The Student Room Group

2014 Medicine Re-Applicants

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Original post by MissJayySee
Hey everyone, in a bit of a dilemma atm!

I'm currently working as a teaching assistant in a primary school and am due to start uni on 22nd September. My contract states that I must give 4weeks notice before I leave.

Initially the plan was to hand in my notice 4 weeks before the beginning of the summer holidays so I was going to hand it in this coming Monday. However, I realised I wouldn't be paid for the summer holiday period and I could really do with the money for uni. I have 3 weeks of term-time in September that I could work before uni starts, so would it be okay (albeit unprofessional) to only give 3 weeks of notice?

Or could I post my resignation letter during the last week of the summer hols making it 4 weeks?

I know I've rambled loads but any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance :smile:


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Very very awkward dilemma indeed. I wouldn't only give 3 weeks, no. I'm assuming some staff already know that you're not continuing working there after summer? Perhaps this is something you could talk to one of them about?

My mum's a teacher and i know that when she moved schools even though she handed her notice in at her old place she did get paid over the holidays however i've just realised that might have been from the new place she was starting at.

Consider yourself very fortunate to be in a position where you get paid for having a 6 week holiday!
Original post by ameelia22
Very very awkward dilemma indeed. I wouldn't only give 3 weeks, no. I'm assuming some staff already know that you're not continuing working there after summer? Perhaps this is something you could talk to one of them about?

My mum's a teacher and i know that when she moved schools even though she handed her notice in at her old place she did get paid over the holidays however i've just realised that might have been from the new place she was starting at.

Consider yourself very fortunate to be in a position where you get paid for having a 6 week holiday!


Thanks for your reply! Nobody at my workplace knows yet but there are a couple of them whom I'm thinking of asking who have been there much longer than I have. Hopefully they'll have a better idea of things.

Haha that's why I'm reluctant to hand in my notice just yet!


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Reply 4562
Original post by apple42
Hi everyone,

I am also looking to re-apply like pretty much everyone else here, but just had a question as to which medical universities has the highest gap year intake, so basically which universities would I have the best chances when applying to, following the gap year?

Thank you very much in advance for your help!


I think you get extra points for achieving an a* at alevel at leicester but its only if you havnt already score full marks academically so for mw it didnt matter but it could be worth a look

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Reapplicant here :smile: I have a bit of a predicament and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/ advice. Okay so I had applied to volunteer with vitalise at the beginning of September and I'm halfway through their process of crb checks etc. However I now have the opportunity to go to South Africa for 3 weeks at the end of August with a project that raises HIV awareness, which would mean that I can't go to Vitalise. I could possibly volunteer with Vitalise the week after although this would mean I'd be cutting it extremely fine for writing a personal statement. Another option is to volunteer with one of them after October 15th and write about how I plan to do that in my ps as I'm planning (as long as I get a good UKCAT score - it was reasonable last year) to apply to unis that place a large emphasis on UKCAT and academics. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts? Which do you think would be a more valuable experience?
Original post by Fay3ll3n
Reapplicant here :smile: I have a bit of a predicament and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/ advice. Okay so I had applied to volunteer with vitalise at the beginning of September and I'm halfway through their process of crb checks etc. However I now have the opportunity to go to South Africa for 3 weeks at the end of August with a project that raises HIV awareness, which would mean that I can't go to Vitalise. I could possibly volunteer with Vitalise the week after although this would mean I'd be cutting it extremely fine for writing a personal statement. Another option is to volunteer with one of them after October 15th and write about how I plan to do that in my ps as I'm planning (as long as I get a good UKCAT score - it was reasonable last year) to apply to unis that place a large emphasis on UKCAT and academics. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts? Which do you think would be a more valuable experience?


Go to south africa and forget about vitalise. Your HIV project will more than suffice to write some excellent points in your personal statement.


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Can successful re-applicants tell me what kind of jobs did they do during the gap year? I am really struggling to find a suitable job as almost all of them require previous nursing experience. Can you please tell me which jobs are the easiest to get because all I want is a paid job in hospital environment. Thanks

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Reply 4566
Original post by jollygood
Can successful re-applicants tell me what kind of jobs did they do during the gap year? I am really struggling to find a suitable job as almost all of them require previous nursing experience. Can you please tell me which jobs are the easiest to get because all I want is a paid job in hospital environment. Thanks

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I worked in a bakery haha! And did volunteering on the wards every saturday which is so easy to get involved with so i would recommend doing that and looking for normal jobs aswell for the time being.

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Original post by jollygood
Can successful re-applicants tell me what kind of jobs did they do during the gap year? I am really struggling to find a suitable job as almost all of them require previous nursing experience. Can you please tell me which jobs are the easiest to get because all I want is a paid job in hospital environment. Thanks

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I worked as a support worker for people with special needs in a charity
Original post by ameelia22
Very few, if any, universities give you "extra credit" or a "better chance" for being a gap year applicant / having achieved grades

See how Leicester/Keele score applicants - A* grades at A2 replace poor GCSE results. There are more IIRC. Its not "Extra Credit" as such, but A* grades definitely help. It is always about results in the end.
In other words, if your achieved A2 Grades are spectacular, you DO benefit

Original post by ameelia22

(Leeds managed to **** this up spectacularly this year).

Not really fair. Every applicant had the same chances - either to be judged on GCSE or AS levels. IIRC, you didn't fill in the UCAS form in correctly and so you were judged (harshly) on the weaker set of results. Plenty of peple realised what to do (AS levels had to be explicitly stated).
Horrible miss I know, but it was your mistake - don't blame Leeds for this

Original post by ameelia22

And actually it's not the fact that your taking a gap year that will boost your chances, it's a combination of more experience, more maturity and stronger focus.

Absolutely, Re-applicants should always do better in an interview - that is where they score over school leavers.

Original post by ameelia22

The best thing you can do, as the same with any applicant is apply to your strengths.

agreed - see comment about Leicester/Keele
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 4569
St. Andrews prefer applicants with grades already... Definitely consider it as they explicitly say this.
Does anyone know if there is a thread for 2015 medical re-applicants already set up?
Original post by FutureSurgeon
Does anyone know if there is a thread for 2015 medical re-applicants already set up?


Yes there is. I think if you search it up, it will come up :smile:

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Original post by jollygood
Can successful re-applicants tell me what kind of jobs did they do during the gap year? I am really struggling to find a suitable job as almost all of them require previous nursing experience. Can you please tell me which jobs are the easiest to get because all I want is a paid job in hospital environment. Thanks

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I think it is very cliched to think you have to have a job in health care and I honestly think you can learn as much, if not more, by working in 'the real world' and showing that you have good people skills, work as part of a team, take on responsibility, rise to new challenges and learn new skills; all of these things can be displayed and discussed in your PS and interview without being tied in to healthcare. In fact i would go as far as to say it helps you to stand out as a more balanced individual
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by TooIndecisive
I think it is very cliched to think you have to have a job in health care and I honestly think you can learn as much, if not more, by working in 'the real world' and showing that you have good people skills, work as part of a team, take on responsibility, rise to new challenges and learn new skills; all of these things can be displayed and discussed in your PS and interview without being tied in to healthcare. In fact i would go as far as to say it helps you to stand out as a more balanced individual


The NHS is as real as it gets...

OP, when they asked me about hospital scenarios in my interview - having had all the experience I have, made it so much easier knowing that I was on the right lines entirely. The above poster is right though, you can most certainly get a job outside of healthcare and do just well but IMHO if you can get something within the NHS even if it's just for a bit, do it.
So glad that it's not just me


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Reply 4575
Original post by ameelia22
The NHS is as real as it gets...

OP, when they asked me about hospital scenarios in my interview - having had all the experience I have, made it so much easier knowing that I was on the right lines entirely. The above poster is right though, you can most certainly get a job outside of healthcare and do just well but IMHO if you can get something within the NHS even if it's just for a bit, do it.


Questions like what did they ask, if you dont mind me asking
Original post by AhmedDavid
Questions like what did they ask, if you dont mind me asking


Not allowed to discuss interviews in any detail, sorry.
Reply 4577
Original post by ameelia22
Not allowed to discuss interviews in any detail, sorry.


Seriously? even last years which is what I think you're talking about
Interview discussion is not permitted on TSR :no:


Original post by AhmedDavid
Seriously? even last years which is what I think you're talking about
Hey guys! May I just ask, when you were all applying for your HCA jobs, did you tell them/say on your application form that you're on a gap year and will be leaving them after a year?

A friend of mine reckons this will make them more likely to employ me as they will want to employ a prospective doctor but I just think it'll make them reluctant to employ me as it means they'll have to go through the whole recruitment process all over again in merely a year's time to replace me!

What do you guys think? Shall I include that detail on the application forms or not?

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