Support thread for anyone applying through UCAS this year

[Lorelai]

Following on from a thread in chat I thought I would start this so that we can hold each others' hands through the UCAS process with all its challenges.

Who's with me?

Yes he was muttering about Leicester the other day and also Loughborough ,he loved Newcastle so that's a definate,I think we will see how it goes a Leeds.
Well done to your dd anyway,my dh and I met at Durham and I love the North East ,we often wonder what life would have been like if we had stayed up there

yellowstone He could get an offer and spend the rest of Y13 feeling safe even if he doesn't get another one and it will give him confidence for other interviews.

Even if he doesn't get an offer from this one it is still a valuable experience with other chances out there.

Either way, it's good to have an interview! They're keen on him if he's been invited already.

Being invited for an interview is a pretty good indication that academic credentials and PS are sound. It bodes well for him.

eatyourveg - DD has just started at Aber. Her initial offer from them was 300 points but after she visited them for the department open day in March, they dropped it to 280 points. Apparently they very often do this. Just thought you might find it useful to know.

Yes I had heard about Aber lowering offers after visits. Not sure if it'll happen this year though. Bit concerned about the accommodation fiasco as I don't think ds will go if he has to bunk. I read that as a result of the chaos they have said they are reviewing their offer strategy and will also be making fewer offers this year. That sent me into panic mode and I emailed them to ask what it meant. Thankfully English Lit is unaffected and 3Bs should still swing it but he'll just have to make sure his PS is deserving enough.

Good luck - I hope he gets in. DD is loving it so far.

Good heavens yellowstone is that an interview for medicine? That's really quick. Your family must be really good at personal statements/grades/references etc.

The General Medical Council website has lots of good pointers to help with the ethics questions.
www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice/relationships_with_patients.asp

If your DS has mentioned any illness in his PS it is a good idea to have read up a lot about it and pronounce it correctly. (sounds obvious but you would be surprised). Good luck for the interview! What a busy life you have!

Thanks so much funnyperson, the ethics link is exactly what he needs. I really am very little help to a medic.

He has mentioned a tricky-to-pronounce condition which he's looking at for his EP (he's about two pages into the EP so far), so I'll relay your two-fold warning!

He looked at TSR tonight and said a few others had posted that they had interviews too. His school is very keen on sending the applications off early, before the tutors get jaded. His grades are fine but he kept the PS workaday, no flights of fancy at all. But I suspect the PS is far less important for subjects which interview, I wonder if it's a factor at all?

All help from the more knowledgeable gratefully received though, by us both.

I think the PS gives them something to talk about.
DD got general questions which were asked of everyone but there was also always something about work experience as described in the PS and something about extra-curriculars. Then again, she was asked 'Why do you want to be a doctor? and she'd already covered that on her PS. Maybe they just wanted to hear it from her own lips since suitability for the profession and the course is probably what the interview really hinges on anyway.
Why XXXXXX? (fill in the name of the uni) was also a popular question - and a re-read of the prospectus beforehand is wise.

To a certain extent you have to be prepared to play it by ear. They all seem to have their own quirks and ways of doing things.

It seems to me that being invited to a med school interview means that you have covered most of the bases and they just want to be sure that you have the personal qualities that they are looking for. This certainly seemed to be the case at the places DD was interviewed, in fact she was told so at one of them - but she didn't apply to any of the ones which interview masses and reject many.

One thing is for sure, he's got his foot in the door. They wouldn't have invited him if they didn't like what they've seen so far.

Interesting. What is an EP?
The interviews are crucial. They are professional and not just academic interviews and sort the wheat from the chaff. It is vital for a doctor to be able to communicate well. The academics are only the start. Hence the importance of the interview.

Look clean and smart: dark (not brown or navy no broad pin stripes) suit, white shirt: buttons not cufflinks, quiet tie, no need for rowing colours etc.
Polished black shoes Black socks. Prefects badge possibly.
River Island does good suits for the young men which don't look too middle aged but others may have found better.
If he gets in this suit will get very good wear for a very long time.

There are differing interview formats for each medical school. TSR had a useful summary for each medical school www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/What_you_should_expect_at_a_medical_school_interview
-sorry don't know how to do the link thing

Am guessing EP is extended project

To do a link tick the little box (underneath the big one you type in) that says convert links automatically.

Congratulations to Yellowstone's son, it's a promising start and will be useful however it goes. Medical schools vary in how many they interview. Some have quite a high ratio of interviews to offers - information here www.medical-interviews.co.uk/Medical-School.aspx Birmingham do about 1 offer to 3 interviews but as they interview less than half their applicants it's still encouraging. As they are interviewing for a profession they expect to see that you can dress appropriately, unlike most university interviews. Shirts should have short sleeves, to show he understands hospital dress codes. Not sure about ties, might be better to go without but I think there's guidance on the GMC website.

Actually the dress code was on the BMA website

www.bma.org.uk/employmentandcontracts/working_arrangements/CCSCdresscode051207.jsp

Is the dress code for working the same as interviewing though? Looking on TSR (the student room) it was commented on that at one interview day at Birmingham the majority were in suits. Does a suit without a tie look smart?

The first med school which interviewed DD sent out a dress code relevant to hospital wear but we took it as a heavy hint about what to wear for interview.
This is mainly relevant to women but it was - no jewellery other than a watch and ear studs, hair off face and secure with a discreet fastening, flat or low-heeled shoes with closed toes and a secure heel (ie, no sling-backs), skirt not too long/not too short, minimal make-up, no bare legs, no wide trousers. All sensible really.

She tells me that all men wore suits and ties or jackets and ties with dark trousers. Women wore dresses or smart skirt ensembles.

They all involved a trudge from the station and, often, a guided tour so definitely wear something comfortable on feet.

The most distant one meant she had a lot of stuff to carry but she was fortunate in that a friend of mine has an office not far from her route so she was able to freshen up there and dump excess stuff to be retrieved later. For that one she changed from flats to a low heel a) because she could without having to lug an extra pair round, and b) a slight heel made her feel better/more confident.

She was surprised how many candidates had parents in tow. It never crossed my mind to go with her!

Unis don't know what a candidate's other choices are but B'ham will infer from the BMAT tick box that it is not the first choice. They will know that he is applying to Oxbridge and/or Imperial and/or UCL so there's no point in pretending otherwise (whilst making it clear that one has enormous respect for B'ham med school and would be honoured to accept a place!)

The panel also knows that not everyone gets into those med schools but that the best qualified candidates try for them so B'ham is happy to make offers to the most suitable candidates in the hope that they will end up at B'ham.

So B'ham interviews early and gets first pick. It makes a lot of offers knowing that many will subsequently become insurance offers but the actual intake will be highly qualified.

BUT - a rejection from B'ham could be interpreted as indicating that the candidate is very impressive and almost certain to get into his/her first choice so the offer might as well go to someone else.

Getting into med school is very complicated, to say the least, with a lot of variation to take into account when applying but one thing I came to respect about the 'system' is that there is scope for many kinds of candidates to succeed. It's not one-size-fits-all.

unitarian, thanks so much for all this help. We've had a hectic three days sorting out and delivering the older three sisters which I think has found each in the right place with the right belongings (give or take an eye pencil or two).

DS and I were completely taken aback by news of a suit. He's never had cause to wear one and the sisters went to their (humanities) interviews in ordinary High St. kit. Smartish but not formal at all. I appreciate the point about the professional aspect of these interviews but still. He's off to River Island next week!

The very positive spin you put on a rejection is appreciated too. That's what I would have tried to say except that a truly exceptional student from DS's school last year cleaned up on offers from everywhere including an early one from Birmingham and that's bound to be the first thing he'd point out :)

:)? I meant :(

Interviews can be quite daunting though, cant they and its perfectly possible to mess one up and do a really good one for another university. I remember one friend's son who rang me up for interview practice after he had messed 3 up and with his last one to go. He got that last offer thank goodness.
Ask your local GP to give him a bit of interview practice if you don't know any other doctors! They can be very amenable as its non clinical: just ask DS to drop a nice note with a contact email and date of interview into reception.

By the way I meant to say that the bma link on dress code which some one posted above is for clinical work and is not an interview dress code- thats why it says no tie and bare below the elbows.

Sorry but my DC2 is not applying for medicine or Oxbridge but he has submitted his UCAS form - the wait begins!! (DC1 waited 10 days for their first offer and 5 months for their final offer, hopefully it will be quicker than that? )

Not doing oxbridge or medicine and already submitted the UCAS form? Oh to have such organised offspring! School seem to be filling most of the form in with ds, its getting him to compose something half decent for the PS which is holding everything up..... the wait goes on...and on....and on!

I think he just assumed why wait. So he did his PS and his EPQ in the summer holidays and returned to school with them done in draft form. Its one thing being organised but he now has to get the grades - that in his case is more of a challenge!

yellowstone I could say to you worry about how to get him over a rejection if he gets one, not before, but I have to admit that I spent a few months of that year worrying about how DD would cope if she didn't get in. She never had a Plan B.
And now the dresses she chose for interview wear are turning out to be very suitable for Firms this year so that suit he's going to buy won't be wasted.

He sounds like a strong candidate and I'll be surprised if B'ham is the only interview. Tell him to concentrate on BMAT!

Good luck to all.