Medicine 2021 - Part 3

[SATSmadness]

Hoping for interviews and offers all round, now and well into next year !

[LaLaFlottes]

Thank you for the new thread @SATSmadness.

Your DD will thrive wherever she goes I am sure. As will all our DC.

It sounds like it's become quite all consuming at school though, so maybe will be good when they all know one way or the other and can move on.

A friend of DD is applying to Oxford so I know they use GCSE a lot too although it seems to be quite a complicated system rather than just scoring your 8 best GCSEs. I don't know much about Cambridge, but it's not over - still a chance

[emummy]

Thanks @SATSmadness; hopefully your Dd will get a place somewhere, maybe even Cambridge, and be happy. It is very stressful for them, glad the Oxford/Cambridge thing is not really an issue in Dd's school.

[Katesometimeslate]

DD has sent me a screenshot of her bmat score with no explanation and won’t answer my calls so does anyone hear speak bmat?

[goodbyestranger]

I speak a little BMAT

[goodbyestranger]

But the BMAT website is good/ best source of info.

[SATSmadness]

www.admissionstesting.org/Images/601560-bmat-explanation-of-results-2020.pdf

Hope this helps @Katesometimeslate

[Katesometimeslate]

Have just noticed my embarrassing use of the wrong here. Can definitely see why I’m not the medicine applicant in the family haha
Thank you! Has made it a lot clearer

[Powergower]

Ooh new thread, found you all! Hope everyone who had interviews this week smashed them.

[ProfessorLayton1]

Good luck for BMAT results today

[Iamsodonewith2020]

Good luck everyone

[Djchickpea]

Has anyone got any idea what the your application is "on hold" email from Bristol is about?

[mumsneedwine]

@Djchickpea it just means they are looking at it. 🤞🤞

[SATSmadness]

@Djchickpea

Apparently Bristol were inviting interviewees in tranches, working their way down the UCAT scores.

First batch had the highest scores, I think since then there's been 2 more batches invited to interview. Not sure where they're at to date.

Is it a recent e-mail ?

[opoponax]

@djchickpea last I heard was that there has been another batch of Bristol invites late last week and that had a cut off of approx 3010 UCAT score. Apparently there has been an email sent out this weekend to candidates with a UCAT score below approx 2860 saying that their application is on hold. The candidates between approx 2860 and the current cut off point for interview invites apparently haven't received the email.

[Djchickpea]

Thanks @opoponax, @satsmadness and @mumneedswine. DD has a score of 2860 and received the email today. I thought she might be on the cusp with the scores going up this year but it seems like she literally is at the cut off point and Bristol is her preferred choice. Aerrghh

[opoponax]

@Djchickpea it doesn't seem like it is an actual cut off point for invites, just Bristol managing their pool of candidates. Apparently they have done similar in previous years and gone on to issue interviews to candidates on hold. Their interview selection process this year is apparently complicated by the November A level sittings for people who weren't happy with their awarded grades and the results of these will be out on 17th December so they will then have a clearer idea of who has achieved what from 2020 cohort. This waiting game is so tough and unsettling but it really does seem like the process has only just kicked off. I know exactly how you feel though because when the initial batch of invites came out and my DS had missed it by a whisker, I felt really unsettled by it.

[Djchickpea]

Thanks that is reassuring, fingers crossed

[opoponax]

@djchickpea I'm no expert in this but just looking a bit closer at the numbers...

Looking at what we know so far, we can't read too much into the shocking 3040 UCAT cut-off at Exeter because the Exeter selection process is very A-level heavy with the UCAT used to rank within a tiered system. Both Bristol and Sheffield are similarly UCAT heavy. We know that Sheffield has cut off interviews at 2740 this year (2660 last year) so an increase of 80, which was considered to be a significant hike. Last year Bristol cut-off (non-contextual) was 2690 so, even with a hike of 80 in line with Sheffield's, you would still be looking at a Bristol cut off of 2770 and your DD's score is 90 above that at 2860. So, for your DD not to get through to interview, Bristol's hike would need to be a bit more that double Sheffield's. I would take quite a bit of reassurance from that. 2860 is an excellent score. Good luck to your DD.

[Cat210]

Hi,
So glad I found this thread! Did not realise how hard will it be to just sit & watch your DC going through stress of applying for Unis, BMAT, UCAT and then a long wait! So far we have had one rejection and one invitation for an interview. Both UCAT and BMAT scores were good but not great which was even more heart breaking as DC spent last 5 months studying so hard for them. Academically the predicted grades are at their best but critical thinking sections on both test effected the test results.
I just want to tell my child how proud we are as parents and whatever the final outcome will be, we will be with them throughout but thats what not they want to hear at the moment.

[opoponax]

Hi there @Cat210. Welcome to the thread. It's really supportive and it's so helpful to be able to share concerns with other parents with DC in the same situation. Totally agree - all the DC are stars to get this far. Wishing yours the best of luck.

[LaLaFlottes]

@Cat210 hello and welcome!
As @opoponax says this thread is really helpful and supportive. All the DC are superstars for getting this far.
It seems such a long wait doesn't it, until they know the outcome, and then if they are lucky enough to get an offer, there's still the small matter of A levels.
Such a long a stressful process. Maybe getting to the other side of Christmas will help feel like we are a bit further along in the process.

[Cat210]

Thank you all! Totally agree they are all stars and wish them all very best of luck. Xx

[MaddieElla]

@Cat210 welcome, and you aren't on your own as we're all feeling the same. I think we are more anxious than our kids at this point.

DD also has one rejection so far, for a Uni that would have been a dead cert for interview last year. We are still holding on to hope for her other 3 choices but this year has made every application impossible to call. I just keep reminding her she has done amazingly well to get an offer for her 5th choice; a competitive course at a competitive Uni.

It's so true as well that they should be so proud of themselves for having the commitment to get this far; they've already worked hard for GCSEs, UCAT/BMAT, ongoing A Level assessments and tried to get the best work experience. If DD gets no further than this I will always be proud of her, and if she doesn't make it on to a medicine course I hope she doesn't feel like she's failed because her work ethic has never been in question. It's an emotional rollercoaster for sure.

[Cat210]

[quote MaddieElla]@Cat210 welcome, and you aren't on your own as we're all feeling the same. I think we are more anxious than our kids at this point.

DD also has one rejection so far, for a Uni that would have been a dead cert for interview last year. We are still holding on to hope for her other 3 choices but this year has made every application impossible to call. I just keep reminding her she has done amazingly well to get an offer for her 5th choice; a competitive course at a competitive Uni.

It's so true as well that they should be so proud of themselves for having the commitment to get this far; they've already worked hard for GCSEs, UCAT/BMAT, ongoing A Level assessments and tried to get the best work experience. If DD gets no further than this I will always be proud of her, and if she doesn't make it on to a medicine course I hope she doesn't feel like she's failed because her work ethic has never been in question. It's an emotional rollercoaster for sure.[/quote]
Hi, this is so true! I hope our kids will feel as much proud of themselves as we are! These are so stressful times and they are doing great! Xx

[Powergower]

Has anyone's dc heard back from keele?