Not trying to brag but give a little hope to those who didn't make it this year.
Firstly my background: 24 year old with 3A's at A-Level (Math/Phys/Chem), an engineering BEng (2:2) and an MSc. Then did 1 term of a PhD but left after I decided to try for medicine. Didn't get in in 2004 but have a few offers this year (even if my GEP one is a waiting list/deferred entry one).
My tips after 20 months of trying to get into med school:
1) Balance a few GEP courses with 5 year undergrad ones. The competition for GEP courses is immense and as a graduate you can still have alot to offer an undergrad course. Plus with a decent degree its easier competing with 18 year olds than 20-30 somethings with PhD's and years of hospital/care experience. Last year I applied to mostly GEP's and was unsuccessful but got into all 3 undergrad courses this year.
Financially it will be tougher and I have no advice to offer on that front, but in terms of time, the one year extra in the long run is negligible. At the end of your medical career, the difference between practising for 30 or 31 years becomes meaningless. Plus doing the same amount of material in 5 years rather than 4 is MUCH less stressful and considerably easier. Many of the undergrad courses and unis themselves are becoming more graduate friendly.
2) Make the right uni choices. Write to all of the medical schools you are interested in. It is in their interests to have applicants; and all of the medical schools I wrote to wrote back to me.
Give them details on your background and they will give you an indication of whether they will look favourably or not at your application. This way you don't have to waste any of your choices on a uni thats going to reject you from the start. Last year I just wanted to get into SGHMS GEP and just filled the other 3 spots with out doing the proper research, and got 2 rejections immediately. (eg. SGHMS 5 year course requires a 2:1 and there was no way I could get into that course last year or this year hence I didn't apply there this time).
3) Maximise your chances with course choices. I applied to both Nottingham and SGHMS GEP last year, which has a shared interview process. If you don't do well enough in the GAMSAT (by far one of the toughest exams I've ever done!) thats both unis gone. And even if you score past the cutoff there's only 1 interview thats shared between them both. If you don't do so well at the interview BOTH uni's see that and you don't get a second chance. Most people that apply to both either get into both or get rejected by both. A small no. usually get an offer from Notts but not SGHMS but they are the exception rather than the rule. And if you think about it you only need 1 offer in the end! I would say this applies to other unis that share extra exam results such as MSAT. Maximise your chances by hedging your bets and not putting all your eggs in one basket.
4) Experience. Experience. Experience. This is THE most important quality. At the Nottingham interview I had last year I nearly zero experience. I had volunteered at my local SJA for 4 months and only had the CPR training and hadn't even been out on a real duty. Coming out of the interview I THOUGHT I had done really well but looking back it was probably all bullshit and they can see right through it.
Since then I have worked as a healthcare support worker on a surgical ward for 6 months, worked as a technician on an eye ward for 6 months, kept up my SJA work (16 months now), did an entire weeks' shadowing with an orthopaedic consultant, shadowed PRHO's on my days off at the HCSW job.
As a mature/graduate the commitment you show with your experience is vital, especially at SGHMS GEP. They grade you in both work experience as well as interview performance, and with such high competition you need to do well at both to get in. Not only that, your answers will become MUCH better naturally with the things you pick up from your experience.
A good tip is to not only reel off cliche answers to Q's such as what makes a good doctor, but then give examples based on your experience. If you say something like communication, give examples of good communication you encountered.
Of course not everyone is in a position to quit their studies or job and work full time in a hospital, but I'm absolutely sure that it was my experience that got me in this time.
4) Come to this forum! This is a goldmine full of excellent information, especially those that frequent the forums such as the super mods, they really are here to help. Plus all the moral support and community spirit is brilliant here.
5) Relax! It may sound counter-productive but relaxing and taking this medical school application slowly is just as important. Everyone that got in this year after not getting in last year seems to say they were more relaxed about everything this year, myself included. I set myself a 2 year target and to get in, and worked really hard at my shitty jobs after last year's heartache to get in this time. This time last year just before and after the rejection I was really stressed and felt it was the end of my world. This year I've take a more relaxed attitude and have on occasion been less bothered about getting into med school that I was. Remember there is more to life than just getting into med school and becoming a doctor! If you haven't already realised its not all that great, there are loads of shitty aspects to the job.
Stay away from this forum! Getting too obsessed with medical school IS bad for your health. Last year I was on the forum all the time and I think it contributed to my stress. Since October I've only been on the forum a handful of times up until this week when SGHMS results came out... Plus it hurts like hell to see others get in and celebrate when you get a big fat juicy 'Unsuccessful' on the tracker.
6) Don't give up! There are loads of us who are examples of not getting in on the first time but make it second time round! If you are really committed to studying medicine you should always keep trying. There will always be more difficult circumstances which try your committment to being a doctor, and there really is no need for people in medicine who give up so easily. Nothing that is worth having comes easily.
Sorry for my rambling, just my 2c.
