Can I switch do Medicine instead of my BA?

11

I am a second year studying English Lit and UCL. I went to a pretty bad state school at the time and was a student from a very low income family and came out with a A*BBC (B in Biology) and 7766665 in GCSEs. I never thought I knew I could be accepted into medicine with a gateway degree specifically for state school/school meal students, so I went to study English Lit since it was my dream uni. Though I'm good at my current degree, I kinda always wish I studied Medicine but never went through it because I didn't do Chemistry at A-Level and also didn't believe in myself, knowing how competitive it is. I don't know if I could fund a new degree if I change since I'm assuming Student Finance wont fund a new undergraduate and I'm not sure if Postgraduate medicine will get me anywhere to working in the medical fields since I don't have an undergraduate and if I would even get into a postgraduate. I just feel rather held back and regretful. Any tips?

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

11

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

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 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
GANFYD's "Which medical schools accept retake A-Levels" list

2026 Applicants :
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2026 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2026 Entry
Medicine 2026 entry for resit/retake/gap year applicants
International Students for Medicine 2026 Entry (overseas students applying to the UK)
UCAT 2026 Entry Discussions Megathread
GAMSAT Megathread 2026/2027 entry
GAMSAT Megathread 2025/2026 entry
2026 entry A100/ A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Medical Schools Index 2026 entry
Medical Schools Index 2025 entry

UCAS Extra and Clearing:
Medicine UCAS Extra for 2025
Medicine UCAS Clearing for 2025

Other application years:
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2027 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2027 Entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2028 Entry

Current Medical Students and Doctors:
Guidance on posting in this subforum
So, you're going to medical school.... MKII
OSCE Tips and Advice
Increase in the NHS Bursary and expenses for placement
The postgraduate exams thread

Useful Articles:
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

Our Community:
Medicine Community Feedback and Suggestions
Medicine Gap Year Stories
Project: Minimum UCAT Score Trends

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

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post

by sanwwio

I am a second year studying English Lit and UCL. I went to a pretty bad state school at the time and was a student from a very low income family and came out with a A*BBC (B in Biology) and 7766665 in GCSEs. I never thought I knew I could be accepted into medicine with a gateway degree specifically for state school/school meal students, so I went to study English Lit since it was my dream uni. Though I'm good at my current degree, I kinda always wish I studied Medicine but never went through it because I didn't do Chemistry at A-Level and also didn't believe in myself, knowing how competitive it is. I don't know if I could fund a new degree if I change since I'm assuming Student Finance wont fund a new undergraduate and I'm not sure if Postgraduate medicine will get me anywhere to working in the medical fields since I don't have an undergraduate and if I would even get into a postgraduate. I just feel rather held back and regretful. Any tips?

You can do graduate entry medicine (GEM) with any degree depending on the medical school. You'll need to check which medical schools accept any degree and don't require specific A-levels for GEM - there are a few (although quite a few may require the GAMSAT).

Accelerated graduate entry medicine (4 year) courses are eligible for second degree funding (although for the first year you have to self fund ~£3000 of the tuition fees yourself, the remaining balance of the tuition fees are covered by SFE and you get a maintenance loan; years 2-4 are funded by the NHS bursary scheme and you can get a top up maintenance loan based on your household income potentially). Note for standard entry medicine (i.e. the 5/6 year courses) there is much more limited funding (essentially maintenance loan only for the first four years and having to self fund tuition fees for those years) so you probably want to focus on the accelerated GEM courses.

It's certainly possible though. Obviously you'll also need to get work experience, do the GAMSAT/UCAT and be on track for a 2:1 or above in your degree (some may score extra points for a 1st but some may not). Bear in mind also graduate entry medicine is normally more competitive statistically than stnadard entry medicine so it's not uncommon for graduate entry medicine applicants to apply a couple years in a row before getting an offer - so you should also be prepared to commit to that for potentially a couple of years after graduating (unless you are lucky enough to get in the first time!).

I think UCL careers occasionally run sessions about applying to GEM so maybe also look at that too :smile:

Can I switch do Medicine instead of my BA?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated