Getting into medical schools??

Hi, I'm really keen on medecine and I was just wondering what exactly someone needs to do to secure a place in one of the many medical schools in the country, like Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and Swansea. Is there a different kind of interview prep involved, or better co-curricular commitments necessary??

(edited 4 years ago)

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Reply 1

username4855894

Original post by ThinkingRightNow

Hi, I'm really keen on medecine and I was just wondering what exactly someone needs to do to secure a place in one of the top medical schools in the country, like Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and Swansea. Is there a different kind of interview prep involved, or better co-curricular commitments necessary??

No such thing as a ‘top uni’ for medicine...

Reply 2

AzureCeleste

Original post by ThinkingRightNow

All medical schools are seen equally in the UK. There is no benefit to going to one over the other

Nice edit 😂

Original post by ThinkingRightNow

https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2357/msc-entry-requirements-for-uk-medical-schools.pdf has the info you need about what GCSEs you need and what Alevel choices you should make. It might also help with your perception of the difference between each uni (which everyone has been pretty clear about!). For info, Swansea is a graduate-only med school.

You'll need to do some work experience, ideally something that shows you how the NHS works and something that demonstrates you have empathy and a caring approach. Ideally you'll also be interested in scientific enquiry and do things that demonstrate that.

You'll need to do one or both of two entrance exams in the summer/early autumn at start of yr 13 - UCAT and/or BMAT

Interviews are usually in the form of MMI - a circuit of short interview stations. If you google MMI interview you'll uncover lots of tips.

Reply 5

davidthomasjnr

Original post by AzureCeleste

All medical schools are seen equally in the UK. There is no benefit to going to one over the other

Apart from likelihood to get in based on differences in admissions criteria, different learning/ lecturing systems (integrated, traditional, PBL, CBL etc.), social life, city vs countryside, patient diversity, the opportunity to intercalate (iBSc vs iMSc; these can be relevant depending on specialism chosen later), locations of electives in the final year, etc :wink:

. Indeed, the curriculum is generally standardised, but there are a lot of smaller differences between medical schools that can make a big difference in your overall experience! Prestige doesn't matter as applications should be blinded to where you graduated from, but these other factors can be useful to help students decide where would suit them best.

Reply 6

AzureCeleste

Original post by davidthomasjnr

True, but the ultimate goal is to become a doctor and in terms of being a doctor, all medical schools are the same- you end up as one. You aren't more likely to get hired than one over another
Deciding what is best for the person will vary between individuals, but saying one medical school is top isn't true

Reply 7

ThinkingRightNow

Thanks a lot guys! Btw I heard that oxbridge interviews follow a different style from other universities, is it true, or another useless rumour? :smile:

Reply 8

username4855894

Original post by ThinkingRightNow

Thanks a lot guys! Btw I heard that oxbridge interviews follow a different style from other universities, is it true, or another useless rumour? :smile:

Oxbridge interviews are really traditional, 1:1 or 1:2 and the questions test for scientific aptitude rather than extracurriculars, work experience etc

Reply 9

H2! HO!

You should have an aspirational option those all seem firm or back-up options

Original post by chemistrymath

Gcse: 5A* 3A 2B
A level: 2A*A
Ucat: 2900 (95th percentile) band 2
Not amazing work experience
Do I have a chance at these unis? Edinburgh, Newcastle, Bristol, Sheffield and Queen Mary London. Thanks for all your help guys :smile:

)

Reply 10

Laycity

Original post by H2! HO!

You should have an aspirational option those all seem firm or back-up options

Please explain this comment? Which do you think are back-up options?

Reply 11

chemistrymath

Original post by H2! HO!

You should have an aspirational option those all seem firm or back-up options

What would be an aspirational one?

Reply 12

H2! HO!

Original post by chemistrymath

What would be an aspirational one

Oxbridge, Glasgow, UCL, Kings

Reply 13

GANFYD

Original post by H2! HO!

Oxbridge, Glasgow, UCL, Kings

And what is "aspirational" about these med schools?
It is defined as
"aspirational
adjective
having or characterized by aspirations to achieve social prestige and material success."

As far as medicine goes, there is no social prestige to having been to any of these unis over any other and you are not going to get paid more regardless of where you graduate from.
These would seem rather silly reasons to select medical schools, even if they were true

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 14

Onikaminaj

Original post by GANFYD

And what is "aspirational" about these med schools?
It is defined as"
aspirational
adjective
having or characterized by aspirations to achieve social prestige and material success."

As far as medicine goes, there is no social prestige to having been to any of these unis over any other and you are not going to get paid more regardless of where you graduate from.
These would seem rather silly reasons to select medical schools, even if they were true

I think it’s wishful thinking to believe that there’s no “social prestige” in going to a more prestigious medical school. Whether there’s any truth in it, saying you’ve graduated from Oxford has more prestige than saying you graduated from say Hull York.

Yes, at the end of the both courses you will end up being a doctor so the importance is greatly reduced and isn’t the main focus. However, the idea that all medical schools are equal is again wishful thinking. Each medical school *is different*. Some have an establish history in producing doctors who will become leading surgeons in their field etc. Newer universities don’t have that. Some universities have a established reputation in producing doctors who are better communicators or who are less likely to resit exams. ETC etc.

If you want to work abroad, going to a “more prestigious” university will help. Graduating from certain medical schools is more marketable - ox, imperial.

Turning into a bit of a ramble but in conclusion not all medical schools are equally, however nice it might be to think that.

Reply 15

Onikaminaj

It’s not by chance that Oxford doctors consistently perform better in exams or that many top researchers/writers etc have graduated from top medical schools rather than say UEA or AR

Reply 16

GANFYD

Original post by Mosope17

There is certainly no medic I know of who would agree with the idea that graduating from one med school gives you more prestige than graduating from another. As for what your Granny might think, well I am not sure that is a useful yardstick as mine felt the pinnacle of my achievement in life was to marry a doctor! The fact that I work as one was irrelevant in her eyes.

"Each medical school *is different*' This I 100% agree with and you should apply to the one that suits your stats and how and where you want to study, not because you have some misguided notion you will be considered superior if you graduate from a particular med school.

All med schools have produced good (and bad) communicators, and all who have graduates at that stage, have poduced leading surgeons (and I would lay a bet the new med schools will go on to do the same thing, given time). Aberdeen have gone from 25th to 3rd in the pass rates in surgical exams in a year, Edinburgh from 7th to 2nd in GP exam pass rates, Imperial sits 8th on both, Southampton went from botton to half way. How do you measure what makes up a "leading surgeon"?

Working abroad is a different matter - most of us would say train where you want to work. And some of the rules they apply are odd to those in the UK, eg Singapore will not accept qualifications from those who graduate from Newcastle or St Andrews (who do not have a single medic graduating from their university)

And it depends on your definition of equal? Your degree is worth exactly the same wherever you graduate from and you are more likely to get popular "top" jobs graduating at the top of Aston or ARU than half way down Oxbridge or Imperial, as things stand. Whether you become a "leading surgeon" or not is far more likely to depend on natural aptitude, motivation, opportunity and postgrad training than it ever is on the med school you attended, as there is little to no surgical training there. And the latter 2 of those are the external ones and more likely to be influenced by your placement in the rankings for Foundation and ST jobs - which at the minute depends on the decile you finish in at med school, so even those "prestigious" med schools have people in the bottom deciles of their year, who are going to sit well behind people in the top deciles of "less prestigious" med schools when it comes to getting the job they want that would give them the opportunities and training.

They are not equal in location, style of training, clinical contact, student satisfaction, etc, if you take equal as being "the same" but that does not make one worse than another, just, as you say, different. And long may the differences last, as I think homogenising medical training is not the best way forward - it needs to be done to the appropriate standard, but there is more than one way to skin a cat!

Reply 17

GANFYD

Original post by Mosope17

It’s not by chance that Oxford doctors consistently perform better in exams or that many top researchers/writers etc have graduated from top medical schools rather than say UEA or AR

No, it is by selection. Oxford selects those who do well in exams! This does not equate to being a good doctor.
The writers of one of the leading medical textbooks were from Barts - now 27th in the exam-passing list of med schools.......The Chief Medical Officer for England trained at Manchester who are 17th on the exam-passing list. One of the worst doctors I ever worked with qualified from Oxford......
None of this makes these better, or worse, med schools. Just different

Reply 18

A_J_B

Original post by Mosope17

It’s not by chance that Oxford doctors consistently perform better in exams or that many top researchers/writers etc have graduated from top medical schools rather than say UEA or AR

Not necessarily as with medicine, it's more necessary to deal with patients and diagnose appropriately, rather than researching or writing books (it's important but medicine is a lot more than that). With no intention of demeaning Oxford or Cambridge for medicine, many doctors I know have noted that medical students from Cambridge, Oxford who have gone through the traditional course cannot clinically diagnose as well as students from PBL or intergrated courses, although they may have published world-class research articles. Do keep in mind that schools you have mentioned like UEA stress on patient contact from very early on (which I think is the fundamental aspect of being a doctor).

Reply 19

nexttime

Original post by A_J_B

Not necessarily as with medicine, it's more necessary to deal with patients and diagnose appropriately.... With no intention of demeaning Oxford or Cambridge for medicine, many doctors I know have noted that medical students from Cambridge, Oxford who have gone through the traditional course cannot clinically diagnose as well as students from PBL or intergrated courses...