Experiences seem very different, which may reflect the different contracts in different parts of the UK, and different approaches within deaneries. DD’s struggle is with working conditions. She does a lot of hours, lots of “longs”, and a lot of nights, so despite low pay per hour (and the senior medic carrying out her recent appraisal was completely unaware of the hourly rate) she is taking home a lot. She is in a very low cost area, and earns more than many young professionals, and because of the hours has fewer opportunities to spend. There is frustration about the Union focus on pay rates. In her area there are no PAs, a staff shortage at all levels from F1s through to consultants, and lots of locum shifts available. She rarely takes them as she is doing enough already, but others do and the pay per hour can be very good. A school friend has stayed in London, where costs are higher and where the gap in earnings between medics and their peers who went into the City/law is stark. However her friend has fewer contracted hours and no nights. The important thing is that though the first few months were challenging, DD has grown in confidence and seems very happy.
So a bit like medical schools, deaneries offer different experiences. Not better or worse, but different. DD would make the same choice again, as would her London based friend. Equally both have different strengths (her friend is a gifted mathematician, reflected in her choice of intercalation, and could well end up in quite an academic role) so will continue to make different career choices. Again not better or worse, but about fit. It is worth looking at medical schools and courses closely. So much now depends on UCAT that not everyone will have the luxury of choice, but others will. DD is dyslexic so ruled Oxbridge out; producing regular essays was not for her. At 17 she wanted to get away from London though her later intercalation suggests that the sciency culture at Imperial might have suited her more than Bristol. More unexpected was her decision, post Covid, to look for something very different and her F2 will be in a busy hospital serving a large rural catchment. Not better or worse. A London teaching hospital would mean exposure to national experts and tertiary referrals, but (right or wrong) staff and budget shortages mean that she and her F2 colleagues get lots of broader experience and responsibility.
Obviously the hope is that, assuming she performs well, taking a different route will not disadvantage her when it comes to applying for the next step.
Back to the original question. Another thing worth considering if your DC have a choice, and especially if money is tight, are placements. Bristol was good in having access to a number of hospitals, so in your final 3 years you could spend half in the City, half out. Placement accommodation was free and those with less money (including graduates with no access to the SLC) were able to negotiate more out placements, balancing those who for health or other reasons needed to stay in Bristol. My understanding is that this contrasted with, say, Peninsula who also used Taunton hospital but whose students stayed there for a year and had to find their own accommodation. Bristol also had a great variety of GP placements from one serving the homeless population to the seriously rural. DD could get to her first year’s placement by public transport but it meant leaving her flat each Thursday at 6.00am. (Wednesday nights were sports nights out, so not ideal.) We folded and bought DD a small car. The University paid her to give lifts to others which covered running costs, but it was an upfront expense she would not have had in some other places.