”We are looking for students with high academic ability who have thought deeply about what it means to be a doctor and who show enthusiasm for life and an interest in people. Medicine is an immensely rewarding career, and demands commitment, hard work and physical and emotional stamina. If you think that it is the right career for you, we hope you will apply to St George’s. I advise you to submit your application early.”

Dr Phillip Hay
Sub-Dean for Medical Admissions

All applications to UK medical schools need to be made via the UCAS website in the same way as any other university applications. The UCAS applications open in mid September and this years’ deadline is the 15th of October.

Applicants can apply to only 4 medical schools on their UCAS form. This leaves them with an extra place on their form if they wish to apply for a different course (e.g. biomedical science). Students are often worried about what to do with the extra place and it is something that they need to think seriously about. The medical school will not see the other courses that students have applied for unless the student applies for two courses at the same university. Some applicants like to use the extra place as a backup in case they change their mind about doing medicine after applying. Students cannot apply for veterinary medicine or dentistry as the other option.

As medicine courses are so competitive, it is always a safe option to apply to an additional non-medical course to maximise chances of getting a university offer. It is usually possible, if students don’t receive any offers for medicine, to start a non-medical course at a university and then re-apply through a graduate-entry programme later on. Be aware that these courses, however, are often even more competitive to get onto. Even if students are applying to a non-medical course, they should tailor their personal statement to medicine. Other degree programmes are aware that students apply to their courses as a backup to other degrees and are sympathetic to it.