Graduate Entry Medicine: 2016 Entry

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Yeah, I'm currently in the process of working out exactly how to broach the subject with my bank manager.... England isn't currently in the habit of giving students loans that sit in the 5-6 figure region. :redface:

(Edit- if you exclude the standard SFE student loan that isn't available for grads doing A100)

Sorry if you're talking about tuition fees - but just thought I'd point out that grads do get the non means-tested part of the maintenance loan when doing A100.

Reply 61

DoeADeer

Original post by Quilverine

Painfully. Still feeling a bit unsure if it's a good move. Going back into education has been a pretty selfish move so far, I'm a single parent and a lot of my money has gone on costs relating to my education. It would take me until my daughter had finished school to repay a private loan of that magnitude. Actually just typing that has made me realised I would be a terrible mother to put financial stress on us for her entire childhood. :frown:

I need to go rethink my priorities.

You have to also consider what your ultimate goal is. Is this what you've been working towards? A Medicine degree is going to be a considerable amount of work, like a full time job. It also depends on how old your daughter is. It's going to be a huge compromise, but once qualified it'll obviously start paying for itself.

Reply 62

DoeADeer

Original post by Ronove

Sorry if you're talking about tuition fees - but just thought I'd point out that grads do get the non means-tested part of the maintenance loan when doing A100.

What does that include? As far as I was aware, graduates applying for undergraduate medicine had to fund the degree themselves?

Reply 63

Ronove

Original post by DoeADeer

What does that include? As far as I was aware, graduates applying for undergraduate medicine had to fund the degree themselves?

It's 65% of the max maintenance loan. So outside London, not living with your parents, as a student during the 2014/15 academic year, the maintenance loan would be £3610 (I checked this by simply using the Student Finance calculator on gov.uk and putting parental income in as an obscenely high figure so it wouldn't give me any means-tested funds). Obviously you have to fund the £9000 a year tuition fees yourself, which is arguably the hard bit.

Reply 64

Quilverine

Original post by DoeADeer

I went to uni to do my BSc when my daughter was 18 months old. Uni was 85 miles from home, placements were up to three weeks long at hospitals around the country which I would temporarily stay near and then started full time work after graduation. Me seeing her for barely an hour of awake time a day would be nothing new and my mum has said she will keep helping out. It's more the financial implications of remaining in education for so long.

Whilst living on a student loan and benefits is okay when children are too small to see what other people have, I think applying for an A100 was a mistake. I think it's the equivalent of having to give everything I earn after tax and repayments for my existing student loan in FY1 and 2 and maybe CT/ST/GP1 to whatever bank approved the loan I would need. At which point my daughter would be just starting senior school. Dilemmas. :confused:

I applied for A101s for the three other choices but I felt a bit desperate after the rejections last year and thought the A100 might get me an interview. I wish I had this much motivation and ambition 10 years ago! Stupid teenage angst.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 65

Stethcrusaider

I am thinking of the GAMSAT, but I'm so confused :confused:

!! If I take the test in march (Irish), can I use that score to apply for St Georges 2016?
or, if I take march and September (and get a higher grade in march) can I use the march grade?
Also, what are some good books/websites other resources I should be using to revise? :smile:

Reply 66

LukeyJB

Original post by EloiseStar

My uni allows you to complete awards alongside your degree and quite a few are very similar to UKCAT and GAMSAT and I've been in the 50-70 percentile on average. I'm trying to improve on it and thankfully you can do it multiple times.

I'm about to apply for work experience at my local NHS Trust and I think they put you in a shadowing position but only for a week. I also have a friend who is a carer (about to start her nursing degree) so I'll see if I can shadow/get experience with her soon.

Non medical related I work as a helper (in its most basic terms), helping freshers settle in, be a friendly face and generally be around for them mainly when they arrive but throughout their first year. I'm also thinking about becoming a student warden to save some money and take on greater responsibilities. Anyone know if this will help in my application? I feel like it has been forever since I wrote my personal statement for my first undergrad.

Wow, this thread has got quite a few replies since I've been away!

If you don't mind me asking, how exactly could I go about getting shadowing experience? It's obviously very valuable, but is there a specific procedure for applications or is it a case of shoulder tapping?

Reply 67

hellodave5

Original post by LukeyJB

Shoulder tapping seems the way to go. That's what I'm going to do when I have time to help out somewhere :smile:

Reply 68

EloiseStar

Original post by LukeyJB

I think I've been lucky with the opportunity to shadow (haven't applied yet but...) as my NHS trust offers a range of shadowing opportunities. Dependent upon age you can choose a department (obviously with age there is increasing opportunity). I don't know about other trusts but mine is the first one to come up on google (don't stalk me!) and what I can do is pretty impressive: ranges from gyno to cardio-thoracics to radiology. I think I'll go with cardio or the lucky dip!

Edit: RE 'shoulder tapping'. I think you can only get somewhere with finger tapping is if you already know somebody with high influence (this is how I got work experience in a law firm). I think 'just asking' will not get very far... Going through HR seems more logical.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 69

LukeyJB

Original post by EloiseStar

It appears my local trust actively puts out for work experience which is good, I'll definitely be applying! Probably best to do it just after Christmas as I'd imagine there'll be less people going for it.

Reply 70

EloiseStar

Original post by LukeyJB

There's a 6 month turn around for my trust so you might want to take that into consideration

Reply 71

tw781

For people asking about shadowing:
I've just completed my second shadowing experience in four departments and I got this through a friend of a friend who I asked. She had to send it to the education manager and I had to give references and be cleared by occ health but that was only last week and I did it this week so even if you know anyone just ask them and if they're nice then they'll try and sort it out for you!
All the doctors I have met have said I can come back whenever I want so providing education aren't arsey then looks all good. Honestly, everyone has told me it is who you know!

I also did shadowing on a podiatry unit and that was through a friend and he just let me do it and didn't go through any formality so again if they are a highly qualified consultant they can swing things!

Really struggling to get GP though so if anyone has any advice for that!!

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Reply 72

LukeyJB

A little concerned that I may be disadvantaged as I'll only have done about 9 months work experience in total with vulnerable adults, kids alongside nursing home experience. They're taking the absolute piss sorting it out, they've only just sent my DBS form off which takes another 3 weeks.

Reply 73

tw781

Original post by LukeyJB

DBS are absolute killers!! I worked as a carer in my second year and I had an interview the same day as one woman and 3 months after me she turned up at our home & she had been waiting for DBS the whole time! I couldn't believe it! But she had worked at a lot of places and had a lot of DBS in the past so I don't know if that makes the process longer.

I'm sure your experience will be enough so long as you relate it back well. Have you got any within the nhs like bank hca?

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Reply 74

LukeyJB

Original post by tw781

I don't have any experience aside from some nursing home volunteering I did about 3 years ago unfortunately :frown:

I really need to get on top of it. I have no idea how to go about getting HCA work! Apparently it's rare and difficult, perhaps I could apply to a few places at the start of January for summer work?

Reply 75

Marathi

Ughhhhh since I found out that I've failed my GAMSAT I've been in a limbo state. I am planning to retake it next year in March and, if necessary, September.

I am thinking about doing a Masters (one that starts after GAMSAT finishes or around the same time) to help give me more options due to my 2 :2:

- Masters would open Swansea up as an option which had a relatively low cutoff this year (58)
- I am not confident I could hit the really high score required by Nottingham for 2:2 holders, this year it was 66 which meant you had to be in the top 8%! Having a masters would allow me to apply with a lower score as per 2:1+ entry, which was 61 this year
- SGUL could not say if they were keeping 2:2 entry available in 2016 and cannot say until March whether they are or not. It would really suck to study hard for March GAMSAT to find out the option was no longer available (one of the two Grad Entry course I can apply to with a 2:2)

The only problem is, as I've been told before, that most Masters courses run 12 months long (September-September), which would mean if I started a Masters in Sept 2015, completed it in Sept 2016 I would most likely not be able to apply for Medicine in 2016 and would have to wait until 2017 to apply (I would be nearly 30 by then!). Also if you bear in mind that I plan to sit GAMSAT in 2015 this means I would only get one round of interviews from my results (if successful) as they're only valid for 2 years.

Part of me is just thinking to do nursing, shorter course, no fees, more similarities to doctors than in the past, hell if I joined as an RAF Student Nurse I would get paid to study. But I think my desire to become a doctor is stronger and even if I became a successful nurse applicant I think I would find myself wishing I could have/should have pursued medicine instead...

Sorry for the rant, I really need to share these thoughts and concerns with people who can share my pain, as my application is mostly secret amongst friends and work colleagues.

If anyone knows of a masters course that runs under a year in length and accepts those with a 2:2 and could let me know that would be fantastic! I am searching like a maniac and need to stop so I can start revising for GAMSAT again!

EDIT: Just noticed this thread is in community and not the main medicine page. Will it be moved there?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 76

Stethcrusaider

Original post by Marathi

Ughhhhh since I found out that I've failed my GAMSAT I've been in a limbo state. I am planning to retake it next year in March and, if necessary, September.

have you considered option abroad?
also, two GMSAT dates? both for the same entry? September 2015?

Reply 77

Sdisney

I've finished a Bsc in sport science gaining a first from swansea and have recently started a MSc part time in translational cardiovascular medicine . I want to go back to Swansea to do medicine after. I took my gamsat exam with a total of 52%. Im wondering whether or not that would be good enough or whether its worth redoing in hope of a better score? Also in terms of work experience I worked as a sport science intern which worked closely with the team doctor and have week long workshops in clinical procedures etc as part of my msc would this be enough?

Reply 78

tw781

Original post by Sdisney

If you look at the grad medicine 2015 thread you'll see the applications GAMSAT scores who have got interviews. I think the cut off may was 56 but I'm unsure. What matters most in terms of your experience is your ability to reflect and relate it to why you would be a good doctor

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Reply 79

Zorg

Original post by Marathi

Spoiler

It'll stay in the medicine community pages as that's where it belongs :/

I've always suggested to others not to do an MSc simply to bump up a 2ii, far too expensive for it all. But considering the difficulty gaining entrance to GEM with a 2ii has become I think it's almost needed.
I haven't spoken to SGUL re. 2016 entry and 2ii, however Notts definitely mentioned they are reviewing their 2ii requirement this year but it likely won't affect admissions until 2016 entry (this was at the open day in March)

I'd look in to the possibility of a Jan-Jan MSc, very rare but some were about when I applied a while ago. Also might be worth asking the Unis if the MSc needs to be achieved, as in you've had the graduation ceremony by the start of the course, or if it's a time commitment thing as some MSc courses finish by August in terms of being on site etc.

An MSc is a really expensive undertaking, even being frugal and going for the cheaper courses I ended up spending north of £15,000 for one year.

Best of luck though, keep us posted :wink:

Original post by Stethcrusaider

have you considered option abroad?
also, two GMSAT dates? both for the same entry? September 2015?

GAMSAT Ireland or GAMSAT Australia - March
GAMSAT UK - Sept

Original post by Sdisney

GAMSAT scores are not percentages. Swansea cut off was 58 this year and 57 the previous year, I reckon it'll probably inch upwards next year too as more and more people seem to be applying to it.
Long term care giving experience is more desirable.