Manchester Uni for medicine - don’t want her to take a gap year!

[Cluelessatthisstuff]

DD didn’t get into her first choice - Oxford. Insurance was Manchester which is a very good RG university and I believe has the biggest medical department in UK. Daughter wants to resit a subject in the hope of getting an A* but I’m really uneasy about this, namely because all of her friends are going away for uni so she’ll be at home, alone and working part time in Costa coffee. I just don’t think she’ll be happy.

Does anyone have any experience with Manchester uni? Doesn’t have to be medicine specifically but anything that could help my DD? Thanks

Manchester doesn't rank very highly for medicine I dont think. Could she not look into clearing at other universities?

Manchester is a great uni, I don’t know much about the science school but I know a few people who went there and loved it.

You can talk to her but the bottom line is that it’s her choice at the end of the day and you need to support that

Hope everything works out for you all. I don't have any relevant direct experience but it's my impression that from the point of view of her future career all medical schools are good and Manchester is an excellent university. However, I can see your daughter's point that five or six years in Manchester and placements in Greater Manchester area would be a very different experience from at least three years in Oxford (she'll know she might end up in London for her clinical years).

A big worry for me would be that she currently has a place and although I'm sure she would be sure of getting that A* on the retake there's no guarantee whatsoever that she would get an offer of a place at Oxford again, or a place anywhere else. As you will know from supporting her this year, it's a very uncertain business applying for medicine.

It would be daft to resit in the hope of getting an A*. It would be a real waste of a year.

I’m a layperson, not an expert on medical schools (although I worked in a couple of London ones years ago) but one thing I will say is - she has a place to study Medicine! You know how sought after they are. Manchester is a great city. And there is no question of struggling to get a job once qualified, obviously.

I think she needs time to get over not getting into Oxford, and that’s all she’s fixated on right now. But it would be madness do a resit.

PolPotNoodle, happy to be corrected, but medicine hardly ever goes into Clearing and if it did I'd expect all places would have been filled within an hour or two on Thursday.

My friends DD turned down medicine at Oxford and actually went to Manchester instead as she felt the course suited her better. She loved it, has been qualified 10 years and works as an anaesthetist.
Another friend had a DC at Oxford who found the whole experience gruelling. He qualified but has never worked in medicine. Now works in marketing.
Has she visited Manchester at all?

Manchester is a fab uni with a huge range of hospital departments plus lab work and a big genetics department. I did law there for 6 years and loved the whole experience of the uni and the life Manchester gave.

I’m doing a MA at Manchester University (and did my undergrad at a tiny conservatoire so the change in experience is huge!) and have generally found it to be a pretty good experience. It’s 26th for medicine in the country, and 15th overall so standards are high there. They’ve also recently received a huge amount of money for a cancer research centre or something? Manchester is arguably far better for the student experience than Oxford & is probably cheaper too, but it depends what your daughter wants from university life. Pressure at Oxford is pretty intense.

I agree with pp that really all you can do is support your daughter in what she wants to do, but to talk to her about the risks - what if she doesn’t get the A* she wants? A friend of mine resat one of her A levels a couple of times with the aim of getting into veterinary sciences but didn’t get the grades. Now she works in research in pharmaceuticals and loves it - sometimes the dream choice isn’t the one for you and the alternates will work out. Good luck to your DD! 🙂

I have worked in education for 20 years, Oxford do not like resit anyway. So that's probably out the window. Manchester is a very good Uni for medical studies and offers a tough yet realistic expectation of life!!
But ultimately it's her decision! For many it's more the disappointment and frustration of not getting the grades you want, mentally she's been preparing to go to Oxford for months and it's ripped from under her. Give her a couple of days. I would take her to Manchester again to look around. Do not under any circumstances let her reject the place right now! Much easier to give it a go and come home than to try and get a place to start with

I know a fair few people who went to Manchester uni. Only one didn't stay there afterwards- everyone else did because they loved it.

Does she want an academic medical career, or one that actually requires a degree from oxford specifically or does she just want to go there? If she is going to be a GP it probably wouldn't make a difference but if she was going into research side of things, it might

Manchester also has fabulous rail network links (two main stations). Really worth visiting.

I don't understand what she hopes to gain by declining the place at Manchester.

Is she thinking of reapplying to Oxford for 2020 entry? They will look at the grades she got in her A-levels this summer. If they weren't high enough to meet an Oxford offer then her chances of getting an offer for 2020 will be lower than they were last time.

Is she thinking of applying to other medical schools for 2020 entry? If her actual grades are lower than her predicted grades were, then her chances of getting an offer may be lower than they were last time. Medical school is academically hard work and admission teams will be looking for evidence that an applicant will be able to cope with the pressure i.e. able to take 3-4 A-levels at the same time and get high grades.

She must have liked Manchester enough to apply the first time around. Has it changed?

Has oxford said they will definitely take her next year if she resits?

Manchester is a well respected university, though I cannot speak for medicine directly. The science and medical departments have close links with the nearby infirmary and also the renowned Christie cancer hospital.

Manchester itself is fab, huge student population and so much to do. Many many people I've met made it their home after they went to one of the universities there.
I cannot say how it would compare to Oxford though. Though from what I do know, they would be very different university experiences.

Would Oxford accept a resit? Can she defer her place at Manchester for a year?

It would be really foolish to turn down a place to study medicine this year in the hope of getting an Oxford offer next year. She would be competing against all the other applicants who are not resit students. If she doesn’t believe that this is a risky strategy get her to speak to an admissions tutor and see if they will guarantee a place for her if she attains an A*. They won’t do it. She should take the Manchester place, look for medicine in clearing or resit and be prepared to be unsuccessful.

Whatever "ranking" PolPotNoodle is looking at is irrelevant, about 10 minutes after everyone graduates.

Medicine courses are strictly vetted for quality, in the UK. Yes, it would be nice to go to Oxford. But it genuinely barely matters once you're inside the behemoth that is the NHS and working as a doctor.

Oxbridge quality gives a significant edge in a lot of cases where you're then competing to get into the best of the private sector, but I wouldn't put medicine in the same situation, because in the UK the whole field is effectively nationalised.

No one gives a shit what UK uni you graduated from inside the medical field, a few niche domains aside.

Resit polices for UK medical schools - www.themedicportal.com/medical-school-a-level-resit-policies/
Looks like Oxford only accept if there are extenuating circumstances.

I live in Manchester I didn't go to the uni because too close to home. I hope my sons will go uni here. Its a great city and really good uni life.

Dsis did medicine at Cambridge then convocated from Oxford having studied at John Hopkins. There is no difference in her career than any other doctor who studied at a less prestigious university. Its not like other careers where graduating oxbidge can give you a leg up.

Manchester is well connected to the rest of the UK so its 3 hours to London then however far you are from there if she doesnt like the idea of being northern for a while. Could be a good change for her.

Sorry 2 hours from London

If she wants to be a doctor, she should take the Manchester place. If the ONLY reason she is refusing is to resist for an A* in order to reapply to Oxford, it will be a massive waste of time and a disappointment.

Couple of my friends had a great time in Manchester and presumably she liked it enough to have as insurance.

I worked at Costa during my gap year, and actually a marvellous time. I look back fondly on shift work, and the culture around retail, now that I'm in a career.

That said, I have friends who studied Medicine at Mancester within the last 10 years, amd they have all gone on to be employed as Junior Doctors. Manchester Medicine Society is also bloody good fun and I know my friends all thoroughly enjoyed their time there.

If she insists on the Gap year, maybe she could defer her Manchester place so there's security if Oxford say "No" in 12 months time?

Hope this helps, either way I think your daughter has an excellent future ahead.

I'd tell her to grab it with both hands. She can always specialise and get further qualifications later. If she really wants to do medicine then she would be mad to turn it down. Also could there be the possibility of transfer to different uni after first year of study?

Nooooo, it's enough academia and studying without adding an uneccessary year on. If it was hard to get a job in medicine after then it could make the difference, but no way.

I went to Oxford and wouldn’t want my dc to go. I just think Oxbridge is isolated from the rest of society and that they’d have a much better preparation for life elsewhere.

I do know a guy who missed his Cambridge medicine offer who re-sat and reapplied and was accepted - they were impressed by his commitment, although he must have done a killer interview. So it's possible.