At AIMS.Guide, we have a dedicated team to provide a holistic package to help you get into medicine. The services we currently run are:

• – Admissions calculator: This will produce a report of medical schools in the UK that you meet the eligibility criteria for. It will also tell you if you’re eligible for any adjustments to your application due to contextual information, such as the school you are attending.
• – Blog posts and our Medicine 101 Guide: Our blog posts discuss the real-life experiences of students at medical schools all over the UK. Meanwhile, our Medicine 101 Guide is a series of factual articles that are designed to arm you with the knowledge you need to get into medicine.
• – Mentoring scheme: Our mentorship scheme connects medicine applicants (mentees) with medical students (mentors). We make every effort to connect like-minded individuals of similar backgrounds in the hope that young learners are inspired. This programme is offered to provide a point-of-contact for admission advice and tips and to help maximise the potential of your application.

We also host Q&A sessions where you can directly ask current medical students for advice. You can access this directly via the mentorship scheme page.

That is a very hard question to answer as there are a lot of things to consider. Nonetheless, medicine is one of the most competitive courses to study in the UK. For the best chance to succeed, students should not only meet the academic requirements but also demonstrate that they are well-rounded individuals with skills, hobbies and interests that make them stand out from the competition.

Here at AIMS.Guide, we want to empower young people to recognise their stories and differences, and nurture those who have a passion for medicine. Underrepresented groups also have the ability to succeed in medical school and we want to do everything we can to help them prove this. More and more people from disadvantaged backgrounds are accepted into medicine thanks to increased national “widening participation” and diversity efforts.

We will help as many people as possible who share our goal – to help disadvantaged students get into medical school.

We strongly believe that all opportunities should be accessible to everyone and that their personal context should be given proper weighting. This means applicants with a relative disadvantage (eg. poor school performance or socioeconomic factors) should have their background considered when determining their capability. Because of this belief, we give priority to widening participation applicants when filling the spaces of our programmes.

However, we are here to improve everybody’s chances of getting into medicine, offering our services to all. If you’d like to benefit from these services, or if you want to help us deliver them, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Our organisation was founded by Robbie Bain and Reece Hill, 4th year medical students at Newcastle University. We continue to be a voluntary organisation that is supported and delivered by medical students who offer their own time to develop resources, content and help applicants. We are a North-East based group but we provide services to anyone who wants to study medicine in the UK. We hope to expand our team nationally in the coming years.

We have a mentorship scheme, grounded in our experiences from underrepresented backgrounds, which is planned to be available for the next enrolment period. This will also provide you with a support network.

The  cost of medical school in the UK includes tuition fees (up to £9,250 per year for UK undergraduates) and maintenance costs (around £800/month), with various funding options such as loans, grants, and NHS bursaries, though international students face significantly higher tuition fees.

Student Finance provides  maintenance loans to help students cover living costs, with the amount depending on factors such as where they live and their household income. Additional financial support is available through grants, allowances, and university or charitable bursaries for eligible students.

The  NHS bursary provides UK medical students in later years of study with grants for tuition fees and living costs, which are smaller than student finance maintenance loans but can be supplemented by a reduced maintenance loan, part-time work, or additional financial support for eligible students.

We have a dedicated section on preparing for the UCAT.

href=”https://aims.guide/how-being-a-healthcare-assistant-helped-me” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Work experience in medicine involves gaining insight into healthcare through shadowing, volunteering, or other roles, with an emphasis on reflection and personal development. While traditional shadowing is valuable, alternative experiences are equally accepted by universities.

Also see our blog post on working as a Healthcare Assistant, which can be helpful for applications, your finances, and skills development.

Writing a strong personal statement requires demonstrating your passion for medicine, your personal qualities, and your relevant experiences. Be sure to reflect on how your experiences have shaped your desire to pursue a medical career. Here are some tips:

• Explain why you want to study medicine and how you became interested.
• Discuss your academic strengths and your work experience/volunteering in healthcare settings.
• Highlight personal qualities like empathy, communication skills, and resilience, with examples from your experiences.
• Show your understanding of the challenges of a medical career and your readiness for them.

For more tips, visit our Personal Statement Guide.

Imposter Syndrome is common among medical students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Here are some strategies to overcome it:

• Recognize that imposter syndrome is normal and many medical students experience it.
• Seek support from peers, mentors, and mental health professionals.
• Focus on your growth and achievements rather than comparing yourself to others.
• Keep a journal to track your progress and reflect on your accomplishments.