With an ordinary degree, what would be the best route for entry to medicine?

Hi,

Any advice would be much appreciated...(a very long post, so apologies in advance...)

I graduated from Edinburgh University with an ordinary degree (BSc in Chemistry) and would love to study medicine. The problem is, I'm in a sort of limbo situation: because I didn't get an Honours degree (the reasons for which I shall go into later), I can't apply to the Graduate Entry Programmes, but because I am a graduate (even though not an Honours graduate), I'm not entitled to apply as a mature A-level applicant!

I did 6 Highers (Scottish qualifications) at school, all at Grade A: Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Maths, English & German. I also did CSYS Chemistry (Grade A) and Maths (Grade C) - (CSYS = Certificate of Sixth Year Studies - a Scottish qualification that is slightly higher than A-Level and includes about the first term or so of university courses).

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the fact is, had I applied to do Medicine straight from school, I would have been guaranteed an interview with my grades. I dated a medic for a few years in university and his grades were far lower than mine! (Btw, I know that work experience, personality and a whole host of other factors also come into play, I'm not debating that for a second....)

I realise that I really ought to contact each individual Med School for their advice and have been doing so, but I just wondered if anyone had any experience of this kind of situation...?

Reason for my getting an Ordinary degree as opposed to Honours? I got to the end of my third year, was predicted a definite 2:1 or a possible first if I put a little more work in....was reeeally unhappy though...I'd had a fantastic 2nd year, studying forensic medicine and chemical pharmacology as my other two subjects in addition to chemistry - became really interested in the more biological side of things in contrast to straight chemistry and spoke to my Director of Studies about switching courses. Hadn't done the pre-requisite biology courses, though, so was told that I would have to go back to first year and start again... :eek:

When you're 18 years old and your parents are funding your education (working class family), this really wasn't an option, so I just had to grin and bear it.... :frown:

Aaaaanyway....was really depressed for the most part of my third year, could barely drag myself out of bed in the morning and spent a lot of time crying...My fourth year was a farce: I barely attended any lectures and so I barely wrote anything at all in my finals :frown:

I did my final year project though, and handed in my thesis (albeit not very good), but of course, without decent finals results, there's zero chance of a decent degree.

Obviously, I'm not proud of this whole scenario and I do accept full responsibility for having done so badly in my final year. Thing is though, I ended up doing a subject that my heart wasn't in! I know I'm bright, I was always top of the class in school, always got straight A-Grades, did loads of extra-curricular stuff, played in orchestras, sang in choirs, did lots of sport.....

I also feel that I would make a good doctor - I've been doing work experience in a nursing home as an HCA on Saturdays, am now volunteering in a hospital ward and hopefully soon in A&E too...I've shadowed consultant oncologists and have spoken to GPs about their work...

My point is (yes there is one!) I'm not going into the whole medicine thing clueless. I've done my homework, I've researched it all thoroughly and I think/hope I'd be good at the job. I have to make sure that I'm sure: I'm 30 years old and doing medicine would be a huge, life-changing decision, affecting lots of people.

The issue? How to get my foot in the door with an Ordinary degree....??? :confused:

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear from you....

Thank you!

Reply 1

michellehall

2

by you cant apply on the graduate entry course do you mean the 4 yr course? if that is what you meant then why cant you apply for the 5 yr course, theres a few graduates on my course even though my uni also does the 4 year course

Reply 2

Gilli-chan2

OP

Thanks very much for your reply :smile:

I did mean the GEP 4-year courses that are extremely competitive due to the financial help you get...But also the graduate places on the 5-year courses....

Why can't I apply for the 5-year courses? Because unfortunately, you still need a minimum of a 2:1 to apply. There are some places that ask for 2:2's or 3rds, some stating that a higher degree such as a Masters or PhD is required and Peninsula (the last time I checked) ignores your degree result and looks simply at the entrance exam result (GAMSAT in Peninsula's case).

But.....to complicate matters further (!), I'm limited to London Med Schools 'cause my boyfriend is self-employed and all his clients are in London and the surrounding area. I've thought about it long and hard, but have decided that I don't want to go elsewhere, as it would mean he'd have to re-build his entire business again from scratch...And financially (as we all know), Med School isn't cheap, so we need a reasonably guaranteed high income!

At the moment, I'm doing 3 AS's at night-school: Biology, Chemistry and Maths (I know I have a BSc in Chemistry, but I still need the A-Levels!!) I'm sitting the A2's next year...Also doing AS Japanese so that I have my extra AS for some of the Med Schools that need it...Even though I got an A in A-Level Spanish in June 2005 AND a Distinction in the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) for Spanish in 2005 too, these "wouldn't be accepted for 2007 Med School entry because they would be more than 2 years old when applying" Arghh!! Hence the need for the addtional AS in Japanese....

What fun all these hoops we're made to leap through! :laugh:

Reply 3

Fluffy

15

You would have to approach the med school individually. Most have an absolute requirement of an honours degree, but this is usually something dealt with on a case by case basis, and you will not get a generic answer from here...

There's a list of all the medical schools here: http://www.admissionsforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=13162

I'd start contacting them and ask them directly...

Reply 4

Fluffy

15

Yes - most 5 year course have a 2i requirement. I have a few friends with 2.2s in my year, but they are either AAA A-level grade students, with degrees from 'top' unis (Cambridge and LSE) and the other has a Masters at distinction.

Reply 5

Gilli-chan2

OP

Thanks so much for your advice, Fluffy!

My plan at the moment is to complete my 3 A-levels in Jun 2007 and then do a part-time BSc (Hons) degree at Birkbeck. That way, I keep my full-time job, save lots of money (I hope!), perhaps have our first child and give him/her as much attention as possible in their first few years of life. I'm hoping that if my boyfriend and I start a family now rather than after Med School, then I can perhaps start medicine when the child is 5 or 6 years old.

But then I wonder if I should just choose one or the other: children or medicine.....

In any case, I'm keeping my options open as far as possible and I'll be contacting all the London Med Schools I haven't heard back from yet.

Thanks again! :smile:

Reply 6

Xxx Mini xxX

1

most the med schools are in london anyway including some of the best eg kings, queen mary, imperial, oxford (but they want exceptionally high grades and its very hard to get in there). I say dont give up but its good to keep your options open!!!

I am also thinking of doing that after i do my degree in biomedical science next year, when i start uni, hoping to go to sheffield or birmingham. what uni did you go to?

Reply 7

Né Stig

15

Gilli-chan2

Thanks so much for your advice, Fluffy!

My plan at the moment is to complete my 3 A-levels in Jun 2007 and then do a part-time BSc (Hons) degree at Birkbeck. That way, I keep my full-time job, save lots of money (I hope!), perhaps have our first child and give him/her as much attention as possible in their first few years of life. I'm hoping that if my boyfriend and I start a family now rather than after Med School, then I can perhaps start medicine when the child is 5 or 6 years old.

But then I wonder if I should just choose one or the other: children or medicine.....

In any case, I'm keeping my options open as far as possible and I'll be contacting all the London Med Schools I haven't heard back from yet.

Thanks again! :smile:

Wow, that almost puts into perspective how lazy I can be. A word I hate using, but maximum respect, seriously.

Go for it; life can be hard juggling a multitude of tasks, but 5 years become 1 in next to no time :smile:

Reply 8

Gilli-chan2

OP

Wow, that almost puts into perspective how lazy I can be. A word I hate using, but maximum respect, seriously.

Go for it; life can be hard juggling a multitude of tasks, but 5 years become 1 in next to no time

Thanks for your comments, Walshie! :smile:

It's really fantastic to receive words of encouragement; recently all I've been hearing from those around me is, "You really ought to be choosing one or the other: medicine or children, not both" and a large part of me agrees with that....hence the decision to try for children first, but keeping my options open at the same time and still studying when I get a free second!

I keep thinking about my priorities in life and the two different scenarios:

- becoming a doctor, but not able to have children (for whatever reason)
- being a mother, but not able to qualify as a doctor (for whatever reason)

When I look at it that way, I know that I would be devastated if I couldn't have my own children....Having said that though, I'm really afraid that I'll get to 40 or whatever and resent my kids for my not having studied medicine earlier....(don't think that'll happen, because I know that everything is the result of my own decisions, but it still concerns me a little). I get so happy and encouraged when I read about these people who are 40 years old (or even older!) and they're just starting Med School - how cool that we're given the opportunity to do that!

Anyway, please don't think that you're lazy; you're most probably not at all! You probably just have a far more balanced life than I have right now! My boyfriend certainly wishes that he could pin me down a bit more <oo-er>... :wink:

Reply 9

Fluffy

15

There are a few parents in my year. Don't listen to the 'idiots'...

Reply 10

Né Stig

15

And there was me thinking a lot of medical students were mature? I don't know how someone can say choose one or the other.

I would love to go into medicine myself, but can't due to no Science A levels even though I would have a degree. I've been very fond of anything to do with saving a persons life etc, but wouldn't really want to become an ambulance member. I feel those type of feelings only really come about for the majority of us later on, hence the mature students figures.

Gilli-chan2

My boyfriend certainly wishes that he could pin me down a bit more <oo-er>... :wink:

With an ordinary degree, what would be the best route for entry to medicine?

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