I didn’t get a Medical School offer! What should I do?
Who We AreI didn’t get an offer for Medical School
The first thing to say is: Don’t worry.
That’s far easier said than done, we know.
The fact that you applied for Medical School likely means that you’re already a high-achiever. For many people, not getting into Medical School is their first taste of rejection. This can be very hard to deal with. Just remember that you’re not alone. There are still plenty of options available, and we will go through them on this page.
First of all - take time to yourself and dust yourself off
The Medical School Application process can be brutal. You have almost certainly worked extremely hard throughout the process. Heck, you’ve probably been working very hard since before the whole process. From working hard in your A-Levels to trying to missing social events so that you could do that voluntary work. It doesn’t feel fair - and indeed, many people who would make excellent doctors are rejected every year.
The very first thing to do is to take some time to yourself. Take time to dust off from the application cycle. Take the time to do the things that you enjoy. If you’re in Year 13, you may still have A-Levels coming up and so it’s extremely important that you don’t get burnt out and underperform on your A-Levels. Importantly, do not compare yourself to your peers. It’s likely that you will have many friends who have applied for different courses who managed to get in. It can be difficult to see your peers go off to university when you also wanted to join them. However, remember that everyone goes at their own pace and your time will also come.
So, dust yourself off. Take time to relax, time to reconcile what has happened and be kind to yourself. Then, move on to the next step…
Try to get feedback
After taking some time to yourself, try to get feedback from the Medical Schools that you applied to. This will give you a good indication of what things you need to work on for next time. It can be uncomfortable to read negative feedback, but don’t let the perceived uncomfortableness of it put you off. The only way we can improve ourselves is through feedback like this.
In addition, make sure you do some self-reflection. For example, did you apply wisely? Did you meet the entry requirements for every single medical school that you applied to? If not, you know that you need to be more careful for next time. Or was it that you didn’t have enough work experience or voluntary work? If so, you know to actively work on this. The list goes on - the key thing is to ensure that you are receptive and open to improving yourself through this feedback.
Did you get pre-interview rejections?
If you got pre-interview rejections, the key thing that you need to think about is whether or not you applied wisely. This means that you really need to think about whether or not you truly applied to medical schools according to your strengths. For example, if you had excellent academics but only average work experience, were the medical schools that you applied to more focussed on non-academic achievements?
It sounds obvious, but many medical applicants are rejected every year simply because they didn’t choose their options properly. Sometimes people choose their options emotionally rather then pragmatically, and so do some real thinking to see if that applied to you as well.
The good news is that this is a very easy thing to rectify if you plan on reapplying.
Did you get post-interview rejections?
If you got post-interview rejections, the key thing that you likely need to work on is your interview technique. This is where it becomes important to try to ask for feedback.
As above, this can make uncomfortable reading. In fact, it’s possibly more uncomfortable to read about post-interview rejections, as it can feel a bit more personal. Remember, though, that it is not personal - rather, feedback should be written in a way designed to support you.
Here are some common things that people end up getting wrong at the interview:
Not answering the question that was asked.
Being too underconfident or overconfident
Not reflecting on answers
Panicking under pressure
Being unprepared
Sounding robotic and as though you are reading a script
You still have options
It’s extremely important to understand that all is not lost - there are still several options available to you. We will go through those options here to help you make an informed decision on what to do next.
Option 1: Take a gap year and re-apply next time
One option is to take a gap year, work on the weaknesses in your application in that time and then re-apply the year after. In fact, this is the option what we would recommend.
A gap year can give you plenty of time to explore options and work on your application. You can do further voluntary work, work experience or even do something a bit different which you wouldn’t have had the chance to do otherwise. This can help you build as a person, as well as help to build your medical school application for next time. Not only this, but the undergraduate route is often less competitive than the graduate entry medicine (GEM) route. It’s also cheaper in the long-run to re-apply rather than to go for GEM.
Option 2: Do a different course, and apply for graduate-entry medicine (GEM)
If you would rather go to university and do a different course, that’s also fine. You might have had a 5th option that you applied for which you got into. Or, you might have got an offer for a different course through clearing. Whilst this is a good option as well, there are a few things to bear in mind:
GEM is often even more competitive than the undergraduate route.
GEM is more expensive. This may mean that you have to work on top of doing GEM - and this can be challenging.
For the reasons above, we would only recommend GEM if you feel as though you have no other option (e.g. you didn’t quite meet your A-Level grades, and you feel that your options would be limited if you were to resit). We would also recommend if it you are not 100% sure if you want to do medicine, and want to explore other options. However, if neither of the above are true, we would recommend going for option 1 instead. We get that it can be hard to see your friends all go to university - but try not to base your decision based on that. Remember, a gap year is only one year of a (hopefully) long career in medicine.
Option 3: Do a course that has an option to transfer to Medicine
Some universities (e.g. Newcastle University) offer the option to transfer from a different course (e.g. biomedical sciences) to medicine if you perform highly. Whilst this may seem like a feasible option, this is extremely competitive and has no guarantees.
For this reason, we would still encourage option 1. Of course, you may be thinking: 'but there’s no guarantee when taking a gap year either!’
Whilst this is true, it may still be less competitive through the gap year option. Based on this, we would still strongly recommend going for the first option. The only situation where we would recommend taking this option is if you are not 100% sure that you want to do medicine, and you would be very happy to graduate with another degree (as that’s the most likely outcome). If this is the case, then by all means go for this option.
Option 4: Apply through clearing
If you have managed to meet the minimum grade requirements on A-Level/IB results day, you could look to see if there are any spaces left at medical schools and apply through clearing. This is not guaranteed, and often medical schools have their own list of applicants on the waiting list. Nevertheless, there is no harm in trying.
The key is to ensure that you are organised. Make sure you have a list of medical schools, have all your information all ready (UCAS ID, grades, entry test scores etc.) and keep a close eye on UCAS clearing for any places that may be available. You can also try phoning medical schools that are not listed in clearing, but remember that they are already likely to be very busy so you should prioritise the ones that are listed in clearing.
If you manage to get in, congratulations! If not, don’t worry - look into options 1 to 3 instead.