Applying for midwifery

[Butby]

My daughter wants to apply for midwifery in 2016 - she has 5 gcse's c and over including science and is currently studying for a cache diploma which seems to read that this gives her less course options than a'levels.

What I am concerned about is that if she applies for 5 unis to study midwifery and doesn't secure an offer what then? Should she hedge her bets and apply for 2 midwifery courses with something less competitive to ensure come results she isn't left out in the cold with no place ?

Sorry if it's a silly question but she's my eldest so I haven't been through this before.

I think if they end up with no offers from their 5 choices, they are allowed another 2 choices.
Please check this on UCAS though.

I can't find anywhere that would accept the CACHE Diploma as suitable for a midwifery degree, sorry. She also needs Maths and English GCSE grade C - does she have these?

A cache level 3 diploma is equivalent to three A levels for UCAS points so no problem for midwifery.

She will need a level equivalent for entry to midwifery as it is a degree course. It is also very competitive so evidence of work experience in the same field would help - could she volunteer at a children's center or something?

She needs to go to some open days at the unis she wants to apply to, or phone the admissions department, and get some advice.

For nursing and midwifery you might get offered an interview and then they might offer you a place after that, but it's competitive.

Yes it would be worth contacting the university's that she is interested in to see if they will accept the cache diploma?

The diploma has a maximum of 280 tariff points. It is also not included on any list of alternative qualifications for midwifery at the universities I looked at.

We've checked out that the cache is acceptable and she has the GCSEs required. Part of the cache is placements at schools and nurseries and she also does do some voluntary work which she will try to boost with midwife shadowing.

My query is really what is she doesn't get a place because the other candidates have better results etc what happens then ? Does she have to do something else for a year and reapply or it be better to keep a couple of choices for less competitive courses as a back up ?

Hi Butby - Agree with above posters, midwifery is massively competitive.

You first need to check out the entry requirements for midwifery on various university web pages. I do not know about Cache Diplomas, but for BTEC Diplomas it often has to be in a health or science subject with a minimum Distinction/Distinction/Merit award. A-Levels can be as high as ABB with Biology as one subject.

Also for most universities (if not all) you need Biology and/or combined (double) science at GCSE at grade C too (not just single core science).

My daughter has just started at Uni doing Radiography, also very competitive, one of the universities she applied to had 900 applications for 58 places and they only interviewed 200. We went to one interview where midwifery applicants were in the same waiting area and some were saying they had applied 2 and three years in succession without offers. She needs to stand out, get as much work experience as possible now, volunteering in nurseries, applying to the local hospital for work experience etc as well as meeting the entry conditions and getting through the assessment interviews.

I wish her and you the very best of luck, year 13 is a very stressful year for us mums!

If she gets an offer, based on passing the interview and meets the entry requirements she gets a place end of, whether other applicants get better results is irrelevant.

The process is as follows:

1. check you meet the entry for the universities you want to apply for - check CGSE requirements as well as acceptable diploma subjects. Get the response from the midwifery admissions team at the Uni in writing that her subjects are OK for application, because if they are not when she replies she will get a rejection.
2. Write the Personal statement
3. apply via UCAS
4. Hope, fingers crossed, she gets interviews, the more the better
5. attend interview/assessment day
6. hope she gets Offers - the offers will clarify what they expect of your daughter to guarantee her a place - for example Distinction/Distinction?Distinction or BBB etc
7. waiting for exam results
8. if she meets her offer - she's in!!!
9. if she doesn't meet her offer - she may not have a place or she may still get in depending on how many other people met their offers.

Hope that helps.

Is she doing the extended diploma then, rather than the diploma? And have you checked with uni admissions officers, as opposed to just what her college says?

Assuming you have, what she does if she gets no offers is up to her really. If her heart is set on midwifery then she'd be better off, assuming she got the grades, applying again after maybe working as an Hca for a year. If she just wants to go to university and would be happy doing something else then by all means she could put a couple of different courses down as a backup.

DS2 started his nursing degree last week. He applied to 5 unis, got 4 interviews and 3 offers. One of his offers (his insurance) had 1680 applications for 100 places. His cohort has 280 students, they had over 1700 applicants.

Sorry - to add

Personally, if she really wants to do it, apply to 5 universities, no point doing something she doesn't want to do. If she doesn't get an offer, take a gap year, work in a child related industry for more experience and reapply, confident she has been through the process once and is wiser.

The more chances she has at getting a place the better.

Yes we have checked at individual uni's re the entry criteria, just worried she'll be left with nothing when all her friends go off to uni

My sister has just started a midwifery degree on the second attempt after failing to get a place last year. She did an access to nursing and midwifery course for a year and came out of that with excellent results but didn't get a place. Has spent the last year working full time as a maternity care assistant an hour away from home to get experience.