In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Sarah from Dundee University in Scotland. Dundee is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The university requires 5 highers at AAAAB (or A Level predictions of AAA) and the UCAT score will be used alongside your academics to rank people for interview. The lowest UCAT score accepted for Scottish students in 2018 was 2110, whereas the lowest UCAT score accepted for students from the rest of the UK in 2018 was 2220. Listen to this episode to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any questions for Sarah on her post on Instagram @howtobecomeadr!

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Mai from Aberdeen University in Scotland. Aberdeen is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The university requires 5 highers at AAAB (or A Level predictions of AAA) and the UCAT score will be used alongside your academics to rank people for interview. The lowest UCAT score accepted for Scottish students in 2019 was 2360, whereas the lowest UCAT score accepted for students from the rest of the UK in 2019 was 2340. Listen to this episode to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any questions for Mai on her post on Instagram @howtobecomeadr!

In this episode, Lucy and Ciara interview Caitlyn who has just completed her medicine foundation year at Edge Hill. Foundation Courses at medical schools are designed to prepare you for a medical degree and may be suitable if you didn't get high grades at A level (entry requirements are often BBB) or didn’t get into medical school the first time round. Listen to hear about Caitlyn's journey through clearing and into medicine with a foundation year, and to find out all about the course and Edge Hill which is taking in its first 1st year medical students in September 2020.

In this episode, Belle, a fourth year medical student, shares her experience taking a gap year before medical school. She discusses the benefits of gaining hands-on experience, the importance of personal growth, and the positive response from universities. Belle also talks about working as a healthcare assistant, emphasizing the lessons learned and the value of respect. Additionally, the episode offers advice for potential medical students, including the impact of COVID-19 and the benefits of being prepared for university.

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Rhea from the University of Buckingham. Buckingham is a private medical school in the UK, and so cannot be funded through Student Finance. However, private medical schools such as Buckingham often have lower entry requirements than other medical schools and may not require a UCAT/BMAT admissions test. At Buckingham, the minimum A Level requirements are only ABB, and no admissions test is needed. Uniquely, the course is an accelerated 4.5 year programme that begins halfway through the academic year in January. As a result, applications are accepted for the next year all the way up until September and so it is possible to apply following A Level results day. Listen to this episode to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any questions for Rhea on her post on Instagram @howtobecomeadr!

In this episode, Lucy and Ciara talk to Jenardan - a medical student at the University of Warwick who got into medicine on his 4th attempt! Listen to hear them discuss the routes Jenarden used to get into medicine, including gap years, transfer courses and postgraduate medicine, and the immense table of pros and cons that comes with each. Most of all, be inspired by Jenarden's resilience and motivation to his chosen career after not getting into medicine 3 tries in a row and the determination and commitment that secured his 4th and final spot at Warwick.

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Priya from Masaryk University, located in Brno (Czech Republic). Like many other medicine courses in Europe, Masaryk offers a 6 year medicine programme for international students that is taught in English. Students can apply to these international medicine courses off of UCAS (so it doesn't need to be one of your 4 medical school UCAS choices), and often with lower grades than required for UK medical schools. For example, Masaryk accepts students with a minimum A Levels of A (Chemistry), A (Biology), B (Physics or Mathematics) if they have passed their admissions test. Unlike the UCAT/BMAT, these are subject specific tests in biology, chemistry and maths or physics. Whilst European medical schools often have lower tuition fees than the UK, do remember that medicine courses abroad cannot be funded through student finance and so all fees must be self-funded. Most European medicine courses are recognised by the GMC but you must also complete an exam to be registered for practice in the UK. Listen to this episode to hear all about how students really find studying medicine abroad and get some top tips on how to apply! Comment any questions for Priya on her post on Instagram @howtobecomeadr!

Ciara and Lucy interview Bhavdeep from the University of Warwick, discussing the graduate medicine programme, benefits of diversity in the program, difference between biomedical science and medical science, anatomy teaching at Warwick, and the supportive atmosphere at the university.

Where there is a will, there is a way! In this introductory episode, Ciara and Lucy take you through the many different ways you can fulfil your dream of studying Medicine. We break down: UCAS Extra, Clearing and Adjustment, Foundation Courses, Transfer Courses, Postgraduate Courses and Studying Abroad. Over the next two weeks, we'll be speaking to students about their experiences of each route and their top tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to hit subscribe so that you don't miss any of our upcoming amazing episodes!

In this episode, learn all about adjustment for medicine (yes, this is different to clearing!). Ciara and Lucy talk to Raahul (Medical Student from St Georges) all about his experience of adjustment. It's always best to know all options available to you - so this short episode is definitely worth a listen! Follow us on Instagram @Howtobecomeadr for more!