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Tag Archive for: medical schools

What makes medicine applications different (2)

In the second blog of this series we consider some of the course related factors that need to be considered by prospective medical students.

Course length and qualifications

The standard medical course (for school leavers) is usually five years long. There are over 30 UK institutions offering standard courses, which lead to a variety of primary medical qualifications – MBchB, MBBS, BMBS, MBBCh, MBBChir, BMBCh. While this variety can appear confusing, students can rest assured that these qualifications are all variations of ‘Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery’ and are all validated by the GMC (General Medical Council).

At some universities (Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Imperial) an extra 6th year of study leads to an intercalated or additional degree as a compulsory part of the course. This extra qualification is optional at many more medical schools, although it is worth noting that selection for the intercalation programme may be competitive and only open to the top ranking students in the year.

For students who have high academic achievement but who don’t hold the science subjects required for entry to a Standard course there is the option to apply to a six-year ‘Medicine with a Preliminary Year’ course. These are either Standard Entry courses with an additional year at the start, or sometimes the preliminary year is taken as a standalone one-year course. This is not an option for students who haven’t achieved the required grades to meet the entry requirements of Standard courses.

Cost

How much a medical course will cost you in tuition fees depends on whether you are classed as a Home/EU fee payer or an Overseas fee payer and on the institution you apply to. The difference in fees for Home and Overseas students is substantial (for more information read our ‘fee status’ blogs) and to further complicate matters there are different fee systems in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The universities will assess each student’s application for Home/EU fees on their own merits. Home/EU students are responsible for their tuition fees in the pre-clinical years but the NHS pays the tuition fees for years 5 and 6 in full.

Type of course

 Although all UK medical schools adhere to standards set by the GMC each course is different and each uses different teaching methods. It is therefore very important that applicants think carefully about the type of learning that would suit them best. Courses can generally be divided into:

  •  Traditional pre-clinical and clinical – as practised by Oxford and Cambridge. These courses start with 2 years of mainly lectures and tutorials covering science based modules. These are followed by three years of a clinical course which will include GP placements and hospital work in addition to subject based lectures. This course structure often appeals to students who wish to have a solid grounding in the science before much patient interaction.
  • Integrated – this method is now practised by the majority of medical schools and combines theory with patient contact from the very start of the course. In contrast to the traditional courses, scientific knowledge is taught by topic rather than discipline. Integrated courses can be further subdivided into those that specialise in Problem-based learning (PBL), Case-based learning (CBL) and Enquiry-based learning (EBL) all of which may appeal to the student who is a good independent learner and proactive in their approach to  study.
    • PBL is practised by Manchester, Glasgow, Queen Mary, Peninsula, Sheffield, Keele, Hull and York, Barts and East Anglia. Here the emphasis is on peer-to-peer teaching, small group learning and problem solving. Different medical schools use PBL to a greater or lesser extent, some teaching entirely by PBL with others using the method only occasionally.
    • CBL is offered by Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow. This is very similar to PBL and uses virtual ‘trigger’ cases to prompt learning of a particular area of the curriculum.
    • Enquiry-based learning (EBL) as practised by Birmingham.  Again this is similar to PBL but learning starts with the posing of questions, problems or scenarios.

    As well as differing in terms of teaching style, structure and patient contact, UK medical schools also differ in their methods of selection. Research is key in order for students to fit themselves to the school that best suits them and we will consider some of these differences in the next blog.

https://ukstudyoptions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Medical-applications-edit.jpg 534 800 Kate Raison https://ukstudyoptions.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ukso-r-logo.png Kate Raison2017-04-11 16:24:592019-08-13 12:51:31What makes medicine applications different (2)

What makes medicine applications different?

Students applying for places at medical schools in the UK need to be aware that a medicine application differs from most UCAS applications in a number of important areas: early deadlines, number of choices, entry tests, competitiveness, interviews, work experience, degrees awarded, funding and costs, course length, personal statement, type of course, intercalation etc.

This is the first in a series of blogs looking at these factors, how they impact on students and the preparation needed to make a competitive application.

Early deadlines

In contrast to most applications (which have a deadline for home students of 15 January), medicine applications have to be sent to UCAS by 15 October (along with Dentistry, Veterinary and Oxford and Cambridge applications). This means that medicine applicants must be ahead of the game, be organised and start writing the personal statement early.

Number of UCAS choices

Instead of the normal 5 course choices, medicine applicants are only allowed to apply to 4 medicine places on their UCAS form. The fifth choice can be for a backup course, usually in a related subject. Most students choose to add this insurance choice option – even if they later reject an offer made for this alternative course.

Entry tests

Nearly all medical degrees use an additional admissions test as part of their entry requirements. There are 2 tests for undergraduate medicine courses and applicants can sit either or both, depending on which medical schools they intend to apply to. This is in contrast to the majority of UCAS applications, which do not require additional entry tests.

UCAT – an online test used by 26 Medical Schools. Applicants must register and sit the UCAT before the UCAS application is made, giving details of the scores on the application. This means that students have a good idea of how well they have done in the test before applying and should use this knowledge to influence their choice of medical schools.

BMAT – a ‘paper and pencil’ test used by 5 Medical Schools. Applicants must register for the BMAT before they send off their UCAS application but the actual test is taken after this at the beginning of November. The score is then sent automatically to the relevant medical schools. In other words, students apply not knowing how well they have done and should consider carefully the number of medical schools requiring BMAT that they include in their application.

Competitiveness by numbers of applicants

The number of students applying to UK Medical Schools far exceeds the number of places, with more than 17 UK/EU students and more than 40 international students applying for each undergraduate place at some universities. In contrast to most UK courses (where the number of students that can be admitted to courses is determined by each university), the number of home/EU medical students is set by the UK Government. The number of international students is also regulated, with most UK Medical Schools being allowed to take only a small number (7.5% of the total). However, there have been recent developments of interest to international applicants in that:

The University of Central Lancashire, UCLAN’s MBBS programme only accepts international students.

The majority of places at Aston University’s Medical School are reserved for international fee paying students.

The University of Buckingham’s Medical School has no cap on international student places.

Competitiveness by grades

Entry to Medical School is also highly competitive in terms of grades. Students will need a minimum of 3 A-levels (or equivalent) at grades AAA minimum (with 8 standard entry medicine courses quoting at least 1 A* grade for 2017 entry).

This is different to most subject choices simply because it is not possible to ‘shop’ around for courses that offer a range of entry grades. Applicants will  need predicted grades that match or exceed the quoted entry requirements.

Competitiveness by subjects

Many university courses are flexible over the subjects that a student must have already studied whilst at school in order to be accepted onto the course. For medicine this is much more restrictive. The primary subjects that are required are Chemistry and Biology and many prospective medical students take a third or fourth A-level science, either Physics and/or Mathematics. Some Medical Schools have a preference for a contrasting subject e.g., a language, an art or a social science subject so it is therefore important to study the course requirements of each university you wish to apply to.

These are just a few of the basics of a medicine application.  Success will depend upon the effort a student is prepared to put into an application, the depth of research and the dedication demonstrated through work experience and volunteering.  For individual advice and guidance on your medicine application speak to a member of the UKSO team.

https://ukstudyoptions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/news-_0001_adult-business-meeting-business-people-1438072.jpg 600 800 Kate Raison https://ukstudyoptions.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ukso-r-logo.png Kate Raison2017-02-24 15:37:152019-08-22 11:14:47What makes medicine applications different?

UKSO Blog

  • UK University places are more competitive than ever07/07/2022 - 12:00 pm
  • The Cost of an Undergraduate Degree in the UK08/06/2022 - 10:41 am
  • UK University Fee Status Rules05/05/2022 - 2:32 pm

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