Anyone else experience of alternative entry into medicine ?

[fakeblondie]

DD is set on medicine but has sensibly realised that she probably won't meet the AAA requirements , possiblyAAB or BBA .
She's working really hard almost too hard , doing gold d of e and volunteering at local hospital.
She is looking at doing medical science which is easier to get onto, will full intentions of then getting in as a post grad but still doing the 5 years nt the 4 .
While she realises that means Uni f or 8 years she is very young very committed will persevere until she gets the opportunity to do medicine.Has anyone else got into medicine this way, or has any hints or tips which might help her on her way ?
many thanks

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

DS1 is about to go to med school in sept aged 23 having done a biomedical sciences degree. (well he's just about to finish his biomed degree)

Good luck to her.

[Caitycat]

Not me but my sister did, three years biomedical science followed by full med degree. It was hard work but she survived and is now a very happy paediatrician, if your dd reaally wants to go into medicine I think it's a good test of her commitment to it but it does feel like a long slog! Good luck.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Is she aware that she will be self funding for the medicine as it her second degree often at the overseas rate. Not a reason not to do it, but she just needs to be aware of how expensive it could be.

[fakeblondie]

Wow freebie and caitycat that's really good to hear.
That's just what she wants to hear and I'll show her this later .
So financially I'm being naive , how did they manage financially ?

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

I know loads of people who have done this, both via the undergrad and graduate programmes. In fact two people who graduated from English Lit with me went back to uni the following year to do undergrad medicine! They were funded but perhaps the rules have changed (they both graduated two years ago).

[Caitycat]

Ds was funded for both but it was a while ago now (grad in 2007) I would be surprised if it was totally unfunded but maybe worth contacting one of the unis and asking how it works.

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

Ring the students loan people and ask them.

[titchy]

Funding - rich parents is the usual method! The NHS will fund I think one graduate year, but fees and living costs will need to be found for 3+ years.

Are you aware graduate entry is FAR more competitive than first degree entry?

Does she have offers at the moment? Has she looked at converting to medicine in year 2 of her undergrad degree - some places let a very small number do that?

Or think about taking a year out and either resitting if she misses her offer (but take advice from universities she is interested in - many will not accept a re-sit grade) or just reapplying next year if her grades are very close and using the year out productively.

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

Many medical unis don't take re-sits unless you've applied to them first time round, so make sure she fills her form in well if she's thinking of that.

The other option is a conversion course - or a pre-med year whatever they call it.

Has she tried any of these pre-med courses? I have no experience of them.

[fakeblondie]

Hi thanks for the link . We looked at the 6 year pre med course and they are for people from diverse backgrounds , so you have to have attended a poor academic school or live in an area that is classed as deprived . She can't claim either of these which is a shame because that pre year would be great .

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

would this help?

or this

[BreeVanDerTramp]

I'm not sure about England but a few colleges in Scotland do HNC Applied Science as a pathway to medicine, Perth College and Stow College I know defiantly do it.

It's a direct entry route for the top 8 students of the year, highly competitive via interview entry.

[BreeVanDerTramp]

Ah sorry cross post, forgot they are for students without A levels

[fakeblondie]

Thanks anyway Bree it was kind of you to suggest.

[alreadytaken]

Could she get AAB? She has to have 3A predictions to apply for medicine but if she had them and got AAB she might still be taken. Medical schools don't advertise this but it happens.

Graduate entry medicine is even more competitive than undergraduate, I'm afraid. She could look at Newcastle/Durham and St George's for possible transfer in course. Bradford Clinical Science is another one to look at, there may be others, the student room website would tell you. I believe Cardiff do a guaranteed interview for medicine if you do certain undergraduate courses there but they don't allow transfers. If she does better than anticipated she could do a gap year and apply then, medicine courses have quite a few older students. If you can afford it there are also medicine courses elsewhere in Europe that teach in English.

I know this is difficult but do ask her why she is so set on medicine. Many young people are impressed by surgeons but the majority of medical students will become gps. It's a long and tough course and some drop out/ find it doesn't appeal after all. It's not a family friendly profession, especially during training. There are many other health care professions.

While I'm not certain about the funding - and it may change anyway - I believe titchy is right.

You say she's very young - did she do exams early?

[fakeblondie]

Hi, thanks for that some really useful info.
I think Bangor allow the top few students to transfer to Cardiff but obviously she'll have to check now.
When you say the Graduate entry is even more competitive could you say a bit more about that ? in what way ? I know it won't guarantee her entry but at the end of the day if she's not a straight A student it will give her a good foundation and she would still want to do the 5 not 4 year entry.
When I said she was very young I think I'm just comparing her to me !!!! She was worried about being a student forever and I was sort of telling her how at 18 if its what she really wants go for it .
I hope she wants it for the right reasons I dont know I can only support her.
I'm a nurse but have been a midwife for 18 years so she's had a fair amount of insight ( family friends GPS etc and kinda brought up in and around hospitals )
She always wanted to be a midwife so I sat her down for a chat about 2 years ago. I wanted to ask her why because I didn't want her to spend her life trying to please me like I did and do my own parents !
I followed my passion and if you have a passion you'll do well IMO .
Anyways she went away and decided medicine .
She's never really looked back and is really very keen.
Apparently at 15 she didn't realise you didn't have to be a GP and says she wouldn't want that but something hosp based depending on what and if she does well at and enjoys while on rotation etc .
I've worked with med students for years and I know she's my dd but she just has that something that I think she'll do ok, I mean personality wise.
She is very unlikely to get AAA predictions so I think she really has got to look at a first degree in medical science.
It has been nice hearing from others who have or know someone who has done it, as its really not ideal, just nice to know she may well still be able to do it. X

[titchy]

I take it she's in lower 6th then?And will apply this Autumn?

How is grad entry more competitive - well errrrr double the number of applicants for half the number of places than for first degree entry....

Is she genuinely capable of the academic side of medicine? There is a reason med schools ask for 3 As.... Assume she has Chem? What are her AS predictions?

[fakeblondie]

Thanks Titchy.
Didn't realise it was twice as hard to get in with a medical science degree but she needs to know these things so thank you.
Apparently she hasn't had her predictions yet but is expecting AAAA, shes just being realistic and looking at all the options.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Very often they are looking for a first in the medical science degree to get into medicine. In the nicest possible way it is often harder to get a first than AAA. So fewer places proportional more people applying and the bar is even higher. It does suit late starters who are prepared to slough for three years.
I also wanted to say what she is doing now a-levels, D of E and volunteering is the level that is needed. Medicine and vets are a work hard play hard time a Uni with very little of your own time.

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

Lone - DS was offered on a 2:2 - he should get a first though unless his exam goes utterly tits up

[Scrazy]

Have t dash but will pm you op, when I get back, re this.

[funnyperson]

I think wait for her predictions and if AAAA then apply to medical school first off. Choose off the beaten track but nice ones like UAE or Keele or the Cornish one and she might get an offer and save a lot of aggravation and money.

[alreadytaken]

graduate medicine courses are increasingly asking for first class degrees and if she can't make 3As at A level she may not get the first or 2.1. that she would need. That is why many graduates apply for the 5 year course but obviously that is going to be very expensive. She will need to be very dedicated and she'll quite possibly need a job, making it more difficult to study. After the 3 year first degree and 5 year medicine degree there will still be junior doctor and then specialist training and she may not achieve the exam cores she'd need to get her choice of deanery and rotation.

Many who start out wishing to do something in hospital change their minds when they know more about the workload and how difficult that can make family life. Others are unable to get a specialty training place. There may still be shortages of A&E consultants, rehabilitation medicine or psychiatrists in 8 years but many young doctors who thought they wanted to be in hospital are gps. Meanwhile there are many non-medical posts in hospital., if she wants to work there. She's grown up hearing about medicine, she really needs to hear about other careers.

There are so many well qualified young people applying to medicine that everyone doing so should have a back-up plan if they aren't accepted. She's sensible to consider that now.

I'm sorry to sound negative but I went through these issues with my own teenager, although they are expected to achieve at least 3As and their AS exams showed they were on target.

The student room website is a good resource. If she gets AAB there are currently a few medical schools who accept resits - she can look here but check it with medical schools www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_Resit_Policies

[Madsometimes]

I'm on an access course for people mainly wanting to do biomedical science type careers. This year three people have been accepted to medicine as mature students.

But they all had brilliant work experience (they are about 25 years old) and all had UKCAT scores of 690 plus. What they didn't have was a string of A's at A'level and GCSE. So it is possible, but for alternative entry you have to offer extra in other ways.

Last year, no-one was accepted to medicine from my course although there were students with excellent UKCAT and work experience, so it's a bit of a long shot. Your dd is much too young to do this, but it is possible to get into medicine by an alternative route.

[BlackandGold]

Regarding GEM: funding is currently available for the 4yr GEM course BUT not if the graduate chooses to take a place on a 5yr course, as this is considered to be an equivalent level qualification.

GEM is extremely competitive, with most schools only taking about 24 graduates each year.