Manchester University A100 (2017 entry)

Aw you are so wonderful! I'm in a similar place to you in terms of medical issues like I have an operation next Monday so when I say I worry about my alevels people don't really understand the extent of it. I'm so happy for you 😘 where have you applied this year then? Also have you found funding hard (in terms of loans) because that's the only thing scaring me about going down the degree route!x


Posted from TSR Mobile

😂 I don't watch greys anatomy do you think I should get started?😉 a levels worry me so much im so scared in case I get an offer and then in the end don't meet it


Posted from TSR Mobile

Not 24/7 but I find watching stuff on TV takes more time than planned - I cant get back into studying if I stop to watch TV

You've got time to recover yourself between now and exams so don't worry and don't stress; that'll make it so much worse. Also make sure to keep your school informed so they can take the necessary steps if anything does go awry with your exams; makes it a lot easier dealing with Unis further down the line!

This time I've applied to newcastle (where I'm doing my UG), manchester and soton to their 5 year programmes and to Warwick for graduate entry which is 4 year. That's another benefit of being a grad, you have the choice of more Unis! Plus when you're a grad they never look at GCSEs and nearly never look at your a levels which is nice ☺️☺️

As far as funding, I won't lie it's a scary prospect but it is definitely doable. The way it works is that you are allowed up to 4 years tuition funding for your first undergraduate degree. That's so that people doing inclusive masters (4 year courses) get funded all the way through and also means if you have to repeat a year you're covered. Now med is obviously 5 year so the NHS pays your 5th year tuition. That goes straight to the uni, you never see that money and everyone is entitled to it regardless of household income. You also get a maintenance loan to live on that's a minimum of 3.4 (I think?) thousand a year for every year you're in uni but can be a lot more depending on your household income etc.

That sounds like a lot of debt and it is, but you only pay it back once you're earning over a certain amount, and it comes straight out of your pay check just like tax, so again you don't really see the money so it's pretty painless.

As a graduate going back into med, funding is a bit different. This doesn't apply to other graduate degrees like single year masters programmes or PHDs; those are completely separate.

Regardless of whether you do a 5 year (which is normally for a level students) or a 4 year (graduate entry medicine) you still get a maintenance loan to live on, because medicine is counted as a vocational degree. The same goes for anyone doing dentistry or vetinary as a grad (and maybe midwifery and nursing but don't quote me on that because their fees have just changed). However, tuition fees is a bit different. Now, notice I called it graduate entry medicine, not post graduate. That's because the government count all medicine courses as under graduate even if they're the 4 year. That means doing it as a second degree is the equivalent of doing another 3 year UG degree so you don't get tuition funding. So for the 5 year you get no tuition funding for the first 4 years (NHS still pay the 5th year) but you do get a little bit of help with the 4 year graduate entry. With that you have to pay around 3.6 grand your first year and less the following years and the government gives you a loan for the other bits. That's why there are a lot fewer graduate places; Becasue the government doesn't want to fund more.



As far as paying the fees, you can get tuition loans from private companies that are a bit more expensive than the student loan company but to be honest not by much, or you can pay privately. I'm very lucky in the fact I've been saving all my life so have those to use, and I'm also the youngest of 4 children and the other three are much older and in well established careers so they're very very kindly loaning me some of the money. As I say; it's scary but it's definitely doable if you want it enough.

Sorry for the essay! But it might help those of you debating other degrees first as a back up plan, and might explain the fees better in general 😂☺️

Thank you so much 😘 you've really clarified a lot of questions I had about graduate entry medicine so I really appreciate you taking the time out to write that. Like you said there's always private loans I could get so I shouldn't worry too much. Best bet is to try and achieve my a levels first time so I don't end up a difficult situation 😂 did you have to sit the GAMSAT for your uni's this year then or can you do the UKCAT as well? If I went to a nearby uni (I would get near enough max amount in maintenance loans staying at home due to household income so about 4K I think?) would I be able to use those maintenance loans to pay for my medicine tuition fees if I did go down the graduate route? I know I'd still be in debt but I could live at home that way so my costs would mostly be petrol etc. Just would mean id have to borrow less money from a private company or family!


Posted from TSR Mobile

😂 I don't watch greys anatomy do you think I should get started?😉 a levels worry me so much im so scared in case I get an offer and then in the end don't meet it


Posted from TSR Mobile

I didn't have to do GAMSAT, and actually avoided unis that asked for anything other than UKCAT just to cut down on exams I needed to sit and cost (GAMSAT is heinously expensive). You have to be careful though if you're applying as a grad to a 5 year course; some unis may ask A level students to sit the UKCAT or BMAT but then need graduate applicants to sit something else instead like the BMAT instead of UKCAT or GAMSAT instead of the BMAT.

As far as maintenance loan; you can get up to over 5K now I think but its still a loan whereas it used to be if you had a low income you could get a grant which you didn't pay back (damn you government budget cuts!). Your loan is yours to do what you like with - you can be as responsible or reckless as you like with it! But remember - if you live at home the loan you get is severely reduced as you wont be paying rent. Some unis do ask you to prove you can afford to pay the tuition before you start though so you'd have to put down your parents as guarantors which essentially means if you cant pay, they'll pay for you. This is standard on any contract including housing contracts youll get at uni so don't worry about it; it doesn't mean your parents have to be the ones paying its just a safety net thing

Defo start watching grey's anatomy!! It's a really good tv show to watch if you want to unwind!! Lol

Defo start watching grey's anatomy!! It's a really good tv show to watch if you want to unwind!! Lol

Have you watched the new season yet?

I'll start watching next week when I'm stuck in bed after my operation 😉 I watch 24 hours in A&E which is amazing but that's the only medicine show I watch I should probably watch more 😂


Posted from TSR Mobile

Trust me you won't regret it! Good luck with your operation xxx

I'm on season 12! I started watching it quite late so I've been catching up with everyone in the past 2 years haha! I'm amazed at how it good it still is! Usually tv shows start going downhill after a while but luckily this is not the case for grey's anatomy lol

Does anybody know when Manchester usually give out interviews?

Their interviews are in jan so most likely december time

Long time to wait still