sure as there's so many options. I just want to know where I'd have the highest chance of having a successful application for 2025 entry.
GCSES: 99999988887
A-levels (predicted): A* - bio, A* - chem, A* - maths, A - music (i'm expecting this to go up in the new year though)
Work experience: second year of tutoring, experience of tutoring students with dyslexia. Booked in a week of shadowing with a general surgeon and a week of shadowing with a GP next summer.
Hobbies/extra-curriculars: Working towards my grade 8 in singing, hoping to sit a diploma during year 13 too. Working towards taking grade 7 or 8 saxophone next year. Sitting grade 8 theory in year 13. Played lead roles in school musical. Commended during a regional debate competiton during year 11.
Super-curricular: MOOC on treating HIV in underdeveloped areas
GCSES: 99999988887
A-levels (predicted): A* - bio, A* - chem, A* - maths, A - music (i'm expecting this to go up in the new year though)
Work experience: second year of tutoring, experience of tutoring students with dyslexia. Booked in a week of shadowing with a general surgeon and a week of shadowing with a GP next summer.
Hobbies/extra-curriculars: Working towards my grade 8 in singing, hoping to sit a diploma during year 13 too. Working towards taking grade 7 or 8 saxophone next year. Sitting grade 8 theory in year 13. Played lead roles in school musical. Commended during a regional debate competiton during year 11.
Super-curricular: MOOC on treating HIV in underdeveloped areas
so far so good
no one an advise until you have an admissions test score, though, as that is crucial so sit the UCAT in the summer and then follow the which medical school should I choose thread ( or words to that effect ) for ‘25 entry where you can list your credentials in a given format - see this year’s thread for how to do it
now give yourself a bit of a break
…which I plan to do myself now, too!
Hi I was wondering what kind of medical schools I should be applying too and if I have any chance for the London unis (e.g kings/UCL etc). I’m looking for unis where I have the highest chance for 2025 entry
GCSEs: 8887777666 (6s were French, computing &eng lang, 7s and 8s in triple science, maths, eng lit etc,)
A-levels predicted: A -Bio / A- chemistry / A- economics (trying to get econ up to A* aswell)
Work experience: 1 week gp, 1 week cardiology/gastro
Volunteering: British heart foundation for 4 months, working with SEN children weekly for 7 months
Extracurriculars: Medicine society and model un president, selected and attended 2 international model un conferences (at Cambridge uni and in Geneva), netball club, charity prefect, bronze&silver dofe, NCS
Supercurricular: work experience, attended medicine lectures and the medic mentor weekly vms, articles and books related to med
GCSEs: 8887777666 (6s were French, computing &eng lang, 7s and 8s in triple science, maths, eng lit etc,)
A-levels predicted: A -Bio / A- chemistry / A- economics (trying to get econ up to A* aswell)
Work experience: 1 week gp, 1 week cardiology/gastro
Volunteering: British heart foundation for 4 months, working with SEN children weekly for 7 months
Extracurriculars: Medicine society and model un president, selected and attended 2 international model un conferences (at Cambridge uni and in Geneva), netball club, charity prefect, bronze&silver dofe, NCS
Supercurricular: work experience, attended medicine lectures and the medic mentor weekly vms, articles and books related to med
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by averagestudent0
Hi I was wondering what kind of medical schools I should be applying too and if I have any chance for the London unis (e.g kings/UCL etc). I’m looking for unis where I have the highest chance for 2025 entry
GCSEs: 8887777666 (6s were French, computing &eng lang, 7s and 8s in triple science, maths, eng lit etc,)
A-levels predicted: A -Bio / A- chemistry / A- economics (trying to get econ up to A* aswell)
Work experience: 1 week gp, 1 week cardiology/gastro
Volunteering: British heart foundation for 4 months, working with SEN children weekly for 7 months
Extracurriculars: Medicine society and model un president, selected and attended 2 international model un conferences (at Cambridge uni and in Geneva), netball club, charity prefect, bronze&silver dofe, NCS
Supercurricular: work experience, attended medicine lectures and the medic mentor weekly vms, articles and books related to med
GCSEs: 8887777666 (6s were French, computing &eng lang, 7s and 8s in triple science, maths, eng lit etc,)
A-levels predicted: A -Bio / A- chemistry / A- economics (trying to get econ up to A* aswell)
Work experience: 1 week gp, 1 week cardiology/gastro
Volunteering: British heart foundation for 4 months, working with SEN children weekly for 7 months
Extracurriculars: Medicine society and model un president, selected and attended 2 international model un conferences (at Cambridge uni and in Geneva), netball club, charity prefect, bronze&silver dofe, NCS
Supercurricular: work experience, attended medicine lectures and the medic mentor weekly vms, articles and books related to med
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