Medicine 2019

[kaykay72]

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 :-)

Dd has mocks second week back after half term, is trying to study but keeps finding other things to do.

Sheffield rejection . Expecting Newcastle rejection this week too as they seem to have given most of theirs out. Only real possibility Leeds; if not that, a year out a re-apply. Just glad it did not come yesterday.

Oh @Monkey2001, most genuinely sorry to hear. Just wait and see on the pendings. If he got interviews this says he hit all the main criteria and chose well initially.....can you/he seek feedback perhaps? Hugs and so sorry again.

Oh Monkey, I'm so sorry to hear that. It's very hard to watch them struggle, isn't it? Knowing it will probably all work out in the long run and that they'll learn valuable lessons from it doesn't make it any easier. Big hugs from the Hoodies.

monkey2001 I'm so sorry to hear that. It's so hard, this whole thing, isn't it, and so many knife-edge decision points where it can go either way. Fingers crossed for you for Leeds.

Aw, thanks ladies!

Sorry to hear that @Monkey2001. It's tough for them isn't it, especially as they are all no doubt working so hard.

Congrats to all those with offers though, the relief must be amazing.

Dd heard from Sheffield today, suggesting she apply for orthoptics or biomed. She's waiting to hear whether that will impact on her place on the reserve list. I'm really not sure that orthoptics is ideal for someone who had set their heart on working in trauma.

Argh so sorry to hear that Monkey

There seems to be some confusion about how exactly the waiting list will work in terms of offers elsewhere. Dd’s friend who had the email feels that it’s a bit unclear

I still think with this years cohort that there's still a long way to go....all the unaccepted offers to be chucked back into the melting pot, all the accepted but sadly missed offers back into the melting pot.....I realise that this is no new thing but the algorithms behind landing places to successful candidates are mind boggling. I'm sure there must be a lot of mopping up goes on in UCAS clearing in August.

mimia, I saw a post somewhere that accepting something other than medicine does not affect your place on the waiting list. DS has firmly decided not to accept Biomed, but to take a year out if he does not get any offers. We are requesting feedback from Sheffield, have already requested it from Cambridge and are building a strategy for improving interview performance if he does it next year.

Having said all that, I think there is an excellent chance that waiting list places will turn into offers, and some of them will happen in May, when Sheffield know how many firm and insurance acceptances they have. Has she asked for feedback yet? She might be able to find out how many are on the waiting list and where she is. There is a FOI with numbers if acceptances from the waiting list for 2016 and 2017 and I think there were at least 20 and it went up in 2018. I might put a request in just out of interest more focused on the reserve list as it is one of the less transparent bits of the process.

I'll suggest that to her, thanks. It'd be good to know where she could have improved.

@mimiasovitch, this is the FOI I was thinking of. It says that 10 waiting list people got in 2016 and 19 in 2017, but if you look at past year threads you will see that people got converted from waiting list to offers before the "clearing" process. www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/490370/response/1182770/attach/html/3/Mr%20Chester%2014%20June%202018.docx.html

As I have said before, I think there must have been more in 2018 as it would not have made sense to do more interviews after results day if they still had reserves wanting places.

Monkey2001- really sorry to hear that news. Hope your DS is ok. And that you will get good news from Leeds.

@Monkey2001 so sorry to hear this. I hope you hear some good news from Leeds and Newcastle.

Congrats to those with offers and sorry to hear sheffield news Monkey2001,glad that monkey junior had a chance to celebrate his Birthday without any clouds hanging over. Fingers crossed for Leeds and maybe Newcastle might surprise you. We are seeing offers arrive for friends,some on 3 last count! We are now on 1/2 term some study being done,but mostly revision for theory test and doing a bit of overtime to fund post A level holiday,I feel!Trying her best to squeeze in a social life too but really trying to keep her motivated and keep things in some kind of balance s ,sense the wheels are starting to come off the medical school bus somehow.Trying to curb my addition to TSR, checking when offers are coming out so I can brace ourselves whatever the news.

Such a learning curve🙄 and feel s like such a trst of resilence and endurance!They will all get there in the end ..whetever there is..just feels like a very long time until results day.🤪😱

Thanks 4cats! Where are you at the moment with offers?

DS looking very down today and saying that he will do something else if he gets no offers this year. He is not good at talking about things which makes it more difficult to support him. Trying to balance being positive about a year out with being encouraging about waiting for remaining outcomes. I could not bear it if we had to wait until the end of March, we need to get the uncertainty out of the way. This is a tough phase for getting parenting right!

Hey Monkey2001.....we are in the no offers no rejections zone,leicester and birmingham have started giving some offers out and liverpool say it will be end of March.Last year the last trickle of offers was end of April for Leicester and Birmingham end of March too.Finding it all a bit excruciating tbh .

Dd has passed driving theory test today..so relieved about that🤣something positive at least !

The Rejection is so hard to take at any age..here my Dd is up and down with all sorts of plans, reapplying maybe , gap year maybe ,biomed maybe!! Sounds to me like your Ds is processing the Sheffield situation, hard to see positives right now I suppose,but two more yes s still possible !Just a shame it wasnt a yes first ,then rejection wouldnt matter so much .

Theres still hope and time for offers so keeping everything crossed for some good news for those of us still waiting for that one offer!

@4catsham - I know it is really hard for them to keep their motivation up, but if they have no offers they have to do everything they can to get the grades in their A-levels. There might be places in clearing, for which they will need to have met the grade requirements, and if they are reapplying the following year they are in a much stronger position if they already meet the academic requirements.

Rushing into accepting a place on another degree can cause real problems, as very few medical schools will accept applications from students who are on another degree course and not intending to complete it. They therefore have to commit to the full 3 years and then apply for medicine again if that's still what they want to do. The numbers of graduate-entry places have been shrinking for a few years, so there is a risk of only being able to get onto a standard-entry programme, for which no financial support is available for graduates.

Thanks @HarryThe Steppenwolf..appreciate the persoective you given, in the midst of it all you are right those grades are key, and keep the options open for next year. I feel we are exploring all the options here, lots of talking and what ifs ...but all will come together eventually, its the not knowing when others have an offer or three. Lots of personal development ongoing during this process!

Many medical applicants view it as a two year process. Obviously it’s great if they get in first time but if not, as others have said, if they are set on doing medicine they need to really ace their A Levels. In some unis, 18 year olds are in the minority in first year.

And there is always a chance they will get in after results day if there are spaces - one of dd’s housemates did.

Hi there
As of yesterday our Dd has received offer for medical foundation 2019 at Bristol Uni, still waiting to hear from Nottingham and UEA.

This is so far from my comfort zone! and we are proud if her , obviously she'll have to get grades in A levels.

The main concern is funds!! Hopefully she'll get full maintenance loan? and we have said she'll need to apply for bursaries as we have limited income and stressing already about how she'll survive?

Has anyone else's Dd/Ds attending Bristol currently? Looking at accommodation and two things she wants self catering and ensuite - looked online and seems £6000-£6500 per yr?. How on earth do they survive. We could possibly pay £50 a week for food order and a stretch. We have again suggested she uses libraries and orders books from there where at all possible.

Apologies for the long post- yes it's good they're through interview though everything else seems such a minefield. Any advice appreciated. Thank you x

Hi @Monica53 ! Congrats to your DD on her Bristol offer! A lot of people share the financing course for a 5 year degree with little practical time to earn themselves. We live near London and have higher income, that said, I've seen for real friends who've struggled with the money within London which I'm afraid put us right off. We also plan to cut back our earnings due to advancing years. Bristol is very expensive too. If your DD gets an offer from UEA and funding is an issue for you, I'd personally try and steer towards that. Norwich - rent, travel etc is very affordable there. Would you qualify for bursaries? The unis to write post offer and detail these: household income of

Hi Monica53, congratulations to your DD!

Yes, Bristol is a lovely, but expensive, city! If finances are tight, maybe you should try to persuade her not to go for ensuite. When I was a student, I lived in Manor Hall, which is now £5,225 in a single room, not en suite but a great location. Back in the dark ages when I was there, I was in a shared room (the room-mate became my best friend) and paid £145/term!! I think you will find private rented accommodation is also expensive.

I would say that location of hall is more important than en suite, but I am sure your DD is mature enough to balance cost, convenience, affordability.

I can see the attraction of en suite but I think she might need to look carefully at the balance between the joy of having her own bathroom and the despair of having no money for food. Shared bathrooms are usually fine. For anyone used to camping they are positively luxurious. Medical students also need money for travel to placements: while this is obviously much less in the first two years of most medicine courses than in the later years, it is still an amount greater than zero. Even if the medical school provides a travel bursary (and not all do) it's likely to be paid in arrears.

Regarding accommodation, the other thing to look out for is avoiding 50-week lets. Universities sometimes make this difficult for medical students if any of their teaching/exams is/are outside the university's normal teaching periods. There can be pressure to take on 50-week lets rather than the more standard 38-week ones. She might want to check with each medical school she gets an offer from to see whether there are any restrictions on which accommodation she can book.

Thank you @Tinkobell - yep I lived in Bristol some years ago, lovely city though expensive! DD would hopefully get bursary as we have relatively low income less than £26,000! So hopefully! She was also looking at some sort of work? Pt....

Looking online at halls - uni and private.

DD did like Nottingham and Norwich, so wait and see.

Myself I work f/t though OH is retired on state pension so it's a little worrying.
Thank you x