Student reviews
What is studying medicine at University of Aberdeen actually like?
The interview gets you a place; these reports are about the five or six years after that. Gathered from current student and recent graduate forums, weighted by how many independent sources agree. These are unverified community reports, not official university information.
6 reports
Aberdeen runs a fully lecture-based, systems-block course rather than PBL: each semester-long block covers one body system (cardiovascular, respiratory, GI, etc.) and folds in the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and pathology of that system together, rather than teaching those subjects separately. Glasgow is reportedly the only PBL-driven medical school in Scotland by contrast.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Aberdeen runs a fully lecture-based, systems-block course rather than PBL: each semester-long block covers one body system (cardiovascular, respiratory, GI, etc.) and folds in the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and pathology of that system together, rather than teaching those subjects separately. Glasgow is reportedly the only PBL-driven medical school in Scotland by contrast.
"Aberdeen is a lecture-based course rather than PBL... within these blocks you examine all the pharmacology, anatomy, physiology, and pathology of that system rather than studying those subjects independently (paraphrase from search aggregation)"
TSR thread 'Aberdeen medical school course....'"Aberdeen uses a integrated systems-based approach"
Personal blog by self-identified 1st-year Aberdeen medic 'amedicsthoughts'Contact hours are heavy and front-loaded on dry, non-clinical content: a first-year Aberdeen medic described days with 3-4hrs back to back of lectures, and TSR posters note the first term has little clinical content because the two opening topics are dry, but once students move into systems blocks with clinical sessions 2-3 times a week they say they enjoy it much more.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Contact hours are heavy and front-loaded on dry, non-clinical content: a first-year Aberdeen medic described days with 3-4hrs back to back of lectures, and TSR posters note the first term has little clinical content because the two opening topics are dry, but once students move into systems blocks with clinical sessions 2-3 times a week they say they enjoy it much more.
"most days you are in the whole day sometimes with 3-4hrs back to back of lectures"
Personal blog by self-identified 1st-year Aberdeen medic 'amedicsthoughts'"First term has little clinical content as the two topics are quite dry, but once students move into systems and do clinical 2-3 times a week they really enjoy it (paraphrase from search aggregation)"
TSR thread on Aberdeen medicine student lifeCurrent/prospective students describe the med school as a tight-knit community centred entirely on the ARI/Foresterhill site with good pastoral support and plenty of medic and non-medic societies, and the recurring practical advice is to live with non-medics in first year to get a break from medicine and meet people on other courses, though some applicants are put off by Aberdeen being a smaller city with less going on than Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Current/prospective students describe the med school as a tight-knit community centred entirely on the ARI/Foresterhill site with good pastoral support and plenty of medic and non-medic societies, and the recurring practical advice is to live with non-medics in first year to get a break from medicine and meet people on other courses, though some applicants are put off by Aberdeen being a smaller city with less going on than Glasgow or Edinburgh.
"the course is very well organised and the pastoral care is excellent; the med school is quite a tight knit community with it being all on the ARI site... lots of people were put off Aberdeen because of the city, with some noting that it's a smaller city so there is less going on (paraphrase from search aggregation)"
TSR thread 'Pros and cons of Aberdeen medical school'"student from South of England nervous about attending, worried about student life and fitting in, seeking encouragement from current students (paraphrase)"
TSR thread 'Medicine at Aberdeen - need some encouragement'The cohort is heavily Scottish given Aberdeen's quota split (250+ Scottish places versus roughly 19-25 RUK places), which RUK offer-holders discuss as a real, if manageable, adjustment when weighing whether to accept an Aberdeen offer.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
The cohort is heavily Scottish given Aberdeen's quota split (250+ Scottish places versus roughly 19-25 RUK places), which RUK offer-holders discuss as a real, if manageable, adjustment when weighing whether to accept an Aberdeen offer.
"discussion of Scottish medical schools having far more Home places than RUK places (paraphrase from search aggregation)"
TSR thread 'Do Scottish medical schools favour Scottish Students?'"worries about fitting in with many Scottish students at Aberdeen raised by an RUK offer-holder (paraphrase)"
TSR thread 'Medicine at Aberdeen - need some encouragement'Intercalation at Aberdeen is optional (taken between year 3/4 or year 4/5), unlike Edinburgh where it is compulsory, and students weighing the two universities cite this flexibility as a concrete point in Aberdeen's favour against its more remote location.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Intercalation at Aberdeen is optional (taken between year 3/4 or year 4/5), unlike Edinburgh where it is compulsory, and students weighing the two universities cite this flexibility as a concrete point in Aberdeen's favour against its more remote location.
"Intercalating at Aberdeen is optional, whereas at Edinburgh it's compulsory (paraphrase from search aggregation)"
TSR thread 'Pros and cons of Aberdeen medical school'"comparison discussion citing intercalation flexibility as a factor (paraphrase)"
TSR thread 'Aberdeen or Edinburgh for Medicine'Aberdeen does not offer whole-cohort cadaveric dissection as standard: the anatomy course is built around prosected (pre-dissected) specimens, which prospective students discussing the school openly list as a genuine con compared with dissection-based rivals, even though a subset of students can opt into individual whole-body dissection projects.
Single report(spans several cycles)
Aberdeen does not offer whole-cohort cadaveric dissection as standard: the anatomy course is built around prosected (pre-dissected) specimens, which prospective students discussing the school openly list as a genuine con compared with dissection-based rivals, even though a subset of students can opt into individual whole-body dissection projects.
"You don't get dissection at Aberdeen - instead, the school uses prosections (pre-prepared specimens) (paraphrase from search aggregation)"
TSR thread 'Pros and cons of Aberdeen medical school'Free course: Personal Qualities and Resilience
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