Graduate Entry Medicine: 2016 Entry

I'm a Computer Science PhD student possibly interested in GEM once I've finished my course.

I have all As in GCSE sciences, maths and English, AAC at A level (in chemistry, maths, and ICT).

I got a high first in my CS degree from a russell group uni (just over 80%), and am now on a PhD program at the same university.

My extra-curriculars are nonexistent, and I also have no work or volunteering experience within healthcare. My knowledge of biology is also pretty weak since I stopped studying it after GCSE level.

From looking at the GEM wiki page, it seems I may be eligible for some universities, as long as I spice up my work experience (and extra-curriclulars?), and also get a very good UKCAT score.

I would appreciate it if anyone here could give me any recommendations on how beef up my application?

Obviously carrying out some volunteering experience over the next few years would be beneficial, and practising for the UKCAT would help. I'm also considering doing a PhD project related to medicine/healthcare, which is very possible given the field I have chosen to specialise in.

Maybe reading through an A level biology textbook could be beneficial as well? (I may even consider undergoing the A level if possible, and I have enough time, as long as there is no practical element like there was with chemistry...).

Finally, I guess I'm going to have to come up with some very good reasons as to why I wish to switch to medicine all of a sudden, and didn't go for it straight out of sixth form (hopefully the honest answer of being young and clueless will suffice!).

Can anyone offer any more words of wisdom?

So guaranteed interviewed for medicine?

The pathway is great in the sense that you can go straight into the doctorate after graduation. However, there are a number of conditions such as being accepted unto the third year modules (only 30 places). Out of the 30 people only 7 are selected for the doctorate.

I'm intrigued, why the switch after all the dedication and hard work a PhD demands?!

Just out of curiosity, why have you considered GEM?

One of my friends has had a change of career and gone into programming from a completely unrelated career. CS is highly desirable industry!

Words of wisdom please dont apply to the med schools i am *cries*
haha kidding!!!
you sound like your in a great position to be in

Hi everyone.

I'll be applying again for 2016 as my UKCAT and GAMSAT scores weren't up to scratch. Hopefully third time lucky.

Is anyone sitting GAMSAT Ireland next March, or has anyone sat it before? I just registered for it, but it asked for a CAO number. I'm a UK applicant and I won't be applying to any Irish universities, so I don't have one. I asked a friend and did a bit of googling and apparently we just use a dummy number. Just wanted to check if that is what everyone else is doing.

Hey! did you ever find out the answer to this? I am in the same situation right now and have emailed them but waiting to hear back? UK applicant not applying to Irish Unis. Thanks

I've pasted the relevant bit from their reply about UK applicant not applying to Irish universities (and I registered too, so I can confirm this works) -

The CAO number is the unique application number supplied to all applicants wishing to apply to Irish universities. You only need a CAO number if you are applying for universities in Ireland in 2015 (http://www.cao.ie/), if you’re not and you only want the results to apply in the UK or Australia or apply in 2016 , you will need to put a dummy CAO number in (15000000) to proceed; this will not affect your application in any way.


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Thanks sooo much for this! Ill get on it now :-)

:-) glad I could help, good luck with the prep/ studies!


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Hi guys,

This is my first post since m8y A-levels, and I've now finished university! (this is a new account).

Looking for some hard honest truth!

I have always wanted to be a doctor, in particular a psychiatrist, but I've never considered myself smart enough. I went to a Grammar school, didn't really revise for GCSE's and had little encouagrment from teachers because at my school i was not only super quiet, but also super average in my grades (all b's at GCSE pretty much).

At A level I was told i 'wasn't smart enough' to do Biology so got stuck with 'Science in society'. I begged my teachers to predict me ABBb, and thankfully was predicted that. I ended up with A*ABb with the A* in 'Science in Society' but because i wasn't predicted this I missed out on a RG uni. When i got to university to study Psychology I was tested for dyslexia.. which I do have. IMO this is why my teachers thought I wasn't smart and wouldn't amount to much. Fortunately this test also found that I'm in the top 0.01% and top 2% of the population in some non verbal reasoning tests which is a confidence boost. Since then I completed my Psychology degree with a high 2:1, in some modules being the top of my class.

I now work in a mental health hospital for children and adolescents and have never been more passionate about health care than I am today. But i'm wondering, am I really smart enough to apply for medicine? Like I said, i haven't done much pure science (other than neuro-science) since GCSE! Also, how the heck do I fund this? I've read about bursaries but in reality my parents earn too much for me to qualify but too little to completely fund me! I know this is a huge post but i'm just wondering what people think?

tl;dr am i actually smart enough for medicine? how do I fund it?

Is it possible to do GEM at the university I am at already without going through UCAS?

Hi all!

I been following this thread for a while and thought I should put myself out there.

I am a 3rd year Pharmacy student looking to apply to GEM. Applied as a 6th former in year 13 to an access to med course, only got interviewed at Kings and unfortunately didn't make it

Although I wasn't fussed at the time, looking back I should have taken a gap year. Even though I wanted to do Med back then, I was only doing it half-heartedly and went for pharmacy instead. After studying on this course, I realised that Pharmacy really is not the career for me, and realised that it had always been my dream to become a Doctor, but was too scared to admit it at the time. Not one day goes by where I have a moment to regret...

So here I am planning to apply for GEM. My GCSE's 4A*s, 4As, 2Bs. A Levels AAB (just shy of the standard 3AAA needed for 6th formers).

Where am I planning to apply? Tbh can only apply to London Uni's since I am from London and cannot afford to travel outside again (I am outside London for my current Pharmacy degree).

Any advice, hints and tips on work experience (which I am trying so hard to get) would be really appreciated!!

Hey, I am in exactly the same situation as you only I am now in my final year of pharmacy...thank goodness! I also got the same grades as you, but my B was in chemistry which I still see is going to hold me back from some GEM courses - despite having a pharmacy degree!

I will be doing my pre-reg year in hospital, starting this year- mainly so i can register as a pharmacist, work part time during the medical degree and will also help me save a bit of money before going back to uni! Are you planning to do your pre-reg year?

Have you discussed this with friends on your course, I am not sure if mine are jealous of my plans to leave pharmacy but they are always so negative about it so I dont really talk about it around them.

Just out of interest what Uni are you at? Im at Cardiff

My uni (uni of liverpool) does a clinical psychology doctorate too !!

Hi Mully09!

Nice to meet a fellow pharmacy student! Thought I would be the only one...

Glad to hear u made it to the final year of Pharmacy, and well done on securing a hospital pre-reg!

I am applying to literally all pharmacies (hospital, community and even industry) for a pre-reg year. My plan is if I can hopefully get into GEM 2016, I will pursue the GEM. Otherwise I will go for the pre-reg year.

Logically, I should be applying after my pre-reg year, but I have been hearing about changes to the student finance situation for the GEM courses. Imperial GEM have completely removed the 4 year GEM and replaced it with a 5 year GEM where you have to fund £36,000 yourself, no eligibility for a tuition fee loan.

Because of this, I am gonna apply early as I am afraid that the way things may be going, I don't know if what happened in Imperial is gonna happen to other GEM courses (and I don't think it will help if the Conservatives get re-elected as they are gonna do further spending cuts). It's all uncertainty for me atm

Oh and I totally get the whole jealousy thing from fellow pharmacy coursemates! A significant number of people on my course wanted to do Med but didn't get in like me. Nobody knows about my aspiration to get into GEM, so I just keep it secret

Btw I study at East Anglia

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Yeh it does seem like quite an unusual route into medicine I guess cos pharmacy is 4 yrs (5 with the pre-reg) - would have been a lot quicker to do biomedical science but hindsight is a wonderful thing!

I am quite worried about the GEM situation even for 2016 entry as like you said theyve already reduced the number of programs, I am just hoping they dont up the A level requirements too much as I got a B in chemistry which already reduces my choice of unis to apply to!

Im trying to find out if it is possible to work as a pharmacist whilst studying GEM, I know you can locum in community but have no idea if you would actually be able to fit it in.

Good luck with 3rd Pharmacy - in Cardiff that is the toughest year but I think other unis are different !