How can I give up on my dream

[evp01]

House Jr

I am glad you think I am entitled to a opinion. 650 is not good for a grad. There are lots of ways of life not just medicine believe me - I have been there and got the T shirt and I am having to revisit the same question for the second time in my life

How about 598? I'm a grad and I've got an offer and interviews with 598. In as nice a way as it can possibly be said, you sound just like my dad. Or rather like my dad sounded before I disregarded his pessimistic negative attitude and applied again anyway. Now of course it was his idea and everything's rosy. "There are lots of ways of life not just medicine " Not for me. I eat sleep and breathe this application because I was born to do it. Of course there comes a point when you've given all you have and it's over, but that's an incredibly personal decision that should be made alone. When you're really really done transformergirl, you'll know. But if you give up before you're sure, you'll regret it always.

[malibu stacey]

Ok, so i feel like, at this stage i am joining the band wagon, but, transformergirl, i can't help feeling that you aren't totally convinced about giving up. If you were, you'd have given up after the first go. I can't help but agree with evp01, when you're done, you'll know. Until then, i think it's going to be something you carry one with. Not necessarily right away, taking a year, working on your application, getting a bit more experience or working on the weaker parts of your application as spin doctor has suggested, might not be a bad idea.

Ultimately though, i think what ever decision you make, you need to make yourself...for yourself, by yourself. By all means ask for opinions, but please don't let anyone sway you or make the decision for you. it's such a big decision. All i'd say is take some time. It's easy to get swept up in the emotion of it all, the rush, the disapointment, the excitment....it's exhausting.

I wish you the very best of luck with your decision, whatever you decide

[LittleSister]

I've known a lot of people who have tried and tried to get into medical school (I did biomedical sciences at uni, it's FULL of people who didn't make it on to med!). It does seem that perseverance does pay off in the end. I dont know any one who hasn't made it if they really wanted it even if it meant applying 4 or 5 times.
I dont agree that its all box ticking though. There are things you can work on (academics, work experience, interview practice) but the UKCAT is not one of those things. It may as well be a random number generator as far as i'm concerned. I know some one who actually quit their job to take time to prepare for weeks for the test and ended up with the same score as the year before when they only worked for a couple of days.
I, on the other hand did the same amount of prep for two goes and got massively different scores.
So, my advice is that if your application is perfect (if it isn't by now then it never will be) then keep trying coz it's all so random and you're bound to get lucky eventually!

[transformersgirl]

How about 598? I'm a grad and I've got an offer and interviews with 598. In as nice a way as it can possibly be said, you sound just like my dad. Or rather like my dad sounded before I disregarded his pessimistic negative attitude and applied again anyway. Now of course it was his idea and everything's rosy. "There are lots of ways of life not just medicine " Not for me. I eat sleep and breathe this application because I was born to do it. Of course there comes a point when you've given all you have and it's over, but that's an incredibly personal decision that should be made alone. When you're really really done transformergirl, you'll know. But if you give up before you're sure, you'll regret it always.

Thanks to all for your responses. This particularly stood out to me. I feel similar, i just cannot see myself doing aything else. so im going to continue, in the mean time try and stay positive doing other things, but ultimately med is my goal, once i reach it il be in disbelief lol, but the feeling will be unmatchable.

[chris5656]

This is my 3rd time applying. I have all the minimum requirements. I am a grad. I got around 650 for ukcat, and still no interviews.

I have tried to tailor my ps to be as descriptive as possible and I have done over 7 years of work experience. I dont have a criminal record that I know of,
and I havent had an interview since I missed my grades at a-level.

.

There are plenty of people who apply more than 3 times. There are people at my med school who got in on their third application cycle. There was a lady on this forum a couple of years ago talking about her 7th application cycle.

My advice to people like you: if you have had a good few interviews and are still getting nocked back then you should maybe take the hint. If however you are not getting interviews then it is because you are not making the grade in academic terms - 650 is quite a poor score for a graduate when you consider the fierce competition. Your bad UKCAT, combined with below average A levels and an average degree is your problems. Theres a lot of chat about 'working on your PS' but realisticly its not going to make up for a weak overall application, especially for graduate entry. However, that doesnt in anyway mean you are not smart enough to do medicine. Some people can get better grades just because they are forced into it by their parents and/or are spoon fed.

Your best option by miles would be to try the GAMSAT. I know it is tough and competitive, but if you do well you automaticly get interviews.

Im sorry if im repeating what has already been said in this thread - i only read your original post, (and the one directly below it - which i would suggest you ignore).

good luck

[Adchurch]

Your best option by miles would be to try the GAMSAT. I know it is tough and competitive, but if you do well you automaticly get interviews.

I'm not sure that this would necessarily be THE BEST option. From what I have generally heard the GAMSAT is tougher than the UKCAT; perhaps more so for someone who has been out of education for a while.

I would also let you know that I am a school leaver, who has only just received a place from medical school after my third time applying. The first time I applied I got no interviews, the second time I applied I got all interviews but no offers, and the third time I applied I did get all my interviews + offers. I was constantly building upon the feedback given to me by the universities and using these opportunities to recognise where the weaknesses in my application might have been. It is also important to be realistic in your application, for example If you have a UKCAT of 570, it would be stupid to apply to a highly competitive medical school with a UKCAT cut-off of 670?!

I have been there. It is disheartening… but if medicine is something you truly want to do, and you really see yourself doing NOTHING else, then I would simply advise you keep applying. Maybe do some other kind of work/work towards something else in the mean time in case you do decide to take an alternative path.

You can apply to medical school at a later stage (my mother interestingly enough is studying medicine in the Cayman Islands…. And she is 52!) so yes… Its not the be all and end all.

Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do. (And do make sure you get some interview preparation IN! My interview skills were not medical school standard the second time I applied, and I was confident. It cost me yet ANOTHER year).

[Bad'un Raddon]

How anyone (especially people like us who don't know you, as close friends or family would) can tell someone to give up on a dream of theirs, I don't really know. I don't think we can, or it would be wrong of us to try.
All I will say is this- acceptance into medical school, in britain at least, is generally acknowledged to be far from a fair process. The admittance tutors have to sift through thousands of good applications for sometimes less than a hundred places. Odds suggest that there WILL be some who are good enough but fail four or five times.
I myself am only applying for the first time but am in the last year of my biomed degree. I am far from the best student on my course (very far, in fact), yet I have managed an interview, partly because I took the GAMSAT but mainly because I did my research on which med schools I had the best chance of getting into. So so so many of my course friends (who are all smarter than me) are getting rejected left right and centre because they didn't ring up each individual uni to inquire in depth as to their requirements (they will often tell you far more than a prospectus/website will).
I may not get an offer after this interview, and I am bracing myself for that. But it will simply steel my resolve to apply again next year, with even more work experience to talk about of course.
Application to medicine can often take the form of a marathon rather than a sprint, but if it is your dream, and you have the minimum requirements, with enough stubbornness (and clever research), I am SURE you will get a place.
Chin up