I second what meddie said. I went to medical school (in the UK) but left a few months before finals. Most of your fellow students will stab you in the back as soon as look at you. Granted there are some nice people there and I made some really good friends, but with limited clinician time and patient contact (and in my uni the bottom 10% of the year were failed regardless of how high their mark actually was) be prepared to get screwed over. And I rarely see my friends who are qualified now as they are working ALL THE TIME (what European 48hr working time directive?!), and stressed, and whenever I do see them all they do is ****** about how much they hate their jobs as junior doctors (where everyone treats you like crap until you are Consultant).

I also think that's part of the problem. A lot of people, myself included, focus on the prestige of being a doctor, but actually it's not about how 'awesome' you are. Being let into the lives of patients is an honour and you should appreciate that. I went into medicine to work holistically with patients, which is what medical schools and doctors say they want, but actually most people I came across see the psychosocial/holistic approach as something they have to pay lip service to to pass their exams, that is then completely irrelevant to their future career and it categorically is not. Being a good doctor is not just about knowing your stuff; it's mostly about genuinely caring about your patients and being a good communicator. With that being hugely underrated at my medical school and by the doctors I met, I decided to retrain as a psychologist.

I do wish you all the best of luck though as you really will need it! If this is what you really want to do (and you're sure you know what you're getting yourself in to), then go for it. Everyone I knew (family, friends & teachers) told me I'd never get into medschool because it is so competitive...and I got offered 3 places (out of 4) so what did they know?! :P

*Willow*