Medicine 2018 part 2

[LoniceraJaponica]

New thread here

[SomersetS]

We looked at 11 Uni's - all 4 (+5th choice) that we applied. None in London. Gosh it was a lot. But worth it in most cases.

Will be interesting to see if she changes her mind post interviews & ranks in different order!

Hull was absolute favourite so far (of all of us) but she didn't like York - so if she is lucky enough to get an offer we pray it's at Hull! Liverpool still in second place. Sheffield I/view next week. Liverpool week after.

Agree - please no rejections before we get those out of the way. Keep the spirits up! (Mine is gin 😂).

[LoniceraJaponica]

Somerset interestingly DD didn't apply to York because she didn't want to chance ending up in Hull. Stupidly, DD wasn't interested in Liverpool because she hates the Scouse accent - I know!

However, if she ends up reapplying she will consider Liverpool this time, and maybe York.

[SomersetS]

I was very pleasantly surprised by Liverpool. It's definitely worth a visit. Leicester was another that was much better than anticipated.

Just goes to show - you never can tell & also though that it's different for everyone. Did you look at Hull? Gorgeous campus & fantastic accommodation. Brand new medical block.

Nottingham gorgeous but a little underhand I think in their process. We steered clear because it looked that way to me reading between the TSR lines from last year despite it ticking all other boxes.

[LoniceraJaponica]

We didn't look at Hull, but visited York. I wasn't aware that it was Hull York until we got there. I definitely think DD needs to reconsider it. Leicester was better than we thought. We did Nottingham and Leicester back to back and thought that Nottingham would be a hard act to follow.

I think that by the time we did Bristol and Manchester we were suffering from open day fatigue. Manchester was just too big and intimidating, and Bristol too hilly (DD has knee problems)

[mumsneedwine]

I loved Liverpool, having expected to not like it. People are so lovely and the Uni is so close to the city and docks it's really easy to feel part of both. DD did a Taster day there and said the course sounds fantastic and the students were so positive about it. The City has had so much updating but full of so much history - we are going to the Cavern on next visit (DD is 18). My DD did not like Bristol at all ! I liked UEA and thought the campus was v like Nottingham's and the course is so modern. Was DDs 5th choice. Just want one of them to chose DD now 🍷

[SomersetS]

I remember our discussion Lonicera. Bristol is indeed v hilly & my DD found Manchester (city) way too large, colourful, noisy & intimidating! Could not be persuaded to apply there or Birmingham. She wants more campus "leafy green".

We too were avoiding hills pre hip surgery in August but I think she's fixed thank goodness. Sheffield is very hilly too as are parts of Exeter (not the med school annex).

Hull - very very flat! I'm sure we would have loved UEA but it was just too far & difficult to get to.

Fingers crossed for Leicester though!

I am actually dreading offers coming out. I'm preferring this mid interview calm!

[mumsneedwine]

We thought Liverpool looks a bit like Hogwarts .

[mumsneedwine]

There was supposed to be a photo there !!! I'll try again (should be marking year 13 mocks but I need a break )

[mumsneedwine]

Nope. Give up. But I agree about dreading the offers going out. Going to be a v v v stressful few weeks

[adrinkofwater]

Did anyone visit Newcastle - or know much about it? DD has an interview there, but we didn't go to an open day. (We went to 8 and ended up applying to 3 of them!) We have never been to Newcastle and are suddenly feeling that we don't know much about it as a city, the Uni or those useful insights you pick up on open days!

[mumsneedwine]

Can't help with Newcastle course as DD decided it was too far, but know she liked it so must have early patient contact and CBL (as she only looked at those). But the city is awesome !!! Fun, friendly and really easy to get around.

[SomersetS]

Everyone says it's fab. Friends daughter Medic there & v happy. We prob would have applied but feared DDs UKCAT slightly too low. Haven't heard their cut off yet?

[2B1Gmum]

adrinkofwater - I also know a lovely fourth year medic at Newcastle - did the intercalation year and is very happy with the course. DS2 is at Durham with his brother (not medics). Cold up north and snow everywhere at the moment but some beautiful scenery; Durham is 10 mins on the train and worth a visit, Newcastle is the place for nightlife and shopping so Durham students go there too for a change of scene. If you are feeling flush there is a lovely Hotel Du Vin I have been keen to try in Newcastle.... Virgin trains are very annoying to deal with but they run a regular and relatively fast train service from Kings Cross. Lots of Harry Potter links with the area and Kings Cross if that is of interest

Somerset, I hope you got some marking done... what is your subject? My relatives are English, Drama, Theatre Studies and Philosophy at A level - no Chemistry or Biology sadly. DD came home after her second lesson with new Biology teacher and said they had a great lesson, she made the subject so interesting, whereas the cover teacher had bored them to tears. Relieved - one less worry.

[2B1Gmum]

sorry, must clean my glasses, last para for mumsneedwine

somerset glad to hear hip surgery worked. It seems a lot of DD & DS are hospital patients at the moment, useful insight for them. I had to rearrange DDs next visit because it coincided with parents evening/afternoon, so now her January appointment is in May! Luckily it is just a quick weigh and measure and maybe some bloods, although they tend to send her back to the GP for tests as the hospital waiting room for blood tests is so full they can't fit everyone in!. (I also suspect it means the GP pays for it and not the hospital budget). Again more insight into the NHS.

[2B1Gmum]

UEA question, can't find a list of linked hospitals that is up to date any UEA applicants know whether it is still: Norfolk & Norwich (obviously), James Paget, Queen Elizabeths (Kings Lyn), Great Yarmouth, Ipswich and is Colchester still on the list?

[sluj]

Hi

DS is yr 2 at UEA and has so far done a month each at Norwich and Norfolk (twice), Kings Lynn and is about to do next month in Great Yarmouth. I'm fairly sure he is looking forward to Colchester as it's a place he can easily come home from for the weekend. Not sure about Ipswich though but it's firmly in their operating area.

He has enjoyed all of his placements so far and it's been very hands on. The university provides free minibus travel to and from the hospital when on placements which is good. Obviously not for the Norwich and Norfolk which is practically on campus.

His weekly GP placement is in Southwold this year so a minibus takes them to and fro every Friday too.

Very well organised in terms of placements. In year 2 he will be spending most Fridays at the GP and three months of hospital placements. In Year 1 he had the GP placement in Norwich every week plus two months in hospitals. Each hospital placement goes with the module they have just finished so he is expecting lots of skin and blood issues next.

[2B1Gmum]

sluj thanks so much, useful to know prior to interview, I know the area well as I grew up in Norwich and was born in Ipswich - but getting around is not always easy - I have been stuck behind a tractor on the way to the coast! Southwold is lovely - fantastic that they help with transport. The reason my DD has UEA on her list is all the early clinical contact so they live up to that, I am looking forward to revisiting and going to the Sainsbury Centre.

[adrinkofwater]

Yes, Newcastle is CBL and early patient contact. My DD also initially rejected it as "too far away" (we live on the south coast, so are flying from Southampton for the interview).

I think it is hard for DD to get her head around having another interview as she had 3 fairly close together at the end of Nov/beginning of Dec, which feels so long ago now! The fact that we've not actually been their either doesn't help. No UKCAT cut off yet. It seems from TSR that they are still giving out a few interviews.

Did you visit Newcastle Lonicera?

We are flying up the day before and staying in a Premier Inn, so will hopefully have a chance to look around a bit, providing the weather obliges

[muddlethro]

Hello to all you parents of would-be medics smile. I have been following your thread for a little while (apologies if that’s a tad stalkerish!), and wishing that I’d found such a thread when my DS went through this tortuous experience last year....! I just wanted to say how fortunate your DC are to have such dedicated parents, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for those who don’t have such support! I hope and pray that all your children will get at least one offer, as a few of you have said, they only need one!!

[muddlethro]

Forgive the typo in the first sentence, it should have ended with a smiley emoji 🙂

[LoniceraJaponica]

Yes we did adrinkofwater. The Premier Inn is very close to the university. It is a little shabby and gets full of hen and stag parties at the weekend, but it serves its purpose. DD really likes Newcastle. We have family in the north east so she would feel at home there. Sadly, I don't think her UKCAT score is high enough.

[mumsneedwine]

2B1Gmum I teach science and maths so not too bad to mark. Chemistry A level so no essays 😁. My own kids never let me help them though, which is very frustrating !

[SomersetS]

Hi Muddlethro! Feel free to share any Do's or Don'ts you learned along the way! Great name - feel like that's what we are doing!

[muddlethro]

Hi SomersetS....i certainly felt like I was muddling through it all last year! I think I’d say don’t lose heart and just keep encouraging your DC to be as relaxed as possible at interview, especially if they have to do role play as part of an MMI station. My DS had to show a new mother how to change a babies nappy and put a baby grow on!! He also had to play a card game with a young man with learning disabilities, and help a stressed-out person pack a suitcase to catch a flight! I think the idea is not to try and act out the scenario with the actor, but to be themselves in the situation.
For anyone going for the Newcastle interview, I’d say they are very interested in why you want to study medicine at their university in particular, and make sure your DC know the course structure very well!
For HYMS, during the group discussion, the moderator(s) who are assessing the applicants, are evaluating their communication skillls. I encouraged my DS to listen well to the points others were making, and then to comment on the points they’d made, to show that he’d listened to their point of view etc...
Hope that’s of some help! 😊

[2B1Gmum]

Welcome muddlethro, where is your DS now? DD has had HYMS, I think they have finished now, hers seems like ages ago. I think she had a good group task, they all seemed to listen and contribute and make goods points. Her scenario was quite tough - but she felt OK after - only time will tell. It was her first interview, others still to come and I am sure will be very different. Just talked her through some basic geography - she knows so much about environment, coastlines etc. but not much about Norfolk! I thought it might matter for UEA interview.
mumsneedwine, even if I could help, and I can't, your own children rarely listen, you must find it frustrating though. I loved biology at school, only studied to O level (that ages me), and I am desperate to test DD on some but she says I won't understand it, although every now and then I get a biology question right on Uni Challenge and feel very pleased with myself....