Degree or Access to medicine???

[elz]

ive been having the same dilehma, im doing a degree in psychology with the OU and didnt know whether to drop it and do the access course or go for grad entry. iv looked into it all and i think i'll stand more of a chance getting in if i can get onto the access course because grad entry seems extremley competitive especially with the MSATS ans GAMSATs etc. saying that it seems extremley competititive to get onto the access course too. so iv decided im gonna apply and try get on the access course, if i dont i will have to finish my degree and go grad entry. no harm in applying. as for the lost year on my cv, iv been working at a hosp as well, plus with the OU i will finish my degree at some other point in life and im sure itl still b useful for my career in medicine.

[KirstyC]

Im starting to get confused, i was gonna stay on my degree and hopefully get onto GEM, but now you have said that there will be more chance with an access i dont know what to do!!

HELP?

[elz]

m8, i know people will probably disagree with me. i looked into grad entry and i thought it seemed hard with all the entry exams etc, and i looked into how many people brighton med school took last year from the people on the access course, and it was quite a high percentage. its just what i think, thats all. look into it all, get all the facts and then decide. i expect they would ask us why we had dropped the degree, so u would hav to hav a good answer ready. good luck with deciding, i kno how tough it is!

[Dan1979]

I suspect what elz is trying to say is that entry to 4-year GEP courses is more competitive than entry to the regular 5-year course, the latter being what you would apply to after an Access course. The reality is that both are very popular, and you still have the option of applying to some (marginally) less competitive 5 year courses as a graduate.

I would say the graduate route makes more sense for reasons we discussed before.

[Mr_faisal]

well i dont think it really maters what you decide to do as i dont think doign a degree will give you extra benefits or "jump the queue" for the access course but on the other had it would be something which could back you up so a bit of a contradiction, but either way i dont think it will make a large impact on the final decision

[mnns3aa1]

If I were you I would definitly complete my degree first and try to get a 2.1, if you are enjoying it , itis not gonna be really hard. When you finish your psychology degree, you will have a chance to do medicine or,if you couldnt you still can have a career in psychology. many med schools dont accept student who drop out thier course cos that shows uncertinaty in thier choices.

[elz]

the med school i spoke to about it recommended doing the access course instead of finishin my degree to get me in quicker. but it wouldnt save any time but then im desperate to get started. yea i dont think it makes a big difference either way, if ur enjoying ur degree then finish that

[Becky1985]

I'm in an almost identical situation. I'm a 2nd year Psychology student with no science A levels (I got an A and 2 B's at A-level, plus a C in gen studies, plus 2 B's at AS level). I really want to transfer to medicine but don't know the best way to go about it. I enjoy my degree, but I have another 2+a half years plus the minimum of 6 years I would take to complete a medicine degree so am wondering whether it's best to continue with my Psychology degree, or try to transfer now? I'm also considering trying to take biology+chemistry AS levels over the next 2 years, or possibly just a full biology A-level studied part time over 2 years but also don't want to mess up my current degree! ARGHHHH. Really don't know what to do!

Also, how do you go about getting hospital work experience?

[Dan1979]

I doubt a direct transfer from psychology to medicine would be possible with non-science A-levels; additionally, the minimum grade boundaries have moved to AAB for (I believe) all the schools. Dropping out of a degree, whilst not necessarily terminal to an application, would certainly reduce your chances considerably.

I think the same advice as before is applicable to your situation - concentrate on getting a good degree grade and apply in a stronger position as a graduate. A 2:1 or better is vital with rising levels of competition. Look into Access, foundation or A-level courses afterwards.

It's a long haul, but you've still got plenty of time. Good luck!