Many people would say not - people on here have said it is very theory based and Manchester Newcastle, which are not as lecture based, are better.

At the end of the ay, it doesn't matter where you go as you end up as a Doctor any way.

Reply 4

genius

good point. all i am saying, is that reputation wise and according to statistics anyway, they say cambridge is the best university in the uk overall, and that its the best for medicine. i see what you mean though, although employers will obviously favour a med degree at cambridge more than anywhere else, it can often not have the practical side that people are looking for to be a doctor.

Reply 5

LH

15

genius

good point. all i am saying, is that reputation wise and according to statistics anyway, they say cambridge is the best university in the uk overall, and that its the best for medicine. i see what you mean though, although employers will obviously favour a med degree at cambridge more than anywhere else, it can often not have the practical side that people are looking for to be a doctor.

Employers don't really consider where a medical degree was obtained from, as wherever you go, you still come out a doctor, and are virtually guaranteed to get a job. An employer in the medical profession would probably not hold Cambridge Med school in any higher regard than many others as they will undertand how the course works in each institution and then decide whihc course they think is better.

Reply 6

Mark_KK

10

icarusgideon

what are the best universities for medicine or more correctly stated which do you think are the best and why so?

I have said it before and I got slated for it but...

I hate questions like this as in reality it very much comes down to personal preference.

Go round the Uni's you are thinking of - speak to staff and students you may see on campus / in the departments and make up your own mind. It may even be worth alerting the department that you are coming and asking for a member of staff to meet, greet and show you round. Most departments at most universities are very helpful.

If you are concerned about quality of teaching check the Times University Guide or some other credible source.

After all you are the one who is going to have to live with your decision and quite often other peoples opinions are not that great a way to make decisions.

Reply 7

Unregistered

I completely agree with u Mark_KK. Though Ive never actually been slated for it (hehe)

This forum gets the 'Best Uni for medicine' thread ALL THE TIME.
There is no best Uni, and what I think is the best...really mite be the worst place for u.
U have to take teaching style, campus, course content all into consideration. U can't have someone tell u which is the best.

Reply 8

kildare

8

Not everyone gets the chance to go and visit each university though. Likewise, no one asking the question would have expierenced first hand, what studying at said university is like. On this forum we get the chance to ask people who have been to the university in some kind of capacity or who know about the universities in question for their opinions. If you don't like these kind of threads just don't open them, it really isn't that complicated.

Reply 9

Mark_KK

10

kildare

Not everyone gets the chance to go and visit each university though. Likewise, no one asking the question would have expierenced first hand, what studying at said university is like. On this forum we get the chance to ask people who have been to the university in some kind of capacity or who know about the universities in question for their opinions. If you don't like these kind of threads just don't open them, it really isn't that complicated.

Perhaps the person starting the thread can solve this problem by rewording the question.

As for not visiting a university you are applying and seriously considering going to this is surly a recipie for disaster?

I have applied to Nottingham, Hull, Lancaster, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester (not for medicine I hasten to add).

I have either visited each uni or have spent enough time researching it to make up my own mind that one of these is the right place for me.

Do you really think I care much if someone came on here slating any of the above institutions? No!

I just think anyone who asks which uni is the best for <insert subject name here> is asking a totally BS question and I am sure that many agree.

Reply 10

Mark_KK

10

Unregistered

I completely agree with u Mark_KK. Though Ive never actually been slated for it (hehe)

This forum gets the 'Best Uni for medicine' thread ALL THE TIME.
There is no best Uni, and what I think is the best...really mite be the worst place for u.
U have to take teaching style, campus, course content all into consideration. U can't have someone tell u which is the best.

I fully agree with you.

Reply 11

kildare

8

Mark_KK

Perhaps the person starting the thread can solve this problem by rewording the question.

As for not visiting a university you are applying and seriously considering going to this is surly a recipie for disaster?

I have applied to Nottingham, Hull, Lancaster, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester (not for medicine I hasten to add).

I have either visited each uni or have spent enough time researching it to make up my own mind that one of these is the right place for me.

Do you really think I care much if someone came on here slating any of the above institutions? No!

I just think anyone who asks which uni is the best for <insert subject name here> is asking a totally BS question and I am sure that many agree.

Living in Switzerland, I haven't had the chance to visit everywhere I applied to. At the end of the day a visit isn't going to tell you tha tmuch anyway, you're only going to see the uni in a very superficial light. Of course I've researched the uni's I'm applying to, I just think that boards such as this one provide me with an additional perspective that university prospectuses and the ilk don't.

Reply 12

Unregistered

if you are going to apply for medicine, u really need to visit the Uni first. Because u will be spending AT LEAST 5 years of your life there. I say least, because when u have been taught ur clinical skills in hopitals based around that area, u tend to make contacts and feel more confident there. Hence u will prob not leave that area till SHO years. Oh plus the fact that many med schools provide and placement scheme for their graduates.

If u can't visit the Uni then thats fair enough. I realised after applying that a LOT of the info is actually in the prospectus. Open days really just give u a feel for the atmosphere. Theres virtually no excuse for not knowing the couse structure, content and teaching method. Coupled with the fact that all the info is at ur finger tips!

I spoke to people who are in the middle of applying, are undergrads or graduates from the Unis I wanted to go to. But I first had to narrow them down, and that was done by reading prospectuses. I found out what I really wanted from each Univeristy...in my case it wasn't social atmosphere...but more teaching method. U'd be surprised how much teaching methods of Unis will effect ur learning outcome- does a very traditional style suit u, or does PBL suit u? And this is where threads like this, can often spell trouble. Its peoples opinions and U can't make a decision based on them. For example, I spoke to some people regarding Liverpool for medicine...its a well established and reputed medical school...all good so far, so I went to and did some research and discoverd that inspite of peoples positive views, I very much disliked it. Staying open minded, i went to the open day, and it fully confirmed my own opinion of the school.
U really mustn't rely on other people to give u an opinion because each person is different. Especially for medicine, u need to be fully confident that ur particualr schools are right for u. Not just because So and So sed it was good.
NO ONE CAN TELL U WHICH IS GOOD FOR YOU!! However little u choose to take notice to these opinions- will still affect ur decision. And thats bad, cos u first need to make some decisions urself. The best thing to do is to narrow ur choices down and then asked for opinions on those certain Unis.
I take it u haven't applied for 2004 entry, so theres still a year or whatever to go. Thats plenty of time to start flickin thru prosps.

100% behind you Mark

Reply 13

SaeedRehman

i percieve these to be the top unis for medicine:

1. cambridge / oxford
2. glasgow / edinburgh
3. manchester
4. newcastle
5. leicester
6. Imperial
7. kcl / ucl
8. nottingham

Mark_KK

As for not visiting a university you are applying and seriously considering going to this is surly a recipie for disaster?

Not in my case - I visited Royal Holloway and had a great day out - but it was a bloody awful place (for me) to live. I transferred to Southampton without an interview or a visit - I spoke to the admissions tutor on the phone and that was it...but even 5 yrs later this place still feels like home (even though I live 30 miles down the road).

Reply 15

random_name

Ok, I agree that the final decision must be made upon the place and how happy you are living there, for example if living at home is important look for the universities close to you - or even even living close to home ie. a short train ride away. Also If you want to live campus based (like nottingham) or city based (like kcl or edinburgh).
However I feel unlike alot of you have stated already - of course employers are going to look at where your degree is from, and although there isn't exactly going to be a lack of jobs for graduate doctors and therefore will always be employed - when consultant jobs arrise, there will be more doctors applying for the jobs than there are places to be filled. Therefore aswell as previous experience and suitablity to the job, they WILL look at your degree and degrees which you may have obtained as an intercollation. And if you have a degree from London univeristy such as Barts, kcl, ucl or Imperial - and are applying to a job in a London hospital, they are more likely to prefer a London degree to say a degree from Brighton and Sussex.
Although all will come out with a medical degree - it's not the same, teaching varies widely, expereince varies widely and the type of people that graduate will vary. It is for this reason that some med schools are harder to get into than others - simple. Therefore because of this variety of reasons, that employers prefer one degree over another, however this may vary also - if a uni has a particularly good reputation for a certain part of medicine then a degree from there will be preferred.
I'd have to go with this order:
1. Newcastle
2. Manchester
3. Imperial
4. KCL
5. Nottingham

Purely through a combination of teaching, reputation, location and university as a whole.

best universities for medicine

Related discussions

Articles for you