To gap year medical applicants

Hello all
I have received 3 rejections for medicine so far and probably expecting one more. It therefore looks like I will have to take a gap year and go through the whole application process again ie. personal statement, ukcat etc.

I would like to ask a few questions to those who were in the same situation as me and had to apply again:
1. did you get an offer/ invited for interview the second time round?

2. Was your ukcat score much higher?

3. did you find the application process better and less stressful the second time round?

4. What did you do in your gap year?

5. did you mention plans for your gap year in the personal statement?

6. were you generally quite happy you took a gap year?

I am very sorry to hear about the rejections. You still have one more option left though so you never know and at the end of the day, you only need one offer for Medicine.

I got 4 pre-interview rejections last time round and I remember how frustrating and upsetting it was. It is a long, hard and emotionally draining process but just try to hang in there. I decided to take a gap year and reapply.



This time round, have an offer and received interview invites to all four choices. I think the best thing to do is to try to work out why you were rejected first time round and to try to get feedback from the places where you applied to. See if you can work towards rectifying those things for next time and that really helps.

Another reason why people are often rejected is because they perhaps didn't apply as wisely as they could have first time. I'd suggest having a look at this page and seeing which Medical School's would be the best for you to apply to: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_to_Medical_School_using_your_Strengths



My UKCAT score did improve quite a bit, yes.



Yes, I really have found it less stressful! It was still hard but I think that it was quite different this time round in that I'd tried to rectify areas of weakness in my application from last time, so felt a bit more positive too when I submitted my application. Many of my friends who got rejected last time (and there are a fair few!) have an offer now for Medicine too so as I said, just hang in there and don't give up. I think last year, more than 60% of Medicine applicants got rejected so there's certainly nothing to be ashamed about if the same happens (but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that they don't).



Got more work experience, did various volunteer roles (I found this website useful to find some: https://do-it.org/news/welcome), various jobs and also some time to just try out new things and relax!



I very briefly mentioned my plans in one short paragraph, yes.



When I first got the rejections, I was obviously very much upset. It felt a bit strange seeing all my close friends going off to uni while I was stuck a year behind and wondering who I'd spend time with in my gap year etc. However, I guess my gap year and the whole experience of getting rejected first time has taught me a lot and has helped to mature me a lot. I've also had some time to take a break from academics and, in hindsight, I think that that's something which I very much needed because of some circumstances that arose during my A-Levels. I do occasionally get a bit lonely as all my friends have gone off to uni but we still try to meet up as much as possible during the holidays, or I pay them a visit at their uni if they're feeling bored/lonely.

I hope you receive some positive news in regards to you last choice but if worst does come to worst, try not to be too disheartened (I know it's much easier said than done!). As I've said, I'm currently very much enjoying my time off and have been able to do all sorts of fun things.