GENERAL INFORMATION
Degree Courses: Medicine, Dentistry
Location: United Kingdom and Ireland
Language: English
Admission Process: Admission test and Interview
Degree Recognition: Recognized in Europe. Adapted to Bologna Process. Uses the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)
DEGREE COURSES
Medicine: degree course fully taught in English (300/360 ECTS, mandatory attendance). Graduates are awarded the title of “Doctor in Medicine (MUDr. Or MD)”. Duration: 5 or 6 years. Start: September/October.
Dentistry: degree course fully taught in English (300 ECTS, mandatory attendance). Duration: 5 years. Start: September/October.
THE MAIN INFORMATION
Medicor Tutor, a leading company in Europe active since 2009, has assisted hundreds of students in the path to access Medicine and Dentistry in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
These countries are world leaders in education, with some of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world. In England and Ireland all the faculties of Medicine and Dentistry have limited places and it is necessary to pass a demanding selection process to be admitted. There are numerous prestigious universities with very high academic rankings and to access them it is in fact necessary to take an entrance test and obtain a certain minimum score.
United Kingdom
The most widely used admissions test for universities in the UK is the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). A good UCAT score is between 650 and 680, while a high score is above 680. The other selection test used in England is the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT), although the BMAT is only a required test at a handful of UK medical schools.
The UCAT, formerly called the UKCAT, is a computer-based aptitude test consisting of five sections. The test assesses students' critical thinking, judgment, and reasoning skills in both short-answer and multiple-choice questions. Although both exams are challenging and have very limited time limits to answer questions, the UCAT is generally considered more difficult than the BMAT. For example, the UCAT only allows an average of 23 minutes per section to answer a maximum of 44 questions. This means that students have an average of 1 minute to read a question and then formulate an answer.
For the BMAT, the most difficult section is usually the physics portion of the science and maths section. The BMAT is a 2-hour exam, consisting of three sections: the first tests verbal reasoning and problem-solving skills, the second is a multiple-choice section that tests general maths and science knowledge, and the third section is a short essay response. Due to the difficulty of these exams, some students choose to write just the BMAT or just the UCAT, although the UCAT is more widely accepted and is even a requirement for some medical schools in Australia.
Tuition fees in the UK are on average very high, with fees approaching or exceeding €30,000 per year.
Ireland
In Ireland, the admissions test used is the Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT). This test measures a number of things in candidates, including logical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and non-verbal reasoning, as well as the ability to understand people's thoughts, behaviors, and/or intentions. Students wishing to enter Medicine and Dentistry should aim to obtain a HPAT-Ireland score of 150 or higher (out of a possible 300). The HPAT is a very low-scoring exam, where a score of 170 or higher would be considered a very high result.
Medicine and Dentistry courses in Ireland can last from four to six years. Universities with a 6-year course are: University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Galway, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI – Bahrain. With a 5-year course the following are: Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Galway, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. With a 4-year course the following are: University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Tuition fees in Ireland for European students are significantly lower than in the UK at around €3,000/10,000 per year.
Assistance Path and Online Preparation Course
Our assistance service includes the support of expert Tutors and Mentors who will help you prepare the necessary documentation. In addition, our consultants will constantly assist you at every stage. Below you will find all the services we offer to our students:
- Entrance Test preparation through an e-learning platform that includes:
- 20,000 UCAT questions and 15,000 HPAT questions, over 20 exams and 40 simulations
- Video lessons and video explanations
- Access to the app (iOS and Android)
- Personalised feedback using artificial intelligence
- Predicted scores and detailed performance analysis
- Replication of the UCAT and HPAT platform
- Constant support from online experts
- Interactive study planner (integrated with reminders)
- Strategies to maximise performance
- 2-day online workshop with expert teachers
- 20 hours of individual teaching with UCAT and HPAT teachers
- 5 hours of personalised teaching for the interview with an expert tutor
- 5 hours of assistance and review of the Personal Statement
- Assistance with applications through the UCAS portal in the UK and CAO in Ireland
- Support and bureaucratic assistance for enrolment at the University
- Validation of the high school diploma from the Ministry of Education
- Information assistance for finding private or campus accommodation
ADMISSION PROCESS
In both the UK and Ireland, in addition to the tests described above, the grades obtained during school in some specific subjects (chemistry, biology and another science subject) are assessed, as well as passing the IELTS test with a certain score (set by the individual universities), as well as letters of motivation and references to include in the application and finally the interview, which is of crucial importance. Most universities in the UK do not use traditional interview types and you may find yourself doing a circuit of MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews). This means that you will spend about two hours moving between different areas facing a series of tasks in which your communication skills, empathy, attention to detail, compassion and decision-making ability will be assessed.
Applications to study medicine in England are made through the UCAS website, the central admissions system. While in Ireland applications are made through the centralised CAO - Central Applications Office (CAO) system.
You can make a maximum of five applications through UCAS, so our advice is to make four applications for medicine and use your last choice to apply for a medicine-related degree course. This will give you the chance to access the Graduate Entry Programme (GEP), which is designed for graduates in a science field (other than medicine) who wish to do a fast-track course of just four years in medicine. The GAMSAT is the entrance exam for candidates for the Graduate Entry Programme (GEP) in medicine. The GAMSAT tests general skills, critical thinking, problem solving and basic science concepts applied to real-life situations.
If your dream is to study Medicine and Dentistry in the UK and Ireland, you can contact us for more information by filling in the form on the side, writing to us at info@medicortutor.com or call us on +39 0256566828.
DEGREE RECOGNITION
The degrees are recognized throughout Europe, Canada and the USA. Universities in UK and Ireland have conformed to the "Bologna Convention" and use the European SEIS standards that identify equal educational protocols for all European Universities. They also use the European credit system, the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).