Widening access Glasgow uni

[summertimeinglasgow]

Has anyone's child taken part in the widening access course at Glasgow university?

My DD qualifies and would like to do medicine. Although I don't want to dampen her aspirations I think she has no idea of the work involved.
She is bright but not terribly hard working and school don't push at all.

If so, what does it involve? Is the workload heavy- I understand it involves a detailed research project like a dissertation.

She's doing 5 highers which will be a massive jump for her. Obviously it would be amazing to get a reduced offer and insight into the uni course but I don't want it to jeopardise the other highers if it needs a lot of time,

What is involved in the application? She emailed the teacher involved at her school who just said to we can talk about it the autumn.
Can I rely on the school to sort out putting her forward?

Any previous experience would be great!

I don't have any experience but I guess the questions that needs to be asked of/about your DD is whether she is bright enough, dedicated and hard working enough to complete what is likely to be a fairly intensive course? Does she want to be a doctor or move into a different area of medicine? Is she science orientated?

Is the step up to 5 highers a jump because of the school/environment or just because she might struggle academically or due to work ethic?

Medecine is very competitive and generally takes on the most able pupils and (I think) also requires to have sat a seperate exam, that's not to say that it needs to be the most academic to be good doctors.

What is it about medicine that appeals to her and how motivated do you think she actually is?

I certainly wouldn't be putting of anyone but I would be making sure that I wasn't setting them up for failure in the long term so exploring some of the above might help. I'd imagine that this is what the support teacher at school will be doing too.

Seems quite a lot of information here but hopefully the school might have anything else you need and more experience of what the programme entails:

www.gla.ac.uk/schools/medicine/mus/admissions/glasgowaccessprogrammegap/gapadmissionsinformation/#academicrequirements

Even if medicine isn't the right option for her, the widening access scheme will probably open her eyes to the variety of medical careers available.
Applying for medicine is tough and requires a lot more than good grades. The scheme will help her to better understand what is required and how to achieve it.
If the option is available to her she should take it. Coming from a similar background, I wish I had known the breadth of what is available at universities. I was really pretty clueless looking back

My DC took part in the GU widening access scheme. My middle one did look at. medicine but realised it wasn't for him. He is definitely not hard working enough. It was some years ago but I remember initial talks, help sort working experience, help preparing for UCAT, mentoring and experience days. He switched to another scheme and got a reduced offer for science (didn't end up needing it but handy to have).

Asked DS2 about the research project/essay and he said it wasn't as much work as they made out (however he's one of those people who can throw together a decent essay in a night). Definitely didn't impinge on his other school stuff. I think they had Widening Access sessions instead of PHSE which he was glad to miss.

I've got experience teaching in that team. There are several different programmes available under the widening participation umbrella. They all have their pros/strengths. It's a good experience of what higher education is like without being so overwhelming that it's offputting. Tutors are also available to answer questions and provide support. Pre-covid, visiting the campus was a great opportunity too.
The certificate lasts 2 years so it's still of benefit if she decides that uni isn't for her this year. I love teaching and learn so much from the students so may have a slight bias but I really would recommend it.

Thank you everyone for all the advice.
I don't want to not go for the widening access course as I think will be beneficial either way. Maybe it will encourage her or make her realise how tough it's going to be.
She's quite immature so I think will be a good learning experience. I was worried it would take way too much time and she would sacrifice her other studies to complete assignments.