u/aa4456

I have offers for Graduate Entry Medicine at both St George's and UEA, and I'm torn. Hoping for some perspective from current/former students at either, or anyone who's been in a similar spot.

Background:

• Did my undergrad in London
• From SE England, so SGUL is closer to home and I still have friends in London
• Want to go into surgery - perhaps orthopaedics (not set in stone)

I was originally pretty set on SGUL. The trauma centre exposure felt huge given my surgical interest, plus the practical benefits of being close to home and having a built-in social network. After doing more digging on UEA, I came away really impressed with how thoughtfully they've designed the course around their students and now I'm reconsidering.

Pros for UEA:

• Spiral curriculum (which I prefer)
• HCA training and the ability to do bank shifts from year 1
• Strong support structure across all 4 years
• 3rd in the GMC survey for foundation programme prep
• Free residential accommodation for placements outside Norwich and cheap transport
• Much cheaper rent
• Large regional teaching hospital in NNUH
• Help in portfolio building from first year
• 24/7 access for OSCE practice

Pros for SGUL:

• Major trauma centre on-site
• Wider and more varied case mix from a London tertiary population
• VSLO-certified - US electives accessible via the AAMC system
• Flinders University (Adelaide) exchange for Australia
• Closer to home + can live with undergrad friends
• More tertiary specialty exposure for surgery
• Established reputation for producing surgical trainees

Any thoughts welcome, particularly from anyone who's gone into surgery from either school, or who chose between similar trade-offs. Cheers.

Could someone please DM me the link, thanks!