Medicine 2018?

[Katisha]

Is there already a thread for medicine applications for 2018 entry?
If not can I start one?
Wondered if anyone knew about the Birmingham GCSE situation as DS has A stars and As at GCSE and likely to be predicted A stars at A level but is coming up on their offers calculator as unlikely to get an interview.
Is it pointless to apply to Birmingham if not all stars at GCSE? Didn't get a star in biology.

Same here Somerset, now reduced to 4000 words, but I find that it just doesn't read as smoothly as it did before which I feel is a shame but as I reminded DD they don't really have the capacity to read their full statement, only peruse them for key words and statements.

Results of the BMAT today. DD only took it for a chance of an interview at Brighton but as it is, she has quite a few options at UKCAT schools, so what we are now hoping is that she's either done incredibly well (she doesn't think that will be the case) or quite badly so that the purpose of taking it early will have been served by discarding it as a choice. I expect she will fall right in that in between unsure score!!

DD has managed to ignore most of the teachers about putting academics into her PS. One teacher was very determined and also told her to take out that she works as a waitress in a cafe. In the end DD told him that she had been to 8 medicine open days and so knows more about what needs to be included than him! Its still too long though, she hopes to cut it down and submit today. I'm a bit scared to look at soapy's list in case there's something she's missed out!

Swing I hope you get good (or at least clear) BMAT news today

July hope visiting UEA helps make things clear.

Somerset I thought we had been to a lot of open days, but I think you must win! Despite having been to 8, DD is still applying somewhere we haven't been!

Thanks Drink - we are driving to Norwich now not me! DS is hoping to submit today too if all goes to plan UEA, BSMS, Exeter and Southampton then he can start revising the BMAT :/

Adrink your daughter is definitely right to keep he waitress bit in! It shows that you can deal with the public, in all its aspects, good and bad, and work as a team when things are busy. My daughter has some good war stories from her waitressing, including telling a restaurant full of bank holiday lunchers that the chef had just walked out and they wouldn't get their food. Talking about this and how she managed the reactions was something she talked about at least one interview, too.

I think most schools don't care what the work experience is, they care about the skills learnt from it. Waitressing involves dealing with difficult customer, pressure to perform and working well with co-workers, so really not much different to doctors!

DD did much better than she'd anticipated and got 17.8 at the BMAT. Not so high that she would be totally safe, but still a good score that would have got her an interview at Brighton in the last two years , so crossing fingers that it does go up yet further this year. She's decided to apply to it. She's now very relieved and feeling light as a feather. I thought I'd wait until next week to remind her that she still has mock A levels exams to study for!

How fantastic,swing! She must be so pleased.

Well, having investigated a bit more -as we mumsnet mums do! -, it is not as positive as hoped. The cut off last year was actually 17.5, a massive increase from the previous year (16.0) and the year before (15.1). It would appear that they had an increase of 23% in applications last year (yulp!) whilst reducing the number of interviews by 45.

So it is remains a risky choice! It is very frustrating because if she'd applied last year based on her results this year, she would have had definite interviews in at least 3 of her choices, but she is very close with 2 of them, and that's not counting Bristol, so any increase this year could see her with only 1 interview (or even none of course!). So a bit on tenterhook -well that would be me, I can hear her singing in her room!- and therefore still waiting for final UKCAT results next Friday to make the final decision.

Bring on the 15th please -for temporary mental torture release- until it starts again in December :)

Well done Swing. Glad you got what you want.
I'm sure we shall all feel light as a feather after 15/10 - for a few weeks at least.

Sorry Swing - just seen your next message.

Ouch - do BSMS have a few more places this year? Liverpool said last weekend that there are more places than ever (the new 500), fewer 18 year old school leavers & fewer overseas applicants since Brexit. She said there's never been a better year to try. Fingers crossed.

Don't you hate just sitting in that "borderline" position. I feel your pain. Leicester - We have 55pts & DD wants Leics. TSR predicts cut off will again be 55.

My DD says I'm an "over-analyser" & "glass half empty". Going to hold my breath & hope someone is smiling down on us.

Our kids deserve to do well. Fingers crossed.

There are more places available this year, for sure. DD's back-up was reapplying post-A levels for this very reason. Plus the Brexit dip.

Oh, that's a very close one for your DD too Somerset. I sometimes wish DD was back to being a moody teenager telling me to butt out of her life. As it is, she is listening and relying on my advice and I feel under pressure as on one hand, I don't want her to miss out of the schools she really wants to go to (and most likely blame me for it!) but on the other, I know she would be so disappointed if she didn't get interviews. No doubt we are over-analysing and I'm glad it's us rather than them.That's why DD will make a much better doctor than I would!!

Cross fingers for extra funding and Brexit indeed (selfishly!). I am not sure how the extra places work, ie. across all schools, or only specific ones.

You're right to play it tactically. That was the best bit of advice we got: read all the small print and tSR and play it safe for three choices and perhaps aim high for the fourth. I think people who get places often are the ones who analyse and play to their strengths. If you don't have informed teachers or supportive parents it must be very hard. Just having another pair of eyes to logic check your choices based on your qualifications and predictions for A levels is helpful. Only they can make the ultimate choices of course.

Swing glad your daughter did well in the BMAT, but sorry that its all so complicated!

DD managed to get her PS down to 4000 characters exactly. Hopefully its fine - there was more she wanted to say, but I'm sure that's the case for everyone. She submitted it last night - quite a scary feeling for me, but she is just relieved not to have to think about it for a while!

Can't quite believe I've got a Saturday without a University visit! Feel a little uneasy

Anyone visit Manchester today? DD was a little underwhelmed. She is struggling to find 4 universities that she likes. She likes 3, but one of them requires a higher UKCAT result than she managed, so she really only likes 2 of the ones she can apply to.

My DD didn't like Manchester either but many do. Our short list is Hull, Leicester, Liverpool & the last place is up for grabs. Hoping to squeak under the cutoff for Sheffield otherwise Southampton or Portsmouth UKCAT 677 Band 1. Also eligible for our consideration Keele, St George's or UEA with that I think. Geography means we discount UEA from the start. Don't think we can apply Nottingham. Don't know much about Scotland.
Does that help? Can you share score? (Understand if prefer not to).

"Don't think we can apply Nottingham"

Do you mind if I ask why? DD loved Nottingham. She liked Leicester as well. She really liked Newcastle but they want a really high UKCAT score. She has been predicted 3 As, so Keele is out.

Don't think her GCSEs are quite high enough to make the predicted cut off (TSR) based on historical data. Leicester is a slight risk & only want one risky choice. PS added into Notts for second cut make the unknown a bit scary for us. We have safer options.

We too have predicted AAA & UKCAT not high enough for Newcastle. GCSEs too low (!) for Cardiff.

Haha Somerset, no more excuses for short breaks discovering the beauty of England! For the best considering the change of weather :)

Can I ask you and Lornicera what it was about Manchester that your DC didn't like? It is still an option for DD, but she's said she is not keen on PBL style learning. I don't think it is what she thinks it is, but I'm wondering if they are other factors that would put her off too.

Our DD got exactly the same results Somerset, 677 which not a bad one, but indeed puts them right at that edge for some schools, which is why we are still waiting for Friday for final results for the 4th choice.

DD choices are BSMS and Bristol (heek!), St George as she's got plenty of experience to talk about and she likes the idea of the school located within the hospital and their very hands on approach. 4th choice will be decided Friday! Although BMSM and Bristol are both risky choices, she has valid reasons for believing she has a chance there against the stats, so can only pray this is true.

Well done adrinkofwater for finalising the PS to just 4000 words, indeed, what a relief it must be to press the button!

If anyone is struggling for a fourth, St George's UL is worth a second look. It's not London in the same way as the other London med school but in Tooting, described by Lonely Planet as one of the world's best suburbs.

DD went to an open day, expecting to apply, but then realised she wanted a full integrated University experience. We met a number of people who trained there, including current students playing Club sport with her, and all were positive, and DD did some good and interesting shadowing there. The entrance criteria were not too demanding and when she went to open day she was told that a lot then depended on interview performance.

Given they have been in clearing twice, it would seem like a good fourth choice for a student looking for a friendly suburban environment, within a hospital setting.

Good luck all on this process - stressful for parents as well as students . This was me a few years ago . Dd2 now at Leeds in yr4 and loves it there. I am not sure if it's still the case but when she applied she got rejected by Brighton and Sussex for medicine but they made her a really great alternative offer for bio med sci of I think AAB and it became her back up/insurance. We went to the open day for it and it was inspirational and I think she was hovering about doing it as first degree . Might be worth it as a 4th choice?

It's the PBL style learning that DD isn't keen on. The students she talked to weren't either. The sheer size and busyness of the place was daunting, and DD's lack of experience. She only decided at the beginning of July that she wanted to do medicine and found it hard to get any work experience because she was too young (she has only recently turned 17).

She doesn't want to study in London and didn't like Bristol either (she would struggle with the hills due to a knee problem).

Thanks Needmoresleep. We wanted to avoid any London schools mainly because of the costs, but when we looked into St George in more detail, it really felt like the right one for DD and I felt they were looking for applicants who fitted DD strengths. I think this is definitely the school she has the most chance of an offer.

Thanks Pip, glad your DD enjoys Leeds. We've looked into it too at it seemed a great place too but there was something about it that puts us off, I think it might be that they also look at GCSEs? DD will indeed put biomed at BSMS as her 5th choice as I read that you can transfer to Medicine after one year and even get a guaranteed interview if you meet the requirements. I don't the financial implication of such a choice yet, but it does sound worth considering if she doesn't get any offer for Medicine.

Thanks Lornica, that's great info. Your DD is so young, one year makes a huge difference at that age, so totally understand your choices.

My daughter didn't want PBL either. They do seem to be a bit wary of it. She liked Cardiff's CBL but is now studying in a very traditional lecture- and tutorial-based school, with a small amour of PBL and shadowing. Interesting how some prefer different types of teaching. I think she worried she could go wrong somehow in PBL and waste time. I don't know enough about it.