hating uni before even starting
I am meant to be starting year 1 in 2 weeks time but I have serious reservations. People always told me to apply strategically to medical school and I did. I only got one offer this year but when I went to that medical school for interview I was adamant I was never going back. It didn't feel right to me.
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
It depends what your grades are. If you can get into another uni then you should apply if your not comfortable.
Original post by clarrisssa
It depends what your grades are. If you can get into another uni then you should apply if your not comfortable.
Yeah but what happens when you want to do medicine and want to do it straight away but absolutely detest the uni and area. The only saving grace is clinicals when you're not even at the campus but you still have to contend with the area
Original post by Anonymous
Yeah but what happens when you want to do medicine and want to do it straight away but absolutely detest the uni and area. The only saving grace is clinicals when you're not even at the campus but you still have to contend with the area
In that case I would reapply. If that is the worst you can get then theres no harm in trying for better. Are you allowed a trial week? Or just try it out for one week if its not your kind of thing then reapply because your going to be there for 5 years. Find somewhere your comfortable.
Keele I take it?
Unfortunately most if not all medical schools will not consider applicants who have previously dropped out of medical school. I would not drop out without contacting some universities to see if you even have a chance. I would not be very optimistic
This type of situation is why I think the advice to apply strategically isn't the best. Yes, don't apply to places whose criteria you don't meet, but don't apply to places you don't want to go either! There's just no point, and you end up in this type of difficult situation
For what it's worth, I had no idea what I wanted out of where I would live before I went to uni. I thought I wanted to live in a big city but quickly realised I was wrong. By the same token though, although I don't really like this city and am keen to leave, I have learnt a lot by living here and now have a certain fondness for it. It really hasn't been that bad. Living somewhere very different for a few years could be a valuable experience. (And you'll get even less choice about where you live after you graduate so may as well get used to it now)
Remember that the most important factor in your happiness isn't where you are, it's who you are. You can choose to hate it before you even arrive, or you can choose to make it work
Unfortunately most if not all medical schools will not consider applicants who have previously dropped out of medical school. I would not drop out without contacting some universities to see if you even have a chance. I would not be very optimistic
This type of situation is why I think the advice to apply strategically isn't the best. Yes, don't apply to places whose criteria you don't meet, but don't apply to places you don't want to go either! There's just no point, and you end up in this type of difficult situation
For what it's worth, I had no idea what I wanted out of where I would live before I went to uni. I thought I wanted to live in a big city but quickly realised I was wrong. By the same token though, although I don't really like this city and am keen to leave, I have learnt a lot by living here and now have a certain fondness for it. It really hasn't been that bad. Living somewhere very different for a few years could be a valuable experience. (And you'll get even less choice about where you live after you graduate so may as well get used to it now)
Remember that the most important factor in your happiness isn't where you are, it's who you are. You can choose to hate it before you even arrive, or you can choose to make it work
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous
I am meant to be starting year 1 in 2 weeks time but I have serious reservations. People always told me to apply strategically to medical school and I did. I only got one offer this year but when I went to that medical school for interview I was adamant I was never going back. It didn't feel right to me.
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
Several things to bear in mind:
Even if you go to a London medical school, you will not spend all your time on placement in London. Depending on the London med school you're at, you will be sent for weeks at a time to many a boring satellite town in Essex or Bedfordshire or other surrounding counties. If you're expecting to spend all five/six years in Zone 1, that's not going to happen. Incidentally, re 70s buildings: have you seen the Royal Free or Guy's Hospital?
Post qualification, the Foundation Programme doesn't guarantee you more than one year within the M25. So you might get to spend a year in a London hospital (which may or may not be central) and the other year in a boring commuter town.
As for specialty training, well, go and talk to any current specialty trainee and ask them what's the longest period of time they've managed to stay in one hospital or town. It's unlikely to be longer than a year or two at most.
The point of all of this is to make you realise that it's silly to get overly attached to London or any other city, because sooner or later you will have to up and leave. Medicine is the ultimate career of being frequently sent around to different towns and regions in the course of your training. Therefore, you would be extremely foolish to decline your offer for this reason, because as you've pointed out, you might not get another and even if you did, you'll still spend the next 10-15 years being sent around all over the place.
As for the bit about "deprived old people", they will form a significant proportion of your patient population wherever you go to medical school. What is it that you have a problem with exactly, old people, or poor people?
In terms of what there is and isn't for students to do, assuming you have access to a few pubs/clubs, you're going to be pretty sorted in terms of what most students like to spend the first few years of university doing. There will be a MedSoc, they'll organise events, medics sports etc. The main university will also have clubs and societies etc which you can try joining depending on what your timetable is like. You'll almost certainly find you'll spend most of your time with other medics anyway since they'll be the only ones who have the same timetable as you, so it's unlikely you'll be bored for long.
I'm also originally from London and very proudly so, but I went to med school outside of London and apart from one miserable year in the middle of the course, I was generally very happy. Yes, life outside of London is very different, it's weird not having the Tube and 24/7 buses and as much diversity and culture and so on, but you get used to it and you can always visit - it's not like you've been exiled. At any rate, I certainly wouldn't have gambled with my offer, especially since re-applying won't even give you what you're looking for.
Original post by Democracy
What is it that you have a problem with exactly, old people, or poor people?
Perfect
Oh good, another Londoner who hasn't realised there's life outside the M25.
My training and career has taken me in pretty much the opposite direction to the OPs. I grew up in a fairly small rural town, not the middle of nowhere, but half an hour drive (and minimal public transport!) from any decent-sized towns. I didn't even look at London unis when in 6th form as the place was too big, scary and expensive. Cambridge was a bustling metropolis by comparison with my hometown! I remember some of my more cosmopolitan friends complaining about how small and un-diverse it was, while I'd never been in an environment with more varied ethnicities (especially on the medicine course) in my life.
Then circumstances changed, so I actually ended up going to London for 5 years post-graduation. As Demo says though, it was not all fancy central hospitals - 2 of the 5 years were at big name teaching hospitals (though one of those was a non-training year) and the other 3 in DGHs in various less salubrious areas of South London - and I only avoided having to go out to Kent for a year through having extenuating personal circumstances. I learned loads from the experience, and there are a few things I probably saw more of there than I would have if I'd stayed in East Anglia (my original plan), but there will be old people and poor people wherever you go, getting sick in very much the same ways. I now live and work in the Home Counties, in a town which a lot of people like to **** off, but which is actually massively convenient and a lot cheaper than some of the more traditional nicer towns/cities nearby. You adapt to your circumstances and there are plenty of great places to live and great opportunities outside of London.
Long story short, OP, if you want to be a doctor, suck it up, learn to live in different places and work with different people. You may end up having a great time at uni, if you go in with an open mind!
My training and career has taken me in pretty much the opposite direction to the OPs. I grew up in a fairly small rural town, not the middle of nowhere, but half an hour drive (and minimal public transport!) from any decent-sized towns. I didn't even look at London unis when in 6th form as the place was too big, scary and expensive. Cambridge was a bustling metropolis by comparison with my hometown! I remember some of my more cosmopolitan friends complaining about how small and un-diverse it was, while I'd never been in an environment with more varied ethnicities (especially on the medicine course) in my life.
Then circumstances changed, so I actually ended up going to London for 5 years post-graduation. As Demo says though, it was not all fancy central hospitals - 2 of the 5 years were at big name teaching hospitals (though one of those was a non-training year) and the other 3 in DGHs in various less salubrious areas of South London - and I only avoided having to go out to Kent for a year through having extenuating personal circumstances. I learned loads from the experience, and there are a few things I probably saw more of there than I would have if I'd stayed in East Anglia (my original plan), but there will be old people and poor people wherever you go, getting sick in very much the same ways. I now live and work in the Home Counties, in a town which a lot of people like to **** off, but which is actually massively convenient and a lot cheaper than some of the more traditional nicer towns/cities nearby. You adapt to your circumstances and there are plenty of great places to live and great opportunities outside of London.
Long story short, OP, if you want to be a doctor, suck it up, learn to live in different places and work with different people. You may end up having a great time at uni, if you go in with an open mind!
That's what you have to deal with as a doctor. Do you want to be one or not?
On a less confrontational note, there will be lots of others who feel the same way and you will make friends and it will be fine. Being concerned? Fine. Actually dropping out over it? ****ing lunacy. It'll be fine.
On a less confrontational note, there will be lots of others who feel the same way and you will make friends and it will be fine. Being concerned? Fine. Actually dropping out over it? ****ing lunacy. It'll be fine.
Original post by Anonymous
I am meant to be starting year 1 in 2 weeks time but I have serious reservations. People always told me to apply strategically to medical school and I did. I only got one offer this year but when I went to that medical school for interview I was adamant I was never going back. It didn't feel right to me.
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
That'll be the "deprived old people" who've more than likely survived at least one World War. Why go to medical school if you're so choosy as those old people are more than likely to be looked after by you.
I'm 68, and I wouldn't mind knowing which uni you're at so that if I get to be much older, I won't have the misfortune to bump into you for medical care.
Original post by Anonymous
I am meant to be starting year 1 in 2 weeks time but I have serious reservations. People always told me to apply strategically to medical school and I did. I only got one offer this year but when I went to that medical school for interview I was adamant I was never going back. It didn't feel right to me. * *
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
I really don't like this uni but I'm scared that if I don't go now I will not get back in. Am I worrying unnecessarily or should I actually decline this offer and reapply?
Go with your gut, everything is telling you you will hate it, so you will. It's better to withdraw now and spend another year improving your results and looking around for somewhere you do want to study. It will save you a load of grief in the long run. I don't mean this to sound derogatory, but your comments do not read as very mature, so you are likely to do much better anyway with another year of experience before you start university. If you don't like poor, old people, then you might find there is another job to which you are more attracted?
I'm sure you'll feel different once you start. If you like the course and the people, the entire atmosphere will feel different to you.
I would seriously advise you not to drop out and reapply. It's such a risk, and you're basing it on superficial impressions.
I know the feeling you're describing, because it's what swayed me away from certain medical schools (luckily I had a choice in the end)... but I really don't think it's worth risking everything over.
I would seriously advise you not to drop out and reapply. It's such a risk, and you're basing it on superficial impressions.
I know the feeling you're describing, because it's what swayed me away from certain medical schools (luckily I had a choice in the end)... but I really don't think it's worth risking everything over.
Original post by Anonymous
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
The uni is a campus in the countryside and it felt to me as if I was walking back into the 70s because most of the buildings were old (in fact all of them are old apart from the medical school which is very new). I hate the idea of a campus bubble as I am from London and I don't think I will enjoy being in this area for 5 years. The nearest cities to this campus uni and complete dumps, for lack of a better word. Thrse places aren't even cities - they're towns. There is nothing going on and it just seems as if the area is populated with deprived old people living in a post industrial wasteland and there's not much for a student to do.
Let's be honest, you're going to spend most of your time studying or sleeping anyway, it's so intense. You wouldn't have that much time to go explore the area, and so long as there are good societies etc on campus, you'll survive
If you want to be a doctor then where you go to medical school won't seem that important when you are qualified and working. Even as a student one lecture theatre and hospital is much like another. You usually only spend the first year on campus.
What hobbies do you have, what clubs are there?
Go and see how you get on.
Not even starting the course and wasting a year with no guarantee of success next time seems mad.
I was at med school in London but now live in Scotland, and even my London med school was Tooting which isn't trendy London. I had a great time, but the great time was because of the people I was with and the fact that I loved studying medicine. The scenery was a bit irrelevant (except for the pubs and curry houses!)
What hobbies do you have, what clubs are there?
Go and see how you get on.
Not even starting the course and wasting a year with no guarantee of success next time seems mad.
I was at med school in London but now live in Scotland, and even my London med school was Tooting which isn't trendy London. I had a great time, but the great time was because of the people I was with and the fact that I loved studying medicine. The scenery was a bit irrelevant (except for the pubs and curry houses!)
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