Uni or Gap year for medicine

Heyy,

Just wanted to ask, is it worth taking a GAP year for medicine to get into a preferred uni, or should I stick with whatever I get? I haven't applied to unis I want to go to for medicine (2024 entry), but I am also scared that next year will be more competitive, and that I might lose my chance.

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
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Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by CleverClover

Do you have an offer for medicine already?

If so then generally it's advisable to take it. Ultimately medical school is a rather small part of your overall career as a doctor, and the barrier to entry is getting into medical school, rather than completing it. Therefore taking the offer when you get it is usually the best advice unless for some reason you think you would be unable or unwilling to complete the course at that medical school (in which case why did you apply there in the first place?), as it is essentially impossible to transfer medical schools once you start.

If you don't have an offer for medicine and have an offer for another course but want to do medicine, it's generally advisable to take a gap year and reapply to medicine rather than start (and/or finish) another unrelated degree and apply for medicine as a graduate.