I am in a tricky situation even after getting all As at A level?

Question

I want to read dentistry but its very difficult to get in as i got rejected last year. Apart from dentistry and medicine, i dont think there is any other course that worth studying as there are no job prospects in future. What should i do? should i reapply for dentistry or are there any other courses that i worth doing that i havent heard of??

Answer 1

Law, pharmacy, physiotherapy, undertaker - all have fantastic prospects especially if you are self-employed. LOL

Studying medicine in the Czech Republic is very popular if you cannot get into a British medical school or are older. I have had the great pleasure of working with many people who have studied via this route and they are extremely competent professionals. It does make you wonder what criteria are used in interviews in the UK doesn't it? I am sorry that you have not been successful so far.

Pharmacy would be an excellent alternative career if you have straight A's, also law following the medico-legal pathway. There are also various medical scientific courses leading to excellent career pathways in medical research. The salaries are pretty much on a sky's the limit basis so long as you plan your career.

I think you should get some good careers advice. Dentistry and medicine are no longer the "bankers" that they once were due to the restrictions that are gradually tightening up the ways in which they function.

Talking of banking - there are some fantastic careers in merchant banking and stock-broking for a bright individuals if you decide to look outside of medicine.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

You have to 'want' to do the course you are going to be undertaking. Doing something you don't really want to do is the wrong thing to do as you will lack the motiviation to get through the hard work required etc. and feel that the grass is greener on the other side ..

I think with medicine and dentistry if you were rejected once then you should try a second time, provided something has changed re. your application. For example you may have done sdome resits to bump up your grades to the straight As you say you have now. The problem is the intense competion and the shortage of places.

In terms of an alternative career only you can come up with this. Have you thought of areas such as pharmacy. This is a hard course but very well remunerated with great employment prospects ath the end. I think there are lots of areas valuable careers could be made from. It is not correct to say there are 'no prospects' in other areas.

I think the underlying problem here is that young people are built up to believe that feel that medicine and dentistry are the only scientific careers worth having and are 'superior' to anything else in that field. This is a state of mind that someone more experienced could see through. It is difficult to make such a decision but try and look for your real strengths and use these. Are you looking of a medical / dental career for the right reasons. I say this as medicine and dentistry are not the same things so I am curious to hear people lumping them together like that. It makes me question your true reasons for wanting to do that career. Good luck !

Answer 3

I'm a mature student who applied to study medicine last year but I didn't get the grades I needed in June so I'm resitting hence I'm in a similar situation to you.

As other answerers have said, you could get in through the back door, ie start another course in a related field and switch halfway through or if that's not possible, get a good degree (at least 2.1) then start a graduate medicine course.

Studying abroad is another option but you don't get funding so although Prague is much easier to get into, it's a 6 year course and costs £8K pa just for tuition = £50K! Additionally you have to learn Czech in the 3rd year to converse with the local patients in the clinical phase. Other countries, eg Malta, Holland etc may have better deals.

However, I am now aspiring to become a chiropractor. There's only two chiropractic colleges in the UK - one with no nightlife in the Welsh valleys (Glamorgan) and the AECC at Bournemouth which requires BBB (doesn't yet have the medical school deadline of Oct 15 so you've got a bit of time to decide - although they make rolling decisions on applications so best to apply asap to maximise the chances of being offered a place). It's a 4 year course with a year of supervised study thereafter.

I got chatting to a girl/woman/lady at the airport over the summer (as you do!) who turned out to be a senior registrar, a year older than me (32) and hoping to be a consultant in three years. She alerted me to the many negative aspects of working in the NHS - two examples:

1) I know doctors face exams throughout their professional careers but she said the NHS also put you through lots of hoops, most of them unnecessary.
2) I know that when doctors qualify, they're on £30K but 8 years later, she's only on £38K - seems a pittance for all the work put in.

There's no chance of not being able to find a job when you qualify: there's only 3000 qualified at present! Moreover, the workload can only increase as physiotherapists seem to be inadequately trying to address chiropractic problems, due to NHS funding crtieria being too rigid. Thus, most of the work is private and the conditions favourable (similar to vets'). I'm not going into the medical profession for the money but being told £30K when you qualify, £50K after 3 years and £100K+ after 5 years is all good!

It doesn't really compare with the antisocial hours, relentless applications / interviews for new jobs, and then moving to that new job losing contact with friends etc. Of course, it could be an adventure but imagine if you wanted to start a family or you wanted to be close to a stricken relative.

Anyway, I don't want to get reported for rambling on! Other professions to consider? Osteopathy - but according to the AECC, their science isn't as sound.

You're welcome to email me for further info - and perhaps I'll see you at Bournemouth next year! Best of luck!

Answer 4

There is a new scheme for graduates, and mature candidates to become Doctors, I think Hull and Warwick/Liecester do it.

So you could do a related degree - podiatry, nursing - and then start applying on these specialist courses.

Podiatry, after similar training to orthopedic surgeons, allows you to operate surgically on the foot under local anaesthetic, correcting foot conditions. Pay is conciderably higher than the standard podiatry grades in the NHS.

Answer 5

Contact UCas on "tel: [phone], open Monday to Friday, 08:30 - 18:00 (UK time)
email: [e-mail] for an automated response with general information and guidance on the UCAS procedures.

If you need help or advice on your individual application you should contact your careers adviser or call our Customer Service Unit on [phone]. You can also write to us at Customer Service Unit, UCAS, PO Box 28, Cheltenham GL52 3LZ."

they should be able to put your right


Good Luck for the Future

Answer 6

I would forget about job prospects and consider what it is you would like to work at for the rest of you life.

All careers have +/- aspects.

My advice is to chose something for which you have a passion!Then chose to be the very best at that career that you can.

Good luck!

Answer 7

get onto a course at the university you want to get to and then nag the faculty of dentistry to let you in. it's usually easy to change course once you're in a uni.

good luck and don't look down in the mouth (sorry)

Answer 8

Spend the extra money to get what you want. Believe me, it's the only way.
But be open minded about life. Not everything you want turns out to be what you imagined.

Answer 9

Keep pushing to acheive your goal, if that's what you want to do you would only kick yourself if you didn't bother. If you have to give everything else up and work harder then do it!

Answer 10

builders earn the best at the moment