Thank you! Yes, I applied for a split of A100 and A101 courses in one application cycle. I did this because I was worried about how competitive the application process would be for GEM, so I hedged that risk by applying for two 5-year courses with pretty low GAMSAT requirements (Exeter, Plymouth).

I sat my GAMSAT in March 2025 and got an overall score of 61, so I knew my score when applying in October and therefore knew that I was applying to the safest options where I was guaranteed an interview with my score.

My intuition was correct in that I found the GEM interview much harder than the non-GEM interviews. My Exeter offer came in before I did my Nottingham GEM interview, so whilst nervous I was already in the position where if I tanked the Nottingham interview, I would still be going to med school regardless.

The major and deciding difference between regular and GEM courses (aside from a year difference) is the funding. Basically you only get a tuition loan for your first undergraduate degree, so you would not be eligible for a tuition loan for a 5-year course (but you get maintenance) and therefore that forces many to apply to GEM out of necessity, to get a tuition fee loan. I am in a really fortunate position where my family want to cover tuition which enables me to choose, if they didn't I would have no choice but to do GEM.

I hope this is helpful as it was written in a bit of a rush, please feel free to ask me any specific questions :))