19/09/2010, 05:06 PM
Hey guys,
So I want to study Medicine but there seem to be about a thousand factors affecting it. Firstly, I was taken out of school for 2 years so my GCSEs aren’t quite Med school standard (A, B and C's) which in turn means I haven’t been able to get on to A level science courses and instead I'm doing a BTEC National Diploma in Applied Science which, alongside a decent GAMSAT and UKCAT test results, would be enough to get me in to a 6 year medical degree (and some 5 years too).
However, I've missed the exams for this year so to enter the GAMSAT test (and thus make my GCSE results less relevant) I would have to take a year out and could perhaps build up a strong portfolio of work experience, etc.
Then on the other hand, I've been working for the British Red Cross doing First Aid and have recently trained to join the BRC Ambulance Crew which means I'm spending a lot of time in a medical environment caring for a wide range of people. However, over the next year I'm going to be doing work for them which would make my entry in to university even stronger (GCSE grades aside) - teaching, ambulance crew work and could maybe make a strong case for medicine with my college grades and work experience with the BRC.
However (again) if I took a year out I could travel around the world working for the BRC and (being honest) really mature and grow up a little bit. I'm also about to start volunteering for a hospital doing 4 hours a week which, this time next year, would be great for my application. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have this experience by the time I write my personal statement.
So: - The way I see it I have 3 choices:
1) Apply for Medicine this year and hope what I've done speaks volume.
2) Apply for Medicine next year, sit the GAMSAT test, get even more experience, etc.
3) Apply to do a Paramedic Practioner degree and in a few years time apply for the Graduate entry to Medicine (the only problem with this is I'm 22 in October and ideally, I would like to settle down sooner!)
Thanks for reading this far! Any advice or opinions would be great!
Benjamin
So I want to study Medicine but there seem to be about a thousand factors affecting it. Firstly, I was taken out of school for 2 years so my GCSEs aren’t quite Med school standard (A, B and C's) which in turn means I haven’t been able to get on to A level science courses and instead I'm doing a BTEC National Diploma in Applied Science which, alongside a decent GAMSAT and UKCAT test results, would be enough to get me in to a 6 year medical degree (and some 5 years too).
However, I've missed the exams for this year so to enter the GAMSAT test (and thus make my GCSE results less relevant) I would have to take a year out and could perhaps build up a strong portfolio of work experience, etc.
Then on the other hand, I've been working for the British Red Cross doing First Aid and have recently trained to join the BRC Ambulance Crew which means I'm spending a lot of time in a medical environment caring for a wide range of people. However, over the next year I'm going to be doing work for them which would make my entry in to university even stronger (GCSE grades aside) - teaching, ambulance crew work and could maybe make a strong case for medicine with my college grades and work experience with the BRC.
However (again) if I took a year out I could travel around the world working for the BRC and (being honest) really mature and grow up a little bit. I'm also about to start volunteering for a hospital doing 4 hours a week which, this time next year, would be great for my application. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have this experience by the time I write my personal statement.
So: - The way I see it I have 3 choices:
1) Apply for Medicine this year and hope what I've done speaks volume.
2) Apply for Medicine next year, sit the GAMSAT test, get even more experience, etc.
3) Apply to do a Paramedic Practioner degree and in a few years time apply for the Graduate entry to Medicine (the only problem with this is I'm 22 in October and ideally, I would like to settle down sooner!)
Thanks for reading this far! Any advice or opinions would be great!
Benjamin