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Medicine 2018 part 2

999 replies

LoniceraJaponica · 12/01/2018 20:39

New thread here

OP posts:
mumsneedwine · 12/01/2018 20:57

Yeah. Well done. Me and technology are not great friends 😁😁

SomersetS · 12/01/2018 23:22

Well done! I'd no idea how to do that. Thx!

Mumsneedwine - which hotel did you choose Liverpool? Any recommendations?

Last time we did a day trip - similarly 4 hour journey so going day before for interview & having a good mooch.

mumsneedwine · 13/01/2018 06:54

We've stayed at the Holiday Inn which is right outside Lime St Station and a 10 minutes walk to the Uni. And also stayed at the Mariott Just behind. There is also the Liner hotel which is right by the Uni (so up the Hill). I love the docks area but not as convenient for early starts at the Medical school.

SomersetS · 13/01/2018 08:31

Brill. Thx. That's this weekend's job.

2B1Gmum · 13/01/2018 09:00

That's clever Lonicera. SomersetS, I love the image of tractors and prom dresses, got to be better than uber!

I have to say yesterday at around 10 when I looked at mumsnet I was pleased to see some good news on Liverpool but anxious because DD was at school and hadn't sent any sort of message. In the end I came up with an excuse to message her about something, she replied but still no mention of Liverpool - in the end I prompted her and she sent a photo of her invite! We really didn't know what the deciding factors were in their choice of who to interview and for a couple of hours I thought she hadn't ticked their boxes. Really pleased it looks like those on this thread have all been invited!?

We are doing the trip in a day, booked the trains yesterday - it is half term so a late night means DD can have a small lie in the next day. The logical thing would have been to tag it on to the day after Manchester but I totally understand DD's reasoning for not doing so.

We stayed in a small family run hotel for the open day (can't remember name but can look it up if needed) it was on a bus route to the Uni, but we drove to a car park 2 mins from the Uni at the bottom of the hill, plenty of helpful students showed us the way. We ate out, courtesy of Tesco vouchers at Pizza Express in Docks Area (safe gluten free options for DD) and had wander round to the Liver Building after.

DD's school is also local Comp. but historically has been an all girls school, tatty building but decent grounds for a London Borough School - then they built lovely new sixth form building and facilities for boys and now have a popular mixed sixth form. Borough allocates purely on distance, and we are 10 mins walk so a no brainer - but DD didn't want to stay if it was an all girls sixth form. The boys that joined are mostly familiar faces from her primary school and even nursery school - and they have all become great friends (again). No boys applied for medicine - I wonder what the percentage split is nationwide?

watfordmummy · 13/01/2018 09:25

I have now given up on Cardiff, no interview despite I thought good GCSE and UKCat score. Have had St A interview back in December and waiting on Southampton although at least they keep in touch. Edinburgh don't interview. DS has mocks after half term in Feb but has ramped up working.

I'm turning to GinWink

swingofthings · 13/01/2018 10:21

Oh my goodness, come back and so many message and even a new thread :) Really pleased to have read all the great news!

Somerset, MovingMountains, Stevie, 2B1Gmum, congratulations on the interviews for Liverpool, this is great news. Do they run on the same week, or across a longer time period?

Mommy, well done on the Cardiff interview and crossing my fingers for the 22nd.

Lornicera, I was so please to read your news and interview at Leicester. If I recall correctly, isn't it your daughter whose teacher said she was too immature to get a place in Medicine? What a fool and I so hope she will be proving them wrong. I hope she feels very pleased with herself and you too.

Back from Manchester, no expectation going there as it was DD 4th choice (which she changed after she'd even submitted her UCAS application trading it with Exeter!), and with her still feeling poorly, felt more like a 'ticking box exercise' but as it often goes, we both had a complete turn around! We both loved everything about it. The city is beautiful, people so nice and welcoming, and we had a fantastic mum-daughter time. DD was still battling with the virus and couldn't stop yawning on our way to the interview, but she loved the Uni, and adrenalin must have kicked in as she came out of the interview full of beans and very excited. She said they were all really friendly and she enjoyed the interview.

So I think a dilemma might be forming in her head although when asked which she preferred, her answer was rightly that there was no point discussing until she got further offers or rejections. I certainly didn't expect such a positive vibe from it though! 2B1Gmum, we stayed at the Premier Inn at St Peter's Square and it was perfect location, a bus away from the campus (or about 20 mns walking), but also a tram away from the Exchange. Hotel very comfy, the building in front of it stunning and only £30 the night (although might be more during half term).

As for update with Bristol, MovingMountains and Mommy, DD finally got the 'we've reviewed your application, on hold' response. My understanding of the process is that there are three tranches, with three lots of interviews offered. I think last year they had managed to go through all three by the end of the year, but this year (more application/less staff???), it's taken them longer, so still going through the last applications sending the email as they go through and will then send interviews when all those left have been through, but that's my assumption, no inside knowledge :)

Oh no Wartfordmummy, just read your post, are there still no chance for Cardiff? Do they send all interviews at once of is it phased? It's not a rejection yet though, so keeping fingers crossed.

Mock at DD's school was last week and she missed them all. The school (a comprehensive too, although independently run and only three years into 6th form) has been supportive as quite a few pupils have come down with nasty viruses so will let them do at later stage. This needs to be DD's main focus now as with interviews and illnesses, she's done very little revision and I expect has a lot of catching up to do. This worries me a bit, so will be keeping a close eye on her from Monday!

Hope the thread continues to be asactive with more great news and support when things don't go to plan.

Movingmountains · 13/01/2018 11:04

2B1GMum the NHS are worried about the gender issue with medicine applications - so many more girls apply. It seems even on here most of you have girls. when my DS went to Leicester taster day, he said it was about 90% girls!
Swingofthings my DS also on hold (from November) - though dont think he was that positive about the interview. Manchester is fantastic - I went there and my eldest DS is in his third year there. The university and accommodation is excellent. My DS1 lives with 2 medics and they are so happy with their course.
Is anyone else still waiting on Nottingham? We knew it was a bit risky (46/56 on their scoring system) - but DS loved it. They say it is 70% uKCAT and as DS in top decile we thought that was ok but the points are awarded in a very odd way which means that it makes weighting for GCSEs and UKCAT more even than it appears. I really would love for him to get an interview there as from mums point of view I liked the campus and fact hospital on site.

LoniceraJaponica · 13/01/2018 11:14

swingofthings thank you for your kind words. DD is one of the youngest in her year and won’t turn 18 until after she leaves school. As a result getting work experience has been very difficult because every place she has applied to has told her she is too young. She has finally managed to get some voluntary work at a care home, but she can’t do very much as she is under 18. She isn’t allowed to handle the residents or even hand out cups of tea!

Good luck to everyone else who has interviews. We looked at Manchester and Bristol but didn’t like either of them. I think DD should have considered Liverpool, but she is prejudiced against the Liverpudlian accent (the wrong reason to write off a university IMO, and I have told her so). She didn’t like HYMS either.

OP posts:
proudwhatever · 13/01/2018 12:16

My DS was one of only a handful of boys at his Brighton MS interview too, UEA next week then Lancaster end of the month both PBL so DS will have to generate some enthusiasm for that! No answer from Birmingham at all so DS assuming no interview but he’s not complaining with three. I really liked Brighton and felt they really look after their students and my DS keen on whole body dissection for some reason...!
Good luck to all hope the offers start rolling in: they only need one!

LoniceraJaponica · 13/01/2018 12:52

DD only scored 45 for Nottingham so that puts her out of the picture. Her UKCAT score was in the 7th decile (3rd from top) because she fell down on the maths side. She scored 1 in SJ though. I don't understand why most medical schools ignore SJT so why do they bother with it? From reading TSR most posters scored 2 in SJT but achieved higher UKCAT scores.

Nottingham was DD's joint favourite along with Newcastle, but I Newcastle want a higher UKCAT score than DD has. She hasn't had any rejections yet though.

OP posts:
mumsneedwine · 13/01/2018 13:16

Not sure what score my DD got for Nottingham (6A*s, 4As and UKCAT 2730 ?). She was interviewed on the first day which seems ages away now. I'm assuming they liked her PS, and Liverpool too, which has been heartening for her. She's a comp school kid and no one in the family is remotely medical so everything has been bit of a fight to get work experience. Personally I think Notts & Liverpool like the fact that she has a job - they both mentioned it at Open day as a real plus. But whether she's done enough to get an offer who knows ! She's currently stacking shelves at Waitrose before heading out clubbing later - sure some work is going on 😳. Nottingham day they interview until March so no news is good news 🤞

mumsneedwine · 13/01/2018 13:18

Lonerica Notts use the SJT for selecting for interview (DD somehow got a 1). And at Sheffield it counts as an MMI station. So at least she knows she got full marks on that one 😁

LoniceraJaponica · 13/01/2018 14:02

DD's UKCAT score was 2670. GCSEs 6A*, 2A, 2B. She is anticipating a year out to get some work experience though.

OP posts:
mumsneedwine · 13/01/2018 14:18

They are amazing exam results and a fantastic UKCAT (which seemed to me to have been devised by a complete sadist). It's so hard when it comes down to their statements as so subjective - in some ways the straight ranking by exam results is easier to understand. Fingers crossed Lonerica - one teensy offer each. That's what we will all be hoping for each other.

swingofthings · 13/01/2018 14:43

I don't understand why most medical schools ignore SJT so why do they bother with it?
I think a number of schools rely quite heavily on it whilst others don't think it is a reliable assessment to identify personal skills and prefer their own methods at interview. DD actually scored a 4. Yes a 4! Yet she got her offer from SGUL known to be heavily focused on personal skills. She'd scored 1 in two of her mocks and a 2 at a third, so I still think there must have been something wrong with the computer for her to get a 4 :) In her case, it was a blessing that quite a few schools ignored it or she might have written off her chance of an offer this year. Ironically, SGUL wasn't an option we had considered until we had no choice but to only select those that ignored the SJT!

Proudwater, what day was your DS interview at Brighton? DD's was on the Friday and there seem to be more boys than girls. She found the interview different to what she'd expected. They seem to have started to make offers. She rates her chances at about 50/50 at best.

Manchester is supposed to be PBL and that's what was putting DD off, but it would seem not to be as PBL heavy as thought to be but a mix of different styles and after her interview, she had a totally different perspective to the course.

Re. work experience, DD found that it really wasn't the actual work that helped her with her interviews, and overall they didn't seem that interested in the actual roles. They were more interested in the personal attributes she gained from it and with reflection, most of these she also gained in other aspects of her life. I think what has been most helpful to her was her experience of going through interviews, for colleges, jobs, volunteering, placements and even though only Med Schools use the MMI style, the concept of making a good impression in a short time is not that different.

biscuit2000 · 13/01/2018 16:36

Hi Movingmountains we are still waiting on Nottingham too. DD loved it at the open day and was happy for it to be her risky choice given the subjective scoring of a PS. She has a job and seems to have relevant experience - whether she conveyed that well enough we don't know. All 4 others at her school who applied have already interviewed. She has 50/56. Nottingham says interviews are random and sent out in batches. We are holding onto the hope the batches are alphabetical as the first to get an interview had surname beginning with A, the other 3 that heard just before Christmas were all S. TSR has been quiet on interview invites for a while. Let's keep fingers crossed!

biscuit2000 · 13/01/2018 16:52

Hi Lonicera I see you're waiting on Nottingham too. I'm not sure I've seen any cutoff yet and I'm fairly confident someone posted on TSR of interview with 46 (and there's not been that many posting given they interview 1000) so 45 shouldn't be ruled out Smile

mumsneedwine · 13/01/2018 17:21

Just worked out my DDs score and it is 46 so 45 and a good PS must be in with a really good chance of an interview. It could be alphabetical as mine was first day and is v close to beginning. The waiting is the worst part I think.

Movingmountains · 13/01/2018 17:37

Thanks all - perhaps he will still hear then. He has 46 - I know that isn't below cut-off as posts on TSR suggests some got interviews with that score. My DS had UKCAT of 2950 but 5A*3A and 1B so despite good UKCAT GCSEs pull score down

mumsneedwine · 13/01/2018 18:21

Well my DD got interview with 46 so definitely good enough. And her PS was good but I doubt as stellar as others - her volunteering (which admittedly she's done for 7 years) has nothing to do with healthcare. She's a First aider because of it but it's not to do with sick people. She has had paid employment since 16 and various bits of work experience but know many others who have done much more. I liked Nottingham but the hills and bitter wind were bit of a killer on a freezing cold morning

2B1Gmum · 13/01/2018 18:41

Good luck to all you waiting on Nottingham, keep positive if there has been no rejection to date. All your stats look really good to me. Fingers crossed.

Swing, so good to get your feedback on Manchester, really glad your DD liked it and you both enjoyed your visit. It was a last minute fourth for DD too (between Southampton, SGUL and a brief look at Leicester) but when UKCAT deciles were confirmed she put it as a more or less safe bet. I think my DD may feel the same as yours, she likes being near the centre of a city and the course structure is along the lines of the others she has chosen. I read somewhere a lot of excitement about free iPads for studying/lectures etc. Is that still the case? I seemed to have got a good deal at a city centre Ibis which will give us a chance to have dinner and a little explore.

I hadn't really realised how PS heavy Liverpool was, DD has some work ex. but not huge in terms of hours, she did get a last minute week at St Georges but also a medicine summer school which I think must have helped. She was also a GOSH patient and mentioned that, but not in any detail - but I do wonder whether that caught admission's attention. Clearly Liverpool will question her about her PS so they may ask about it, she was a regular outpatient from 3 until 7, she doesn't remember her surgery but does remember that the doctors talked to her not just me Smile and that we got a black cab to waterloo as a treat. She was quite obsessed with black cabs for a while!

I have mixed views about UKCAT, I am sure there is an element of luck, also exam technique and timing. DD did much worse on the maths bit than in all her practises at home but better in the non verbal. I really hope she doesn't have to go through it again.... I mentioned the maths test at Liverpool, she seemed OK about it, apparently she is doing a lot of maths in Geography - she has always been numerate but it is easy to loose it when you aren't studying it any more. Having said that DS1 and his GF have had to do similar tests for all their graduate role applications, DS1 got through but not through the endless groups task and interviews - he started all over again after year in retail and is looking at internships too. Neighbours DS with a first in maths from Cambridge didn't pass the M&S online test! She did pass the one for Bank of England though... just goes to show, these things aren't foolproof.

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Mommymoomitzi · 14/01/2018 09:18

Hi everyone. Gosh, this has been getting intense! Well done to everyone who has moved forward and hang on in there to those still waiting. DD to have a brain scan, due to headaches. I'm sure it will be fine, Dr expects it to be, but said he would not be doing his job, if he did not request it. I will check back in, once this is sorted, but sending love and luck to you all.

LoniceraJaponica · 14/01/2018 09:22

I hope everything is OK Mommy. DD had some horrific headaches at the end of 2016 and was thoroughly checked by the GP and sent for a CT scan. Fortunately they found nothing, and it they changed her pill to another brand. This did the trick.

OP posts:
swingofthings · 14/01/2018 10:16

Mommy, I can sympathise, I'm too waiting for a brain MRI for my headaches (and other symptoms). Like for your DD, the consultant and GP are expecting the results to be fine but better to rule anything out. GP thinks it's the pre-menopause, so hormones related too.

Another thing to check, although I'm sure your DD's GP has already done so is her level of iron, Vit B12 and Follate (Folic Acid) as these can also cause bad headaches.

At least once you know it's nothing bad, it's one thing less to stress about. All my thought with you and your DD.

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