Choosing where to spend the next five or six years training to be a doctor is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make. If you’re looking into the Medicine MBBS at King’s College London (KCL), you’ve likely seen the impressive list of affiliated hospitals and the high rankings. But when you’re trying to figure out “is King’s good for Medicine?” or “what should I know before choosing this degree?”, the most reliable answers come from the students who are actually wearing the stethoscopes on the wards right now.
At Already Doing It (alreadydoingit.co.uk), we connect you with vetted peer mentors who are currently navigating the KCL medical curriculum. They can provide an honest review of the course at King’s and help you explore the questions that will actually define your life as a medic in London.
King’s uses an integrated curriculum, which aims to blend basic medical science with clinical practice from the very beginning of the course. Unlike traditional courses that keep you in a lecture theatre for the first three years, KCL introduces clinical touchpoints early on. This structure raises several important topics to explore with a peer mentor to understand what is it really like to study Medicine at King’s:
How early do you actually start interacting with patients, and what do those first-year “communication skills” sessions really feel like?
How do students balance learning complex body systems and pathways in the morning with clinical rotations in the afternoon?
Does the “integrated” style make the science easier to remember, or does it feel like you’re juggling too many different types of learning at once?
Talking to a student already doing it can help you decide if you prefer this hands-on, blended approach or if you’d rather have a more separated pre-clinical and clinical experience.
One of the most famous aspects of being a King’s medic is the sheer diversity of your placements. You aren’t based in one building; you rotate through iconic institutions like Guy’s, St Thomas’, and King’s College Hospital. This variety is often praised, but it also changes the rhythm of your daily life. To get a feel for the reality, you might want to ask a mentor:
What is the reality of the “multi-hospital” commute—how much time and money do you actually spend travelling between South London campuses?
How does it feel to treat such an incredibly diverse patient population, from emergency trauma to specialized transplants, so early in your training?
Does moving between different hospital cultures help build your clinical confidence, or can it feel a bit fragmented?
Our mentors at alreadydoingit.co.uk can give you the “unfiltered” view of how to manage the logistics of a London-based medical degree while staying on top of your studies.
King’s is known for being transparent about its search for the “King’s Professional.” While your UCAT score is a major hurdle for shortlisting, the Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) are where the final decisions are often made. If you’re preparing your application, you might be wondering how to move beyond just “memorizing facts” to show the right values. You could ask a current student:
What was their MMI experience actually like, and how did they demonstrate things like empathy and resilience under pressure?
How did they prepare to discuss the “social determinants of health” in the context of a city as complex as London?
What is the one thing they wish they had known about the “King’s Professional” criteria before they walked into their interview?
Reading a guide is a great start, but nothing beats a 1-on-1 conversation with a student who is already doing it.
Don’t leave a life-changing decision to guesswork.
© 2026 Already Doing It Ltd. All rights reserved. The information on this site is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional career or admissions advice. Insider Sessions and Our Insider Guides reflect perspectives; always verify specific course details, entry requirements, and module lists with the official University Prospectus before applying.
