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Don’t know what to do on a potential gap year

I wanna apply for dentistry this year but I don’t think I’ll get a good UCAT so im thinking of taking a gap year but I don’t know if I should apply to a course or not because I’ll just end up rejecting it so im not rlly sure what to do, If anyone has any advice or been in the same/similar situation as me please drop me an advice any would be appreciated

Reply 1

study23!

Study Forum Helper

Original post

by astudent789

First of all wait for your UCAT, it may turn out better than you hoped.
If your UCAT is average or above, it is probably worth an application this year. Maybe you'll be rejected pre-interview for all, maybe you'll get lucky. You won't know unless you try. I'd only suggest not trying this year if you have a score lower than average making it a lot more difficult to get in this cycle.
Do not apply to other courses apart from dentistry this year for the sake of it. No point if you really want to do dentistry, if you're more on the fence and could see yourself doing another degree this is the only reason I could see you applying.
If you do decide to take a gap year, there are many things you can do. Firstly focus on smashing your A Level exams without the pressure of interviews. Secondly in the summer before you apply you can start drafting your statement and prepping for UCAT. A lot of people decide to work/travel during their gap year. If you aim to travel I'd avoid the interview season. Additionally, you can volunteer, connect with hobbies or research more into dentistry generally! There's a lot of options.