• Question: how easy was it to get into medical school?

    Asked by 779genk45 to Adrian, Ali, Charnelle, Deborah, Kit, Phil, Rob on 16 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Deborah Draycott

      Deborah Draycott answered on 16 Nov 2017:

      I didn’t apply for medical school so can’t help with that one, it was quite tough getting in to Uni for my Nurse training and I didn’t get me first choice, but actually think I got a better degree with the one I ended up doing anyway. I think you just need to give it your best shot and often things have a way of working out for the best. Good Luck.

    • Photo: Kit T

      Kit T answered on 16 Nov 2017:

      It is competitive and unfortunately not everyone who deserves a place gets one first time round, but that shouldn’t put you off trying again if it’s what you want – there are other routes into medicine like graduate entry. You do have to put work into it with work experience, UKCAT/BMAT, personal statement and interviews which can seem like a lot of pressure at the time. The most important thing is to be yourself, be enthusiastic and be genuine (they can tell if you’re only applying because your parents are top surgeons and think you should be too!)

    • Photo: Philip Williams

      Philip Williams answered on 17 Nov 2017:

      It was very stressful. I think I had quite a bit on my personal statement and practising interview questions certainly helped. If you turn up for an interview and they ask “why do you want to study medicine?” and you don’t know, they probably won’t be that impressed! Ask your parents and teachers what questions they think you might be asked in interview. Some medical schools are now moving away from formal interviews to having multiple stations which have set activities at each station. Look at each university website to see their own application process.

    • Photo: Robert Cullum

      Robert Cullum answered on 17 Nov 2017:

      It can be challenging to get in – there are usually up to 20 people applying for every place! But by the time you then assume everyone is applying to four then that means there are still about 1-4/5 places. That said 1 of those people probably doesn’t meet the entrance requirements and another 1 probably doesn’t really want to do it like Kit said. So it’s then not as bad as it sounds! If it’s something you really want to do my advice is to throw yourself into it and try – it’s better to try and fail than to fail to try at all!

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