Is my Medical school goal realistic?

Okay so, my dream is to become a psychiatrist. When I was in high school, and even college I didn’t put as much effort in as I know I can because I was exposed to a lot of mental trauma throughout those years. I achieved good grades (not excellent) but good grades in my GCSEs and am not proud to say my A-Level result were horrible. I received a U, a C and a pass in my A-Level results. Is it realistic for me to continue pursuing a place in medical school?

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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

The Medicine forum gets a high volume of questions being posted, and some of these are already answered by the resources and Megathreads that members of the community and volunteers have created. This is an automatic post which is designed to highlight these resources. Below is a list of threads and articles that could answer your question (you should be looking in the original post of the megathreads). If one of the below threads is a more relevant place to ask your question, please post a reply in that thread to ask your question. If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked below, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Megathreads
(Please read the first post, before then posting any further questions you have within that thread.)
The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread
Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

2023 Applicants:
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

Other application years:
Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2025 Entry

Useful Articles:
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

If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked above, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Reply 2

TMTDRN

It’s not going to happen without effort. Right now, if you did nothing and applied without changing anything, you know exactly what the outcome would be. There’s no shortcut.

You need work experience, you need to meet the academic entry requirements, and you need the UCAT.

Get a job related to medicine and care, volunteer, resit A levels or do an access course. Prepare for the UCAT. Prepare for interviews. Same as everybody else.

Reply 3

examboard

Original post by mark_flicky

im ngl to you bro the chances are looking slim and a very steep uphill battle nevertheless depends on your mental fortitude and how hard you want it . If you're resitting now id suggest taking another year out so if your alevel grades go well id take a gap year after that too so you can smash the UCAT . Seems long but I think it may be the way for u

Reply 4

FranciscaHoney

Hello,
It is very much possible. Access to medicine offers an unconventional route to medicine, for those who do not have sufficient Alevels required to get into medicine. You would need at least B/6-9/A* in GCSE Maths and English. So i’d advise retaking those first. Self studying is hard, but possible, YouTube and online resources are available. You would need to contact colleges which offer an Access to medicine course and ask about their entry requirements, make sure they are approved centres, do not attempt a distant learning Access course as they are, from my knowledge not accepted by medical schools. Once that’s done, you will need to take your UCAT.

The hardest part of the journey is the daunting Access to Medicine course, a 12months intense Course of 2 years Alevel Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry jam-packed into 12months. The Access course is your route to Medicine.

So, yes, it is possible. One step at a time. You just have to be determined, hardworking and resilient. You can do it.