Should I re-apply for Medicine?

Hi guys,

I'm currently stuck at what to do now. I'm in Year 13, but I'm just about to turn 17 later this year. I've applied for Physics/Natural sciences degrees and gotten offers for/from:
Natural Sciences - Cambridge
Physics - St Andrews
Physics and Mathematics - Warwick

But having spent muchos time in hospital over the last....well, while, I've really started thinking about being a Doctor seriously, more than just the general notion that I've had for ages. I'm taking a Gap Year to get my health sorted out before I leave for uni, and to balance the age difference, and so I've been doing a lot of thinking about uni and life afterwards..

My AS levels were AAAA in Chemistry Physics Maths and Geography, and my predicted grades for this year are A2 Chemistry Physics and Maths - AAA and AS Further Maths - A.

How easy is it to transfer into Medicine after doing a degree in something science based but unrelated? I don't want to drop my Cambridge offer and reapply completely, so I'm stuck where to go/what to consider...

Any ideas/inputs?

All help is greatly appreciated, my thanks in advance...

Reply 1

Edmindu

You could return to do medicine after a first degree, lots of people i've heard have done it. But do you want to spend another 5 years not earning while you study?

Reply 2

Renal

17

If you want to do medicine, apply to do medicine. Do not do another degree instead. You will almost certainly not be able to transfer.

Reply 3

crazyhelicopter

11

Medicine is very competative, graduate medicine more so- so the answer to the transfer question is very- but if you have medical work experience and a 1st (or 2i) it is possible.

Personally if I were you I'd try to get as much work experience as possible, to see if medicine is really what you want to do, and then re-apply. I'd do this because medicine is less competitive at an undergraduate level, you get more help with funding and the tuition fees haven't gone up yet. But then I love medicine and don't like Physics or maths, so 3 years doing that sounds like hell.

Another thing you may need to look into is how many medical schools take applicants without biology, and whether you want to go to any of those places- because that may impact your decision

Hope that helps- is a bit rambly

Reply 4

IndiePixie

14

Graduate entry degrees are very competitive - some are just for people with science degrees but others will accept applications from people with usually at least a 2:1 in any subject.

If you can bare to give up your offers, then I'd consider reapplying - you sound like a strong candidate - I would say it is easier to get in on a regular 5 year degree than graduate entry (though still very competitive), and the funding situation is better as a first degree than for graduate entry.

If you do go for medicine, you need to get as much work experience as you can in a healthcare setting...

Reply 5

Blaze of the Dark

OP

Well I was hoping in this year out to get a job/volunteer somewhere, hopefully at one of the local hospitals, and self study AS Biology... I do thoroughly enjoy Maths and Physics, hence me initially applying for them. I think I'd be *content* with taking them further in life, but I also cannot shake this drive now to go into a medical based profession to help people. Looking at the kinds of jobs in the medical field that physicists get, doesn't look to encouraging....

On my next appointment I'm going to speak to my doctor about being able to shadow him for a while, to get a feel for what its like....

I'm also still very scared about just dropping this offer from Cambridge.. As its Natural Sciences, I could even go there and come out with a degree in Biomedical Sciences or something. Would that make it easier to jump into medicine later?

Reply 6

Robert_P

Edmindu

You could return to do medicine after a first degree, lots of people i've heard have done it. But do you want to spend another 5 years not earning while you study?

Graduate entry medicine is mainly a 4 year course

Reply 7

Robert_P

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/study/ugr/degrees/

-Tells you what degrees are acceptable for graduate entry medicine at Warwick

Hope this helps

Reply 8

farhaz_j

1

how long do you want to be at uni though, unless u definitely want to do the physics/natural sciences degree first, as well as medicine, i think you should just apply straight for medicine..like fair enough education/degree is very important but if u do the natural sciences degree first, it's looking like you could graduate from medicine by summer 2018..that's not cool man don't you want to get married and have a kids and your own home and that..

Reply 9

farhaz_j

1

Robert_P

Graduate entry medicine is mainly a 4 year course

2017 then

Reply 10

Edmindu

Robert_P

Graduate entry medicine is mainly a 4 year course

Sorry, (no sarcasm intended)

Reply 11

Blaze of the Dark

OP

I was under the impression that Medical degrees take ~7 years to complete? I'm not sure where I heard that, but using a 3-4 years initial with 4 years Graduate course, I didn't think time wise it would have made much of a difference....

How wrong am I exactly?

Reply 12

Robert_P

University Of Leicester

For A101 Graduate entry (4 years) MBChB
'Applications are welcomed from graduates of any discipline who have at least an upper second class honours degree and significant experience of working in a caring role. Arts and Humanities graduates are encouraged to apply.
The medical degrees are not available on a part-time basis.'

http://www.le.ac.uk/ugprospectus/courses/medicine/main.html

Reply 13

Hygeia

14

Blaze of the Dark

I was under the impression that Medical degrees take ~7 years to complete? I'm not sure where I heard that, but using a 3-4 years initial with 4 years Graduate course, I didn't think time wise it would have made much of a difference....

How wrong am I exactly?

Undergraduate medicine degrees are 5 or 6 years long depending on whether you intercalate or not (compulsory in some places, optional in others)

Reply 14

Asclepius

12

Blaze of the Dark

I was under the impression that Medical degrees take ~7 years to complete? I'm not sure where I heard that, but using a 3-4 years initial with 4 years Graduate course, I didn't think time wise it would have made much of a difference....

How wrong am I exactly?

Graduate courses :giggle:

A standard undergraduate course is 5 years (although some are 6), and a graduate entry course is 4 years. You then have to do 2 foundation years afterwards, regardless of which path you take.

Reply 15

Blaze of the Dark

OP

Urgh....

I think I shall contact my universities (as they all do Medicine degrees) and ask them if it is possible at all to change courses, and if so, what would the requirements be....

A bad idea?

Reply 16

Asclepius

12

Blaze of the Dark

Urgh....

I think I shall contact my universities (as they all do Medicine degrees) and ask them if it is possible at all to change courses, and if so, what would the requirements be....

A bad idea?

Renal

You will almost certainly not be able to transfer.

What he said :wink:

Not necessarily a bad idea, more a pointless exercise tbh

Reply 17

crazyhelicopter

11

Blaze of the Dark

I'm also still very scared about just dropping this offer from Cambridge.. As its Natural Sciences, I could even go there and come out with a degree in Biomedical Sciences or something. Would that make it easier to jump into medicine later?

To the best of my knowledge, medical schools aren't particularly picky when it comes to the place your degree is from, so a BMedSci from Cambridge would make you stand out no more than a BMedSci from Manchester (or anywhere else). Personally I wouldn't waste 3 years of my life just to get a degree from Cambridge- in the Medical world they aren't that great

Should I re-apply for Medicine?

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