How To Become A Doctor

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Priya from Masaryk University, located in Brno (Czech Republic). Like many other medicine courses in Europe, Masaryk offers a 6 year medicine programme for international students that is taught in English. Students can apply to these international medicine courses off of UCAS (so it doesn't need to be one of your 4 medical school UCAS choices), an...

In this episode, Lucy and Ciara talk to Jenardan - a medical student at the University of Warwick who got into medicine on his 4th attempt! Listen to hear them discuss the routes Jenarden used to get into medicine, including gap years, transfer courses and postgraduate medicine, and the immense table of pros and cons that comes with each. Most of all, be inspired by Jenarden's resilience and motiv...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Bhavdeep from the University of Warwick. Warwick is a graduate-only medicine course, and so you must have already completed an undergraduate degree to apply. Postgraduate medicine is a common alternative route into medicine, and many people use their 5th choice option on UCAS to secure a place on an undergraduate course with the aim of becoming a...

Where there is a will, there is a way! In this introductory episode, Ciara and Lucy take you through the many different ways you can fulfil your dream of studying Medicine. We break down: UCAS Extra, Clearing and Adjustment, Foundation Courses, Transfer Courses, Postgraduate Courses and Studying Abroad. Over the next two weeks, we'll be speaking to students about their experiences of each route an...

In this episode, learn all about the process of clearing for medical courses. Lucy and Ciara chat to Sophie, a Medic at St Georges, about her experience of clearing. Sophie shares what she wish she knew before going through clearing, so you can be as prepared as possible if you use this route. If you found this episode helpful, please do hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our amazing up...

In this episode, learn all about adjustment for medicine (yes, this is different to clearing!). Ciara and Lucy talk to Raahul (Medical Student from St Georges) all about his experience of adjustment. It's always best to know all options available to you - so this short episode is definitely worth a listen! Follow us on Instagram @Howtobecomeadr for more!

In this episode, Lucy and Ciara discuss how to ace your personal statement for medical school using their amazing Personal Statement Handbook. They discuss the common pitfalls students fall into, as well as how to confidently demonstrate you are an excellent candidate for medicine - from introduction right through to conclusion. They even discuss how to tailor your personal statements to your spec...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Robbie from Newcastle University. Newcastle is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the UCAT score will be used to rank applicants for interview. In 2020, the UCAT cut-off (interview threshold) was 2730. The national average was 2483.  Listen to this episode to hear al...

In this Open Pod episode, Lucy interviews Ciara from the University of Birmingham. Birmingham is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the UCAT score will be used to rank applicants for interview. Whilst there is no minimum UCAT cut-off score, the total UCAT scores of all applicants to the university will be ranked and...

In this episode, Lucy and Ciara will discuss how to write an article and the opportunities to publish them with Medic Mentor. They will discuss how to start writing an article, and give you some top tips on how to be selected from all of the other articles (or essay competitions) submitted! 

In this episode, Ciara will talk you through those transferable skills everyone keeps talking about. She will discuss why transferable skills are critical to your application and how you can tease them out of even the most mundane scenarios!

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Dani from the University of Exeter. Exeter is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. Whilst the A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, Applicants are then ranked according to their best three A-level (or equivalent) prediction of achievement. Only those with A*A*A* predictions will be ranked in Tier 1. Where there ar...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Sanjana from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of Queen Mary, University of London). Barts is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. Barts is unique in that it focuses on the UCAS tariff (which is a point system with points allocated to GCSE, A Levels and other qualifications such as music grades). The...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Elif from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). ARU is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the UCAT score will be used to rank applicants for interview. The top 400 will be invited for an MMI.  Listen to this episode to hear all about how students really find the course and...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Haider from Imperial College London (ICL). ICL is an integrated course with a compulsory intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and a BMAT cut off is used as part of their selection for interview. In 2029,  Candidates were required to score a minimum of 3.5 in Section 1 and Section 2, with the sum of scores in t...

In this episode, Lucy will talk you through the all important art of reflection you need to ace your personal statement and interviews. Learn about the 7 key questions the General Medical Council (GMC) uses to guide reflection in ACTUAL doctors and see how Lucy applies these to her own experiences and links these to the life of a doctor . This episode is designed to be interactive so get ready to...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Heidi from the Hull York Medical School. Hull York is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the UCAT is used alongside your GCSEs to select for interview.  Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any q...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Rob from the University of Manchester. Manchester is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and candidates above a UCAT threshold (2600 in 2018) are automatically invited to interview.  Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Ahmed from the University of Leeds. Leeds is an integrated course with a compulsory intercalated year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and those scoring above a total BMAT score of 42 were invited for an interview (2017).  Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get i...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Dion from the University of Cardiff. Cardiff is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the UCAT is not a massive part of the application. Instead, a higher weighting is placed on GCSEs.  Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top t...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Anusha from the University of Liverpool. Liverpool is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and a competitive UCAT score was 2420 (in 2018). Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any questions for Anusha...

In this episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Rebecca - a medical student who came in the top 1% of all UCAT candidates. They discuss the latest update to the UCAT in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and questions regarding completing the UCAT from home. Most importantly, they share incredible tips and insight on when to start UCAT practice, how to balance UCAT practice with BMAT and personal stateme...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Sophie from the St George’s, University of London. St George’s is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the lowest UCAT score considered for interview was 2590 (in 2018). Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara and Lucy interview Sujan from King’s College London. KCL is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the average UCAT score for offer holders was 2699 (in 2018/9). Listen to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any questions for S...

In this Open Pod episode, Ciara interviews Lucy from the University of Cambridge. Cambridge is a traditional course but still integrates some clinical patients in the preclinical years. The course also has a compulsory intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are A*A*A, and the average BMAT score for 2018/19 entry was Section 1: 5.5, Section 2: 6.1 and Section 3: 3.5A. Lis...