PLEASE HELP: What to study before medicine

Aaronlp5

Hi, I'm a 6th year student and for most of my life I've wanted to be a doctor. Due to some subject choices this won't be possible at undergraduate level and I plan to go through the Graduate route.
I was wondering what course to study first. I think I'll aim for health and performance at UCD as its a 3 year course and I REALLY dont want to have 8 years before I'm a doctor as it's definitely what I want to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Has anyone done an arts course and then medicine?

P.S Ill be 17 when i go into college so I'm young enough

EoghanIRL

A lot of people do physiology .. You have to study it for the first 2 years anyway so you'd be at a good advantage .

Other undergrads I've heard of are biochem and genetics .

TheEdgeofGlory

Aaronlp5 wrote: »

Hi, I'm a 6th year student and for most of my life I've wanted to be a doctor. Due to some subject choices this won't be possible at undergraduate level and I plan to go through the Graduate route.
I was wondering what course to study first. I think I'll aim for health and performance at UCD as its a 3 year course and I REALLY dont want to have 8 years before I'm a doctor as it's definitely what I want to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Has anyone done an arts course and then medicine?

P.S Ill be 17 when i go into college so I'm young enough

Would you consider repeating the Leaving Cert?. It'd be only a year in your life in the grand scheme of things and it would be far less expensive too!. Keep it in mind if you're as passionate about medicine as you say you are. What subjects are you currently studying?

Aaronlp5

EoghanIRL wrote: »

A lot of people do physiology .. You have to study it for the first 2 years anyway so you'd be at a good advantage .

Other undergrads I've heard of are biochem and genetics .

Thanks very much for the advice. Any idea where I could do it in Dublin/ Close to Dublin?

Aaronlp5

TheEdgeofGlory wrote: »

Would you consider repeating the Leaving Cert?. It'd be only a year in your life in the grand scheme of things and it would be far less expensive too!. Keep it in mind if you're as passionate about medicine as you say you are. What subjects are you currently studying?

Thanks for the reply, I'm studying Biology, Physics, Classics, English, Irish and Spanish at Higher level and Maths at OL.
Picking HL Irish and dropping to OL maths was a bad decision in hindsight.
I think if I was repeating I'd want to pick up another subject. Any suggestions?
I've heard good things about Japanese, but I'd have to catch up.

Bazinga_N

General Science in Trinity or some other general science course might also be an option.

But physiology, biochem, genetics or something along those lines might be more useful!

Aaronlp5

Bazinga_N wrote: »

General Science in Trinity or some other general science course might also be an option.

But physiology, biochem, genetics or something along those lines might be more useful![/Q
Is genetics useful for medicine? I like doing it in biology but would've thought physiology/biomed would be more relevant?

thanks for the reply

Aaronlp5

Bazinga_N wrote: »

General Science in Trinity or some other general science course might also be an option.

But physiology, biochem, genetics or something along those lines might be more useful!

thanks for the reply!
Is genetics useful for medicine? I like doing it in biology but would've thought physiology/biomed would be more relevant?

miissjuly

The graduate route isn't that easy you still have the option to do it straight away, saves you time and money! And you say you're young so why not repeat it's only a year? I was in the same situation as you and decided to stick to the grad route but now I wish I just repeated LC. I'm also doing a 3 year course and had HP science on my CAO haa, it is a great choice for a 3 year course and another option is psychology it's 3 years in some colleges (Maynooth University, UCD etc) but HP science would probably be better (but depends on your choice really) anyways best of luck.

Aaronlp5

miissjuly wrote: »

The graduate route isn't that easy you still have the option to do it straight away, saves you time and money! And you say you're young so why not repeat it's only a year? I was in the same situation as you and decided to stick to the grad route but now I wish I just repeated LC. I'm also doing a 3 year course and had HP science on my CAO haa, it is a great choice for a 3 year course and another option is psychology it's 3 years in some colleges (Maynooth University, UCD etc) but HP science would probably be better (but depends on your choice really) anyways best of luck.

Thank you for the reply! I am considering repeating but will need to think about picking another subject up if I do.
Can I ask what course you're doing and are you still aiming for GEM?
I'm aware its not easy but as far as I know the GAMSAT is science and english based, my two strengths :-)

miissjuly

Aaronlp5 wrote: »

Thank you for the reply! I am considering repeating but will need to think about picking another subject up if I do.
Can I ask what course you're doing and are you still aiming for GEM?
I'm aware its not easy but as far as I know the GAMSAT is science and english based, my two strengths :-)

I'm studying Psychology and yes still aiming for GEM I can only talk from my experience, science based tests does look easier because you can study for them but they are actually tough when you do it, I sat the HPAT and another science based test for medicine found the HPAT way better than the science based test
I still feel like dropping out of college and repeating the LC for medicine but that would probably take longer than GEM now.

Beca19

Aaronlp5 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, I'm studying Biology, Physics, Classics, English, Irish and Spanish at Higher level and Maths at OL.
Picking HL Irish and dropping to OL maths was a bad decision in hindsight.
I think if I was repeating I'd want to pick up another subject. Any suggestions?
I've heard good things about Japanese, but I'd have to catch up.

You meet the entry requirements for all medicine courses so I don't know why you couldn't get in as an undergrad? Is it just that you think that you won't get enough points?

TheEdgeofGlory

Beca19 wrote: »

You meet the entry requirements for all medicine courses so I don't know why you couldn't get in as an undergrad? Is it just that you think that you won't get enough points?

I echo this! You have two science subjects which pretty much means you matriculate for all of the medical courses in Ireland. If you're worried about the lack of Chemistry ( which in hindsight would be of major benefit for you heading into a medical degree) most of the main universities seem to hold "crash courses" for those lacking in LC Biology/Chemistry so I'm sure with a bit of hard slog on your behalf you can catch up in regards to that gap of knowledge. Is your aptitude for science good? If you were to repeat, I would personally recommend subjects with short syllabuses that reward a good amount of rote/concept learning as you're generally rewarded if you employ good exam technique, timing, and strategy. Subjects like Ag Science ( you need a teacher to sign off your project though), Business, And Economics would be suitable.

Japanese would be hard to pick up in a year in my opinion as it takes a while to acquire a language. and you'd need the support of a really good teacher. I studied it for a few months and although I'm very good at languages and language learning I found it completely different to any other language I've encountered and I ended up dropping it mostly due to personal reasons and clashes with certain individuals which I won't go into as I don't want to identify myself and it's still quite an emotive topic to discuss for me. You really would be better off learning a subject that's more familiar to you is what I'm trying to get across. Are you sitting the HPAT?.

EoghanIRL

Also biomedical science . Forgot about that one .

How I know is because the Canadians who are studying with us had to do a bachelors first . In USA and Canada you have to do an undergrad to study med and dent .

Aaronlp5

miissjuly wrote: »

The graduate route isn't that easy you still have the option to do it straight away, saves you time and money! And you say you're young so why not repeat it's only a year? I was in the same situation as you and decided to stick to the grad route but now I wish I just repeated LC. I'm also doing a 3 year course and had HP science on my CAO haa, it is a great choice for a 3 year course and another option is psychology it's 3 years in some colleges (Maynooth University, UCD etc) but HP science would probably be better (but depends on your choice really) anyways best of luck.

Thanks for all the advice! Good luck on your path!

Aaronlp5

TheEdgeofGlory wrote: »

I echo this! You have two science subjects which pretty much means you matriculate for all of the medical courses in Ireland. If you're worried about the lack of Chemistry ( which in hindsight would be of major benefit for you heading into a medical degree) most of the main universities seem to hold "crash courses" for those lacking in LC Biology/Chemistry so I'm sure with a bit of hard slog on your behalf you can catch up in regards to that gap of knowledge. Is your aptitude for science good? If you were to repeat, I would personally recommend subjects with short syllabuses that reward a good amount of rote/concept learning as you're generally rewarded if you employ good exam technique, timing, and strategy. Subjects like Ag Science ( you need a teacher to sign off your project though), Business, And Economics would be suitable.

Japanese would be hard to pick up in a year in my opinion as it takes a while to acquire a language. and you'd need the support of a really good teacher. I studied it for a few months and although I'm very good at languages and language learning I found it completely different to any other language I've encountered and I ended up dropping it mostly due to personal reasons and clashes with certain individuals which I won't go into as I don't want to identify myself and it's still quite an emotive topic to discuss for me. You really would be better off learning a subject that's more familiar to you is what I'm trying to get across. Are you sitting the HPAT?.

Hi, I very much appreciate your advice and help. Unfortunately I'm by no means good at Irish, due to a lack of interest and never having been taught the basics. This along with the fact that I will probably aim for a B2 or so in Spanish means my max points will come in at 550. This is provided I get A1s in my 4 other subjects including classics which, although I'm good at, has a pretty bad A rate so you can see how I'm running into trouble. I decided not to sit the HPAT, perhaps another mistake as it could've given me a realistic view on where I'm at. I certainly think Ag science would appeal to me. What would studying this be like without a teacher? I really am not just another student who wants to do medicine for the sake of it, I've done a serious amount of research into it so any further help regarding subjects/general advice would be hugely appreciated.

Beca19 wrote: »

You meet the entry requirements for all medicine courses so I don't know why you couldn't get in as an undergrad? Is it just that you think that you won't get enough points?

Thanks for the help, I've pointed out above why undergrad medicine could be a push for me.

EoghanIRL

Op think about this . Pick your undergrad wisely because if you don't get accepted into gem then you will be stuck with it so to speak.

My advice would be to go for it this year . If it doesn't work out then you could repeat . A large amount of high point health science course students are repeat leaving cert students .

Slow Show

Aaronlp5 wrote: »

Hi, I very much appreciate your advice and help. Unfortunately I'm by no means good at Irish, due to a lack of interest and never having been taught the basics. This along with the fact that I will probably aim for a B2 or so in Spanish means my max points will come in at 550. This is provided I get A1s in my 4 other subjects including classics which, although I'm good at, has a pretty bad A rate so you can see how I'm running into trouble. I decided not to sit the HPAT, perhaps another mistake as it could've given me a realistic view on where I'm at. I certainly think Ag science would appeal to me. What would studying this be like without a teacher? I really am not just another student who wants to do medicine for the sake of it, I've done a serious amount of research into it so any further help regarding subjects/general advice would be hugely appreciated.

Why rule yourself out this early? Go on, register for the HPAT and give it a shot - there's a late deadline of February 1st so you have time. You might surprise yourself (really, really possible if you already have the mindset that the test demands) and if nothing else it's a good experience to have for next year. Honestly if you're not in it you can't win it, nothing is stopping you from giving it a try! If you do decide to, I definitely have a few PMs accumulated over the past couple of years in my sent box brimming with advice that I could pass along (same applies to anyone here).

spurious

The other factor to consider is the very high financial cost of GEM, particularly if your means to saving for it depends on a degree which was not your first choice.

jjC123

My advice as a med student is sit the HPAT - people got into med on 520 points this year! The financial cost and time spent in education from GEM is monumental. You genuinely could surprise yourself and do a very good HPAT with just a few weeks prep. Personally, I would aim to have a go this year. If you get it, great, if not, repeat. You'll matriculate this year anyway so you could change up your subjects next year if that suited you better points-wise. For the majority of medical students these days, getting in is practically a 2 or even 3 attempt process anyway since the introduction of the HPAT

Aaronlp5

EoghanIRL wrote: »

Op think about this . Pick your undergrad wisely because if you don't get accepted into gem then you will be stuck with it so to speak.

My advice would be to go for it this year . If it doesn't work out then you could repeat . A large amount of high point health science course students are repeat leaving cert students .

Thank you for the advice, repeating seems to definitely be my best option at the moment.

Slow Show wrote: »

Why rule yourself out this early? Go on, register for the HPAT and give it a shot - there's a late deadline of February 1st so you have time. You might surprise yourself (really, really possible if you already have the mindset that the test demands) and if nothing else it's a good experience to have for next year. Honestly if you're not in it you can't win it, nothing is stopping you from giving it a try! If you do decide to, I definitely have a few PMs accumulated over the past couple of years in my sent box brimming with advice that I could pass along (same applies to anyone here).

Thanks for the reply, I don't know if I would feel good about going in with so little prep, particularly since I'm about to start the mocks but I certainly see where your coming from, and its definitely great advice for those who won't have mocks all the way up to the HPAT :-)

spurious wrote: »

The other factor to consider is the very high financial cost of GEM, particularly if your means to saving for it depends on a degree which was not your first choice.

Ye, I think my parents would finance it PROVIDED i would be in a position to pay them back after.

jjC123 wrote: »

My advice as a med student is sit the HPAT - people got into med on 520 points this year! The financial cost and time spent in education from GEM is monumental. You genuinely could surprise yourself and do a very good HPAT with just a few weeks prep. Personally, I would aim to have a go this year. If you get it, great, if not, repeat. You'll matriculate this year anyway so you could change up your subjects next year if that suited you better points-wise. For the majority of medical students these days, getting in is practically a 2 or even 3 attempt process anyway since the introduction of the HPAT

Thanks very much, nice to hear people got in on 520! I am becoming more sure that repeating might be the right option for me. So is it true I wouldn't need Irish or Maths next year?
On a side note, how are you enjoying medicine?

Aaronlp5

General consensus definitely seems to be to repeat. Just out of interest does anyone recommend GEM more? And if i were to repeat, would i do it by myself at home or what are my options since my school doesn't really allow repeats if not for personal reasons/illness
What subjects should I pick? I think I'd keep Biology, physics, English, classics and take up Ag science and perhaps keep Spanish.

jjC123

If it isn't financially prohibitive, I really do recommend sitting the HPAT this year as well. Even if you do one practice test and stroll in on the day. You genuinely can't replace the benefits of being familiarized with the exam and setting, being graded against the pool of medicine applicants and just seeing where you're at/ where you need to improve. Plus, you might be a natural!

And in reply to your question - I love medicine. It's a fantastic course. Hard work but really rewarding.

BuckleyX7

jjC123 wrote: »

My advice as a med student is sit the HPAT - people got into med on 520 points this year! The financial cost and time spent in education from GEM is monumental. You genuinely could surprise yourself and do a very good HPAT with just a few weeks prep. Personally, I would aim to have a go this year. If you get it, great, if not, repeat. You'll matriculate this year anyway so you could change up your subjects next year if that suited you better points-wise. For the majority of medical students these days, getting in is practically a 2 or even 3 attempt process anyway since the introduction of the HPAT

Aaronlp5 wrote: »

Thanks very much, nice to hear people got in on 520! I am becoming more sure that repeating might be the right option for me. So is it true I wouldn't need Irish or Maths next year?
On a side note, how are you enjoying medicine?

This is incorrect. Matriculation and point requirements have to be achieved in the same sitting of the Leaving Cert for Medicine.

jjC123

BuckleyX7 wrote: »

This is incorrect. Matriculation and point requirements have to be achieved in the same sitting of the Leaving Cert for Medicine.

You're right, apologies, Medicine is an exception.

Aaronlp5

Thanks everyone for the help, I have now decided to sit the HPAT this year, even though it's highly unlikely I'll get in, at least I'll have the experience should I repeat, and I guess miracles do happen so I'll give it a shot. I'll probably just do the practice paper for preparation since I've mocks until the 17th.
In the meantime does anyone have any tips for the HPAT or any of my subjects? (biology,physics,classics,Spanish,English,Irish and OL maths)