Is it worth applying to Oxford for medicine?

[Bambi]

Amber-

If going to Oxford is more important to you than doing medicine (at any med school you can get into) you shouldn't apply for medicine. It seems to me like this is the case, you talk about doing biomed instead so you can to to Oxford and you are apparently interested in it enough to apply for that summer school course over medicine! You don't want to do medicine and with the way you talk you wont get in. Med schools want people that are very passionate about the subject and can't imagine doing anything else.

[purplerocks888]

Hi, I'm a current med student at Oxford. I'll try and go through and answer your questions. 1) yes its definitely worth applying but remember a lot is based on interview - the grades simply get you there. 2) DON'T go on those courses - they are a waste of money and I know some people think they actually did worse in their UKCAT/ BMAT / interviews as a result. Most people here did 4 A levels (everyone gets straight A's) - all the stuff about 6 A-levels is.. well not true! Your school won't affect whether you get in or not - don't even think about it. the BIGGEST thing is that you have to go somewhere where you are going to be happy - go a medical school in the top 10 and your laughing. You need to decide what kind of course you want (trad. PBL etc), where in the country you want to go, what kind of work load you want (Oxford work load is a lot, definitely copable but much higher than most other medical schools) and also come visit, decide whether you like the place, the feel, the students, the clubs and societies, the college organisation. Its not like any other medical school.

By the way, I got 7 A*, 4 A at GCSE and 4A at A level. They're good results but not everything is based on them.

I'm worried mostly about interviews...I think I have the grades and all, but interviews freak me out Any tips or suggestions?

[stephanietbrown]

Nope, no benefit. The sorts of questions they ask are very difficult to prepare for, so I doubt this course will be of much use to be honest.

My friend got a tutor who was a medic at Oxford last year and she said it was really useful. No one knows what kind of questions come up except the people who went to interview themselves so they are best placed to teach you! They've also been taught all year by the people who will be interviewing the applicants so they know them personally.

I'm getting someone to tutor me for the BMAT and the interview who's from St Hugh's, Oxford , there is definitely a way of thinking that can be taught and I want to learn before I get to interview!

[tatowen]

I'm worried mostly about interviews...I think I have the grades and all, but interviews freak me out Any tips or suggestions?

My friend got a tutor who was a medic at Oxford last year and she said it was really useful. No one knows what kind of questions come up except the people who went to interview themselves so they are best placed to teach you! They've also been taught all year by the people who will be interviewing the applicants so they know them personally.

I'm getting someone to tutor me for the BMAT and the interview who's from St Hugh's, Oxford , there is definitely a way of thinking that can be taught and I want to learn before I get to interview!

One of the girls in the year above me last year got into St. Cats College, Oxford, and she used some people called oxbridgemedicine.com to help with her interviews cos she went to a grammar school and didn´t know anyone who had already been there. I know there are a few others like oxford scientists and medictutes too. She said having several different current Oxford medics giver her a grilling and feed back definitely helped her get ready for the interviews. I am hopefully going to apply to the same college as her this year if I can nail my UCAS that is!

[ryanhones]

Okay, I'm sorry about coming off as vain. It's nice to know that it might be worth applying though! Thank you! I'd like to go because I love the city and see myself enjoying living there, the grounds are beautiful, and I prefer the idea of learning all the theory and then doing clinical work; I don't want to cause any accidents in a hospital before I know all I need to!

I have to say I think you're absolutely right to mention all of your academic achievements, and unfortunately the only people who will think you are vain are those who haven't quite managed to attain those grades. While GKT and other medical schools are all capable of making you a doctor the kind of teaching you will receive at Oxbridge is second to none, and can not be compared to teaching at other medical schools.
It is also not true that your medical school has no bearing on your future career, as students at less academic medical schools will come to realise in due course.
So ignore all the criticism, apply because you are clearly capable and someone with your academic record will enjoy the challenge of Oxford or Cambridge immensely.

[Profanius]

I have to say I think you're absolutely right to mention all of your academic achievements, and unfortunately the only people who will think you are vain are those who haven't quite managed to attain those grades. While GKT and other medical schools are all capable of making you a doctor the kind of teaching you will receive at Oxbridge is second to none, and can not be compared to teaching at other medical schools.
It is also not true that your medical school has no bearing on your future career, as students at less academic medical schools will come to realise in due course.
So ignore all the criticism, apply because you are clearly capable and someone with your academic record will enjoy the challenge of Oxford or Cambridge immensely.

I find it very ironic that someone promoting the academic superiority of Oxbridge universities should state their location as "Cambrisge" (I think you mean Cambridge!) It's also ironic that they apparently failed to notice the last post in this thread was over a year ago. The OP would have applied to university last October, rendering their advice irrelevant. It would seem that while Oxbridge universities are apparently academically superior - they can't teach basic intelligence.

Since you will have no evidence whatsoever to support any of your comments I think we can take them with a pinch of salt. While the academic reputation of Oxbridge is undeniable, as is the quality of the education a student will receive there, any difference between them and any other medical school in the UK is marginal if it exists at all. "Less academic" universities have been training excellent doctors for decades with no ill-effect whatsoever - I'm not sure what they will "come to realise in due course".

Success in your career will be determined by what you want out of it. If you want to specialise in emergency medicine then GKT might be a better choice, if you're interested in tropical diseases then Liverpool or Barts might be better. Choosing Oxford for it's reputation or scenery is no more or less valid than any other reason, but to suggest it will arbitrarily make you superior to graduates from other universities is exactly the sort of elitist nonsense that undermines the reputation of these great universities.

[AmberB]

Hello; if anyone's still interested in what I ended up doing, at the end of Year 12 I decided that I wouldn't be able to cope with the interviews and didn't have enough extra-curriculars so gave up on applying for medicine (for now!). I'm still a bit gutted but I got four A*'s in my A levels and am starting at Oxford to study Biochemistry next week.

[Martigan]

Good luck, It will be great!

[AmberB]

2/3 through my first year of Biochemistry and still wondering whether I might have been good enough to apply! I hope not, otherwise I've made a very silly decision. Hopefully a few years extra worth of work experience and extra-curriculars might put me in good stead to apply for graduate entry.