US College Student Wants to Study Medicine in UK

**Palooza007** · 21-06-2012, 01:56 PM

Hello. I am currently in my third year at a prestigious university in the US and I am studying Biology. I am thinking of studying medicine in the UK since I am going to move there after I graduate from college (college and university is the same thing in the US). Now my question are:

1. How should a US applicant prepare to apply to medical school in the UK?
2. What should the gpa be?
3. I know that the medical schools expect US applicant to take AP exams but my high school did not offer the courses. However, I have taken upper level biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and calculus. I am also working on a Biology degree and will have taken anatomy and physiology, molecular cell biology, etc. Will these courses be enough to apply to medical schools?
4. I am planning on taking the UKCAT and want to know what a good score is?
5. I am going to do research and volunteer at hospitals. Does that make my application look better?

Thank you so much

**Martigan** · 21-06-2012, 04:53 PM

This may help

Study Medicine in the UK - International Graduate Medicine MBBS : INTO UK

**Catchetat** · 03-07-2012, 11:14 PM

5. yes. but quality > quantitiy.

4. depends how much weighting some unis place on ukcat. some e.g. keele uni doesn't. I got about 600 for that. I guess a good score would be something >650.

3. I think the courses that you take are more than enough. But it is best to ask the individual medical schools as they have varying entry requirements including GPA.

**Anum abbas** · 08-07-2012, 09:59 PM

good luck ! for ur future!!!!!!!!!!!

**Dr_Scully** · 16-08-2012, 06:10 PM

Right! Finally a post I can shed some proper light on

1. - Get good grades: Whatever you do just try to get over a 3.5!! 3.5-3.6 has been the standard considered equivalent to a 2:1 by most schools. Exceptions I have encountered include : Queen Mary (3.6), Cambridge (3.7). There are others that take lower GPA's but ask me about those if/when you get to that stage because it depends on weighting, school and all kinds of other factors and is pretty much a game-changer. In short...just don't get lower than a 3.5 and anything above that opens more doors and is a big bonus. I have a 3.4.....dont ask.

2. - Take the relevant exams: UKCAT, BMAT & GAMSAT. Same as the MCAT...the higher the better, but you can only take them ONCE, so prepare as much as possible. They are more down to brain power than knowledge (unlike the MCAT), so you'll find that either easier or harder. GAMSAT is the closest to MCAT, the rest are basically IQ/test-taking-ability tests.
Good scores: UKCAT: minimum is uuuusually 650...but people that get offers achieve 670+ in my experience. Anything above 700 puts you in a good spot but for the top schools 720+ is recommended. BMAT: Not sure but something like 6 / section minimum - this exam is for big schools. GAMSAT: Aim for above 61.

3. - Work experience: Quality over quantity: Others can correct me if I'm wrong about this, but in the US there is more focus on doing AS MUCH AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE AT ONCE with regard to extra-curricular/work experience, whereas here they are going really see if you give a crap about what was going on around you. There is more of a focus on humanitarianism than ability to handle brute-force amounts of work (although there's always that in medicine...!). Less focus on leadership, more focus on teamwork. Make sure you know a lot about the BRITISH system of medicine (NHS), although they'll check to see how well you know the US one too I'm sure.

4. - Don't worry about the lack of AP, if your school didn't have it then that's that. Just make sure your high-school GPA matches the requirements upon entry and you may as well ask them about AP while you're there because you never know I guess....

5. - Yes your courses will be more than enough.

Important: England is very firm on requirements - not meeting them means an AUTOMATIC rejection so apply to the right schools!!

**Robespierre** · 20-08-2012, 04:42 AM

Dr_Scully really hit the nail on the head. The one thing I would add is that I recommend you contact schools you are interested in and tell them the coursework you think is equivalent to the AP / A-level pre-requisites. Then you can respond to any of their concerns, explain your reasoning, etc. When I was applying, there was certainly some confusion about whether my coursework was equivalent to the AP coursework, even though my coursework was years beyond the AP level material.