Getting into medicine is not an easy task nor is it quick. It requires many hours of research, diligence, and perseverance. Along the way, there will be many traps and pitfalls. It is therefore inevitable that as a parent, you will fall into some of these traps and pitfalls. Some of these mistakes will be completely unnecessary and the purpose of this article is for you to recognise these.
However, due to the competitive nature of getting into medical school, there are some hurdles that are inevitable such as facing rejection from one of your four UCAS applications. It is therefore imperative that you avoid certain unnecessary rejections from medical schools through good planning and foresight. We asked parents whose sons and daughters were successful in getting into medical school in the UK, and what advice they would give to other parents.
In addition, we have also highlighted certain areas and concepts that we have noticed over the past 10 years that we have been helping students get into medical school.
- The number one insight seems to be that parents wish they had started much earlier than they actually did in the application process. A common scenario therefore occurs where late planning leads to panic and poor preparation.
This inevitably leads to poor results and a failure to get their child into medical schools. As a bare minimum, you should prepare for the process of getting into medical school with your child as early as in year 10.
- Another common observation from parents is that they simply did not realise how competitive getting into medicine is. They may have a general idea but they did not realise that just for one place that a medical school makes available, they will get many applications and most will not be successful.
Although this sounds unpromising we do know from experience that it is not impossible to get in and you can increase your chances dramatically by following simple guidelines.
- In hindsight, parents always wished that they had paid for that extra piece of advice, the course or tuition rather than trying to save. As the saying goes, “Pay too little now and it will cost you dearly later on.” This is so true when applying to get into medical school in the UK.
Therefore if you are aware that your child needs extra guidance or support in their particular area such as in one of their A-level subjects, it is important as a parent that you provide them what they require.
- Parents also wish that they had spent more time with their child during this process. Quite often they will complain afterwards when things don’t go well that they were too busy at work and they didn’t give the child the full priority that they needed.
- Both parents should encourage their child to actively take up hobbies, extracurricular activities, volunteering and sports. The parent should also make sure that the child commits to these and these should be in the form of a fixed structure.
This is so that your child develops qualities that the medical universities are looking for in their future doctors but in addition, it is helpful for your child to have a break from their studies with other activities. The medical universities are definitely not looking for students who are just academically bright but have other qualities going for them.
- Work experience is an important facet of the medical application process. However, work experience is hard to obtain and has been increasingly so. Many parents will come from a medical or health-related background and this will obviously facilitate the process.
However, for those parents who do not come from a health care professional background, this will be more difficult so it is even more important that you start the process early. There are also ways in which you can increase your chances of obtaining work experience by using simple and tested techniques.
Also, remember that it is not necessary that you have to find work in a hospital or a GP surgery. The university simply wants relevant work experience and this, therefore, broadens the student’s scope of obtaining this work experience
- As a parent, all this information in applications to UCAS means “keep yourself informed” of the actual application process. This means knowing what the new UCAT is about, how interviews are conducted, the importance of the personal statement and how each individual University assesses students. By keeping informed you can also engage with your child in a much more meaningful and helpful manner.
- It goes without saying but it becomes even more important that as a parent you fulfil your child’s emotional and physical needs. You will be able to recognise when your child is lacking and therefore you will need to always be vigilant and stepping in when required. On the other hand, there will be times where your child needs the time by themselves and this must also be recognised and respected.
- Parents need to be extremely patient as the journey for the application to a UK medical school is going to be long and tiring. Sometimes you will not hear from a University at all for weeks and it is easy to panic but this is where patience is required. Patience is also required when things are not going to plan and you need to have alternative backup ideas.
Finally, always get advice from a professional to make sure that you are always maximising your chances of securing that place for your son or daughter at medical University.