Medicine 2026 entry - part 1

[rockstuckhardplace]

Starting a new thread for parents of prospective medical students looking to start in 2026.

Feel free to ask any Newcastle related questions

Thanks @mumsneedwine ! It's just so discouraging - I wondered at some point whether they were trolling and trying to dissuade others from applying!!!

Only 20% of people studying law get to pursue it as a career, with huge competition to get traineeships or pupillages. Magic circle salaries are only achieved by a tiny minority and stories are legion of their trainees being told to bring a sleeping bag to the office or asked who told them they could go home at 10pm when they finished their task? Both accountancy and law require professional qualifications and CLD (every budget a new set of tax laws appear). Both have high pressures at higher salaries. You could also do both after a medical degree if you wanted…

Only if you're rich ! The difference is the pay, and no one dies if you make a mistake.

Employers usually pay for your accountancy exams. Lawyers don't have to do any more once a solicitor. Doctors pay for their own (£000s), have to do them to stay employed, have one possible employer until consultant.

Didn't have to wait long for the 'other professions are just as tough' comments 😂

Why have they relied so heavily on clearing these last two years? Has this impacted on how they are recruiting this year?

well, I met someone who was a magic circle partner, and then retrained (ie, took on a part-time Masters) in history. Long story short, he told me that he continued to be a lawyer 3 days a week and was a high school history teacher the other two days. One job paid for the mortgage and the job paid for his heart and soul. Not a bad combo!

What do you mean only if you are rich? The accountancy firms recruit from all degrees. And it is only a year to convert to law?

So rich ! Masters cost money (& time). Most doctors don't have that much spare time (& if do they are revising for the next set of professional exams).

@MiceandFrogs who pays for that year ?

And v few accountancy firms will employ a medicine graduate - I know several who have tried.

Anyway, being a doctor seems a good career if you really want it. Understand you'll never be wealthy, will be over worked and have to move every 6-12 months for 9 years. Oh and might be unemployed for a bit (unless things change).

Which is great if you are one of the 129 or so magic circle partners. The average pay for a partner in a law firm is £74k.

Just discovered this amazing thread!

Please can you advise if these choices look ok for DD?:

Stats:
3x9 and 7x8 at GCSE (incl. Eng, Maths, Phys, Chem, Biol)

A A A predicted at A level (Chem, Biol, Eng)

UCAT 2030 and SJT 1

RUK, non WP, no contextual, school leaver (18 years) Course A100

We live in London but DD doesn’t want to stay in London. Keen to be near the coast if poss (not Brighton and Plymouth too far).

Unis thinking of applying to: Cardiff, Liverpool, UEA, Leeds

Any thoughts? Do these look sensible with her stats?

Thanks so much

Student loans, law firm or inns scholarships, savings from taking a few years out working. Do you say the same of intercalated degrees in medicine courses? That they are only available to the rich?

@MiceandFrogs yes, I say exactly that. Preserve of the wealthy I'm afraid. Most poorer students already work just to pay the bills. Nothing spare to save

LPC is v expensive and isn't covered by student loans. SQE also v expensive.

More student loans. Though what surprises me is the breezy way GEM is suggested to anyone who didn’t get in first time.

Many are now masters, for this reason, so are. But my point is, you are not stuck doing medicine for life if after a degree it turns out not to be for you. And the grass is not always as green as it might seem over the fence, not least because you quite simply might not want to spend your days examining accounts or doing conveyancing instead of medicine.

@MiceandFrogs never by me. GEM is not only v expensive but has 45+ applicants per place. Better to take that gap year

Leeds is the most difficult to call. Looking at the UCAT doc up thread, they score predicted grades but not sure if As and A*s have same weight.
Hard to know how they weigh UCAT against academics but your daughter’s score is above last year’s cutoff.
Other choices look good to me!
Though @mumsneedwine is the true guru on this thread!

pressed submit!!! Eek!

I'm in the pub. Will respond in morning (I've learned not to try and be helpful after a little drinkie).

Us too, although DDs stats are nowhere near as impressive as most on here so slightly scared she'll just get an offer from her reserve (not submitted yet). After saying she never wants to do the UCAT ever again she's now talking about taking a gap year if she gets no offers this year. Which means her and DD2 will completely overlap at University so that'll be expensive.

@MyGreyBiscuit I too have seen that post and had the similar feeling about DD applying too. I have been subject to these comments for months now from various people as I work clinically as an AHP in the NHS.

However I must say I have had a balanced view from various Drs, older ones still positive because they had a much better time training and funding wise and now earn very well. Younger Drs are more realistic about their jobs, but despite their negative comments, always end with 'but I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else'. DD came on wex and visited my dept so I took her to two Consultants (both fairly young) and told her to listen to their opinions carefully. They were at opposite ends of the spectrum, one said DD should go to London and be a lawyer as she'd earn loads more, the other said they'd convince her to be a Dr by the end of her wex.

So I don't give my opinion. I am new to working in the NHS (qualified 5 yrs) so a lot of experience of work outside the NHS and I take everything with a pinch of salt. All jobs can be dreadfully stressful and badly/well paid. Being a Dr is a vocation and vulnerable to political decisions with one employer, making it a unique profession and incomparable to other roles I feel.

I just ask that DD takes a long term view, considers those opinions she's heard and read about and actually imagine herself on the wards as an FY1/2. DD still doesn't want to do anything else atm. She is young and yes naive but I will support her in whatever she wants to do.

I also think that if she gets to the end of a 5 year medical degree and finds she can't or doesn't want to be a Dr, that degree will open many doors to other related jobs so it won't be wasted. Many YP do at least 4 years at uni including masters degrees nowadays and yes the debt is horrific but it is the only way YP can gain professional careers in a lot of fields.

Gosh I have gone on! Anyway, as I am not a Dr this is just my humble opinion but I am just going to travel alongside DD in her journey and see where it leads her!

We are off to our final open day at Leeds today (in the hurricane winds and rain!) and I am a little sad as I have loved seeing all the unis. DDs application is already in though so this is just to complete her knowledge of those she's applied to. I have a secret soft spot for Leeds as I was offered a place there once (couldn't take it due to practical/placement reasons) but I loved it and am familiar with the city.

Any last visits for anyone else?