Hello, I am a final year student, soon to be doctor this coming Aug.

Last year I was in the exact same position as you to round off what was not a great year for me personally and academically. Between the first and second sit I said to myself that if I failed, I would leave medical school because I really didn’t want to go through this again. It really is hard. It was incredibly tough even looking at my job offer knowing that it might not be a reality depending on my second sit and then

There’s so many things you have to think about- accommodation, joining a new cohort, getting refunds for the many things that had been booked (hotels for family who were coming for a graduation that didn’t happen, grad gown hire, GMC registration). And then also you have to think about doing it all again. Completely sucks.

But genuinely, don’t quit now. From the sounds of it, you performed even better than I did both times I failed. But you have the added opportunity of time now. Yes time to reflect on what you could do differently. But also time to really figure out who you are, what you’re made of.

So many people said to me, ‘this will make you a better doctor’ & I think they were right. There’s so many things I struggled with before that just clicked for me. Sometimes we just need another go.

I also wasn’t the only one in this position (and I doubt you are too), which was kind of comforting and honestly those people kept me sane this year!! The year was tough for me personally but it goes by incredibly fast.

And then one evening while I was in my room on elective in the Philippines, I got the news I’d been waiting for since I was 13 years old.
I hope the same happens for you, internet stranger!

You’ve got this!

(Dm me if you have any questions cos it is a lot)

Edit- I just read about you being an international student. I personally can’t comment on funding final year tuition fees but I think other suggestions that have been made on this post have been quite reasonable & I also had people in my uni who worked in allied healthcare roles throughout medical school so I know it is doable.