State or Private Sixth Form for Medicine

I'm considering applying for a full scholarship at a private sixth form, they provide lots of UCAT support and interview and application guidance and have lots of people going on to study medicine at uni annually. But, the commute is an hour each way by train, there'd be less time for extra/supercurriculars, however the scholarship would pay for meals. At my current school very few people go on to study medicine, they give little support for UCAT and I've heard you've got to self teach lots of the A-level course. However, apparently I'd be eligible for some university programmes for medicine as long as I stay in state and apparently top universities are more likely to consider your application if you do well despite going to state school. Is this true? Which would be better?

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

Stiffy Byng

19

The notion that universities discriminate against students who went to private schools or sixth form colleges is unfounded. You should study at whichever sixth form appears likely to provide you with the best educational experience.

The long commute sounds sub-optimal.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 2

bea_murray0

16

Original post by Kind_Cat

I'm considering applying for a full scholarship at a private sixth form, they provide lots of UCAT support and interview and application guidance and have lots of people going on to study medicine at uni annually. But, the commute is an hour each way by train, there'd be less time for extra/supercurriculars, however the scholarship would pay for meals. At my current school very few people go on to study medicine, they give little support for UCAT and I've heard you've got to self teach lots of the A-level course. However, apparently I'd be eligible for some university programmes for medicine as long as I stay in state and apparently top universities are more likely to consider your application if you do well despite going to state school. Is this true? Which would be better?

Extra/supercurriculars are really not a big deal for medicine - your UCAT score and performance at interview will be the main deciding factors for most medical schools (provided you've met all the entry requirements). Also an hour on the train sounds annoying, but if you did homework on your commute then that would hopefully free up your time at home more, so not all bad.

Medical schools will often take into consideration 'contextual factors' (aka widening participation), which are basically markers of being disadvantaged compared to most applicants. What counts as 'contextual' varies between medical schools, but it often includes things like receiving government-funded free school meals or being in care, and sometimes will take into account living in a deprived area, or going to a school where few students progress to university (this is what i think you're referring to). Contextual students can benefit from things like different UCAT cutoffs, or grade requirements (again varies depending on where you apply). Basically, as I understand it, you won't be disadvantaged purely for going to a private school vs a state school, but if staying at your particular school would qualify you as contextual based on a specific medical school's criteria, you may benefit from contextual offers. This is worth researching to see if you might qualify, you can normally find this info on a medical school's admissions page on their website.

Hope this info helps you come to a decision!

State or Private Sixth Form for Medicine

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