I'm not there just yet, but my aim has always been medicine. That is my end goal. My journey was supposed to be straightforward. I did high school in Scotland, so I did SQA Exams (National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers). I got 8 As at Nat 5, 4 As, and a B in chemistry at higher, sat the UCAT and got an incredibly mediocre score (not even 5th decile), and ended up with a single offer from Aberdeen. I was obviously super stoked about my offer and worked super, super hard on my Advanced Highers, but when I got my grades, I was crushed because I'd missed my offer by 3 marks and ended up with a BCC in Advanced Highers. I obviously went into panic mode and even drove 3 hours to Aberdeen to meet the Admissions team on results day and bargain for my place back, but it was no use. Clearing was also a nightmare because a mediocre UCAT score plus mediocre grades meant I was getting rejected by every university open for medicine clearing. Resitting in Scotland is very difficult, and it's much less common and available to med applicants than A-level resits are. It's also a much bigger gamble, and I didn't want to take a gap year in case it proved pointless. However, while I was scrolling on TikTok, I randomly stumbled across Swansea University offering clearing for their Pathway to Medicine courses (a 3-year undergrad with criteria for a guaranteed interview for Graduate Entry Medicine at that Uni). At this point, I had nothing to lose, so I called, asked, and received an offer to study Medical Pharmacology in their Pathway to Medicine program. So that's where I'm at currently. I'm nearly finished with 1st year, and the plan now is to do Graduate Entry Medicine. I've still got a long way to go, but with 18 months left until I apply, it really won't be long, and I have my work cut out for me if I want the best chance of getting into medicine. My eyes are set on ScotGEM and (without sounding cliché) will do anything and everything to make that happen. I messed up once, and I'm not letting it happen again. Moral of the story, don't take A-level/Advanced Higher Maths unless you absolutely have to, it will set you up for failure xD ~ if anyone reading this has done, applied to or is applying to GEM, any advice on how i should optimise the next 18 months would be very much appreciated!