Don't Know Where to Apply for Medicine, Advice Needed!

What are your grades like?

If you are worrying about prestige then you should know - when you are graduating and applying for foundation posts, your university is kept anonymous so prestige counts for absolutely nothing. In terms of employment prospects, all medical degrees are equal.

What you should focus on initially is playing to the strengths of your application. Find out which universities focus on high A-level grades, find out which ones place a lot of weight on the UKCAT, find out where extra curriculars are highly valued and apply accordingly to give yourself the best chance of getting a place.

If you do actually manage to get more than 1 offer and are trying to decide where to go then look at the course structure (PBL vs more traditional approach, how early you begin getting clinical experience, whether a BMSc is incorporated or optional etc.) and just the university/ city in general and go where you think you will be happiest.

Best of luck

Hello, 4 A* and 5 A at GCSE and AAAB at AS levels



Thank you for the detailed response. What is a PBL? and how do you whether a university highly values A levels?

+ rep =)

Thanks PBL is problem based learning. It is a style of learning where students tackle core clinical problems in quite a self-directed way. There is some degree of PBL learning in most courses, however some use it far more than others, to the exclusion of more traditional forms of teaching (and it is not a style of learning that suits everyone - particularly people who struggle to self motivate).

The TSR medicine wiki is a good place to start looking for the specific entry requirements for each uni; http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine

There is a Megathread you could post in for more advice but I'd advice doing your own proper research e.g. make sure you know what PBL is and whether it appeals to you. Here is a link to the Megathread

Also have you done the UKCAT yet? It'll be difficult to choose places to apply without this score. If not have a look at this thread

Are you willing to do the BMAT (if you don't know much about it do a quick Google), if not then that rules out Oxbridge, Imperial and UCL.

Looking at your GCSEs unless you're from an under-performing school you should probably avoid KCL (unless you get an amazing UKCAT score) and Oxford. Also possibly avoid Birmingham depending on what subjects you're A grades were in.

Can't emphasise enough the importance of doing your own thorough research and think about what you are looking for in a medical school and what the strong and weak points are in your application.

Hello guys, as the title explains, I finished my AS year and starting my A2 year. I hope to become a doctor but I have no idea at where to apply at. All the university's just look so similar to me and I can't differentiate between them. What areas should I look for when applying?
What are the best university's for a medicine degree?
Thanks for all the help in advance!

First figure out where you can apply (eg, do you have the right subjects?). See wiki articles on GCSE and A level requirements.

Next, figure out where you should apply (ie, where your application would be competitive, rather than a waste of time). See wiki article on 'applying using your strengths' which highlights the uni's that focus or GCSEs and/or AS grades and/or UKCAT scores and/or personal statements. Check your UKCAT score against any thresholds which have been applied in the past (NB, these can change from year to year).

And finally, decide where you want to apply (eg, type of course, distance from home, whether you liked the city or not, etc).

HTH, and good luck!

Hello, thanks for the response and the link. If I do an EPQ, would they include the EPQ for my offer.

No problem. I'm afraid I don't know much about the EPQ, but I've never heard of it being included in people's offers. More often it just seems to be something interesting to discuss at interview or something they might look at if you missed the conditions of an offer.

I appreciate the reply. And also, if I do an EPQ, would it be in my offer? +rep