What to do during a med gap year

I’ll be applying pharmacy this year and if I see that I get an AAA I’ll be taking a gap year and reapplying for medicine.
I took my ucat this year, have had work experience but my school didn’t want to predict anyone an AAA so even people who were straight A* students for predicted a BBC no matter how much time and effort we spent revising.
Teachers have no control over this apparently they’re trying out this new ‘system.’

What do I do during a gap year for med?
I’ve currently done some more work experience and now I’m gathering emails from friends who’ll apply this year so that I can gain more. (Dentistry intrigued me so I’m going to do some experience for that and see if medicine or dentistry is best suited for me)

I’m just a bit confused. Should I book my UCAT around august so during results day and then cancel after my results? If I get lower than an AAA I won’t apply and will stick with pharmacy.

Any advice for a gap year would be helpful. Gap years are a bit frowned upon in my area because it’s new to some parents and they’re not keen on it so a lot of kids just go into something else. My mum wasn’t too keen but she’s just worried If I get rejected after my gap year I would’ve wasted a year.

I’ll be applying pharmacy this year and if I see that I get an AAA I’ll be taking a gap year and reapplying for medicine.
I took my ucat this year, have had work experience but my school didn’t want to predict anyone an AAA so even people who were straight A* students for predicted a BBC no matter how much time and effort we spent revising.
Teachers have no control over this apparently they’re trying out this new ‘system.’

What do I do during a gap year for med?
I’ve currently done some more work experience and now I’m gathering emails from friends who’ll apply this year so that I can gain more. (Dentistry intrigued me so I’m going to do some experience for that and see if medicine or dentistry is best suited for me)

I’m just a bit confused. Should I book my UCAT around august so during results day and then cancel after my results? If I get lower than an AAA I won’t apply and will stick with pharmacy.

Any advice for a gap year would be helpful. Gap years are a bit frowned upon in my area because it’s new to some parents and they’re not keen on it so a lot of kids just go into something else. My mum wasn’t too keen but she’s just worried If I get rejected after my gap year I would’ve wasted a year.

Hi,
I don’t think a gap year is a waste even if you don’t get in next year - as long as you’re productive. In the grand scheme of life one year is pretty minor. I would suggest getting a job as a healthcare assistant (and keep a reflective diary) as well as maybe volunteering at a care home or similar. Also if you drive you could consider becoming a community first responder which would be amazing for a medical CV as you go out to ambulance calls and triage patients. They also train you so you don’t need medical experience beforehand (I think you have to be 18 though first). Also regarding your ucat you have up until the end of September/ beginning of October of the year of entry to do it so you could spend your time off revising to get a high score you don’t have to do it straight away (unless you’re hoping for something through clearing which is SUPER unlikely). Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any other questions

Get hands on medical experience (preferably paid) during your gap year to improve your knowledge, broaden your ideas and improve your CV. You should also be practicing to get above average score for the UCAT, you can take it whenever you feel like you're ready as long as its before the deadline.

Do you know any examples of paid medical experience? I’ll start revision for ucat kinda early so I can get it out of the way. I’ve heard that those who tend to do their ucat during august time tend to do better than those in October so I’ll have a long time to prepare for it.

Paid medical experiences are impossible to get unless you get a job at a hospital. I am taking a gap year and I planning to work at the hospital that offered me work experience earlier in the year. However, due to my age and lack of experience/knowledge the only paid positions I was offered was admin or HCA (Health care assistant positions) but because I have worked with the team many times I can do ward rounds with them and go into theatres to observe

hope this helps

Thank you! I’ll look into everything once I’m done with my alevels. I just want to make sure I know how to spend my year wisely.
Did you apply for med the first time round or did you decide that after you want to do med after your alevels?

I am doing A2 now but my predicted grades are A*A*B so my chances of getting in a london med school are super low. still applied this year though. look for jobs now instead of summer as it takes around 4 to 5 months to set stuff up with DBS checks and interview as the process is long and tedious

I’m not 18 until late august so I doubt I can even apply yet :/
Good luck! How did you revise for your ucat? I didn’t do too great this year and want to know what others did so I can improve.
Also what exam boards are you doing?

edexcel maths and chem ocr bio A, i got 40th percentile in ucat which was bad considering my grades but i just did it for practice for next year

Sorry for bombarding you with questions.
I got 41% and honestly am very disappointed with it.
I’m doing edexcel maths too! But AQA Chem and bio. Would you like to stay in contact if we both do decide to take a gap year? Maybe help each other out with the application process. If not, I totally understand.

Hi I was wondering if anyone can help me. I am currently taking a gap yr and I am going to apply for medicine this year, however I am having some difficulty in deciding what to write about my gap yr in my personal statement. I know that it can be 2-3 lines but does anyone have any ideas on what to include so far, I am going to write I am going to do more work experience in a care home and GP. Is there anything else I can include?

Hi I was wondering if anyone can help me. I am currently taking a gap yr and I am going to apply for medicine this year, however I am having some difficulty in deciding what to write about my gap yr in my personal statement. I know that it can be 2-3 lines but does anyone have any ideas on what to include so far, I am going to write I am going to do more work experience in a care home and GP. Is there anything else I can include?

True. I’m pretty sure the admissions team would know you’re taking a gap year so it might be useless to even mention it? You can state that you’ve taken a gap year and just state what you’ve done in that year straight away without adding the cliches.