When Should I Start Preparing to Apply to Medical School?

The journey to medical school may seem like a daunting process. However, this article will give you some useful knowledge to aid you through the process. The key thing to remember when applying to medical school is to start early! It is advised to start preparing to apply a year in advance to submitting you application, that means the start of Year 12.

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)

The UCAT is the admissions test used by most UK medical schools. The areas that are tested on the exam include verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning and situational judgement. It is advised to book a slot early for the test:

14th May 2024 (09:30 BST) – UCAT account creation opens. Bursary and access arrangement applications open

18th June 2024 (06:00 BST) – Booking opens

8th July 2024 – Testing starts

15th September 2024 (23:59 BST) – Access arrangement application deadline

19th September 2024 (12 noon BST) – Booking deadline. UCAS account creation closes

26th September 2024– Last test day

27th September 2024 (16:00 BST) – Bursary scheme application deadline

Early November 2024 – Results delivered to universities

Future Doc has a great bank of resources for you to use to prepare for the UCAT! In addition, we can provide 1 ON 1 mentoring for UCAT prep.

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

UCAS is the platform used in the UK to allow students to apply to universities. UCAS allows you to submit your details, personal statement and your medical school choices. You can choose 4 medical schools and 1 safety choice. Here is the timeline for 2025 entry application to medical school:

30th April 2024: UCAS’ search tool displays 2025 courses

14th May 2024: Undergraduate applications open for 2025 entry

3rd September 2024: Completed undergraduate applications can be submitted to UCAS

15th October 2024: (18:00 UK time) Deadline for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and for most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine/science

Work Experience

Many medical schools require you to have completed work experience in healthcare. This can include volunteering or working in a paid role, such as:

• Placement in a hospital or care home
• Getting in touch with doctors you know or at your GP and do your work experience with them
• Working as a health care assistant

Personal Statements

Summer is a great time to start writing your personal statement! You can start by jotting down some of the skills that you’ve gained from your work experience and reflecting on those skills. In the personal statement, medical schools want to know about you and how the skills you have gained will help you to be a good medical student. In addition to your work experience, you can include some of your personal interests, medical books you’ve read, research you’ve done, achievements, hobbies, academic prizes and sports. The most important thing that they would like to see is how you have reflected on those experiences.

Interviews

Once you have applied to medical school, it is important to start preparing for interviews even before you start getting offers. Interviews usually take place between November and April. Sometimes, medical schools can give you a short notice from the time you get an offer to the time you get an interview. You can start preparing for interviews by doing interview practice with family, friends and medical students you know. Check out one of our previous blogs to learn how to master your interviews!

Grade and Subject Requirements

Ensure to do some research on the grade requirements and subjects needed for medical schools in the UK. All medical schools expect:

• Good grades in GCSE maths, english and science
• A-level chemistry (some require A-level biology as well)

People who don’t have science A-levels can apply for medicine with a foundation course. You can check individual university websites for requirements. Look out for contextual offers too which offer slightly lower grade requirements!

Written by Naa-Dromoh Quarshie