Am I Too Old To Study Medicine? How To Study Medicine As A Mature Student

This article covers:

  • The different entry routes/ways of applying to study Medicine as a mature student.
    • This includes applying to Medicine as a graduate student, applying with a non-science degree or non-science A-levels and applying to Medicine with no A-levels
  • How to gain the qualifications needed to study Medicine as a mature student
  • The university experience for mature students

These articles may also be of interest:

Am I Too Old To Study Medicine?

There is no upper age limit to study at medical school. The medical profession is very actively trying to widen the range of people that apply to Medicine and the backgrounds that they come from. This includes encouraging medical school applications from mature students, graduate students and from people with non-science backgrounds.

What is a mature student?

A mature student is any student who will be over the age of 20 at the commencement of their studies.

Will I be the only “mature student” on my course at medical school? Will I fit in?

  • This is a common concern for mature students or graduate applicants, but it need not be.
  • Approximately 100,000 students (of all course types) over the age of 20 enrol on to a higher education course in the UK each year.
  • Medicine is no different. Medical school is not comprised only of young sixth form/ college leavers!
  • You will find parents; part-time students; graduates; people from non-science backgrounds; people who have changed careers and many other people from a whole range of backgrounds.
  • Many medical schools have sizeable or sometimes even majority numbers of graduates and mature students.
  • In some countries such as America, Medicine is a post-graduate course.
  • And of course, university opens up a whole new world to meet people from different courses with all sorts of life experiences and interests.

Different entry routes/ ways of applying to study Medicine:

The diversification of the types of people that apply to Medicine has led to multiple structured formal entry options to study Medicine. They all lead to the same type of degree in Medicine and the exact same ability to practice as a doctor.  These include:

  • Standard entry Medicine – The most common way of studying Medicine. Most commonly these are 5-year courses and less commonly 6-year courses. We discuss why medical courses are sometimes six years in duration briefly below and in detail in another blog which is linked at the top of this page.
  • Graduate entry medicine – For students who have a bachelors degree. This may be a degree in a science related or a non-science related subject. These graduate courses are usually either four year courses or direct entry into the second year of a standard five year course.
  • Course Transfers – A very small numbers of places are available in this way at select universities, e.g. a transfer after completing the first year of a biomedical science degree to the first year or sometimes the second year of medical school.
  • Medicine with a preliminary/foundation year – For students with excellent academic grades but not in the correct science subjects. Offered by several universities. Usually a one-year foundation/preliminary year of studying basic maths and sciences followed by direct entry into the standard 5-year medical course. Do not confuse this with the “foundation programme” which is the name of the national programme of training for doctors who have already graduated from Medical school.
  • Access courses to Medicine – An alternative to A-levels for students who would like to retrain in Medicine. Academic entry requirements to enrol in these courses are typically much lower than required for Medicine, but you will need to excel on the course itself once you start. They are usually a 1-year course focussing mainly on maths and science. Successful completion of this course allows one to either make an application to study Medicine; in some courses guarantees entry to a 5-year standard medical course or in some courses guarantees an interview. It also often acts as a qualification to train in many other healthcare professions.
  • Medicine with a gateway year – A relatively new initiative designed to widen participation in Medicine. This is aimed at students with high potential and ability but whose socio-economic situations have presented a barrier. For example, students from poor performing schools with low entry into university. These courses typically have lower entry requirements and offer more pastoral and academic support as well as mentoring. They are a year longer as the first year is used to build more robust fundamental scientific principles that may not have been developed from A-levels alone or to introduce the curriculum in a more graduated way.

Do I need to take A-levels to study Medicine or do an access course?

  • Academic requirements to study Medicine are rigorous, but there are many ways to achieve them beyond traditional GCSEs, A-levels etc.
  • You may already meet the criteria or not yet meet them so need to take action to do so. We will discuss the former scenario first.
  • See the latter questions below for what to do if you do not currently meet the entry requirements.
  • Remember that the academic entry criteria are merely requirements for you to apply and you will need to stand out in other ways such as with your personal statement, admission test results, e.g. UKCAT and at your Medicine interview.
  • We discuss these additional requirements later on in the article and throughout our website also.

If you already have the correct A-level subjects and grades

You may already have the right A-levels and grades (or equivalent, e.g. Scottish Highers or international baccalaureate etc.) to apply for a standard entry Medicine course or a graduate entry Medicine course. These vary amongst the different medical schools.

We will first look at the typical requirements for applicants who do not have a bachelors degree:

  • At least two science A-levels (usually one of them must be chemistry, biology often is not essential)
  • A third “rigorous” A-level, i.e. this does not have to be maths or science but cannot be what is considered a less academically challenging A-level such as general studies, critical thinking, key skills, media studies etc.
  • Most universities don’t allow overlapping subjects to count as 2 separate subjects to meet your 3 A-level total. For example, maths and further maths or biology and human biology. These will only count as one A-level.
  • Grade requirements for entry into standard five-year medical school courses for students without a degree typically range from A-level grades of AAA to A*A*A*
  • The GCSE requirements have more variation. Almost all universities will require English and Maths to at least grade B or higher.

Requirements are typically different for applicants with a bachelor’s degree:

  • The minimum requirements for earlier qualifications, e.g. GCSE’s and A-levels are usually a fair amount lower for graduate applicants as their degree results play a more prominent role. However, this is not always the case, for example, Oxford Medical school graduate entry course still requires excellent A-level results
  • How recently these A-levels need to have been taken varies by Medical School. For example, Cambridge Medical School’s 4-year graduate Medicine course requires that A-levels were taken within the last seven years.
  • Degrees typically must be a 2:1 or above

What if I haven’t done science A levels or studied a science degree?

If you don’t meet the entry requirements either because you didn’t take the right A-level or degree subjects or get the required grades, there are multiple structured ways for you to try and do so. Firstly, a few medical schools will accept degrees from any discipline, which of course includes non-science degrees. They will have differing A-level requirements.

Medical schools who accept degrees of any discipline (including non-science degrees)

  • Cambridge Medical School
  • St Georges London Medical School
  • Warwick Medical School
  • Newcastle Medical School
  • Nottingham Medical School
  • Southampton Medical School
  • Swansea Medical School

Other options to gain the correct qualifications include:

Medicine with preliminary/foundation year

This is an option if you have excellent academic grades but not in the right science subjects. Offered by several universities. Usually a one-year foundation/preliminary year of studying basic maths and sciences followed by direct entry into the standard 5-year medical course. Do not confuse this with the “foundation programme” which is the name of the national programme of training for doctors who have graduated from Medical school.

Access to medicine courses

These courses provide an alternative to A-levels for students who would like to retrain in Medicine but typically don’t have all the correct academic subjects. Academic entry requirements to enrol in these courses are usually much lower than required for Medicine. They are often a one year course focussing mainly on maths and science. Successful completion of this course allows one to either make an application to study Medicine; in some courses guarantees entry to a five-year standard medical degree or in some courses guarantees an interview. It typically also qualifies students to apply to other health-related subjects.

Medicine with a gateway year

This is a relatively new initiative designed to widen participation in Medicine but has strict criteria for eligibility. This is aimed at students with high potential and ability but whose socio-economic situations have presented a barrier to entry. For example students from very poor performing schools with low entry rates into university. These courses typically have lower entry requirements and more pastoral and academic support as well as mentoring. They are a year longer as the first year is used to build more robust fundamental scientific principles that may not have been developed from A-levels alone or the extra course length is used to introduce the curriculum in a more graduated way.

Taking A-levels as a mature student

Alternatively, you could take A-levels or their equivalent, e.g. Scottish Highers for example by enrolling on to a college. This will likely take two years.

What else will I need to apply to Medicine as a mature student?

  • If you already meet the academic requirements discussed above, e.g. GCSE, A-levels or degree requirements, then you will still need to meet the other requirements that all applicants need
  • These include the relevant work experience, a reference and you will need to write a short, 4000 character personal statement
  • If the university uses them then you will need to take an admission tests such as the UKCAT, BMAT or GAMSAT.
  • Almost all medical schools use an admissions test. In 2018, 25 UK medical schools used the UKCAT, 7 used the BMAT and 7 used the GAMSAT.
  • If you have a degree, you may need to sit an admission test for graduates called the GAMSAT.
  • You apply to Medical school via an online application system called UCAS. It is simple enough to use and only requires a very small admin fee.
  • You will find plenty of information throughout this site or in person through our specialist courses to guide you on every step of the application process. You can also use our Medical tutoring service to speak to a doctor one to one in person or online about any stage of the UCAS or international medical school application process.

How can Medicine Answered help?

Medicine Answered exists to do everything we can to help you get into your chosen UK or international medical school and fulfil your ambition of becoming a doctor. All of our courses and one to one tutoring is delivered only by doctors who received all four UCAS medical school offers. We offer one to one Medicine interview tutoring with a doctor, one day Medicine interview courses and a 360° medical school application review which includes an expert Medicine personal statement review by a professional editor and then by a doctor.