Medicine 2025 entry

[HGC2]

Inspired and slightly terrified reading the 2023 entry threads and how much prep has to go into a medicine application!

DC wants to do medicine, probably in Scotland as a Scottish student, doing well at school but this doesn't seem to be enough! School has little / no experience of applications for medicine as a not fantastic state school!

Can anyone advise what work experience / volunteering they will need (currently volunteering at sports club with hope of job)
what are the spreadsheets that people talk about?
How do you strategically apply?

I have one child at uni and they just applied and got a place, this seems like a whole other level!

@SoTiredNeedHoliday I'm going to be no help as I don't believe tutoring helps. 3 sections are down to timings, so practise doing them fast. And abstract is about understanding the patterns - there are a limited amount so you just need to see them fast. Lots of YouTube videos if don't like the book.

SJT cannot be coached. Go with the answer that puts patient safety first or supports the GMC code of conduct and you can't go far wrong. But instinct is key.

But I'm sure others will disagree and give you some companies. People make a lot of money offering UCAT prep.

We just went with you tube videos and practicing mocks. Dd did a mixture of medenry and medify (mainly because the subscription for one ran out, but it was useful to have both but sequentially not at the same time). If you are going to pay for anything then I would put it into interview practice. Not that we paid for that either, we called on friends and neighbours! I could see that being more worthwhile investing in.

DD didn't have any UCAT tutoring (I don't feel this would have help much as it's more about practice to get better and quicker, according to her, questions are not hard, it's the speed required). She
signed up to medify 6 weeks prior her exam date, with the intention of first 3 weeks to ease into it (taking it very easy). In the end, she feels 5 weeks in total is probably more than enough - get 3200 from preparing this way by herself.

Hope this help!

@Unicornbabe06 is this what your daughter signed up for and used?

@SoTiredNeedHoliday Yes, it is.
Best of luck with your daughter's UCAT this year 😃

Just registered for her Pearsons account for UCAT, is that it until the 18th June when you can book a test then? Well just that and the remaining higher exams!

I think that's right @HGC2. DD has a very specific timescale in mind so hoping the dates will be available to suit - I have no idea how much choice there is though?

How is everyone doing? It feels to me like the Y12s are definitely about to enter a more pressured phase of this long process. DD has a 1:1 with the medics lead at college today so spent the weekend researching different courses and admissions criteria. She/we are trying to finalize which open days to go to - balancing them with all the academic stuff, her and our jobs, and everything else is feeling tricky (we live miles from everything, so they pretty much all require an overnight stay).

DD is feeling the pressure in a way she hasn't really before. She's coping with it well, but it's something new for her. She still feels very drawn to medicine, but the more she hears and reads, the more alarmed she is at what she's potentially letting herself in for. There's definitely a part of me (and a bigger part of DH, who is non-clinical NHS) that is hoping she decides to do Biochemistry or Neuroscience or something else!

DD has a very specific timescale in mind so hoping the dates will be available to suit - I have no idea how much choice there is though?

She should find it reasonably flexible for dates as long as she's willing to consider different locations. Getting your preferred date at your preferred test centre certainly isn't guaranteed.

She still feels very drawn to medicine, but the more she hears and reads, the more alarmed she is at what she's potentially letting herself in for. There's definitely a part of me (and a bigger part of DH, who is non-clinical NHS) that is hoping she decides to do Biochemistry or Neuroscience or something else!

Different things motivate different people. I've been teaching medical students for over 20 years and often have in-depth conversations with 4th & 5th-year students. I can't understand at all why anyone would want to be a doctor, or rather I can't understand why anyone would want to be a junior doctor, which is an unavoidable and long stage in becoming a consultant. But most of these students are passionate about it: they are driven by the desire to make a big difference to the lives of individual patients. On the other hand, some of them are not really motivated by that at all and would be much better off having decided to follow a pathway into the science or business of medicines, diagnostics, healthcare devices, etc.

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne That is interesting. DD is definitely feeling anxious and daunted at the prospect of medical school and (especially) being a junior doctor. But has a real drive to do it nonetheless and feels it will suit her skills, interests and values in a way that nothing else seems to match up to. She is asking herself if she's drawn to it because it's high flying and difficult and for the kudos of getting into it, but she really doesn't think that's her draw. (I'm biased, but I think she would probably make an excellent doctor.)
I have a consultant friend who trains junior doctors who also feels that lots of people end up in medicine who would be far better suited to other things - it's surprising in some ways given how difficult it is to end up in it!

A lot of students (& parents) think becoming a doctor gives status and money. These days it gives neither. But if they know it also gives immense job satisfaction, variety, chance to use your brain every day, team working etc then they'll thrive.

It's hard to get into medical school, takes fats with to stay there, and being a doctor is hard work ! Know what the job is not what it looks like on tv,

I agree @mumsneedwine. As parents, DH and I both find It is really concerning reading all that is going on with junior doctors and the current state of the NHS. I frequently have chats about it all with my 3rd year DS, who is spending more time on placement etc. now - I tend to leave my younger one alone as she is more in the pure honeymoon period. The stand out thing for me is that despite all that is happening, he just loves studying Medicine and particularly being in hospital with patients and wouldn't want to be doing anything else instead. Who knows how he will feel later on and like many others he may end up jobless, getting out completely or going to Australia. However, for now I have to say that although I really enjoyed my (non-medical) studies, I never felt anything like the fulfilment that he is getting from what he is doing. It would just be great if they were treated a bit better once they get to F1 and beyond.

@opoponax my F1 DD is loving life ! No clue if she'll have a job next year but not worrying about that just yet,

Can I ask when graduating from Hullyork medical school , where you get your degree from? I mean as there is Hull univ and York univ . So is the degree from individual univ that you attend it? same Brighton and Sussex univ ?

Your degree certificate from BSMS or HYMS will have both universities' names/logos on, but the right to award a primary medical qualification is granted by the GMC to the medical school (i.e. BSMS or HYMS), not to the individual universities.

Thank you.

Hi All, just joining this group as my daughter is also hoping to apply for medical schools this year.
She’s been volunteering at a local hospital to get medical experience. Does anyone know if you have to provide proof of volunteering as part of the med school application? If so what does it have to include? Thanks

@Midnight001 no. No one asks for proof.

Thanks, that makes it easier!

@Midnight001 vets need proof of all their work experience but doctors don't even need any ! Lots of Unis now stating they like a part time job or long term volunteering, in or out of the care sector. It's about showing the GMC competencies.

But always good to know what you're getting yourself into !

Except Keele. They like wex (although I'm wondering if they might go off it after this year as they had so many applications- obvious choice if UCAT was lower)

I also think that if you were answering questions about your work experience at interview and you hadn’t actually done it, it would be obvious. It’s more about what you can demonstrate you have learnt about yourself, the profession and your suitability for the job that is important (plus working out if it is really for you as poster above said).

@SuperSue77 they don't care, they'll ask you what you've learned from your job in Waitrose . Resilience, team work, time management etc. You are not penalised for not having medicine wex - it's so much fairer as many students gave no access to it.

With regards to health/care-related work experience, 1 of my ds did loads (he basically spent every weekend of Yr 12 in care homes, hospitals etc). The other did virtually none (due to travelling, Covid and a full-time office job.) Neither were asked by the unis they applied to for proof of anything they'd done. Instead in every interview they were asked at least one generic question like 'what have you learned from work experience' or 'when have you seen an example of team work' that gave them the opportunity to talk about what they'd done.

DS2, with all the experience, said he couldn't have answered the interview questions without having done it all. DS1 was older and better at blagging and was able to draw endless examples of teamwork, care, reflection etc from a short stint volunteering as a carpark attendant at the Covid jab clinics.

What I'm saying is it's not what you've done but how you show you've reflected on what you've done that counts.

Main thing - don't be disheartened at being knocked back. Doctors keep it in the family, they gate-keep, they don't help. All kids in my sister's dc's school who did not have doctors as relatives, had trouble finding relevant 'experience' placement, whilst doctors' children had no trouble 'shadowing' or finding placements. One day I read an article by a Scottish doctor and went and found him in A&E of one Scottish hospital, asking to for my nephew to shadow him or help with a placement, because the article he wrote was all about how he made it to A&E consultant being from a poor background, etc. How he hissed at me when I said 'my nephew wants to be a doctor' - he literally hissed 'why not a nurse???? Why does not he want to be a nurse?' To say I was shocked, was nothing. Next, I begged a colleague who knows a consultant surgeon, to find a placement/shadowing (was a requirement pre-covid, as well as a personal statement). He kindly agreed to talk to my nephew. He spent about 20 minutes saying 'maybe you should take a gap year/maybe you should go and work elsewhere/maybe you should go and serve the army' as life experience is invaluable. Disgusting. Guess where his dc went, all of them? Naaah, not the army, not a gap year (to forget all advanced highers), you guessed right. They went straight to med school. MAIN THING - DON'T GET DISHEARTENED, you will have obstacles all the way, but just go for it. And those summer courses - 'we will teach you how to apply' - are a waste of time and money at £2K a pop. They don't deliver. Don't crumble at interviews - when they ask idiotic questions, such as 'name the most dangerous parasitic disease in Africa' - yes, they do ask this question at Dundee - don't try to guess and say 'I shall answer this question when I have been taught about parasitic infections at your uni' - my nephew answered like this and passed the interview and got accepted. Please please don't get disheartened, this is the main thing. Yes, and cram like mad for UKAT/BMAT - it is a lie when they say 'you can't prepare for it'. Yes, you can.