Student reviews
What is studying medicine at King's College London 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.
8 reports · 3 widely reported
First year is extremely lecture-heavy with recorded lecture-capture as the main teaching method, plus weekly small-group case-based discussions and workshops. Students say the sheer volume of content is the main workload driver, though individual facts are rarely tested in fine detail.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
First year is extremely lecture-heavy with recorded lecture-capture as the main teaching method, plus weekly small-group case-based discussions and workshops. Students say the sheer volume of content is the main workload driver, though individual facts are rarely tested in fine detail.
"The main workload of first year is just getting through all the lectures... any one piece of information is not likely to be asked ruthlessly in Finals."
Bavesh Blogs, KCL medicine student, first year review"the main method of teaching. All the lectures are recorded and put online onto lecture capture"
lifeofamedic.com, Sara, KCL first-year medic"Monday and Tuesday consist of lectures...Thursday and Friday also consisted of lectures. Most of first year is very lecture heavy."
6med interview with KCL student AshithaCadaveric dissection runs from term two of first year, once a week, in small groups of 10-15 with an assigned demonstrator. Students consistently describe it as a highlight, though demonstrator quality varies by group.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
Cadaveric dissection runs from term two of first year, once a week, in small groups of 10-15 with an assigned demonstrator. Students consistently describe it as a highlight, though demonstrator quality varies by group.
"Dissections were pretty dope. You get a supervisor and some are better than others."
Bavesh Blogs, KCL medicine student, first year review"Cadaveric dissections are the highlight of first year. These are done in small groups"
lifeofamedic.com, Sara, KCL first-year medic"For these anatomy sessions, we are placed in small tutor groups of around 10-15 students with an assigned demonstrator."
6med interview with KCL student AshithaKCL has a reputation among its own students for weak administration (slow email responses, disorganised timetabling, unresponsive personal tutors) that recurs as the top complaint independent of teaching quality itself, and is cited as a driver of the medical school's historically low NSS student satisfaction scores.
Widely reported · 3 sources(spans several cycles)
KCL has a reputation among its own students for weak administration (slow email responses, disorganised timetabling, unresponsive personal tutors) that recurs as the top complaint independent of teaching quality itself, and is cited as a driver of the medical school's historically low NSS student satisfaction scores.
"The worst thing about the university is that the admin team are quite slow at responding to emails."
6med interview with KCL student Ashitha"paraphrase from search snippet: impressively bad admin, fairly badly organised course (although they recently renewed the curriculum and the new one seems to be running better)"
The Student Room thread Pros and cons of medicine at KCL?"paraphrase from search snippet: dire administration contributes most of the dissatisfaction, including late timetables and bureaucratic assessments; personal tutors have limited engagement"
The Student Room thread why has the medicine a100 course @ kcl have a low student satisfaction?Clinical placements are spread across several distinct hospital clusters plus peripheral district general hospitals and GP practices further out in Kent and Sussex, so travel time and site quality can differ a lot depending on where a student is allocated.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Clinical placements are spread across several distinct hospital clusters plus peripheral district general hospitals and GP practices further out in Kent and Sussex, so travel time and site quality can differ a lot depending on where a student is allocated.
"For hospital placements, students can be placed at either one of GSTT (Guy's and St Thomas'), King's College Hospital or QEH/Lewisham hospitals."
6med interview with KCL student Ashitha"paraphrase from search snippet: students undertake placements at general practices and district general hospitals located in south London and southern England, currently mostly in Kent and Sussex"
The Student Room thread How good is KCL Medicine?Med school does not consume all free time in the earlier years; students describe a genuine social scene centred on Guy's campus, Guy's Bar, and a large GKT/medic-specific society and sports-team culture separate from general KCL societies, alongside standard high London costs of living.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Med school does not consume all free time in the earlier years; students describe a genuine social scene centred on Guy's campus, Guy's Bar, and a large GKT/medic-specific society and sports-team culture separate from general KCL societies, alongside standard high London costs of living.
"med school does not impose on your social life or free time outside-of-studying basically at all."
Bavesh Blogs, KCL medicine student, first year review"Students also go to Guy's bar a lot as they have lots of events on... There are separate KCL and GKT (Medical) sports teams which are a great way to meet lots of people and make friends."
6med interview with KCL student AshithaIntercalation at KCL is optional, not built into the degree length by default, and the decision point comes between Stages 2 and 3 (third year). Students see this as an advantage giving more flexibility than medical schools where intercalation is compulsory, such as UCL and Imperial.
Several reports · 2 sources(spans several cycles)
Intercalation at KCL is optional, not built into the degree length by default, and the decision point comes between Stages 2 and 3 (third year). Students see this as an advantage giving more flexibility than medical schools where intercalation is compulsory, such as UCL and Imperial.
"KCL offers the optional BSc. Unlike other medical schools that either has the BSc as part of the degree or not, KCL gives the option for students to decide in third year."
6med interview with KCL student Ashitha"paraphrase from search snippet: the major advantage that KCL has is that it is a 5-year course and the integrated BSc is optional, whereas for UCL it is mandatory"
The Student Room thread Pros and cons of medicine at KCL?From second year onward, self-directed learning and question banks matter more than attending lectures for the KCL progress tests; one student reported lectures covered only about a quarter of what's actually examined.
Single report(spans several cycles)
From second year onward, self-directed learning and question banks matter more than attending lectures for the KCL progress tests; one student reported lectures covered only about a quarter of what's actually examined.
"Most of the first half of second year is found discovering that to do well in the progress tests, you don't really have to go to the King's lectures... lectures...would altogether only cover 25% of the content assessed"
Bavesh Blogs, KCL medicine student, Stage 2 exams postAssessment in the pre-clinical years is dominated by large cumulative progress tests covering broad clinical content rather than frequent small module exams, and question banks are treated by students as more predictive of the real exam than lecture attendance or in-house mock scores.
Single report(spans several cycles)
Assessment in the pre-clinical years is dominated by large cumulative progress tests covering broad clinical content rather than frequent small module exams, and question banks are treated by students as more predictive of the real exam than lecture attendance or in-house mock scores.
"74/99 (standardised mark 78) in the real exam despite averaging 60% on Quesmed... King's is going to change up the progress tests next year to include even more clinical content"
Bavesh Blogs, KCL medicine student, Stage 2 exams postFree course: Medical Ethics
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