Medicine: what’s better, Oxford or Cambridge?

[AsPerMyLastEmail]

DS wants to study medicine. For certain reasons beyond academics & reputation, he and I think Oxford or Cambridge may be a good fit for him. He’s Year 11 now so will be doing proper research nearer the time. Out of idle curiosity, I’d appreciate thoughts on which of the two is better for medicine. With the obvious caveat that ‘better’ is partly subjective.

Honestly your first year you are a glorified secretary in the day and running around like a headless chicken with lots of responsibility at night.

Nobody cares where you went to uni. End of.

To be a good doctor you don’t have to be particularly good at science in your day to day job. All courses are rigorous. But knowing about embryonic stem cells from your dissertation won’t help you when someone has chest pain the middle of the night.

As I said before. The most important thing is to go somewhere you enjoy!

Can you point me to a post where anyone mentioned or inferred prestige Medstudent12?

Also back in the day I got all 4 offers first time round. I didn’t have the best grades, I wasn’t exceptional in any way. I applied strategically and it worked. I think someone else has mentioned this. No point applying somewhere that want X A*s at GCSE to qualify for interview and you have X-1 so you’ve thrown away an application.

I also have two friends who did med at oxbridge and it was their only offer.

Furthermore I work with countless people who’ve done other degrees or jobs first, no one cares about age and if you’re determined you’ll get in eventually!

@Medstudent12 You really need to read my posts. DS doesn’t want to go to Oxbridge for prestige. He knows that no one will care where he went after he’s qualified. He wants to go there because their specific setup is something he thinks he will really enjoy.

@medstudent12- interesting that having a potential rural placement in Wales put you off Cardiff. That was one of the things my DD liked - the variety of places, and you are only likely to have one in rural Wales.

@AsPerMyLastEmail and that's the right reason for choosing to apply. The course structure is important as they differ so much. Choosing one he likes is vital. ARU also do a traditional course.
Placement hospitals are good to look at. Distance and who pays for travel and accommodation.
And DDs older friends say the best experience is at the smaller hospitals. Large ones have too many students. Go to the county town one and you may be the only one with doctors wanting to teach you. And so you get to do lots more procedures.

To be clear, when I say Oxbridge’s specific setup is something DS thinks he will really enjoy, I mean the universities & towns themselves as well as (in fact possibly more than) the course structure. There s an environment and experience that O & C offer that is unique to them. DS wants in on that. He also wants to read medicine. He is absolutely fine with the course structure for medicine that they offer. He is also fine with the fact that other unis offer a different course structure. Ultimately he wants to be a doctor so is going to prioritise achieving that over going to Oxbridge, but if he can’t achieve both then fantastic.

Sure goodbyestranger, and many do, I know a lot 😂 and I think it is likely to become more appealing.

Medstudent12 if you have 12 A*/ 10 9s at GCSE and are top of your class and think you'll enjoy science for three years and a good uni environment for six, and beyond that have a genuine interest and aptitude for being a doctor, you really don't need to be that strategic. The time when you do need to worry about strategy is if you're wobbly in one area or another. Really strong applicants will be fine.

Typo, I mean if he can achieve both then fantastic.

@goodbyestranger I'm afraid they won't. Not unless they do well on BMAT or UCAT. Only place those stats will help you is Cardiff. Bad BMAT, no interview at Oxbridge whatever your grades.

Ok I'll throw in a good BMAT. Sorry, I thought that was implied. Kids with 12 A* and good at science tend to do well at the BMAT. It's unusual if they don't. [Sigh emoticon].

And indeed the UCAt, before you come snapping at my heels :)

As other posters have said, no-one cares where you studied medicine. Except if you are a bit crap/thick and you went to Oxford/Cambridge and then the whole team can get together and roll their eyes and say 'but he's a Cambridge student' - sorry, but my team totes did this.

Everyone thinks their med school was the best unless you had a horrific experience with bullying

Probably the most important factor to think about is that you are very likely to end up working around where you trained. Also do you want to live there for 5+ years?

With the greatest respect half do not go to London! Some do, usually if they don't get a place at Oxford but occasionally by choice. When I say some, it's nothing like half - it's a handful. The overwhelming majority stay in Oxford for the clinical years

With the greatest respect, approx half my year at Oxford left for London and Cambridge, a few came the other way. It's currently 30%, and the last year before Cambridge changed, 40% of their students transferred for the clinical years.

(Sigh) all those poor kids who don't get to go to Oxbridge. Their lives must be blighted forever.
@AsPerMyLastEmail good luck. I prefer Cambridge as a city but having spent lots of time at both I would suggest a visit. Cambridge interview more applicants.

Those numbers are just wrong. Oxford doesn't chuck out 30 - 40% of their Pre-Clinical students. That would be a massive failure on Oxford's part, were it correct.

Obviously a few don't make the grade but not 30%, let alone 40%.

I also prefer Cambridge but I think that's because I'm getting old.

They didn’t chuck them out but historically their clinical schools were smaller than pre clinical & lots also chose to go elsewhere for clinical often preferring the idea of a big city after 3 years in a small town ( I went to a northern medical school and we had 7 join us from Oxbridge for clinical) This was some years ago of course!

Nowadays with higher student fees they have expanded and want to keep them all!

Overcovid in recent cohorts almost everyone applied to stay on. A handful were told no, and some (fewer) wanted to go to London or sometimes Cambridge.

Students don't pay fees in the later years Overcovid.

Those numbers are just wrong. Oxford doesn't chuck out 30 - 40% of their Pre-Clinical students. That would be a massive failure on Oxford's part, were it correct. Obviously a few don't make the grade but not 30%, let alone 40%.

Who said anything about chucking people out or not "making the grade"? Nowadays, I believe you are guaranteed a place if you choose Oxford as your first choice for clinical placement but that is a recent development.

If anyone is showing snobbery and bias towards medical schools, it is you. You don't seem to be able to accept that many Oxford students might choose to undertake clinical placements at the hospitals that are the top 2 most competitive deaneries rather than the one that is ranked fifth... How is that "not making the grade"? There are pros and cons for either choice.

Anyway, that is not relevant to the OP's son as that option will not be available to him. However, the days of Oxford clinical placements largely being based at the JR are over and that is relevant to him as the OP has said that would appeal to her DS.

@goodbyestranger

Students don't pay fees in the later years Overcovid.

No the NHS does...