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What are my chances of getting into graduate medicine?! Honestly..

Hi guys,

This is my first ever thread on this website.

So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.

I have proceeded with my backup plan and i am studying for a Biology Bsc. I applied to chance my course to Biology at Imperial College London. They said they could take me onto join the second year, the date today is `18/03/2011' and they are still processing my application.

For GCSE's i recieved 6 A*s, 5 A's in my subjects, (included Biology, chem, physics, maths)

For A-levels i recieved A in Biology and Maths and Turkish, B in chemistry. I have a B for AS german and an A for AS critical thinking.

My Question is: What are the chances of being accepted to study graduate medicine (london or outside london) if i receive a 1st or 2:1 in Bsc Biology. And which universities are recommended? Would graduating from Imperial increase my prospects of being accepted to study graduate medicine? And if you are studying graduate medicine how do you find it and what's your story? How did you do it?

Any feedback would be appreciated !

Thank-you:colondollar:

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Reply 1
Avatar for notepad
notepad
10
Original post by ambitious19
Hi guys,

This is my first ever thread on this website.

So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.

I have proceeded with my backup plan and i am studying for a Biology Bsc. I applied to chance my course to Biology at Imperial College London. They said they could take me onto join the second year, the date today is `18/03/2011' and they are still processing my application.

For GCSE's i recieved 6 A*s, 5 A's in my subjects, (included Biology, chem, physics, maths)

For A-levels i recieved A in Biology and Maths and Turkish, B in chemistry. I have a B for AS german and an A for AS critical thinking.

My Question is: What are the chances of being accepted to study graduate medicine (london or outside london) if i receive a 1st or 2:1 in Bsc Biology. And which universities are recommended? Would graduating from Imperial increase my prospects of being accepted to study graduate medicine? And if you are studying graduate medicine how do you find it and what's your story? How did you do it?

Any feedback would be appreciated !

Thank-you:colondollar:


If you get a 1st and 700+ UKCAT, I'd say a very good chance at getting interviews. It's up to you, at interview, to convert them into offers ;3 Good luck!

EDIT: Maybe you should give reapplying a go? A few universities still accept retake applicants (and you only need to retake chemistry). It may be worth it; research on UEA; BSMS; Keele (I think); Peninsula; Sheffield (I think); Newcastle (I think).
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 2
Avatar for anon2010
anon2010
11
If you get a 1st or a 2:1 you have the same chance as any other graduate of getting a place.

What makes you think you are unqualified?
Reply 3
Avatar for DrWise
DrWise
Having a 1st or a 2:1 is good, but what will get you an interview is a good UKCAT. Imperial operates a cut off for each subsection; this year it was about 650 for each subsection.
you might not even get in. Are you sure you even want to do a degree in Biology?
Reply 5
Avatar for LaRoar
LaRoar
1
Academics-wise, you'll be absolutely fine, especially if you can nail that 1st (which no matter how good you are in school, is seriously hard work!)

While the UKCAT/GAMSAT/BMAT is obviously important, it's certainly not the be-all-end-all that some people seem to think.

In my experience, having good quality work experience is absolutely crucial for graduates. You'll be expected to be able to demonstrate a much clearer understanding of what medicine actually entails than an undergraduate applicant, and far less 'fuzzy' reasons behind your motivations towards medicine. This isn't just something you should do for the sake of your application either, you might find that it isn't actually everything you hoped and dreamed of and save yourself a lot of time and money :wink:

Which university you get your undergrad degree from will not make any difference to your medicine application, similarly whether the unis you apply to are in London or not will make no difference.
Reply 6
Avatar for Phew
Phew
I had no motivation at school and came out with ABBBBBBCCCC at GCSE and ABC at A level. I am now finishing off a Bsc Biology (predicted 2.1/1st) and have applied to GEM, got interviews at Imperial, Swansea and Warwick (got offers from the first 2 and withdrew from my warwick interview). I had a good UKCAT (732 or something) and decent GAMSAT (61). While the grades and test are all hurdles to overcome they are very doable and the real differentiating factor is the work experience/PS (maybe use your 2nd language to do some work experience abroad - i did something similar). The competition for GEM is massive as people have had far longer to build up experience and with most courses having far fewer places. Moral of the story, your grades are no problem what so ever, but as is the case with most applicants, the grades are the least of their worries.
Original post by ambitious19
Hi guys,

This is my first ever thread on this website.

So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.

I have proceeded with my backup plan and i am studying for a Biology Bsc. I applied to chance my course to Biology at Imperial College London. They said they could take me onto join the second year, the date today is `18/03/2011' and they are still processing my application.

For GCSE's i recieved 6 A*s, 5 A's in my subjects, (included Biology, chem, physics, maths)

For A-levels i recieved A in Biology and Maths and Turkish, B in chemistry. I have a B for AS german and an A for AS critical thinking.

My Question is: What are the chances of being accepted to study graduate medicine (london or outside london) if i receive a 1st or 2:1 in Bsc Biology. And which universities are recommended? Would graduating from Imperial increase my prospects of being accepted to study graduate medicine? And if you are studying graduate medicine how do you find it and what's your story? How did you do it?

Any feedback would be appreciated !

Thank-you:colondollar:


So, are you able to join med in the middle of the bio degree or do you have to complete the course first?
Come back in three years and ask again.
Reply 9
Avatar for No Future
No Future
17
Original post by ambitious19
Hi guys,

This is my first ever thread on this website.

So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.

I have proceeded with my backup plan and i am studying for a Biology Bsc. I applied to chance my course to Biology at Imperial College London. They said they could take me onto join the second year, the date today is `18/03/2011' and they are still processing my application.

For GCSE's i recieved 6 A*s, 5 A's in my subjects, (included Biology, chem, physics, maths)

For A-levels i recieved A in Biology and Maths and Turkish, B in chemistry. I have a B for AS german and an A for AS critical thinking.

My Question is: What are the chances of being accepted to study graduate medicine (london or outside london) if i receive a 1st or 2:1 in Bsc Biology. And which universities are recommended? Would graduating from Imperial increase my prospects of being accepted to study graduate medicine? And if you are studying graduate medicine how do you find it and what's your story? How did you do it?

Any feedback would be appreciated !

Thank-you:colondollar:

Grad med is more expensive and harder to get into than post A Level.
Reply 10
Avatar for muffingg
muffingg
18
Original post by ambitious19
Hi guys,

This is my first ever thread on this website.

So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.

I have proceeded with my backup plan and i am studying for a Biology Bsc. I applied to chance my course to Biology at Imperial College London. They said they could take me onto join the second year, the date today is `18/03/2011' and they are still processing my application.

For GCSE's i recieved 6 A*s, 5 A's in my subjects, (included Biology, chem, physics, maths)

For A-levels i recieved A in Biology and Maths and Turkish, B in chemistry. I have a B for AS german and an A for AS critical thinking.

My Question is: What are the chances of being accepted to study graduate medicine (london or outside london) if i receive a 1st or 2:1 in Bsc Biology. And which universities are recommended? Would graduating from Imperial increase my prospects of being accepted to study graduate medicine? And if you are studying graduate medicine how do you find it and what's your story? How did you do it?

Any feedback would be appreciated !

Thank-you:colondollar:



Original post by ambitious19
Hi guys,

This is my first ever thread on this website.

So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.

I have proceeded with my backup plan and i am studying for a Biology Bsc. I applied to chance my course to Biology at Imperial College London. They said they could take me onto join the second year, the date today is `18/03/2011' and they are still processing my application.

For GCSE's i recieved 6 A*s, 5 A's in my subjects, (included Biology, chem, physics, maths)

For A-levels i recieved A in Biology and Maths and Turkish, B in chemistry. I have a B for AS german and an A for AS critical thinking.

My Question is: What are the chances of being accepted to study graduate medicine (london or outside london) if i receive a 1st or 2:1 in Bsc Biology. And which universities are recommended? Would graduating from Imperial increase my prospects of being accepted to study graduate medicine? And if you are studying graduate medicine how do you find it and what's your story? How did you do it?

Any feedback would be appreciated !

Thank-you:colondollar:


Your grades are not bad at all. I don't see why you shouldn't be able to. You would have to go through UCAS Extra or Clearing. Unfortunately I doubt it Imperial would do it, but there are loads of decent universities in London that are in Extra and Clearing. Your grades are very good!
Reply 11
Avatar for Taffy Duck
Taffy Duck
Getting a 2.1 (or 1st in some cases) from any university is just a minimum requirement. What will get you an interview is a good personal statement and a good score on the entry tests (UKCAT/GAMSAT). After that, it's pretty much all about the interview.
Reply 12
Avatar for Renal
Renal
17
Original post by ambitious19
So, here's for the typical scenario. I applied for medicine in 4 Uni's in London (Queen mary, Imperial, Kings, UCL) and got rejected by all four.
Your question is here.

Why did you get rejected?
What have you done to change this?

If it wasn't academic, what has your degree changed?
Reapply for undergraduate 5 year courses again before looking at 4 year grad med. You would have a good chance of getting into grad med provided you got a 2.1/1st and nailed the entrance exams as well as having a lot of work experience. If you know you want to do med, get feedback from unis, work on it and reapply. No point doing something that you don't want to do for three years as you really won't have a much better chance of getting in.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 14
Avatar for Renal
Renal
17
Original post by Seham
Reapply as an undergrad.
All medical degrees are undergraduate.
Original post by Renal
All medical degrees are undergraduate.


I know, just my phrasing. I meant before having completed a degree so for 5 year courses. :smile: As opposed to grad med (which is a 4 year UG course).
(edited 13 years ago)
Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to reply. Three years on i just wanted to update you all on what happened with my situation:

*Entered Biology degree at Imperial after my first year (did not lose out on a year) and completed there with a 2.1
*Applied for Medicine in my 2nd year, and applied for four undergraduate courses at King's College London, Brighton and Sussex, Cardiff university and University of East Anglia. I chickened out on applying for grad entry after seeing the statistics! But i kind of wish i had since i'm having to pay so much for the undergrad degree (£9k/year!!).
*I only got one offer from UEA!!! And i took it :smile: Just finished my first year and its going well! I love the uni and the course!! Only problem is being in a year group of younger students (most are my brothers age- 18!) and it does dull you down a bit, but because most people are mature, it also doesn't matter that much sometimes.

Feel free to ask for any advice on the application process for aspiring medics!
Original post by ambitious19
Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to reply. Three years on i just wanted to update you all on what happened with my situation:

*Entered Biology degree at Imperial after my first year (did not lose out on a year) and completed there with a 2.1
*Applied for Medicine in my 2nd year, and applied for four undergraduate courses at King's College London, Brighton and Sussex, Cardiff university and University of East Anglia. I chickened out on applying for grad entry after seeing the statistics! But i kind of wish i had since i'm having to pay so much for the undergrad degree (£9k/year!!).
*I only got one offer from UEA!!! And i took it :smile: Just finished my first year and its going well! I love the uni and the course!! Only problem is being in a year group of younger students (most are my brothers age- 18!) and it does dull you down a bit, but because most people are mature, it also doesn't matter that much sometimes.

Feel free to ask for any advice on the application process for aspiring medics!


First of all congratulations on getting into med :h::h:, hope you get through it with flying colours! I'm in a similar situation you were in 3yrs ago however my grades are my major drawback due to certain circumstances. I'm currently on my gap yr, finished Alevels last yr & gaining work exp. by working with children (teacher) & will start hospital volunteering placement in a few weeks. I'm retaking some exams to get the AAA & currently in the process of applying to UCAS for a BioMed degree at Sheffield, Medical sciences degree at Leeds, Clinical sciences degree at Bradford. Clinical sciences allows those who get a 1st in their 1st yr to transfer to first yr of the undergrad. medicine course at Leeds. The other 2 I hope to apply as you did, individually. My question is, do I apply during my first yr of the course (so by October 2015) or do I wait till I complete my 1st yr and apply during second yr - meaning I will complete yr2 of the course before theoretically speaking, transferring to 1st yr med? If I don't get accepted after applying while doing the undergrad degree in either of the 3 courses I mentioned, I hope to apply to postgrad med, which is immensely competitive as I hear but it'll be worth a shot. I know medicine is all I ever want to do, I tried to have a change of heart during the summer holiday, kind of try to settle for less but I just couldn't. I can't help but think of the regret I would feel 10yrs down the line, doing something health related but thinking 'what if' I had done this or what if I had done post grad med. I would move away & trying to get into med some other country, (as if I can afford either the living expenses or tuition fees independently). I guess my doubt is that what if all fails & I'm stuck with a degree that I can't do what I've always wanted to. That's what my dads tells me whenever we talk about applying, which is right. He wants me to have a backup but my backup is postgrad med. Lmao I'm scared, like what if it's not meant to be but I only realise it after I'm done with uni. Then again I can't seem to think why I'd want something so bad for so long, only to not get it, you know? Ugh this is hurting my brain :frown: , but thanks for your time, any advice is appreciated xxx
Original post by monaaa19
First of all congratulations on getting into med :h::h:, hope you get through it with flying colours! I'm in a similar situation you were in 3yrs ago however my grades are my major drawback due to certain circumstances. I'm currently on my gap yr, finished Alevels last yr & gaining work exp. by working with children (teacher) & will start hospital volunteering placement in a few weeks. I'm retaking some exams to get the AAA & currently in the process of applying to UCAS for a BioMed degree at Sheffield, Medical sciences degree at Leeds, Clinical sciences degree at Bradford. Clinical sciences allows those who get a 1st in their 1st yr to transfer to first yr of the undergrad. medicine course at Leeds. The other 2 I hope to apply as you did, individually. My question is, do I apply during my first yr of the course (so by October 2015) or do I wait till I complete my 1st yr and apply during second yr - meaning I will complete yr2 of the course before theoretically speaking, transferring to 1st yr med? If I don't get accepted after applying while doing the undergrad degree in either of the 3 courses I mentioned, I hope to apply to postgrad med, which is immensely competitive as I hear but it'll be worth a shot. I know medicine is all I ever want to do, I tried to have a change of heart during the summer holiday, kind of try to settle for less but I just couldn't. I can't help but think of the regret I would feel 10yrs down the line, doing something health related but thinking 'what if' I had done this or what if I had done post grad med. I would move away & trying to get into med some other country, (as if I can afford either the living expenses or tuition fees independently). I guess my doubt is that what if all fails & I'm stuck with a degree that I can't do what I've always wanted to. That's what my dads tells me whenever we talk about applying, which is right. He wants me to have a backup but my backup is postgrad med. Lmao I'm scared, like what if it's not meant to be but I only realise it after I'm done with uni. Then again I can't seem to think why I'd want something so bad for so long, only to not get it, you know? Ugh this is hurting my brain :frown: , but thanks for your time, any advice is appreciated xxx

Because you are repeating your A levels that will have a knockon to any applications. You would be applying for undergraduate medicine as a repeat A level candidate (because that's all the qualifications you would have). It is likely that most medical schools will not consider you. They will probably insist that you apply during our final year of your degree so they can give you a conditional offer based on you getting a 2.1 etc. In other words entering medicine as a graduate. This is what the OP has done. He has a 2.1 in Biology. I don't know of anywhere that will consider you part way through a degree course (except in your final year) for entry into medicine. Especially as you will have done A levels over 3 years.
Sorry, but I think you have very limited options unless your "certain circumstances" are well documented serious medical/family based extenuating ones.
Immensely sorry for the late reply. I know you would have made your decision by now since its early November.
In my experience, having a degree does not benefit you when you apply for the undergrad courses, as they are looking at your experiences.
As with grad entry, i didn't apply to any, as the statistics scared me. But if you play it right, of course everyone has a chance. By play it right i mean get 1st or 2:1, get extra experience, most importantly smash the UKCAT as the universities rank you according to that mostly, and then smash the interview. It's more difficult in my opinion.
Did you get your A-level grades back? If you got A's, what would have stopped you from applying to med again and taking another gap year?
I would have said, start the other courses (ideally the Clinical sciences at Bradford and ace the year so that you get direct entry!). If you got 3 A's in your gap year, apply to medicine again this year, to start first year med next year. If you don't get an offer, you're going to have to apply in second year again. The universities you pick are crucial. They are all competitive but some (e.g. Kings college) are just not worth pursuing unless you have an amazing UKCAT. I cant explain how important your UKCAT grade is. You really need to be getting 700's to secure an interview, as most universities put a lot of weight on that. Just keep practicing!! I would say 4 months minimum to increase speed etc.
Hope it works out for you. I can advise you when applying for different schools if you like.
Let me know what decisions you made! H x

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