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.

DD came home in a complete state after her results. She just couldn't understand how she could have got Band4. Initially, I was devastated too as I thought it would exclude from almost all UKCAT uni, but upon research, we found that quite a few exclude it entirely. Exeter, Bristol, Plymouth, UEA and I am pretty sure Manchester. She was initially intending to apply to Keele, which is now not possible but again DD doesn't really care where she goes as long as she can study Medicine!

The UKCAT is very much about the ability to memorise and apply methodology. I expect it's a key skill to study Medicine. I agree that it feels like you need a degree just to apply but what a learning experience! I feel much better about it as I have come to accept that it might be a two year process and that would be ok. DD has a caring assistant job that she could do FT next year if needed. This would allow her to put money aside and gain even more experience and having gone through it once, I expect she would be better prepared to go through it again.

Of course, she and I would be over the moon if she gets in this year, but in the scheme of things, what's another year at 18!

We visited Leicester and Nottingham this weekend. DD really liked Leicester and (unlike some others) thought the buildings and campus were really pretty - flowers and trees around and right next to a park. The halls were also set in nice gardens with lots of trees (important to her!) The 2 teachers who spoke about the course were also very engaging and we came away feeling generally positive.

Nottingham, we were somehow more unsure about - maybe partly because you have to do a big research project in year 3, I'm not sure. Also, the green and leafy campus that it is known for doesn't include the science buildings, which is a bit sad.

One thing we have noticed is that most places say in the information that they have early clinical contact, but what this actually means varies considerably and is often hard to find out. The Nottingham lady said she "couldn't tell us how often it was", but the students seemed to think every 3 weeks or once a month for half a day.

We have been to 7 open days, and no doubt a lot of time has been wasted (we have looked at halls in places that she wont even apply to now), but in general, I think it has been worth doing as we could get a feel for the places.

Now its all about her writing and rewriting her personal statement!

We did Nottingham and Leicester as well. DD will apply to both.

needmoresleep you misunderstand me. I am not saying London is grotty. I'm saying the accommodation DS saw on a UCL open day was pretty grim. And expensive. As it happens I work in central London. There every blooming day! Anyway he is likely to try for UCL as he knows it's a great school and is the traditional style that he would be best at.

Ok! I am a bit surprised as UCL seems, after Imperial, the most organised on the accommodation front.

There was a typo in my post in that DS was not a medic but had his first year in an intercollegiate hall then two years in a shared ex LA flat near Great Ormand St. He really enjoyed London, and received a great education.

My defensiveness stems from regular posters who suggest London is impossible. It is not the easiest or cheapest of cities, but I hope people who do not know London will still encourage their DCs to keep an open mind and weigh up the good with the bad. London has some very very good medical schools.

(I loved DS being in London, though we had men outraged him to go further afield. We probably saw no more of him in total than if he had been further away but coming home a weekend a term. But It was nice to have an occasional coffee or lunch or have him pop home to pick up an Amazon parcel and stay for supper.)

So we've done 4 visits so far, and DS in theory has a chance at all. Polishing his statement at the moment, which I haven't read, but school is dealing with that. Also he seems to make a couple
Of good contacts when when did he work experience so has been in touch with them.

I think it all comes down to them, apart from providing food love and support I don't see much more I can do. Have driven to open days . Eek all getting very real now!!!

Wasnt going to comment on medicine threads this year as there have been so many changes but medical schools are not good at putting on their websites what they will actually take in reality. So they will say their requirement is, say, 5 A* GSCE but at the open day they will tell you that last year they didnt take anyone with less than 7. If you cannot get to open days read the student room threads about each medical school. They may not be perfect but they can be more accurate than the websites at times.

Looking at which hospitals you will have to get to is quite important. You may be asked questions about that at interview.

One advantage of London medical schools is that their hospitals are mostly accessible by public transport so you can get back to your friends at night, even if takes a long time. Outside London you may find yourself staying away for weeks at a time. It is also easier to find work - but given the cost they are more likely to need to work.

A great disadvantage of London is that you have to pay a fortune for accommodation and you may end up moving each year, looking in a very competitive market. There are also the safety concerns, I feel my child is less safe in London than they would be had they stayed at Cambridge. Personally I wouldnt encourage people to go to London if they have a choice.

Gosh been off this for a few days & the thread has grown.

Swingofthings I think you are the same as us. We are in upper 6th devils & need a drop of 20pts min to take us back into 7th. Fingers crossed.

We have done quite a few open days and have found the extra info received from admissions, together with a TSR trawl has led to a more appropriate short list.
For instance, DD flunked AR in UKCAT. Her score improved by VR & DM. But it means we can't choose Plymouth - we are below their AR threshold. Exeter was v nice bug you need stellar predicted grades & all the Health Sciences are on their own campus, 20mins walk from main campus, SU etc. DD loved Leicester but we are concerned about the cut off mark applied in previous years.
We learned from Cardiff that despite their published "min GCSE" requirements, if you don't have lots of A*s don't bother. Have ruled out Newcastle - UKCAT not high enough.

Going to see Liverpool this weekend. It's a long time to be there if you don't feel comfortable. She really didn't like Manchester.
I'm encouraging DD to choose her favourites from a realistic short list & then see what happens.

We sat UKCAT at end of July & I wondered if delaying it by weeks could improve the score but DD needed surgery over summer & was worried about effect of General anaesthetic & pain on her results. With hindsight, relief to get it out if the way.

It's a difficult decision as to when is the 'best' time to take the UKCAT. My DS took it at the end of July as well. He just carried on working after term had ended and was pleased to get it out of the way as he still had work experience to complete in August & as he's an IB student his extended essay/internal assessments etc. He was happy with his score but it's certainly a tough road for them (& us!!)
We visited Liverpool back in June & DS absolutely loved it. Super friendly Uni & city. Definitely take the free tour bus around the city before or after the admissions talk & also had the nicest accommodation. He's visiting Manchester next week, I'm interested to know why Somerset's DD didn't like it? Was it the course or the place?
He also really liked Bart's but I'm a little concerned about London (cost/safety/general busyness)...we're country bumpkins!!

Somerset, let's hope for the 20 points!

Liverpool was DD first choice, a long time ago, but that's because she supports their football team and she seeing that finally, she'd be able to be there to support them! We did look into it and really liked it but it's not an option for DD (I think it was because of her GCSEs). Manchester is a very close contender, but preferably would need the 20 points. They are I believe the innovator of the PBL style learning which she isn't keen on, although I think she might think differently as she experiences it. Can I ask what put you off?

Not long to go until time to make final choices. DD's will be last minute as she will wait for her BMAT results and the final UKCAT percentile which won't be published until 6 days until the deadline for application, eek!

We too are country bumpkins (clue is in the name). DD didn't like the city (no offence to the people of Manchester). She acknowledged what a beautiful place it is with everything you could possibly want going on but she is no party-animal. She wants somewhere a bit quieter with a campus feel, at least for the first few years. 2 previous students from our school have gone to Manchester for Medicine and both loved it. She isn't so keen on PBL but having looked into it further I think what they offer is actually fairly "integrated" despite fact they declare it PBL. I think too the way they choose their students would be favourable to us but I don't think she can be persuaded.

I've heard nothing but great things about Liverpool so fingers crossed for Saturday.

20 points.... we can do it SwingofThings. School are pressing us to finalise the UCAS form but seeing as they haven't completed their bit yet I've suggested they will have to wait - 6/10 is an important day!

Southampton we liked.

Keele - anyone been to Keele? What did you think? We couldn't make the Open Day as DD in Hospital (how ironic) but I believe it would fit the "quiet, green, campus" - it's just always been one of those.. "where is Keele?" type places. Interesting stat about Keele I found - there application rate fell by half (! yes half!) last year - can't find out why though....

Like Nottingham but not sure either GCSE grades of UKCAT quite good enough to make it a safe bet....

Thanks for the info on Manchester; my DS is not a party boy either so we'll see what he thinks.
We visited the Keele open day in June & it definitely ticks the green, leafy campus boxes. Ultra modern med school & buildings to match. I liked the way they seem to prioritise med students eg only students allowed free parking, free bus passes etc as they know they have to be able to travel. Large teaching hospital nearby. The med school was super friendly & I think that the number of applicants fell last year because the previous year there had been 13 applicants for every place so it probably put some people off! Despite being in the middle of the Stafforfshire countryside it's surprisingly easy to get to with excellent road (M6 very near) & rail links. Hope that helps!

Keele was number 2 choice for DD until she messed up the sjt and that came off the list! Like Bristol, it's very much based on ps (in the case of Keele, their own form), and they actually asked for a minimum hours of work experience (which DD did have and more, grrr!). I loved the location of the campus, although DD is more a city lover (loves NY and London), but either way, she's not bothered, she's very adaptable so doesn't really care.

Oh yes, it's the 6th for the final UKCAT score not 9th, so a bit more time. DD was also pestered by her school to finalise her UCAS until she told them that she didn't bother doing the BMAT ahead of time for nothing! They are a new 6th form (only 3rd year) but in their speech, they talked about how they had all those plans to support pupils wanting to study Medicine. The reality has proven that they are totally clueless and it's a good think DD didn't rely on them to support her application!

No idea how to add emoticons (so cross face) - our sixth form have been going forever but still seem clueless about applying to medicine - we have been driving the urgency this term and I have been trawling TSR for extra info to ensure that our applications are strategic to maximise the possibility of getting an interview. Feel like I should write a book, or a blog!

Keele - that's good to know. Yes we looked at the R&R form and feel we can complete it adequately. Not sure whether we are ready to declare a short list but it contains HYMS, Leicester, Southampton, Sheffield and possibly Keele & Liverpool. Birmingham & Manchester look like safe(ish) bets statistically but she isn't keen on them as cities. She really wanted Edinburgh & Cardiff but we don't stand a chance.
Thankfully we have SJT Band 1 so didn't lose out there.
Have you looked at Medic Portal information - we got quite a lot of ideas from there?

Hi SomersetS
We have shortlisted Southampton also. Also like the look of Keele but my DS does not want to commit to another PS based one as Bristol is on shortlist too alongside Exeter and BSMS!

It's interesting what you are all saying about Keele. They must have really upped their game on open days. When my DS was looking for 2016 entry they were the most unfriendly of all the tours they did. I wonder if that contributed to the lower application rate? My DS had discounted it before we finished the tour as he just didn't like it.
Hopefully they have looked at some of the messages they were giving out and revised them but these were the impressions we were left with -

1. Virtually no students involved in the open day to ask questions
2. The introductory lecturer started off with " 9 out of 10 of you won't get any offers so you better start thinking about a plan B"
3. During the lecture they described various medical scenarios and asked the audience what they would do. Cue lots of whispering from medic parents to their offspring and some wonderful showing off from their DC. My DS had only watched Holby so was quite fazed by this and asked me if he was meant to know about U s and E s and LFTs?
4. We toured the accommodation and couldn't see how one wash basin shower and toilet could serve 10 rooms.

I hope they have managed to sort it out because it's clearly a great school with a lot going for it but I wouldn't mind betting the Open Days put a lot of people off for last year.

Apparently Keele have amazing student satisfaction results!

I think Keele is a very good choice for someone with working and volunteering experience over a year or so. They only have a cut of UKCAT of the 2nd percentile, so really everyone has a chance (unless of course you totally mess up the sjt!). I say the more people being put off, the more chance for those who do apply!

Choices for DD are: Definite: Bristol. Then, Manchester, Plymouth and UEA in order.

Assuming BMAT results are ok: Definite: BSMS and if results are good, will ditch the 3rd UKCAT choice for Leeds.

DD is at Keele and agrees that it is a lovely campus. For entry in 2016, the offer was AAA or AstarAB, so I suspect a number of applicants will have chosen it for an insurance. Now the requirement is AstarAA, the situation must have changed.

The A*AA offer certainly is a (worrying) consideration. I know it's competitive but think the kids are under enough stress as it is. I gather Birmingham usually asks the same.

Glad to hear Keele is a success. We haven't ruled it out yet.

Bristol is home for us and DD wants to move away though personal experience tells us it's a great city & the hospitals are fabulous, especially Children's. If we didn't live here I'd be very happy with it as a DD choice. Qs about Bristol, the city, happy to try & help.

A*AA - Keele - not sure why it went bold - something to do with stars. Sorry.

My DD has sent hers. It's gone !!! Bit scary but she's made her choices and so now it's just the long wait. Nottingham have just updated their scoring - extra point this year for SJT 1 (4 points) - on her list. Her college are so organised even though they have 1800 kids in each year & lots of Medics, vets and Oxbridge. Suppose doing it for so many every year means you know how it all works.

What are people's DC doing about 5th choices? DS didn't realise the firm required him to put one down

My DS is not putting one down as his PS is so geared towards medicine not sure what he could put tbh