Medicine in the UK? Is it too late for the 18 year old me?

My situation is very, VERY complicated. Please, bare with me.

I'm a female first-year undergrad in Newcastle University. I'm currently studying Bio-computing in a 4 year course and unfortunately, since last year I've been having this worrying feeling in the pit of my stomach that the academic route I've chosen is not right for me. My unfulfilled dreams of studying Medicine are haunting me continuously, during my lectures, during my walks outside the Medical School of Newcastle, whenever I try to focus on my studies.

My dreams of going to Medical School were left behind very soon, since I've never been very confident as a teenager. My grades throughout my student years have always been maintained to be on the top tiers of grading, however my parents always perceived it as something normal, something they were expecting from me. For better or for worse, I was almost never awarded for my continuous work in school. Of course, for the biggest part I studied for myself, but the encouragement from my parents was never there.

Two years before finishing high school I started considering Medicine as a field of study I could pursue and go towards. My parents however where not extremely keen for several reasons. My dad believed that I didn't have the determination to study that much for such a demanding course and also that it would not be worth it in the long run, since it was an extremely expensive and long course. And he was right of course, since I was still 16. Medicine sounded like fun but even I didn't believe in myself, how would I make my parents believe in me? Also I used to be very self conscious, extremely socially awkward as a person. The chances of even going into Medical School with the kind of mentality I had and with the competition there is in Greece for Medicine were very thin. And in the end, studying Medicine in Greece wasn't even worth it in my eyes, since the situation in the universities back there is simply indescribable (the economical crisis has really affected academic institutions in Greece since the majority of them are public, funded by the government.) Also the structure of the medical course the Greek universities offer was and is in my opinion severely flawed. But that's a whole other story. What I really wanted was to study in the UK. That was what I always dreamed of. The high level teaching, the multiculturalism, the numerous clinical cases I would get the chance to study and observe.

Then there was money.

I would like to mention that since I come from Greece, and that my parents live and work in Greece, so if you are informed about the current situation down there, I think you can understand our economical situation as a family. I have to admit, in comparison with other households in Greece, my parents make quite a lot of money. We don't owe any money to any banks however we're still paying off my A level fees in Math and Computing.

Due to certain circumstances, I changed quite a lot as a person this last year. I spent a lot of time alone, studying, reading, spending time for myself, which led me to mature as a person. I was already mature as a teenager but school assessments and my friends and some teenage drama from here and there never let me fully understand how this world works, what is really going on around me. I had to leave home, my friends and my country and live abroad in Cyprus for a year to complete my A Levels in Math and AS in Computing in order to get in an UK Computer Science course. CS was our final decision as a family, since that was what I've been spending all my free time with the past 2 years while i was still in Greece, motherboards, routers and programming. I knew that I had skills on this and in the mind of my parents, that was more than enough. Also the job opportunities in the sector of technology are countless (if you're good at it ) .So it seemed as a great choice for everyone. And so I forgot to remember that I maybe I shouldn't have chosen something to make everyone happy, but something to make myself happy most importantly.. If I was happy with what I would do, everyone would be happy in the long run. Our decision was rushed and like that I spent a whole year abroad regretting everything. But there was no turning back. I tried ignoring my fears in the though of making a fuss later on during uni and the chance of going through and existential crisis because I was too afraid back there of saying what I really wanted and making everyone sad and disappointed in me. I was afraid of being judged by my old friends who I Ieft back in Greece because they seemed (and still do) so determined and happy with the life choices they made.

It's only my first month in uni and to be honest, I've never experienced such a horrible period in my life. Sleeping at night seems impossible, I sweat profusely in my sleep and fear for the next day to come. The next day that I will have to get up from my bed and do something that will lead me to somewhere where I won't be the least happy.. I felt as this CS course would be my £27.000 mistake that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Last week I talked with a career counselor in my uni's student center and told her what I was carrying this last year all by myself. Needless to say, after some minutes of talking I couldn't help it but tear up. All this have been building up inside me for so long that it was almost eating me inside out.

After making a longer appointment with the career counselor for next week, and also an appointment with a person from finance and from student well being( the counselor kinda freaked out when she saw me in the verge of crying and describing her what I've been through the past month and made me have an appointment in order to get mental support... ) . I've been seriously thinking of dropping out as soon as possible.

I need to finally believe in myself and do things the right way. I must turn myself into someone who I will be proud of. What I really need now is to pursue what I always wanted, the dream i wrongfully left behind. I need to study medicine, I need to learn as much as I can and gain as much experience as possible to do what I really want in life.

Save people. As much as I can at least. Saving everyone is unfortunately not an option in real life.

People who don't have the opportunity to access normal health support.

I want, after I'm finally ready as a person to be a part of Doctors without Borders. That's what I need to walk towards. That's only what will let me sleep a little better during the night.

Studying Medicine in the UK. Is it still possible for me?

What choices do I have in terms of preparation for medical school?

If you read through all this melodrama of mine, thank you.

Any kind of advice would be immensely appreciated.

Have you considered studying Medicine elsewhere other than UK or Greece? UK is also really competitive

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Only read half way through but it seems your an international student and I don't think you will be able to afford the price if they offer no loans to you because they are much higher for intentional than home students.
If they do, it's still gonna be very hard but it's possible no doubt.

I'm sorry about your current situation Before you think about dropping out, I think you should clear your head and think about whether or not dropping out would be a good idea. This time, you should think more about how your decision will affect you and not your family and friends because ultimately what you study is your choice.

Btw, what are your A-level and GCSE grades/or equivalents? Depending on how good they are, you could potentially reapply however I would advise against that for the time being.
You also have the option of staying on your current degree and applying for graduate entry medicine which is a 4 year accelerated program for graduates. However grad medicine is a LOT more competitive than undergraduate medicine and you'll need to be predicted (and achieve) at least a 2:1 on your current degree. I think there's also some uncertainty with future funding but idk myself.

Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Lots of work and very risky.

Best of luck to you OP

EDIT: Newcastle uni has grad entry medicine. Perhaps you could stop by the med school an get some proper advice and information?

Thank you so much for posting your opinion on my ridiculous existential crisis!

Concerning me withdrawing from my course; I already had 2 long appointments with a very friendly careers adviser from my uni's Careers Service. Analyzing my current situation and writing down the reasons I came to searching ways to leave my course and follow another one were very helpful. It made me understand that my current course will cause me problems in the long run (lack of motivational factors, constant desire to study something totally different, feeling of wasting time, periods of depression -which unfortunately I'm already experiencing-).

Graduate entry. Not really considering to be honest. It will be a waste of money since the degree I'll have acquired by that time will surely not worth £27000, and also what I'm studying is in a whole different department. Also there's a money issue. A big issue.

We also talked about the reasons I want to join the sector of Health Care and what is my idea of being not only a medical student but also a doctor in real life. These 2 appointments clarified my doubts of withdrawing from my course, but will still have more meeting ahead.

She also helped me getting in touch with graduates from Newcastle University's medical faculty, as well as gaining some volunteering experience in the Health Care sector (even though I've already applied recently for a volunteering program in hospital support here in Newcastle) which I believe will be a great experience for making at least a start in what I'm hoping to achieve in the future.


I have an A level in Maths with grade B (unfortunately I didn't get a higher grade because well, there was no motivational factor from my part. My first choice (Newcastle) was asking me only for a B in Maths and my Cypriot High School Diploma with a grade higher than 18 out of 20. So long story short, I didn't even study for it. Not even for the exams. Sounds like I want to make myself look smart or something but that's not the case.Actually it makes me sound immature and stupid. Which I swear I'm not. I was simply extremely unmotivated because I had applied in a course I wasn't very interested in and well, let's be honest, the A level in Maths is at most of average difficulty. Nothing challenging.)

My Cypriot High School Diploma was graded 19.2 out of 20. I had a wide range of subjects in my curriculum but my main ones were Biology, Economics, Business and management and English. Unfortunately I couldn't take Physics, Maths or Chemistry because my application for changing school from Greece to Cyprus was late due to several circumstances, such as my parents being little brats and not wanting me leaving from home while I was still 17 and because of the wonderful bureaucracy in the Greek system.

However while I was still in Greece, in the school I was attending I had completed Maths, Physics Biology and Chemistry as main subjects(which are an equivalent of AS) with high grades (18 out of 20).

I feel like this is the lowest point in my life so far. I've always been so high and mighty considering the choices I had made in my life, until now.

Hi, in my view you are very very sure that to study medicine is the only option for you. You have got a great motivation for studying medicine and I think that is the foundation of what makes somebody a good medical student. I agree with you that UK medical schools are supreme and much better than medical schools in other countries (That is one of the reasons why I apply there as well). However, as it has been written here before, UK medical schools are highly competitive and I am not sure wether you reach the minimum entry requirements with your greek qualifications, but it might be a problem that you did not take Chemistry as a main subject as this is required usually.

I would not ignore abroad medical schools too fast... Medical schools in Poland, Czechs Republic etc are often renewed and their international programs run for several years now. In addition to that, the graduation at a medical school in a eu country leeds to the license to practice medicine in every country of the eu. Of course you should at least try to get a place at a UK medical school, but if you really want to become a doctor (and looks like that) you should consider to study abroad. Because at the end, the only important thing is to get the approbation and by todays lack of doctors you will get hired everywhere regardless of where you have graduated...

I hope I could help you a bit

My situation is very, VERY complicated. Please, bare with me.

I'm a female first-year undergrad in Newcastle University. I'm currently studying Bio-computing in a 4 year course and unfortunately, since last year I've been having this worrying feeling in the pit of my stomach that the academic route I've chosen is not right for me. My unfulfilled dreams of studying Medicine are haunting me continuously, during my lectures, during my walks outside the Medical School of Newcastle, whenever I try to focus on my studies.

My dreams of going to Medical School were left behind very soon, since I've never been very confident as a teenager. My grades throughout my student years have always been maintained to be on the top tiers of grading, however my parents always perceived it as something normal, something they were expecting from me. For better or for worse, I was almost never awarded for my continuous work in school. Of course, for the biggest part I studied for myself, but the encouragement from my parents was never there.

Two years before finishing high school I started considering Medicine as a field of study I could pursue and go towards. My parents however where not extremely keen for several reasons. My dad believed that I didn't have the determination to study that much for such a demanding course and also that it would not be worth it in the long run, since it was an extremely expensive and long course. And he was right of course, since I was still 16. Medicine sounded like fun but even I didn't believe in myself, how would I make my parents believe in me? Also I used to be very self conscious, extremely socially awkward as a person. The chances of even going into Medical School with the kind of mentality I had and with the competition there is in Greece for Medicine were very thin. And in the end, studying Medicine in Greece wasn't even worth it in my eyes, since the situation in the universities back there is simply indescribable (the economical crisis has really affected academic institutions in Greece since the majority of them are public, funded by the government.) Also the structure of the medical course the Greek universities offer was and is in my opinion severely flawed. But that's a whole other story. What I really wanted was to study in the UK. That was what I always dreamed of. The high level teaching, the multiculturalism, the numerous clinical cases I would get the chance to study and observe.

Then there was money.

I would like to mention that since I come from Greece, and that my parents live and work in Greece, so if you are informed about the current situation down there, I think you can understand our economical situation as a family. I have to admit, in comparison with other households in Greece, my parents make quite a lot of money. We don't owe any money to any banks however we're still paying off my A level fees in Math and Computing.

Due to certain circumstances, I changed quite a lot as a person this last year. I spent a lot of time alone, studying, reading, spending time for myself, which led me to mature as a person. I was already mature as a teenager but school assessments and my friends and some teenage drama from here and there never let me fully understand how this world works, what is really going on around me. I had to leave home, my friends and my country and live abroad in Cyprus for a year to complete my A Levels in Math and AS in Computing in order to get in an UK Computer Science course. CS was our final decision as a family, since that was what I've been spending all my free time with the past 2 years while i was still in Greece, motherboards, routers and programming. I knew that I had skills on this and in the mind of my parents, that was more than enough. Also the job opportunities in the sector of technology are countless (if you're good at it ) .So it seemed as a great choice for everyone. And so I forgot to remember that I maybe I shouldn't have chosen something to make everyone happy, but something to make myself happy most importantly.. If I was happy with what I would do, everyone would be happy in the long run. Our decision was rushed and like that I spent a whole year abroad regretting everything. But there was no turning back. I tried ignoring my fears in the though of making a fuss later on during uni and the chance of going through and existential crisis because I was too afraid back there of saying what I really wanted and making everyone sad and disappointed in me. I was afraid of being judged by my old friends who I Ieft back in Greece because they seemed (and still do) so determined and happy with the life choices they made.

It's only my first month in uni and to be honest, I've never experienced such a horrible period in my life. Sleeping at night seems impossible, I sweat profusely in my sleep and fear for the next day to come. The next day that I will have to get up from my bed and do something that will lead me to somewhere where I won't be the least happy.. I felt as this CS course would be my £27.000 mistake that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Last week I talked with a career counselor in my uni's student center and told her what I was carrying this last year all by myself. Needless to say, after some minutes of talking I couldn't help it but tear up. All this have been building up inside me for so long that it was almost eating me inside out.

After making a longer appointment with the career counselor for next week, and also an appointment with a person from finance and from student well being( the counselor kinda freaked out when she saw me in the verge of crying and describing her what I've been through the past month and made me have an appointment in order to get mental support... ) . I've been seriously thinking of dropping out as soon as possible.

I need to finally believe in myself and do things the right way. I must turn myself into someone who I will be proud of. What I really need now is to pursue what I always wanted, the dream i wrongfully left behind. I need to study medicine, I need to learn as much as I can and gain as much experience as possible to do what I really want in life.

Save people. As much as I can at least. Saving everyone is unfortunately not an option in real life.

People who don't have the opportunity to access normal health support.

I want, after I'm finally ready as a person to be a part of Doctors without Borders. That's what I need to walk towards. That's only what will let me sleep a little better during the night.

Studying Medicine in the UK. Is it still possible for me?

What choices do I have in terms of preparation for medical school?

If you read through all this melodrama of mine, thank you.

Any kind of advice would be immensely appreciated.

If you're European, studying Medicine in Scotland would be free.