I need advice from Medical students

I’m in year 12 and for the whole of year 12 I’ve fluctuated on what career I’ve wanted to do. I was stuck between Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, and Pharmacy. I very quickly scrapped medicine off my list as I thought it would be too high stress for me to pursue. I set my mind on Dentistry for maybe 5-6 months, but then realised I genuinely stand no chance at getting in, as I don’t want to move out of London for Uni, and my GCSES weren’t good enough to get into a London uni for dentistry. I deemed Optometry as boring and decided I wouldn’t enjoy the mundane job.

So then, I had Pharmacy left. Both of my siblings currently study it, so I know quite a lot about it. I’ve heard mixed things about Pharmacy, but I decided that if my siblings do it, I might as well too. Many universities around me offer it, and I have a good shot at getting in. Also I have a lot of work experience in community Pharmacy and also Hospital pharmacy. However, I started to really think if it’s for me. I honestly didn’t enjoy my work experience at a Pharmacy at all, and realised I want to have a more direct impact on patient’s lives. And I also thought about, if nothing was in my way of getting into Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, or Pharmacy. I’d choose Medicine.

So I think I’ve decided I want to apply to Medicine, however my GCSEs aren’t extraordinary, having achieved 7666666. So I don’t plan on applying to KCL, UCL, or imperial. I don’t even meet the requirements for QMUL. I made a list of realistic shots I have, and decided on Brunel, Medway, and St George’s. That gives me two other free options. I’ll definitely apply to Pharmacy as my other two free shots, and actually try to get in.

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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

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Reply 2

ErasistratusV

So you initially felt medicine would be too high stress and decided against it but have now decided it's ok to use it effectively as a back up option after deciding you won't get a dentistry place and that pharmacy wasn't for you.

None of this sounds very compelling in any kind of decision-making process that could result in a person starting a 5-10 year process involving a highly vocational course that requires intense study for long periods of time.

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