The Student Room Group

Medicine and gap year questions

I’m in year 13 and about to sit my alevels this year in may and june. I’ve applied for mh nursing because I knew my predicted grades wasn’t high enough for Medicine however I now have doubts whether I want to do mh nursing since my main passion still is medicine. I want to take a gap year however I’m not too sure how this works.

Do I have to take the UCAT this summer and apply for this October with my achieved alevel grades? Or do I apply in October of 2026? And is it possible for me to apply this October since I applied this January for mh nursing and I’m not sure how UCAS works for applying multiple times in 1 year.

Reply 1

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

2024 Applicants :
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2024 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
GAMSAT 2024 / 2025 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2024 Entry Discussions Megathread
Medicine 2024 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2024 Entry
Medicine Interview Discussion 2024 Entry
2024 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Medical Schools Index 2024 Entry

2025 Applicants :
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2025 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
GAMSAT 2025 / 2026 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2025 Entry Discussions Megathread
Medicine 2025 entry for resit/ retake/ gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2025 Entry
Medicine Interview Discussion 2025 Entry
2025 entry A100/ A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Medical Schools Index 2025 Entry

Other application years:
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2026 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2026 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
Funding medicine as a second degree

For Community Feedback:
Medicine Community Feedback and Suggestions

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

Original post by Sonia917
I’m in year 13 and about to sit my alevels this year in may and june. I’ve applied for mh nursing because I knew my predicted grades wasn’t high enough for Medicine however I now have doubts whether I want to do mh nursing since my main passion still is medicine. I want to take a gap year however I’m not too sure how this works.
Do I have to take the UCAT this summer and apply for this October with my achieved alevel grades? Or do I apply in October of 2026? And is it possible for me to apply this October since I applied this January for mh nursing and I’m not sure how UCAS works for applying multiple times in 1 year.


Hiya, I'm on a gap year for med at the moment, and what you've said is correct. If you want to take a gap year, you would sit the UCAT this summer, and then apply with your achieved grades this September/October.

UCAS lets you apply each academic year, so once it hits September and the next cycle of UCAS opens, you can apply again.

I wish you all the best for your A-Levels and application! 😁

Reply 3

Original post by CrispyCrackers_7
Hiya, I'm on a gap year for med at the moment, and what you've said is correct. If you want to take a gap year, you would sit the UCAT this summer, and then apply with your achieved grades this September/October.
UCAS lets you apply each academic year, so once it hits September and the next cycle of UCAS opens, you can apply again.
I wish you all the best for your A-Levels and application! 😁

Ok thank you so much for your reply!! I wish you the best luck aswell

Reply 4

Original post by Sonia917
I’m in year 13 and about to sit my alevels this year in may and june. I’ve applied for mh nursing because I knew my predicted grades wasn’t high enough for Medicine however I now have doubts whether I want to do mh nursing since my main passion still is medicine. I want to take a gap year however I’m not too sure how this works.
Do I have to take the UCAT this summer and apply for this October with my achieved alevel grades? Or do I apply in October of 2026? And is it possible for me to apply this October since I applied this January for mh nursing and I’m not sure how UCAS works for applying multiple times in 1 year.

Hi. What did you get in your as levels or did you do any end of years or mocks maybe in Jan and why did they not move your grade up by one ? So How does your school judge based on predicted a level grades

Quick Reply