Nottingham A101 2021 Offer Holders

Excellent. And to be fair, they are mostly derived from Khan Academy (thank u Sal for single handedly getting through re-learning the basic sciences from scratch for free!).

@ecolier That sounds like it was a fun journey! Thats cool that you were able to be close regionally to family ☺️

@Ahsix I did a BA Hons in Music at Durham, graduated last year. I enjoyed the degree but realised I definitely didn't want to do it as a career, and I really enjoyed part time HCA'ing. I'm currently 22 so am very much on the young side for GEM! I live in the North East atm and work in public health.

Is there anything about living/working in Derby/Notts that we should know before we arrive?

Any insider tips ? 😂

I love that u have such strong hospital opinions haha.

Working as an agency HCA I never felt like I stayed in one place long enough to really get to know the hospital, but I did really enjoy Darlington Memorial Hospital A&E, and UHND Stroke Ward (the reg was the absolute best and treated everybody as an equal member of the team). Thankfully no hospital stands out in my memory as being an ahem, shall we say challenging environment to work in 😂

Rest In Peace, GAMSAT Notes. May you be made into trees, or something useful. ✌️

🤣😅. I bet that felt good. I'm in the middle of doing a clear out now and it's so refreshing. I saw your based the North East, I'm from Durham myself!

It was very cathartic haha! That's cool I've lived here since 2017 I've never lived in the Midlands before so that will be a fun change xD

So excited to be given a place at Nottingham for GEM! Can anybody give me more advice on where to live?
I was hoping to buy a small apartment as I have been lucky enough to save up some money over my two gap years, and really don't want to rent again given that I could possibly be living in the Nottingham area for 6 years.
Could anybody advise against this? Would it be easier to rent when on placement given that we'll be moving about? Otherwise, what area would be best to buy in?

Thank you!

Throughout medical school and the first few years of being a doctor you'll be moving about a fair bit, having said all that. It would depend on your budget, West Bridgford is a lovely area in Nottingham as is Beeston. I'm not to familiar with the rest of Nottingham but there are nice areas. Congratulations on being able to save for a house/apartment, wish I could save money haha

So excited to be given a place at Nottingham for GEM! Can anybody give me more advice on where to live?
I was hoping to buy a small apartment as I have been lucky enough to save up some money over my two gap years, and really don't want to rent again given that I could possibly be living in the Nottingham area for 6 years.
Could anybody advise against this? Would it be easier to rent when on placement given that we'll be moving about? Otherwise, what area would be best to buy in?

Thank you!

Renting sucks but I would advise against buying because there's no guarantee you will be allocated to a Foundation School in the same area, houses/apts are difficult to sell generally speaking (and balancing further training & being a landlord would be a nightmare) and mortgages tend to ask for a long term commitment. Now it does depend on your circumstances - if you've saved a huge amount of money and/or are otherwise wealthy it makes sense to buy.

Typically people buy in specialty training and beyond because of the increased income and stability. Mortgage lenders also take income into account, which would work against you whilst still in uni (unless you're married to someone w strong capital/credit history & earning well and buying the house/apt together). The main factor is whether you're buying outright or require a mortgage. Bearing in mind even with good savings for down payment, there are still outgoings like mortgage, utilities, tax, etc which may be more or less than the rent in the local area depending on various factors and general rental affordability. That's not to say you can't do it though, but you'd probably have to ask a financial/mortgage advisor tbh. Obviously we aren't financial advisors so can't really comment with any authority.

Thank you for this advice! I definitely will go through a financial advisor. My main concern is whether I would need to move anyway and then rent on top of a mortgage. Or whether I could just travel to placements.

There's a couple of placements further afield which I imagine they'll have us stay in free/discounted hospital accommodation. For the others, they're all within 1.5hrs so doable commute wise. I'd doubt you'd need to actually move house for placements haha (could you imagine the logistical faff of 100 students moving house midway through the year haha). It also depends if a mortgage company would take somebody on for what may be potentially only 4 years, and who's still in university - it could be seen as "risky". But yeah a financial advisor would be best placed to say. Exciting stuff though! Starting a new chapter n that.

There's a couple of placements further afield which I imagine they'll have us stay in free/discounted hospital accommodation...

Ahhh I did not know hospital accom was free/discounted, that’s good news!...

Quite nervous about meeting people & friends as I feel like I’d be one of the older members of the course what sort of backgrounds has everyone come from in terms of uni?

Are there many oncology training positions in the region?