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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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:
Dreamgirl1000 · 11/02/2019 15:22

That makes sense, thank you.

HostessTrolley · 11/02/2019 16:50

Nottingham wanted people to upload evidence of work experience, part time jobs, and previous exam results onto their portal before attending interview.

Tinkobell · 11/02/2019 17:08

Keep the faith for those awaiting offers ....it's still earlyish days.
DD bit dismayed about bad press re: lad culture at Sheffield....we all know this behaviour can happen anywhere although it will be very telling to see how the uni now respond. Such a shame to have seen this. ☹️

Movingmountains · 11/02/2019 18:39

My DS is at Sheffield so I will try and get inside story on it.

Movingmountains · 11/02/2019 19:10

He thinks it was a third year. It’s hardly indicative of ‘lad culture’ - it was one very stupid individual who has caused distress to the poor girl involved. However no-one replied to his comments. I think it’s unfair of newspaper to say that it lad culture when it was only one person!

Weaverspin · 11/02/2019 20:12

What have I missed about Sheffield bad press?

Weaverspin · 11/02/2019 20:15

...it's ok. Found it.

Tinkobell · 11/02/2019 20:51

@Movingmountains.....thank you. You are quite right, it says far more about the students that only a single person maliciously posted and nobody responded back at all. I was sorry to see the headline at all though after the university goes to such lengths to try and make undergrads super-aware of their online profiles etc....shame. I feel terribly sorry for the young women though, I really do.

Movingmountains · 11/02/2019 21:16

I think it is a shame that the newspaper is so quick to run the story and suggest it is a big problem. I’m sure this sort of thing happens at every university. It is certainly a big problem in schools. You’d just hope they’d matured enough by the time they are third year students! Hopefully the university will do its utmost to deal with the student. My DS says they are coming down really hard on any social media / group chats at the moment.
On a more positive note he absolutely loves studying medicine at Sheffield 😊

Monkey2001 · 11/02/2019 22:27

Movingmountains thanks for sharing, I had assumed it was something like that and, as Tinkobell said, the fact that nobody responded to it shows that it was just one idiot. I really hope they have safeguards in place so that, if the under-lying story is true, somebody with such an inappropriate attitude does not qualify as a doctor and work in a position of trust.

Tinkobell · 11/02/2019 22:47

Lovely to hear your DS enjoys Sheffield @moving....shit can happen anywhere, bad eggs can unfortunately end up anywhere. It’s life I suppose.

mimiasovitch · 12/02/2019 18:58

Rejection from Sheffield today. She's breaking her heart and I feel so useless. Two to hope for now.

CrunchingNumber · 12/02/2019 19:25

Rejection but on the Reserve list , so heart breaking for DD
good luck for those waiting offer from Sheffield

HostessTrolley · 12/02/2019 19:43

:-(

Where else is she waiting to hear from @mimiasovitch?

Not heard anything from Sheffield today, but it appears from tsr that the offers going out today have been mostly from the day she was interviewed

Good luck everyone. It’s such a stressful time

Monkey2001 · 12/02/2019 19:44

So sorry to hear that they did not get offers. Still waiting here.

CrunchingNumber, reserve list is VERY likely to turn into an offer. Sheffield had to do last minute interviews after using up all their reserves last year.

mimia - what is the status on the remaining 2?

mimiasovitch · 12/02/2019 22:10

She is on the reserve list, but has lost heart. Seems a bit better now after an evening of trashy tv. Waiting on Cardiff and Bristol now, so another 3 weeks I think. She was rejected without interview from oxford and wherever it was she applied to for paramedic science, so I think it's all a bit much, and novel for her right now. All a learning experience in the end I guess.

mimiasovitch · 12/02/2019 22:21

@Monkey2001 I only just registered what you said about the reserve list. That's positive, so I'll tell her not to abandon all hope.

ProfessorLayton1 · 12/02/2019 22:39

mimistovic- really sorry to hear this especially if Sheffield was her favourite. Hopefully
She will get into either Cardiff or Bristol - both good universities to train and she will be happy wherever she ends up.
It is hard for DCs not to have a single offer when everyone else who have applied for other courses have multiple offers!

My Dd is quite chilled out now that all the interviews are over... I keep telling her that she has done her bit and am proud of what she has done so far...just need to keep calm and carry on !!
She passed her driving test end of November, we got her a car ( a friend was selling theirs and was a good price) last week - she is in love with the car and has started driving to school ( one of us follow her and it is nerve wrecking for me ) so the focus is elsewhere . It is nice to see her happy and relaxed - hopefully we will all have good news soon!

Monkey2001 · 12/02/2019 23:27

Mimia - great that she is on the reserve list. DD of a friend is in 3rd year at Exeter after getting in on a reserve place. I can imagine it is disorienting, but it really is an achievement, so well done to her for being someone they want if they can fit her in!

hoodiemum · 13/02/2019 00:09

So sorry to hear it's disappointing news, Mimia and Crunching, but sounds as though there's still hope. Fingers firmly crossed for everyone!

peteneras · 13/02/2019 11:52

"....we all know this behaviour can happen anywhere. . ."
"He thinks it was a third year. . . - it was one very stupid individual. . ."

Just caught up with this story this morning. I know this behaviour can happen anywhere but I'm extremely saddened to hear of this individual - who really should know better - behaving like this; lad culture or not. This guy will be exploring women's bodies both inside and out in their most intimate of details in under 30 months time and for him to divulge information of this nature to hundreds of people really calls into question his fitness to practise as a medical doctor. To call him an idiot will be too generous. The GMC will really have to decide whether they want to include such a pest in their register.

Tinkobell · 13/02/2019 16:34

Just catching up on this thread....
@mimia - Cardiff is an amazing uni (my DD keeps telling me she wish she'd applied) as is Bristol ....so your DD has much to hope for there. I hope the sadness passes quickly and will be replaced by good news soon. @crunching .....keeping fingers crossed too!
@peteneras - When I read the article, I was shocked that a 21YO Third Year would do something so very immature. I assumed he was very immature for his age and/or presumably been jilted. He sounds like a loner. Hopefully the faculty there will handle it well.

5thchild · 13/02/2019 22:52

Hi all, I am new to Mumsnet and just found this thread. My dd is hoping to apply to medicine (currently yr 12). However, she would like to take a gap yr because she has seen so many students posting on TSR and stating how stressed they have been for months regarding interviews and waiting for outcomes and it’s affecting their studies. She just wants to forge ahead with A levels and hopefully achieve the grades. Apply in Oct 2020 with achieved grades and Take a gap year. My question is, how many parents in here, if you had known the stress involved, would have encouraged their child to take a gap year?

hoodiemum · 13/02/2019 23:26

Hi 5th, and welcome to Mumsnet!

I tried to persuade my DD to do as you are suggesting, but she overruled me in terms of applying in Year 13 - she is still planning to take a gap year, but has applied deferred entry. I think there's a lot in favour of what you suggest, especially if your DD is low on work experience at this point, but the downsides are:

  • EVERYONE else will be talking about UCAS choices, offers, etc and your DD might feel left out/get really bored of hearing about it.
  • Some people find it easier to motivate themselves to work hard for exams once they know exactly what the target is (ie they have a concrete offer)
  • If your DD's school offers any help with UKCAT, BMAT, interviews, etc. then would she be able (or want) to come back to school to access them once she'd left? As a gap year applicant, you might feel a bit cut off from support from college and also from the moral support of fellow applicants.
  • A lot of people don't get offers first time round. If you apply in Year 13, you can reapply in gap year with some experience of MMIs and UKCAT behind you. You can think of Year 13 as the low-stakes practice run, and if it comes right, then that's a bonus. If you don't try applying until gap year and then don't succeed first time round, you're looking at a double gap year, and probably feeling more pressure to accept a place for biomed.
  • If she wants to take full advantage of a gap year, she might feel hampered by having to be in the UK for interviews any time late Nov to March.

Those were my DD's reasons for applying this year. Especially the last, as she's hoping to au pair during the ski season (Brexit travel rules permitting!). But as I say, there are definitely advantages to sitting it out until gap year too. There are an awful lot of hoops to jump through, and it does feel completely crazy at times. I won't be able to tell you if it was the right decision for my DD until her exam results come through.

Good luck with your decision!

Monkey2001 · 13/02/2019 23:53

5thchild, I agree with Hoodiemum that it makes a lot of sense to apply in Y13 for deferred entry and go through the process as a dummy run, knowing that it does not matter if she gets no offers first time round. It will make it SO much easier when she does it again the following year, and if she does get any good offers, she can have a worry-free year out.

It feels like we might be heading that way - DS had not intended to take a year out, but as crunch time comes, 3 decisions due in the next 2 weeks and low confidence re outcomes, we have focused on how much of an advantage he will have second time round if that is what happens!