Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2020 Entry

Hi everyone, this is my first post on TSR, so please be gentle with me.

I know, I'm well in advance here, but I'm a mature student currently partaking in an Open Uni Natural Sciences Degree with a heavy biology part..... My degree title will be BSc Natural Sciences-Biology.

Basically, although academically bright, I didn't do well with my A levels as I was suffering through a huge bout of depression at the time (2007-2008) and went trough a self destructive phase, but my dream has always been medicine.
After having my two children, I decided to try and pursue the dream and started doing the above mentioned degree in 2015....I am expected to graduate in Aug 2020..... I'm aiming for a 1st, and have no reason to suspect I'll get anything less.
So, now, I'm battling through this degree and looking at Med schools for GEM, looking at the current and previous year entry points and have narrowed it down to 5 that will accept students based purely on academic results at degree and don't include A level (obviously interview, work experience, GAMSAT or BMAT or UKCAT withstanding).

After totally botching up my A-levels 10 years ago, I am absolutely determined to flourish as I should have done in order to get a place for GEM, which means I'm studying and planning everything in advance (literally talking 3 year plans now), to try and succeed.

My questions are:
-Will doing a degree with the OU have a negative impact on my application, even if I end up with a 1st? (I know for instance with the Imperial C London, they require a checklist to be completed and signed to say that the required topics have been studied etc)
-When should I be sitting the UKCAT, GAMSAT and BMAT? If I apply by October 2019 deadline, do I sit the exams in the Summer of 2019? Or by the summer of 2019? As I think the GAMSAT/ BMAT results don't come back until after the October 2019 application deadline?
-Is it too early to buy the GAMSAT gold books? Is each edition only relevant to the year you plan to test? Or will I find it beneficial to order previous year textbooks? I'm just cringing at the £200 price tag and will buy it if it helps, but if its pointless until the actual test year, its an awful lot of money to throw away.
-Has anyone else been in a similar situation to me and been successful? Am i doing this OU degree with absolutely zero hope of making it into medicine? Bearing in mind that I'll be 31 by the time my course starts, so haven't exactly got loads of time on my hands, particularly if I choose to go down a surgical route..... It would be nice to make consultant before I'm due to retire


I'm sorry for the complicated post, I'm just feeling a little panicked that I won't make it

hey again guysss
goodluck in any upcoming interviews

i asked this on my thread (2020) but no-one has answered as its not as busy as this one so I shall ask it here
a question - if we dont manage to get an offer for 2020 entry, is it possible to ring up 5-year courses on results day (or prior to results day) and ask if they have spaces, if this is possible i will definately be sitting all 3 admissions tests, if not I will be keeping clear of the GAMSAT from what i've heard it sounds awful

hey again guysss
goodluck in any upcoming interviews

i asked this on my thread (2020) but no-one has answered as its not as busy as this one so I shall ask it here
a question - if we dont manage to get an offer for 2020 entry, is it possible to ring up 5-year courses on results day (or prior to results day) and ask if they have spaces, if this is possible i will definately be sitting all 3 admissions tests, if not I will be keeping clear of the GAMSAT from what i've heard it sounds awful

Yes and no. I tried Newcastle and they insisted that I needed AAA despite that not being their a level requirements for grads, and having well above their UKCAT cut off. Southampton don’t. St. George’s wouldn’t look at grads. I couldn’t even take up an undergrad offer that I had previously declined.

But yes because it does happen *some* years. Not many at all but it isn’t entirely impossible or unheard of.

Gamsat is actually not as bad as it sounds I don’t understand all the hoo-ha. It’s much easier to get a score that will get you an interview with the GAMSAT than UKCAT imho

antibiotics makes some very good points but just be mindful that trying to do all 3 entrance exams is a hard ask on yourself and is quite the financial uptaking. you are looking at upwards of £550 so make sure the unis are worth it.

I assume it’s not a worry considering the candidate is prepared to shell out for undergrad!

Yes and no. I tried Newcastle and they insisted that I needed AAA despite that not being their a level requirements for grads, and having well above their UKCAT cut off. Southampton don’t. St. George’s wouldn’t look at grads. I couldn’t even take up an undergrad offer that I had previously declined.

But yes because it does happen *some* years. Not many at all but it isn’t entirely impossible or unheard of.

Gamsat is actually not as bad as it sounds I don’t understand all the hoo-ha. It’s much easier to get a score that will get you an interview with the GAMSAT than UKCAT imho

antibiotics makes some very good points but just be mindful that trying to do all 3 entrance exams is a hard ask on yourself and is quite the financial uptaking. you are looking at upwards of £550 so make sure the unis are worth it.

I assume it’s not a worry considering the candidate is prepared to shell out for undergrad!

yup, v grateful to be in a position where I have the flexibility to apply to any medical school (due to financial aid)

Yes just those two. I’ve also applied to Newcastle for both A101 and A100, but haven’t heard anything at all yet.
I feel incredibly lucky though to have been given interviews at Warwick and Bart’s x