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.

Well done to all so far, we should hear from Cardiff as we have 25/27 and interviews have gone today to 24/27.

Exciting and stressful at same time.

Great to hear about interviews that have come and also positive ukcat cut offs!

Feeling very lucky here as DD now also has interviews at Bristol and Cardiff. Bristol is next Thursday 23rd, so really soon, but the last date DD was given to choose from. Slight (huge?) feeling of panic here about not having enough time to prepare properly.

Fabulous, all these interviews coming like trains! It's quite surprising the difference between schools and how they manage interviews. DD is unlikely to have an interview before January! Applicants to SGUL will now know if they will be invited for one or not, but they won't take place until the new year, same with BSMS, with invites normally going out early December, and it would seem Manchester is also not sending invites until then. It leaves Bristol which is as much as a lottery as to which batch candidates fall under!

Good luck next week to your DD adrinkofwater, very short notice indeed, but it will be nice when it's over with. It would have suited me very much, especially as it would have got me out of something I don't want to go to!!

Fabulously well done to all of your DC who have got interviews coming up! We've heard nothing yet but then I think none of my DS choices have released any interviews yet... Beginning to wish he'd applied to some med schools that contact students earlier! The wait is painful though fortunately DS seems pretty chilled at the moment. Good luck to everyone!

All the best to those starting the interview process and well done. I shouldn't do the 'with hindsight' thing, but DD had St Georges on her list for 80% of the process, in the end I supported her decision to go for all away from London. SGUL is commuting distance for us and she commuted there for a week of shadowing, I see now she got a UKCAT score that would have secured an interview, she is also now fairly familiar with the school - not saying she would have got an offer though, I know one dead cert.(everyone thought) who got the interview and no offer, just feeling a little anxious. Next few weeks will tell whether it was the right decision. Also, now discussing the fifth choice, as DD has applied for deferred entry she did not put one initially, but she can add a non medicine up to January and I think we now have two interesting courses, thanks to mums net! She has her mock interview tonight at 7pm?, arranged by the school but not MMI and no idea who is the interviewer, not a member of staff though. Will be a useful experience and hopefully some useful feedback. Swingofthings, any questions on SGUL I will try and answer them for you.

Well done to everyone with interviews. I think we will be joining the rest of you on a trip to Next for a trouser suit, given that Dd is used to living in black jeans for work.

This was posted on the Leicester website under admissions updates

Posted: 10 November 2017

We have now commenced emailing out decisions to applicants. This will be an ongoing process and some applicants may not receive a decision until the end of February 2018.

Please note: We have not decided on a final threshold for invitation to MMI. Therefore, if you have not already received a decision, this does not necessarily mean that you have been unsuccessful - we have over 2,000 applications to process.

I hope its encouraging for those who have applied to Leicester and not heard anything yet!

2B1Gmum, I know exactly how you feel. I too am starting to wish DD had applied to Exeter rather than Bristol. We debated until the last minute, but DD wanted to give Bristol a chance and Exeter wasn't guaranteed at all (still don't know if she'd have met their threshold). I think we feel as we do because of reading of interviews coming through, but we have to remember that it is still the very early stages and in the end, we have no way of knowing how interviews would go elsewhere anyway.

DD picked St George because of it being based in the hospital, but also because they seem to be very experienced focused and that's her strength but as you say, it takes a lot more than that to get that offer! It seems they have started to send interview invites today, but no message from DD yet! Thank you for you offer to answer questions. Did your DD enjoyed her shadowing? Which specialty was it in?

My daughter is at Cardiff doing Medicine - she also did two week's work experience at SGUL and it's easy commuting distance away. She didn't apply there in end but to UCL out of the London unis. Her best friend is at SGUL on the Medicine course (also first year like DD) and likes it it is very practical but I am glad DD has gone further away as she really needed to become more independent at home and she wanted the uni experience and to live somewhere different to London. She's always popping home though!! DD also applied to Bristol and didn't get an iv but a huge % was based on the personal statement (it's less now) and hers fell 2% short they said.

Hello swingofthings, DD really enjoyed her week after first debacle of admin people not explaining what she needed to wear - i.e. trainers and be prepared to strip down to underwear in front of staff to change into scrubs! She was in adult intensive care and also joined F1 doctors/or medic students observing breast cancer surgery - interesting discussion with the surgeon after who asked her about what was on PS and other work experience. He was, we hope, slightly old fashioned, he said she needed GP work ex to get taken seriously. She said working at a care home was very important because it demonstrated empathy and caring, they had a lively discussion about whether a surgeon needs empathy! She drank a lot of coffee (rarely touches it normally) and missed her lunch one day - but it didn't put her off. She enjoyed the rounds and the team spirit and the dark sense of humour that keeps them going. DD just rang from school, mock interview she was expecting at 4 pm has been cancelled, no one told her?!

Thanks Pixelchick for the feedback. Glad your DD is enjoying at Cardiff and nice to read that her friend is also happy at SGUL.

2B1Gmum, that sounds like a full on very rewarding week. I think a dark sense of humour is almost a pre-requisite to surgery! Did it make your DD consider surgery herself? DD has assumed from the start that it wouldn't be a field she would be interested in, but she recently been reading books written by a particular surgeon (can't remember his name) which had made her see the discipline with different eyes. He too seems to have a dark sense of humour which she very much enjoyed!

I had to laugh, SGUL are advertising their Medicine and Vet school on tsr going on about studying on the island of Grenada. I think I am forgetting that it is DD applying, because my eyes went wide open with the prospect of a holiday in Grenada under the pretense of 'my poor DD is missing her mummy, I've got to go and give her some support' :)

Is it Do No Harm that she has read? If not I recommend it, only because I have read nearly every chapter and found it addictive, although I cried a lot so couldn't read too much at time. No way I could work in medicine. I don't think my DD has ambitions of surgery, she has an eyesight issue anyway that may mean she couldn't be a surgeon, if she ever got anywhere near it in terms of medicine, getting on the course, etc. At Liverpool admissions said about 1% reach the top surgery jobs... and they need 50% to go into GP practice. Love the idea of Grenada, perhaps there is an ERASMUS scheme or similar?

That's the one 2B1Gmum! She loved it! Sounds like a book for everyone to read but like you, the tears come quickly and I don't know if I can cope with this at the same time than going through this process!

My DD has it too. Might give it a read myself then.

The author of Do No Harm, Henry Marshall, worked at St Georges, a nurse friend remembers him often performing surgery with bare feet! DDs mock interview last night was bizarre, but ultimately useful, if for no other reason than it being very different from what one might expect. I have no idea where the school got the guy from and it may be he has no experience in interviewing for medicine degrees! He was a leading psychiatrist. He didn't make eye contact, he tutted and contradicted, they did have a discussion about a medical ethics scenario. He concluded as she was a middle class female and seemed to like her and that he would 'give her the job'. He also said empathy is overrated, and that saying you want to be a doctor for the money is a valid point and all sorts of other things completely contrary to everything that has been said at admissions talks! She enjoyed talking to him after about his job. Btw, can't get my imojees to work, hence exclamations and question marks...

Sheffield interview email arrived. Not sure if DD is happy or terrified 😁.

Not got ours yet. Suspense is killing me. Interview practice session at school today apparently went well though.

2B1Gmum, how odd this interview training!! Where did they find him indeed? Maybe he was trying to make a point about them distinguishing themselves from the mass, but to say that empathy was overated... especially out of the mouth of a psychiatrist.... speechless!! I can imagine how awkward it must have been. Maybe it was some sort of psychological experiment, putting them through the worse possible interview so that anything else would be a piece of cake :)

Great news mumsneedwine, cross finger interview invite will follow Somerset.

It will come Somerset ! You know she’s over the threshold - waiting is hell though. Mine now worrying she’s an early one. They’ll always stress about something. Going up for the weekend to have a mooch around Sheffield and surroundings as I’ve never been

I visited with DD for open day & really liked it. Novotel was cheap, fairly cheerful & well placed. Easy (uphill) walk from station (though DD was on crutches at the time!) Tram to Uni quick & easy.

mumsneedwine, well done for your DD, I can appreciate mixed emotions, but a great achievement. I have never been to Sheffield but my father used to go regularly for work, he found the people really friendly and always enjoyed his visits. Slight panic today, when DD filled in UCAS for deferred entry UEA didn't allow her to tick that box, we got in touch, they reacted really quickly, apologised and sorted it out. Then today I checked admissions criteria and it says taking a Gap year is great but do tell us your plans. I contacted them again, another quick and polite response - very impressed at such a busy time too. So now a separate email will be sent by DD with a few lines about her plans. Liverpool said 'don't bother to mention it, take a break, catch up on your sleep and enjoy' were more or less the words admissions lady used, which I found really refreshing; HYMS were fine too, and I hope Manchester similar. Somerset, I am sure your DD will hear soon, I hope in a matter of days. If my DD hears from any in November it would be HYMS but we both think it is an 'iffy' choices, one other at school has applied too which can give rise to more anxiousness. Three applicants in total in her year, not much overlap in choices though. Swingofthings, the other interviewer for the two other students was an Australian who trained in Australia and said she had no idea how similar the selection was, so asked the girls to come up with their owns questions! My DD ended up finding the whole situation funny, after the initial shock.

2B1GMum we too have applied HYMS & heard nothing yet.
Only 2 potential medics at our school & only overlap is Liverpool who won’t be in touch until January apparently.

Somerset - Liverpool seems popular this year, but it may be because it didn't seem to be on the radar of the London based students I know who applied in previous years. They all seemed to apply for Bristol, not a surprise as Bristol is always very oversubscribed . My D went to a talk organised for London Schools medic applicants in the summer where the admissions lady from UEA gave a brief talk - no one in my D's group had heard of UEA, and none had any overlap with my D's list. I have just been called up to Jury Service in January so that will keep me busy for at least the first two weeks - a welcome distraction.

I loved UEA but couldn’t persuade DD that Norwich was too small. Although the last hour and half past Cambridge was a long old boring road. The campus was amazing, the course modern and the staff lovely. But no go. Mine went for s taster day at Liverpool and loved it (this is on her PS !). We live over 4 hours away but she loved it so much it’s s favourite choice. And hospital is next to the Uni and also near a v large shopping centre. Priorities

Mumsneedwine Liverpool is a long way & change of trains for us too (all DDs choices are far - Hull being furthest @ 5 hours) but I went with her for the Open Day. I was sceptical but it was great. It’s situation in the city is great (another hill)& location of hospitals good. Staff were great. Very high tech & lots of investment. The halls we saw were fab.