Your Essential Guide to UK Medical School Applications: UCAT, UCAS, Interviews & Beyond
Welcome to the Blue Peanut Medical School Blog—your trusted resource for navigating the challenging and competitive journey into medicine. Whether you're in sixth form preparing your UCAS personal statement, studying for the UCAT, or gearing up for interviews such as MMIs or panel formats, our blog provides expert guidance at every stage.
Created by practising NHS General Practitioners and experienced medical educators, each article distils practical strategies, up-to-date insights, and insider knowledge to help you achieve your dream of securing a place at a UK medical school.
What GCSEs do I need to be a doctor?
Universities vary in their requirements for GCSEs. Some will calculate the score from the 8 highest GCSE grades you get, others will look at all of them and then others will focus more on the core subjects like Maths, English and Sciences only
Veterinary medicine – more complex questions - financial and ethical considerations
We taught several students last year who were applying for veterinary medicine. The interviews tended to focus on broadly the same domains as medical school interviews. However, there are some important considerations. One of these is the financial impact of care. Whilst this is increasing becoming a consideration in deciding which treatments the NHS can fund, you are more likely to be exposed to such a consideration in a veterinary school MMI interview.
Medical School Interview - Communication Skills Stations
Medical schools are increasingly using live actors in MMI stations. A common scenario is where you have to use your initiative to resolve a conflict or a dilemma. From our knowledge of such assessments, the actor usually is briefed before the station and will have been told how to respond to what candidates say. They will usually not give away any information unless they are specifically asked.