Do I have a chance? Is it worth it?

It is scary but there's no point worrying about things you cannot control so just do your best to smash the UCAT and then apply strategically to med schools and hopefully you'll get one or more offers!

Yeah I'm current in Leeds which is a BMAT university.

The deadline is 15th October so just a bit over a month left now.

It’s worth it if you want it. And if you want it enough, you’ll try more than once if necessary.

I would honestly say I think that work experience can help to determine your decision on whether you think Medicine is for you or not. Like others have stated you definitely seem capable of pursuing Medicine but obvs you just need to be assured whether your heart is in it. I would advise you to apply anyway and take the UCAT however in this time to also have a look at gaining work experience and deciding through that and also utilising social media platforms to speak to medical school students (possibly at your preferred medical schools) and also junior doctors and consultants working within the UK. Also as your fifth option if you are intrigued by a career in Medicine I would recommend thinking about the Physician Associate programme. However with this one I think that there are currently only two Universities in the UK that offer this course as an undergraduate degree - University of Central Lancashire and University of Reading.

Are there any more careers you have an interest in or have thought about at least?

It's perfectly normal to perhaps feel it may not be for you, or even to chose another path. You seem to have a logical head on your shoulders and are more than capable of doing whatever you put your mind and heart to. You have great grades so you could do whatever you liked for the most part!

Experience and things like shadowing have been impossible to get during the pandemic because I have tried it myself. I say just seek out careers advice and talk to other student doctors to gain more insight.

Honestly I don't know why ppl are saying I'm capable of it, I think others are much more so but yeah I think it's just I need to figure out if my heart is in it or not really because if it isn't there's not much point with going through with it cos I'm probably also capable in other careers, it's just I feel like I'll be doing more for others in medicine. I'm working on getting work experience asap and doing the ucat and if I don't do well in the ucat then I think it will probably be a sign! And I'll talk to as many ppl as possible too, thank you. I've heard of physician associates, is that more common in america than the UK cos I barely hear of them here?

Two gap years is ok for medicine but I'm wondering if that's the case for all courses/unis

I think most of them are doubts about my ability cos I just don't feel as qualified for medicine as ppl who did biology a level or got A*s in chemistry and I'm sure there's many ppl who did, and yeah I just don't know at this age whether I rlly want this or not, there's only one way to find out. I think if I don't do well in the ucat there wouldn't be too much point in trying since it's so competitive but idk if I should give up or not.

Yeah I guess it can't always be said because everyone has doubts like this I'm sure

Yes exactly it’ll be better to find out for yourself whether you’ve made the right decision rather than regretting it later on. Also yes the Physician Associate role is more widely known within the American health system but more and more people are hearing about the role now within the UK. If you want a chance at another fulfilling career pathway where you can practice medicine in a more flexible capacity I’d recommend this for you.

I definitely had/have similar doubts. At first I was worried I might not cope with the practical aspects of medicine, so I took the most hands-on HCA role I could find to test my limits. After my initial elation at successfully drawing blood, my "I'll never manage venepuncture" doubt was replaced with "Cannulas look harder - how will I cope with those?" and "Chest drains seem scary!"

As I did arts/languages A-levels and an arts degree, I needed a very high UCAT to make me eligible to apply. I managed to get 3150, but almost as soon as I had attained this I was thinking, "Will I really cope without knowing any chemistry at all? I'll be so behind compared to people with biomed degrees and I'll probably fail the first year exams!"

If I pass first year of medical school, experience suggests that my brain will decide this is a total fluke and that I will fall at the next hurdle. You can't resolve all your doubts. You'll just find another thing to worry about. The only solution I've found is to just do the thing and not think about it too much in the process.