 Disliking the idea of settling down in the country as a general practitioner, young Bickersteth determined to become a London physician.With a view to obtaining a medical degree, on 22 June 1802 his name was entered in the books of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and, on 27 October in the same year, he was elected a scholar on the Hewitt foundation.Owing to his intense application to work, his health broke down after his first term.