Which College is the Best for Medicine?

I am currently thinking of applying to Cambridge to study medicine however I’m so new to the idea of separate colleges and was wondering which are considered the best for studying medicine. Does the college which you apply to affect your chance of being accepted or is it the university as a whole that gives offers to candidates? Any help would be appreciated :smile:

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

10

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum. :biggrin:

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The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
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Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

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Official Undergraduate Medicine 2023 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2023 Entry
Medicine 2023 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2023 Entry
Medicine Interview discussion 2023 Entry
2023 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Index of Individual Medical School Applicants' threads 2023 Entry

2024 Applicants :
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2024 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
GAMSAT 2024 / 2025 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2024 Entry Discussions Megathread

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Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2025 Entry

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GCSE Requirements for Medicine
Everything you need to know about the BMAT
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
Interview Frequently Asked Questions
MMI Medicine Interview Tips
What to do after an unsuccessful first application

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Reply 2

Sorcerer's Storm

20

Original post by otk939

I am currently thinking of applying to Cambridge to study medicine however I’m so new to the idea of separate colleges and was wondering which are considered the best for studying medicine. Does the college which you apply to affect your chance of being accepted or is it the university as a whole that gives offers to candidates? Any help would be appreciated :smile:

That question doesn't make sense. All Cambridge medical students will study the same medicine modules and receive the same lecture material, lab practice and so on. It isn't college dependent.

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by otk939

I am currently thinking of applying to Cambridge to study medicine however I’m so new to the idea of separate colleges and was wondering which are considered the best for studying medicine. Does the college which you apply to affect your chance of being accepted or is it the university as a whole that gives offers to candidates? Any help would be appreciated :smile:

Doesn't make a great difference on any front really. On the academic front, lectures, labs etc, are centrally arranged, so you just have supervisions in college - however your Director of Studies (DoS) might arrange for you to have supervisions at another college if the expert is there rather than in your college. So it won't make a difference academically (and even more so for the clinical years where you're even less college oriented).

In terms of admissions, Cambridge has the pooling system to ensure that well qualified applicants who apply to oversubscribed colleges but do well in interview can be considered by other colleges if they are "squeezed out by the competition" at the college they applied to. Equally colleges that are less subscribed would rather not take an applicant than take a weaker applicant. Therefore there isn't really a way to "game the system" to increase your odds of getting in by selecting one college or another.

It's really probably best to think of the colleges as glorified halls of residence, which happen to also have some additional social and pastoral elements attached. Also bear in mind, each year about 15-25% of students get pooled to a different college anyway - and almost all like the college they end up at even if it wasn't their first choice! So just pick one you like the "vibe" of which seems to have the facilities etc that suit your needs/wants, while also not setting your hopes and dreams of going to any one particular college anyway, in view of the very real possibility of getting pooled :smile:

Which College is the Best for Medicine?

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