Access to Medicine at West Anglia

**sjk** · 05-01-2009, 05:37 AM

Hi everybody, just stumbled across this truly inspiring website through Google. Firstly, it's great to see so many other people in the same position as myself and it certainly makes the whole idea of applying for Medicine a little less daunting!

The reason I am writing is purely to gain a little feedback on the Access to Medicine at the College of West Anglia that I saw mentioned in another thread.

I am going to be 24 in March and have wanted to study Medicine for a long time, but having got only limited Academic qualifications (C's in all important GCSEs) I have often found the task of climbing the mountain rather confusing! I came across the AtM course at West Anglia, and just wondered what people's views were on it?

The year's course costs £299 (which I considered as cheap) and the entry requirements look slightly minor. I suspect there will be a considerable amount of competition for places, however, it does look somewhat desirable. What does everyone else think? Is there a catch?

Cheers chaps!

Simon

**Zedd** · 05-01-2009, 06:11 AM

The catch is you will have to work your butt off.

**giella** · 05-01-2009, 06:33 AM

If your grades are Cs, you might want to consider retaking the important ones like Maths and English.
You need experience obviously otherwise you won't be considered.
The catch, like Zedd said, is dependent entirely on you. Many people drop out after only a few weeks because they can't handle the workload.
I have a place for next year, which I deferred in order to get more experience in healthcare. There's no harm in giving yourself the time to become an attractive candidate.
By all means apply and see if COWA think you're good enough to give you a place. They only give places to people who they think will boost their success rate, of which they're jealously proud.
It isn't a passport to medicine, merely a pathway. There are others remember, which might be more appropriate to your circumstances.
I know what you mean about the site being inspiring. I took one look at that site and I never looked back. It made me think it was possible for someone in my position to get into medicine, without having to slog through 2 hard years of A level/GCSEs again. But I knew that if I was going to do the course, I wanted to already be confident of getting a place in medical school, which is why I deferred my entry. I knew that the route existed, now I had to make sure I was prepared. So it's worth taking the time to do that. Don't worry about how old you'll be at the end. You'll probably still have a good 30 years to devote to the health service once you finish medical school so it's nothing to worry about.

**sjk** · 05-01-2009, 06:32 PM

Thanks for your replies chaps.

Originally Posted by Zedd

The catch is you will have to work your butt off.

Zedd, I wouldn't expect anything less.

Originally Posted by giella

If your grades are Cs, you might want to consider retaking the important ones like Maths and English.
You need experience obviously otherwise you won't be considered.
The catch, like Zedd said, is dependent entirely on you. Many people drop out after only a few weeks because they can't handle the workload.
I have a place for next year, which I deferred in order to get more experience in healthcare. There's no harm in giving yourself the time to become an attractive candidate.
By all means apply and see if COWA think you're good enough to give you a place. They only give places to people who they think will boost their success rate, of which they're jealously proud.
It isn't a passport to medicine, merely a pathway. There are others remember, which might be more appropriate to your circumstances.

Again, some good points. I need to establish some more work experience, however it's finding the work experience in the first place!
I was considering taking the GCSEs again, I think my main hesitation is the added timescale. Although in fairness, if I were to be successful, like you say, I would be able to offer 30+ years to Medicine.
I doubt very much that I would get a place at COWA for 2009 entry, given the time of year and also my current standing with experience and academic achievements.

You mentioned about other ways that may be more suited, however, apart from resiting A-levels again (one been Chemistry which makes it somewhat difficult to do on a part time basis) then I am rather lost for other methods? One other route I was considering was A-levels, then Foundation Degree then transfer onto a MBChB course. However, with a total of 8-9 years, it looks like a lengthy programme. I think the most appealing aspect of the COWA course is based purely on the clarity of the pathway into medicine i.e. Access Course and then apply for Med School as opposed to the traditional method of re-sitting GCSEs/A Levels and then either start a Foundation Degree and then on to Med School.

My head hurts!! Lol.

Simon

**giella** · 05-01-2009, 06:50 PM

Have you considered the OU? This is always an option and these can be done in your own time.
A levels are an option but as you say they are difficult to manage.
You could easily resit Maths and English GCSE in a year. These are the important ones. An A in both these subjects, or a B at least is what medical schools are looking for. It's not essential, but it does put you on a competitive par with other applicants.
Set yourself a time frame of say 2 years. Say to yourself, this is what I want to achieve at the end of that:
Work experience
Voluntary work
Maths and English GCSE.
You could get a job as a phlebotomist in that time or as an HCA. You could do first aid courses, volunteer work etc. Get a decent grade at Maths and English GCSE. If you start the ball rolling now you could apply to access to medicine courses by this time next year, to start in September 2010. This way your plan of getting into medicine starts now.
You could contact ICS or the Oxford College of Distance Learning or something tomorrow, or a local college to set about doing the GCSEs. You could also do a more vocational course like BSL or a language that shows that you're willing and able to learn new things. Try to do something where you can develop your communication skills. I did a CELTA course where I teach English as a second language and it's really improved mine and provided me with a lot of opportunity for work and volunteering. You have the time to do something really different to make your application stand out.
Doing the preparation can all be part of the fun of getting into medicine so don't look at it as holding you back or delaying you.

**louise colette** · 07-01-2009, 11:13 PM

There's no catch at all! I did the COWA A2M course and it's GREAT. Yes there's lots to learn, but that's fairly obvious. I got a place in the April I think, so unless it's changed since I was there (2006-7) then you're probably not too late. Give it a whirl!