Best courses for 1st class hons. graduate?

**Meg01** · 10-09-2009, 12:00 AM

this is by no means official - although I don't know how it ever could ... but Edinburgh seem to look favourably on 1st class degree. In my year all the grads have 1sts ... the exceptions are those who went to Oxbridge at some point in there academic careers (for 1st degree or PHD) and those who were offered a place in their final year (in which case the offer is always 2:1 or above). You might be looking for a GEP, but if you want a 5 year back up and have a traditional sort of academic background, Edin is worth a shot.

**aspiring fat medic** · 10-09-2009, 03:07 AM

Originally Posted by drjack

Hi,

I recently graduated with a 1st class hons. Biomedical Sciences degree, and I am currently in the process of finalising my choices for my 2010 application. I was wondering if anyone knows which medical schools look favourably on a 1st when compared to a 2.1, as I would like to use my degree classification to my advantage. Many medical schools state that they do not differentiate between the two. The only course I am aware of that does this is the GEP at Birmingham.

Many thanks,

Jack

hey jack i wanted to ask you as u graduated with a first i am assuming u had an average of 1st in ur 1st n 2nd yr n so ur predicted grade must have been a first. is there any chance u can tell me y u got rejected from all ur unis last time around.i am asking this because i am averaging a first as well.

**Martigan** · 12-09-2009, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by Bambi

IQ doesn't drop in the elderly, it's a common misconception that it does.

That was my point. How ever I was tired and the spell checker altered a few words that I didn't notice.

The reported slight drop in results is said to be due to sensory deficit, or dementia, rather than an actual IQ drop.

**big2cats** · 13-09-2009, 12:23 AM

[QUOTE=Bambi;700082]

Originally Posted by big2cats

Hmm, let me just ask my surgical registrar boyfriend shall I? Giving your opinion is fair enough but basically calling it fact when you really have no idea is another thing. People don't care if you have a 1st or a 2.1 or at least very little at ST level and basically not at all when you are a consultant. I'm not saying it shouldn't make any difference, I'm just saying it doesn't. You aren't going to get a consultant job based on a degree you got when you were 21, it will be based on things like publications, research etc that you have done during your training. Every surgeon I know has got their first choice everything and not one of them has a 1st. Having a BSc as opposed to not will give a tiny advantage but usually only if it is relevant at the later stages. Unis like BScs because it suggests maturity etc, but by the time you are applying for ST/consultant posts they expect you to have these skills anyway in which case an arts degree will not be beneficial in any real way unless the person interviewing you happens to be randomly keen on the topic you studied.

sorry for slow reply, just thought id say i dont have surgical spr boyfriend, but i do have a consultant physician husband with a phd at a terriary teaching hospital. he seems to think that a first is an advantage. im sorry if i wasnt clear, i meant that a first is an advantage, not that you will get a reg job based on it. im sorry that i have an different opinion.

**drjack** · 14-09-2009, 02:02 AM

It's sad to see that my innocent little thread has descended into petty arguing! Anyway...

Originally Posted by aspiring fat medic

hey jack i wanted to ask you as u graduated with a first i am assuming u had an average of 1st in ur 1st n 2nd yr n so ur predicted grade must have been a first. is there any chance u can tell me y u got rejected from all ur unis last time around.i am asking this because i am averaging a first as well.

Hi 'aspiring fat medic' (brilliant name)

I think my UKCAT let me down somewhat. I got 640 average, which is nowhere near high enough for Warwick and Sheffield (they both had cut-offs at around the 670 mark I believe). For Brighton I was 0.5/30 away from the interview cut-off score, and Leeds rejected me because there was something they didn't like about my personal statement. That, combined with the fact that my reference was written by my tutor the night before (he'd 'forgotten', despite my constant badgering) led to my 4 rejections.

With hindsight, what would I advise someone in your position to do? Make sure you practice incessantly for your UKCAT and ensure that you obtain an outstanding reference. That's what i'm doing this year!

Best of luck,

Jack

**Blue_GS87** · 14-09-2009, 02:21 AM

Hey Dr Jack, i hope this doesn't come across as mean, but judging from your profile, results and picking the unis aren't the problem right now. From the post above, it's apparent that your PS isn't exactly that great atm, so you should really be focusing at that right now, instead of worrying about the med schools. If you have a great PS, everything will fall into place, regardless of the grades or UKCAT.

I know that this is time consuming, but what you could do is email every single med school in the UK with your results profile and maybe UKCAT score (if you have done it). Most med schools will email you back and tell you where you stand with them. I did that and picked the med schools that looks favourable to me and applied to them. Funnily enough, Edinburgh emailed me back telling me not to apply to them. But like i said, grades aren't your problem right now, your PS is. Make sure you get loads of people to proof read it and make it great.

**drjack** · 14-09-2009, 03:42 AM

Originally Posted by Blue_GS87

Hey Dr Jack, i hope this doesn't come across as mean, but judging from your profile, results and picking the unis aren't the problem right now. From the post above, it's apparent that your PS isn't exactly that great atm, so you should really be focusing at that right now, instead of worrying about the med schools. If you have a great PS, everything will fall into place, regardless of the grades or UKCAT.

I know that this is time consuming, but what you could do is email every single med school in the UK with your results profile and maybe UKCAT score (if you have done it). Most med schools will email you back and tell you where you stand with them. I did that and picked the med schools that looks favourable to me and applied to them. Funnily enough, Edinburgh emailed me back telling me not to apply to them. But like i said, grades aren't your problem right now, your PS is. Make sure you get loads of people to proof read it and make it great.

Hi Blue_GS87,

I don't think you're being 'mean' at all. My grades were never a problem last year; it was my UKCAT that put the nail in my coffin. Leeds (my alma mater) sent me some wishy-washy letter about my personal statement not displaying the attributes they were looking for. I'm in the process of revamping the whole thing as we speak.

I have (provisionally) picked my 4 choices for this year now. I did this after emailing round ~10 medical schools that I would want to attend with a list of my grades and my scanned degree transcript (to allow for assessment of the chem and bio content of my course). I received positive responses from almost all of them, yet none would tell me if they differentiate between 1sts and 2:is. Hence this (now rather long) thread.

Jack