Which route to medicine? All advice appreciated!

**Natty** · 06-02-2010, 02:08 AM

Originally Posted by DLS

I think that you do the A2M then you apply to med schools as normal... I think that just enhances you application?

So are you saying that a person in my position (degree-less mature student with a lil science background - but with recent level 3/4 certifications in IT ) would be easily eligible for Med school after completing an A2M as oppose to doing a foundation degree??

**Natty** · 06-02-2010, 02:09 AM

Medschoolsonline - A Guide to Getting into Medical School in the UK

there's some decent info on here for anyone interested.

**Jolt** · 06-02-2010, 08:14 AM

Hi Natty,

Entry into medicine for mature non-graduates isn't particularly well defined so it's hard to know what is the best route to take.

As DLS mentioned, the 6 year foundation courses are designed primarily for school leavers who just miss the grade criteria for the 5 year courses or perhaps don't have science A Levels. The grade requirements are still quite high and the competition for places can be fierce. It's not really an option unless you got some pretty high grade A Levels.

The Manchester A2M that you've mentioned a few times is the one I'm on. There isn't a guaranteed progression from the course into any medical school, instead you receive a qualification which fulfills the academic criteria for entry at most universities. It is one of the better Access courses and is quite well regarded by university admissions I believe. It's a good course taught by good people, and if you put in the work and a solid UCAS application then you've got as good a chance as any other applicant. The full-time course is only about 14 contact hours spread over 3 mornings, so it's very doable with a full-time job if you are motivated enough and your work is flexible enough. There's no real advantage to the part-time course as it also takes place in the mornings (the same lessons in fact), but you just do two mornings for a year and one for the other (or visa versa).

There are A2M courses that are associated with certain universities and give some guarantee of progression onto medicine at their linked institution. If you decide to explore this route make sure you get the full story as a lot of these guarantees come with pretty significant caveats. There are an increasing number of A2M courses about now, and they vary significantly in content and reputation.