u/Pretty_Date2953

I just saw that St Mary’s University London is opening a new medical school for 2026 entry and it got me thinking about how people feel about newer med schools in general. On one hand, new facilities and smaller cohorts sound really appealing. But at the same time they obviously haven’t graduated a cohort yet, so there’s less known about what the overall experience will be like. Would you guys consider applying to a brand new med school or would you rather stick with more established ones?

I’ve been looking into Gateway years and contextual offers, but every uni seems to have a different definition of "disadvantaged." Some look at your postcode, others at your school’s performance, and it’s a bit overwhelming to keep track. Those who are applying through WP schemes: How are you keeping your choices organized? Any specific unis you’ve found that have really clear (or really confusing) criteria?

I went to my local Boots today for what looked like an infected insect bite, thinking I could avoid waiting for a GP appointment because of the Pharmacy First service. The pharmacist was really helpful, but said I didn’t meet the criteria for treatment through the scheme. As a patient it’s a bit confusing because I thought infected bites were covered now. Are the eligibility rules just quite strict, or does it vary a lot depending on the symptoms/pharmacy?

I’ve only recently started proper UCAT prep and realised Abstract Reasoning is gone now. I was honestly relying on AR to help balance out my score because Decision Making is probably my weakest section 😭 Now that DM has more weight/time, I feel like I need to completely change my study plan. Is anyone else adjusting how they’re revising because of this?