Dundee Medicine 2016 Entry

I wish I was as determined and brave as you... Congratz!
I might consider taking my backup then... Did you do any voluntary work/WE during your undergraduate degree?

This is all hypothetical at the moment since you haven't yet been rejected from all 4 places. I do understand your torment though. Personally despite having done a degree, I feel a gap year would have done me the world of good leaving school, as a person if not necessarily for medicine. It is daunting though. You did well enough to get interviews which says academically you have what it takes to get to the interview stage.
Assuming you do well in your final year of school, applying again now would more likely result in an unconditional were you successful, takes the pressure off a bit at school. That is not a luxury available to you if you start a degree as you must finish and the bench mark is moved each year so it could be a 2:1 or a 1st. Even just taking the time to do the UKCAT again will give you a good idea of where you stand for next year, plus if you do it early you may still be in time for clearing through UCAS at the universities if you don't think you did well enough to give the application process another go at that point.
Extroverted and humorous doesn't necessarily spell good medic. There are other qualities you need to explore in yourself. A gap year will help you do that. I found experiences like Camp America and Volunteering really opened up my eyes to the person I was and how I could improve myself, experiences which I don't think I would be in the position I am in without. They also make GREAT talking points at interview. Pretty sure all I talked about was Guide Dogs and Camp America, and because they are so real and mean so much, passion comes across much better. They tend to be more unique to you and that comes across. Everyone does Duke of Edinburgh because its a good thing to do, but not many people choose these experiences for themselves and organise them themselves.
Get all the feedback you can from any and all interviews. There will probably be one or two particular things that held you back. If you feel those are things you can work on before interviews in Nov/Dec then go for it! I didn't go on interview course but read two interview books, one on interviews and one on ethics, and practiced over and over and over and over (you get the idea) with each person, until they literally can't stand the sight of you. You'd think I'd run out of questions but when you come across the same question, answer it differently and see what reaction you get to each, note it down. choose which gets the best response. Family and friends might not be doctors or med students but they are the members of the public you would be treating so they will have some idea of how they would like to be treated.
Having said this, if you apply again next year and didn't get in, I would seriously consider taking a degree in something that interests you other than medicine. Related degrees are inherently useful and the university experience will help you when it comes to doing it post-degree. You would be far from alone. Pretty sure half my course has applied! University is great for shaping you as a person, building independence, experiencing new sports and hobbies you would never have considered and of course learning about something that you might enjoy/find useful. It is by no means a waste of your time. Of course we would all love to walk straight into medicine but for a lot of people it doesn't work like that. Some of our lecturers think that we should have a similar system to the US where you have to do a degree before medicine because it really helps you consider if it is right for you and helps you mature (without the extortionate fees).
I think it is naive to apply over and over again, I would say 3-4 times is probably the maximum you should spend applying because at that point you should probably consider what it is that doesn't make you right for medicine that makes you great for something else (own personal opinion). It's great to have passion but it also good to recognise strengths and weaknesses and where you can apply them. You might discover something great. However applying twice is more than common and you should definitely go for it if you still feel medicine is what you are game for! You will not be alone and you never know what you might discover in yourself. Sorry for the essay but hope this helps you weigh it all up

Thanks buddy! Remember, no news is still good news so don't panic until you know for certain you don't have an offer! Yeah, I basically worked my way up in my job to become dispenser so from that angle I was able to learn how to deal with patients from a pharmacy perspective and communicate with doctors on a day to day basis as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team! I then really got involved with uni life and was on the committee for sports clubs and societies and this is important cause the unis love this and asked me a lot about it at interviews! A lot of medics also find themselves too young once they graduate from medicine at the age of around 23 and wish by then that they had done a degree beforehand! There's loads of people across life sciences at Glasgow that are applying to medicine as a second degree!

Rejected from Dundee, really surprised as I thought my interview couldn't have went better but was told via ucas track " stronger candidates were interviewed". Thankfully I've got the offer from Edinburgh (still don't know how i got that).

At least you've got an offer from Edinburgh
I'm offerless and waiting for Dundee's reply and I felt the interview was disastrous...

Junioh I really have my fingers crossed for you (and others that are waiting). I thought my first two stations were a disaster at Dundee, the woman really didn't look too happy and completely threw me off. That meant I was so flustered at the second station that I couldn't answer properly. I feel the rest went pretty well though. I know another girl who called the doctor a racist during the role play, and another who spilt water on the interviewer then walked into a cupboard in the way out. We all got offers

I am a graduate and I had an amazing time at uni, I don't regret it but it is a lot of stress trying to get a minimum of a 2:1 (fingers crossed I actually get it!). I know other people who applied after a gap year of working in care homes who got in second time round. So either way is an option Don't give up hope and hopefully see you in September.


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Hi k, firstly, thank you very much for your detailed reply. For someone who feel really lost in life, you don't know how much your encouragement meant to me.
Yes it's all hypothetical at the moment, I haven't received 4 rejections YET but I like to have a plan B, probably just my personality. Also I felt the interview at Dundee didn't go well at all. Even though I'm trying to be optimistic but I also need to be realistic about my chance of getting into medicine.
I really think I have PTSD after sitting my UKCAT(no joke!). I'm aware that there might be harder tests/exams/assessments if I get into medical school, but at least I can prepare for them and revise them thoroughly. I've done papers/mocks but still got a borderline score. Really doubted about my intelligence afterward(as it was an aptitude test)
Regarding voluntary work, I really enjoy volunteering, but it can be difficult to find voluntary work in the first place. I guess if I take a gap year, then I will have plenty of time to pester charities and organizations regarding voluntary work. I didn't do DofE.
For my interviews, I didn't go on interview courses or buy interview books, but I did google interview videos and interview questions and practice them in front of a mirror, filmed myself and reflected upon it, practiced the questions with many teachers and friends too.. I dont know what else I could've done... Maybe I should ask medical students/doctors to practice with me? But I don't know any doctors/medical students personally.
That's what I'm worried about. What if I still don't get in? What if I tried everything and still can't get in? Medicine is all I want to do. I don't feel equally passionate about any other courses. However, I'm not sure whether I'm good enough for medicine, if all four medical schools rejected me. I'm worried that I will end up applying over and over again.
At the moment, I'm gonna wait for Dundee's reply, then decide.
Thank you k!

Hey yeah it is definitely good to have a plan B and I would be questioning you if you hadn't thought for a minute there was a chance you might not get in. The UKCAT is definitely stressful but I chose to sit it early as the UKCAT people say those who do, do better. Not to mention you wont need to go nearly as indepth with prep as this year you will have done it all before, you know what to expect, the conditions and how to get through it. I'd say prepare no more than a month in advance. I found the Kaplan book and medify.com the most useful resources. I do believe it is in part luck on the day as I was doing rubbish in my practices and then did surprisingly well. Like I double-triple checked my name on those results because I was not expecting to do so well.
In terms of charities and organisations, even being a ward volunteer takes time, but you will have this time on a gap year. Don't expect to walk straight in. It is useful to have a basic PVG in advance of applying even if you need to get another one when successful. Think about the groups of people you might like to be involved with such as children or the elderly and try and arrange something there. Maybe see if you can help out at a kids organisation such as Brownies or Scouts, even things like that help. As well as volunteering, I would try and keep up at least one academic thing, maybe something at college level that you would like to learn more about. It doesn't have to be an SQA qualification, maybe something like photography, a language or an art. Anything to keep your brain going and learning will be useful when you do go on to university.
What ifs are a massive part of life. We can never be certain we will get somewhere. But we have to give it a shot. I know if I hadn't taken this year to apply it would have been a massive regret and I wouldn't be truly happy. If I was rejected but applied, at least I know I gave it the best chance I could. I wouldn't be as happy but I would be able to move on. 2-3 times applying is normal for quite a lot of people. With regards to knowing what to do at uni, you would be surprised. School only really teaches us really minor part of anything in science and what we can do with it. One of the great things about the Life Sciences courses at Dundee (and possibly elsewhere) is you get to see everything before you start to specialise and that made a huge difference to me as I went in Biomedical and I will coming out with Pharmacology where I found a real passion. It also helped me realise that medicine was really a huge part of it and was something I really wanted to pursue (I wasn't 100% sure when I left school that I was making the choice for me, hence I didn't do it).
Don't worry, hold in there. You got this no matter what the outcome!

Rejected. Feel awful about it. :/ no medicine offers. Gutted

So I've not heard back from Dundee yet, does that mean it's basically a rejection? Have offers from Glasgow and Edinburgh but would still like to know what's going on with Dundee as it's my first choice.

Rejected. Feel awful about it. :/ no medicine offers. Gutted

For my UKCAT, I've used the Kaplan and 600Q books, the Kaplan was very useful but I felt there was not enough questions... hahahahhaha! I didn't even check my name on the result sheet :<
I've got a PVG(volunteered with the NHS before), can I still use that? I've got the sheet.
Thank you for your lovely advice!
I've still not heard back Dundee or Glasgow!

Medify is also brilliant for UKCAT revision. I liked Kaplan but i found it deceivingly easy. UKCAT 500 or whatever it's called was good as well and more challenging
Usually when you work with a charity they will update your PVG for you. You now need an updated version each time you do a different type of volunteering, though it's a shorter form to fill out the second time around