Help me decide!!!

I am currently a second year BSc Biomedical Science student at KCL, and hoping to apply to medicine in Oct 2023. I currently hold a student placement at Johnson & Johnson for Medical Affairs. It takes place after my second year, and will last a year. This means that it will delay my medical school application to 2025, as after the placement I still need to complete the third year of biomed. I am unsure what decision to make since the placement is an amazing opportunity (and a safety net if I do not get into medicine), but I do want to be a doctor. Fortunately, I will be applying to undergraduate and graduate medicine programmes when the time comes as my family is able to finance it - so please do not mention this as a factor! Any thoughts?

Even undergrad courses for grads tend to be more competitive, so having embarked on the Biomed route, I would finish it off as it would likely mean a better biomed career in the long term, if med did not work out.

Thanks for your advice, I'm definitely looking to finish off with my degree rather than do the placement. May I ask why you said it means a better biomed career in the long term if I did simply go into my third year, as surely a placement would put me at a pedestal to other students since I have experience?

Yes, I meant finish it with the placement, sorry if not clear. A year is nothing in the long run, and your placement will give you valuable experience

Thank you for your reply. I think I will be moving into my third year and applying for medicine since the placement isn't the be all or end all. After all, I don't hope to work in that sector so I do not think the placement is too relevant.

The chances of getting a place as a grad are even lower than as a school leaver (which was <20% last year), so I would base your actions around the assumption you may be working in the biomed field (or an alternative grad career) long term

Thank you! I am hoping to apply for 2 undergrad courses, does that not boost my chances?

At many med schools, though not all, grads are cohorted with other grads for a limited number of places, meaning higher cut offs and interview scores are needed. Cut offs are generally lower than for GEM, but still above that needed for a school leaver

Thank you for your help. I will start prepping now, although competitive I am confident I have what it takes What do you think my chances look like if I have a UCAT score of around 2700-3000, 3 As at A-level (Bio, Chem, History), 999888866 at GCSE, and I am predicted a first in my BSc Biomedical Science at KCL? I am hoping to ramp up my experience this summer also, but I have been volunteering at a hospital for the last few months and will ask if I could have some shadowing work. As well as this, I am seeking some work as a hca, or in a nursing home. That being said, I am hoping to apply to undergrad and grad med at KCL and QM.

Come back when you have your UCAT and people can give advice. There is a big difference between 2700 and 3000

I am currently a second year BSc Biomedical Science student at KCL, and hoping to apply to medicine in Oct 2023. I currently hold a student placement at Johnson & Johnson for Medical Affairs. It takes place after my second year, and will last a year. This means that it will delay my medical school application to 2025, as after the placement I still need to complete the third year of biomed. I am unsure what decision to make since the placement is an amazing opportunity (and a safety net if I do not get into medicine), but I do want to be a doctor. Fortunately, I will be applying to undergraduate and graduate medicine programmes when the time comes as my family is able to finance it - so please do not mention this as a factor! Any thoughts?

Hi there,

I am actually applying to this exact placement role, and have just made it to the assessment centre stage. I have to prepare a presentation which Ive done, and then have an interview after this. It says the day will be 9:00-13:00, so maybe it will finish early or there will be other activities to do as well as what was told to us in the email? I was wondering how you found it/ if you have any advice

Hey! My assessment day was the same. If you like, I can share a copy of my ppt. presentation where I assessed 3 research papers. The questions were fairly standard, and if you have a good grip of scientific analysis, you should be fine. I did decline my offer in pursuit of medical school so can't tell you much about the role itself.

Hey, this would be great, could you let me know your LinkedIn/other contact and I could ask a few questions about your experience on there?