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Original post by Anonymous
I’m currently in first year medical school and applying for cadet ship to bag some flight hours.

Or do u think I should drop out and go for soemthibg related to engineering/stem based

I also want to do a PhD in aerospace engineering


Or do engineering undergrad and then graduate med?

Engineers are not the only ones needed in space. I think medicine should be fine. I’d suggest reaching out to the space agencies like ESA, NASA, BASE or the UK Space Agency. The best option will be UK Space Agency, as they are the national agency. Good luck.
Reply 2
Original post by Wired_1800
Engineers are not the only ones needed in space. I think medicine should be fine. I’d suggest reaching out to the space agencies like ESA, NASA, BASE or the UK Space Agency. The best option will be UK Space Agency, as they are the national agency. Good luck.


Do you think I should reach out through email?

I just assume an engineer and medical background would be very advantageous especially since I’m considering engineering too.
Original post by Anonymous
Do you think I should reach out through email?

I just assume an engineer and medical background would be very advantageous especially since I’m considering engineering too.

Yes, please reach out via email in the first instance.

Engineer, physics, natural sciences, medicine etc are good expertise to have. Doctors are needed to support humans in space.
Reply 4
Original post by Wired_1800
Yes, please reach out via email in the first instance.

Engineer, physics, natural sciences, medicine etc are good expertise to have. Doctors are needed to support humans in space.


I’ve been looking and I can’t seem to find a formal email, only social media and a phone number:

Yes, I understand. From what the ESA requirements are, medicine is considered too, but since I have another interest than medicine (although end goal is applying to be an astronaut) I thought pursuing that before med could be advantageous is many ways
Reply 5
Some of the first Space Shuttle astronauts had done medicine. I think you need flight experience too, either as a commercial pilot or in an air force. Not sure if mission specialists would need that though.
Original post by Anonymous
I’ve been looking and I can’t seem to find a formal email, only social media and a phone number:

Yes, I understand. From what the ESA requirements are, medicine is considered too, but since I have another interest than medicine (although end goal is applying to be an astronaut) I thought pursuing that before med could be advantageous is many ways

Maybe ring the number and get a contact email.

Being an astronaut is not really anything. Astronauts have roles such as engineers, doctors, technicians, communications analysts etc. So you need a role. I would think that engineers and doctors are key roles.
Original post by Anonymous
I’ve been looking and I can’t seem to find a formal email, only social media and a phone number:

Yes, I understand. From what the ESA requirements are, medicine is considered too, but since I have another interest than medicine (although end goal is applying to be an astronaut) I thought pursuing that before med could be advantageous is many ways


Just fyi most UK medical schools will not accept an application for someone who has previously been enrolled in a medical degree unless they have significant extenuating circumstances. So if you drop out to study engineering, you are unlikely to be able to go back to medicine unless you go abroad.
Reply 8
Original post by Anonymous
I’m currently in first year medical school and applying for cadet ship to bag some flight hours.

Or do u think I should drop out and go for soemthibg related to engineering/stem based

I also want to do a PhD in aerospace engineering


Or do engineering undergrad and then graduate med?

The kind of flying you'll get through a cadetship is pretty much nothing of any kind of interest when it comes to bring an astronaut. You might as well go model flying for all the good it'll do.

You'll get, if you're lucky, a handful maybe 10hrs in a Tutor. You may go solo. But that's only if it can be fitted in among your workload.

And then you'll be expected to serve in the military for a number of years to pay back the cadetship, rather than go disappearing off on another programme.
Reply 9
Original post by jzdzm
Just fyi most UK medical schools will not accept an application for someone who has previously been enrolled in a medical degree unless they have significant extenuating circumstances. So if you drop out to study engineering, you are unlikely to be able to go back to medicine unless you go abroad.


This is a weird advice, I keep seeing this same advice on student room but I’ve formally talked to my uni and that isn’t the case. There is no such rule. The only thing you will have to compete as normal and for unis they may ask for a reason as to why, the only time they refuse previous med students is if they’ve failed or previously applied but got rejected.
Original post by Drewski
The kind of flying you'll get through a cadetship is pretty much nothing of any kind of interest when it comes to bring an astronaut. You might as well go model flying for all the good it'll do.

You'll get, if you're lucky, a handful maybe 10hrs in a Tutor. You may go solo. But that's only if it can be fitted in among your workload.

And then you'll be expected to serve in the military for a number of years to pay back the cadetship, rather than go disappearing off on another programme.



What do you recommend doing then? Because with medicine I would not like to be a general doctor, I would either go into academics, psychiatry or work as army doctor or move on from medicine over all
Original post by Drewski
The kind of flying you'll get through a cadetship is pretty much nothing of any kind of interest when it comes to bring an astronaut. You might as well go model flying for all the good it'll do.

You'll get, if you're lucky, a handful maybe 10hrs in a Tutor. You may go solo. But that's only if it can be fitted in among your workload.

And then you'll be expected to serve in the military for a number of years to pay back the cadetship, rather than go disappearing off on another programme.


Where would you recommend getting flight hours or any flight in command hours?

I was thinking of not getting the cadet ship but doing the RAF for a few years and then leave later on to a phD in aerospace engineering while working a job in ESA If I can find one
Original post by Anonymous
Where would you recommend getting flight hours or any flight in command hours?

No. Unless your aim is to go in as purely a pilot, then flying is redundant.
Look at Tim Peake. He got in on (partly) his flying strength, but he's had a 20 year career of flying at the top level in the military, including stints as a test pilot. Your avenues aren't going to get you anywhere near that level, so you'll never be competitive if that's your angle.

Sticking to the medical side is more likely to yield results. Look at the kind of experiments that are being done on the ISS and that'll give you more of a clue as to what's really needed.
Original post by Anonymous
This is a weird advice, I keep seeing this same advice on student room but I’ve formally talked to my uni and that isn’t the case. There is no such rule. The only thing you will have to compete as normal and for unis they may ask for a reason as to why, the only time they refuse previous med students is if they’ve failed or previously applied but got rejected.


"Students who have commenced a medical or dental degree at any school within the UK or internationally and have either voluntarily withdrawn, or have been deregistered by the university are not eligible to apply"
This is a quote from the QMUL admissions policy. Obviously I haven't read every admissions policy from every uni, but I have seen it elsewhere too. If it's not a thing at your uni, that's great, but it is definitely a thing which you should be aware of if you are thinking of dropping out with a view to reapplying later so that your decision can be fully informed.

Most unis on the other hand will not reject someone for having previously been rejected. Some do have caps on the numbers of times you can interview (e.g. Notts GEM).
Original post by Anonymous
This is a weird advice, I keep seeing this same advice on student room but I’ve formally talked to my uni and that isn’t the case. There is no such rule. The only thing you will have to compete as normal and for unis they may ask for a reason as to why, the only time they refuse previous med students is if they’ve failed or previously applied but got rejected.


Perhaps that isn't the rule at your uni, but it is at some others, and honestly even if it isn't a formal rule, I'd have major concerns that you would still be at a major disadvantage. Most places have 4+ applicants per offer- even a slight disadvantage could be major in effect.

People who have been rejected previously are more likely to get in, not less. Reapplication is very common.
Original post by nexttime
Perhaps that isn't the rule at your uni, but it is at some others, and honestly even if it isn't a formal rule, I'd have major concerns that you would still be at a major disadvantage. Most places have 4+ applicants per offer- even a slight disadvantage could be major in effect.

People who have been rejected previously are more likely to get in, not less. Reapplication is very common.


Idk what to do.

I want to go into engineering lowkey but I’m too dumb for it and would have to do a foundation year or take ANOTHER year out to do diff a levels suitable to it

I took a year to get into medicine but now that I’m here, I’m not happy, and the prospect of being a doctor, the reality of it has sunk in and it fills me with dread lowkey.

I think I could only be a doctor in the army as it entails a lot of other stuff then just being a doctor or if I do, I would of it part time and it’s quite long.

At the same time, I’m scared il regret my choice, especially considering this year I feel I’m not an amazing place to make life changing decisions (which is what this feels like) but I can’t take my time as I have to think about student finance
Original post by jzdzm
"Students who have commenced a medical or dental degree at any school within the UK or internationally and have either voluntarily withdrawn, or have been deregistered by the university are not eligible to apply"
This is a quote from the QMUL admissions policy. Obviously I haven't read every admissions policy from every uni, but I have seen it elsewhere too. If it's not a thing at your uni, that's great, but it is definitely a thing which you should be aware of if you are thinking of dropping out with a view to reapplying later so that your decision can be fully informed.

Most unis on the other hand will not reject someone for having previously been rejected. Some do have caps on the numbers of times you can interview (e.g. Notts GEM).


Does this mean if I come to regret my decision there is no way I can come back to medicine at all?

Idek anymore, I regret not deferring
Original post by jzdzm
"Students who have commenced a medical or dental degree at any school within the UK or internationally and have either voluntarily withdrawn, or have been deregistered by the university are not eligible to apply"
This is a quote from the QMUL admissions policy. Obviously I haven't read every admissions policy from every uni, but I have seen it elsewhere too. If it's not a thing at your uni, that's great, but it is definitely a thing which you should be aware of if you are thinking of dropping out with a view to reapplying later so that your decision can be fully informed.

Most unis on the other hand will not reject someone for having previously been rejected. Some do have caps on the numbers of times you can interview (e.g. Notts GEM).


I’ve just talked to QM and they said students on foundation years are not considered as ppl who have started a medicibe degree
Original post by Anonymous
I’ve just talked to QM and they said students on foundation years are not considered as ppl who have started a medicibe degree

so what you're saying is you're not first year medical school? a foundation year is probably what you should have said as you technically haven't even started medicine
Original post by nellie12
so what you're saying is you're not first year medical school? a foundation year is probably what you should have said as you technically haven't even started medicine


Yes it’s a gateway year

I was worried because from previous comments by ecolier it seemed foundation med students were still considered to be on a “med course” so if they left it’d be on record and hence they wodulnt be able to apply to grad med regardless