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Original poster

Medicine 2019

999 replies

kaykay72 · 05/06/2018 16:32

Hi,

Does anyone here have a DC applying for medicine to start in 2019? It would be nice to meet others as we embark on uni visits, predicted grades, UKCAT etc

We’re in Kent, d is planning to visit kings, UCL, Nottingham, Sheffield and Newcastle at the moment. She really wanted to go look at Belfast but they want three A’s plus an A at AS level but won’t accept her additional qualification in place of this (despite it having a higher UCAS tarriff). We went to an open afternoon at BSMS which she liked more than she thought she would, so is pondering the BMAT.

I have two older kids (well, adults now), one of whom has just finished his masters, the other just completed his first year elsewhere, but medical applications are just so complicated in comparison to their experiences at this stage.

Hope to hear from others in the same boat :-)

OP posts:
Tinkobell · 29/01/2019 14:44

@Nightowl and @Hoodiemum.....warm congrats on your offers in the bag! We are sitting and waiting now....DD seems to think there might be word either way on Nottingham soon though!

Monkey2001 · 29/01/2019 16:53

Wondering whether the snow is going to affect interviews. DS off to Leeds on Thursday for interview Friday. Luckily he is staying the night, so can allow plenty of time. Confused

Weaverspin · 29/01/2019 21:56

monkey2001 Yes, I was wondering that, as we set off nervously for Liverpool today. It was snowing big flakes as I dropped DD off, but it turned to sleet later for a horrible journey home! It's looking worse later this week, so hopefully your DS getting there the day before will be a good call. Hope all goes well!

Monkey2001 · 29/01/2019 22:54

Hope Liverpool went well Weaverspin. Did you have to travel far in the sleet?

HostessTrolley · 29/01/2019 23:35

Very happy dd just received an offer from imperial, AAA, with the A to be chemistry or biology

Monkey2001 · 29/01/2019 23:55

Excellent news HostessTrolley! Wasn't she dithering about applying at the start of this thread as she thought it was desirable but risky given high UKCAT? BMAT was worth it after all!

HostessTrolley · 30/01/2019 00:03

Yes, she loved the open day and couldn’t decide whether to apply for another ukcat choice as her score would have given her a strong chance of an interview, or risk trying for imperial and taking the October BMAT. In practice tests she was swinging between quite high and quite low marks, which made her feel it was a gamble.

She still hasn’t heard from her other choices but getting one offer, albeit high grades, takes the stress level down a bit. Very happy with a London offer as boyf has an oxford offer - which requires lower grades than her offer for imperial.

hoodiemum · 30/01/2019 00:10

Lovely news about Imperial, Hostess! Congratulations to your DD.

Weaverspin · 30/01/2019 07:52

Congrats to your DD, HostessTrolley - wonderful news!

Monkey2001 We're in Gloucestershire, so about 3 hours from Liverpool. Not too far, but no fun in the sleet...

Nightowlpossibly · 30/01/2019 11:53

Hostess- fantastic news! Congratulations to your DD! Glad her gamble paid off.

Tinkobell · 30/01/2019 12:19

Yay! Congrats to hostess jnr! Great to get one under the belt!

Tinkobell · 30/01/2019 12:26

....and very best of luck for @monkey and @weaverspin for the interviews this week. I observed a big difference in nerves from DD comparing first and last interviews.....in fact at the last one (UEA) I was very concerned that she was so laid back as to be horizontal, not necessarily a good thing.

Monkey2001 · 30/01/2019 13:23

Nightowl I have been wondering whether DD got over her wobble about medicine as a career. Now that she has all these offers.......

Monkey2001 · 30/01/2019 13:26

Thanks Tinkobell. DS did not do much prep for any of them, so might finally be ready to answer all the questions at Leeds with the experience of a couple of MMIs under his belt.

HostessTrolley · 30/01/2019 17:00

Thanks all x

@nightowl - did kings specify which subject the A* has to be in for their offer?

4catsham · 30/01/2019 18:25

Great news HostessTrolley!🎉Safe journey to all those travelling to interview s ,we re just back from Birmingham,good journey home but yesterday driving there was horrendous, Dds friend had bit of a panic with train to Liverpool as was cancelled this morning but managed to get a lift and interview was later in day so it all worked out.

Nightowlpossibly · 30/01/2019 22:44

Hostess- kings A* has to be biology or chemistry

Monkey2001- yes getting those offers has definitely given her a boost of confidence and feeling more positive. Something tangible to aim for, and she is highly motivated to
Get the grades required. She still occasionally expresses doubts, but not as much. She seems more excited about doing medicine now she has actually been to interviews and received offers. Wishing your DS good luck with interviews this week

Weaverspin · 31/01/2019 20:13

So, here's an interesting curveball. Following Newcastle's offer of AAB if made firm, they've emailed today and said that the decision must be made in 4 weeks, or it reverts to AAA.

Which, needless to say, has thrown my DD into a flat spin! We haven't heard back from other unis yet, so she doesn't feel in a position to make a decision. She won't hear from the other unis for some weeks yet.

I appreciate it was an unusual offer to have received, and most unexpected, but it really plays on the fears of not quite making the grade on results day, and it feels rather manipulative for them to belatedly put a time limit on it. Not impressed, tbh.

Monkey2001 · 31/01/2019 20:35

How odd! I wondered whether they were giving AAB offers to compete with Sheffield as they make an offer of AAB to applicants with an EPQ at A/A*.

Your DD should hear from Sheffield in 2 weeks, do you know when she will hear back from the others? Obviously she would hope to be able to get all the offers in and have the option to go to offer-holder days before choosing which to accept.

For 2017 entry I heard they got themselves into a muddle by under-offering and finding that they had to make a load more offers, and even arrange more interviews after the scheduled end of the interview process (which is the reason there was a low UKCAT cut-off in that year). Last year and this year they have interviewed a lot more applicants. I would guess the significance of the 4 week deadline is that interviewees who have not had a decision have been told they will hear by the end of February. They must be waiting to decide how many more offers to make based on how many of their strongest candidates firm them. There will quite a few people who have no intention of firming.

I do feel for the med schools trying to get numbers right in the midst of so much uncertainty - they don't know how many people will firm or insure them or how many will achieve the grades, but they have a fixed number of places to fill. But it is unfair to make people choose before they have all their offers. However, I read somewhere that you can't firm if there are decisions pending, so you would have to reject the ones you had not heard back from.

Monkey2001 · 31/01/2019 23:05

So DS beat the snow out of Bristol and is in his "Easyhotel" in Leeds. He wanted to get a Dominos pizza and was a bit shocked to discover that they do not do olives in the Leeds Dominos. Is that a North/South thing? I would have thought olives on pizza would be popular everywhere! Looks like he will have to re-train his tastes or move loyalty to Pizza Express.

Tinkobell · 01/02/2019 11:24

@Monkey2001....could the lack of olives topping end up being a uni deal breaker? 😂....he sounds a right character your boy! Hope it went well! @Weaverspin.....wow, massive congrats to smallweaver on AAB....what a kind of nice conundrum. My DD does have one 'dicey' A level, I think she'd be sorely tempted by that offer. There was a feature on Radio 4 the other morning about conditional "unconditional" offers and the speculation that this was potentially breaching the consumer rights of young people .....the implication being that some students are being lured towards courses which weren't necessarily the best 'fit' for them, by the low or unconditional offer with stings. It's an interesting debate. I do think step back, and get that personal 'fit' right if you possibly can.
Can't believe Sheffield might be soon....that's got me all of a dither!!!!

Tinkobell · 01/02/2019 11:28

By the way @Monkey2001.... is shallnt get into the whole blooming north south thing, but I'm a northerner that lives in the south...we like olives, artichokes, vegan cheese, jackfruit and all manner of weird and wonderful toppings....as well as spicy beef, which DH is convinced is full of spongiform 🤢

Monkey2001 · 01/02/2019 15:23

@Tinkobell DS is very keen on the North, just surprised that it appears to be an olive-free zone, although olives are a very common pizza ingredient in general!

We have just had mocks timetable through and I was very surprised to see that they are only doing 1 paper for each subject, so 3 papers in total. I would be interested to know what other schools do if you are happy to share. I was annoyed by the light touch of exams in the main school - they never did an Eng Lit mock exam and the Geography case study in the GCSE exam was the first he had EVER had marked, they also only had 1 paper per science subject although there were 3/subject in the real thing. I would like to know whether it is normal before I raise it as an issue with the Head of Year.

Thanks.

Abetes · 01/02/2019 15:43

My dd has two papers for each subject for her mocks. I think that there will be three papers per subject in the real things (but could be wrong about that).

Somethingsmellsnice · 01/02/2019 16:18

I am assuming they merely ran out of olives on that shift! Fairly certain there are live deliveries north of Watford Gap.

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