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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:
Monkey2001 · 07/10/2018 19:53

Looks like you need to "pass" academic, PS and ref, then ranked by UKCAT, which looks good for Lasia's DS. I will have a look at TSR to see if they say anything different.

See www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_487585_en.pdf

In case it is useful to know, Sheffield will not read PS.

Monkey2001 · 07/10/2018 20:09

@Lesia22 are you Pianodude on TSR or is it a coincidence that he has same results and med schools?!

If you are not, see post 650. GANFYD says Glasgow is good, and he seems to know what he is talking about. www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4874330&p=80086196&page=33&highlight=#post80086196

Lesia22 · 07/10/2018 20:42

Monkey2001 I am not Pianodude but my DS is! he has embraced the power of TSR and its good to hear back from GANFYD. Think we will have a real think about Glasgow.

Monkey2001 · 07/10/2018 21:28

Haha! GANFYD and MEDDAD are amazing!

Monkey2001 · 08/10/2018 14:15

Acknowledge from UCAS! It is in, and now the waiting begins....

Good luck to all of you and your DCs as you finalise remaining details and join the waiting game.

Has anybody bothered with an interview course?

mumsneedwine · 08/10/2018 16:17

Good luck. Squeaky bum time now unto interviews start coming in in November.

Needmoresleep · 08/10/2018 16:32

Be warned though. Some applicants will wait a lot longer. DD did not have any interviews till March. And others did not hear till May or later. Rejections tend to come through first. I think mumsneedwine’s DD got four offers. This is really exceptional as it used to be that over half of applicants got no offers at all. And some of those will have had very strong academic records. It is worth mentally preparing for a long wait, and quite a lot of disappointment. It is inevitable that those who do well, will want to share, whether on MN, TSR or in the sixth form common room, but it is pretty grim for most. DD ended up hanging out with two others without offers and ended up the only one who got something, with the other two being the first being the first to congratulate her. One got a place on reapplication, the other did something completely different in his gap year, was very successful and found his vocation.

Remember, you only need one place........

mumsneedwine · 08/10/2018 17:52

That's so true !!! Our mantra on these threads was you only need one offer. I have no idea how my DD got more and I think a lot of it is down to simple luck (& a bit of strategic applying). Her first interview was 14th December and her last was 9th March. First offer (I love you Sheffield) was in Feb I think. Anything other than a rejection is good news and sitting tight is all you can do.
And 2 of DDs old school friends got rejected from Bristol but were then offered interviews and subsequently places. So it's not over until results day.

Katisha · 08/10/2018 18:02

DS found a half day Medic Portal mmi stations course was useful.

Monkey2001 · 08/10/2018 18:29

Having read last years thread, we picked up on this and looked into when DS could expect to hear. In case anyone else wants to know:

Cambridge sends out invitations after the BMAT results (23/11) for interviews 3-7/12. Offers 10/1/19.

Sheffield send out invitations around 16/11 for interviews 26/11-14/12. Offers 19/2/19-25/2/19.

Leeds/Newcastle - interviews late Jan to late Feb. Offers by end of March

mumsneedwine · 08/10/2018 19:13

St George's are an early interviewer and Southampton a late one. Most Unis will post interview dates on their websites now so this at least gives some indication as to what to expect and when. My DDs advice for MMIs is be yourself. Have a few questions in head (why medicine being one to know what you're going to say) but also be prepared for anything. And listen. Sometimes that's the skill they are assessing. And patience and kindness. Can't give examples as they are not allowed to share.

HostessTrolley · 08/10/2018 21:18

My d got her UCAS confirmation (and ‘welcome to track’ email) today too, following some chasing up at school today. She clicked and paid two weeks ago, tutor reference was done the following day so goodness knows what the delay has been.

Not to worry, at least it’s done now. My eldest got his first offer the day after his form was submitted, so it’s going to feel like forever..

mumsneedwine · 08/10/2018 22:07

That's the hardest bit I think. Others get offers within a week. Medics will wait and wait. Big girl pants time ladies and the best of luck to all.

HostessTrolley · 09/10/2018 10:32

Acknowledgment emails from all but one choice have come in so far this morning - much excitement while she’s trying to revise for a test tomorrow. I said to take it a step at a time, just work towards the BMAT (and the Halloween party the following weekend) for the moment as there won’t be anything coming out from anywhere before that.

medlcmom · 09/10/2018 11:29

Good to know hostess and monkey2001 that the deed is done! We are still chugging along with the ps!
Hopefully tomorrow, fingers crossed if ds has finalized everything.

Monkey2001 · 09/10/2018 11:56

HostessTrolley has your DD discovered the "Assumed knowledge" guide on the BMAT site? DS was struggling with some of the Biology questions which came up on areas he has never covered, so is going through it for Biology and it seems very good.

Monkey2001 · 10/10/2018 09:07

Sheffield and Cambridge winning on the communication front - 3 e-mails from Cambridge and 2 from Sheffield the day after application was submitted to UCAS. DS said he "got an e-mail from Julian" - love the Sheffield style, so open!

Movingmountains · 10/10/2018 17:27

Monkey2001 it was the very reason my DS chose Sheffield. The whole process was completely transparent and he felt very supportive

HostessTrolley · 10/10/2018 19:09

Thanks @monkey2001 -I passed that on 😎

D got email from Julian too, she said although she knows it’s a standard email sent out everyone, it feels different because she can put a face to the name. Email from imperial came today too, so that’s all of them now

sergeantmajormum · 11/10/2018 20:50

UCAS submitted and so the long wait begins! Only acknowledgement so far from UCAS itself. Already feeling the pressure as DD School giving them loads of tests , I suspect as a means of keeping on top of the huge amount of content - good in some ways but means there never seems any chill time. Trying to encourage DD to keep up her sport and other hobbies but she’s so committed to her studies....hope she can keep it going. 18th bday party at weekend will at least be a night off!

mimiasovitch · 11/10/2018 21:43

Hello all. I've been reading this thread with interest. I was hoping now that the application is in that dd could relax, but so far she's still in super stress mode. Maybe once she's done the BMat there'll be a little respite? I'm going to be much greyer by the end of this year!

Weaverspin · 12/10/2018 23:06

Yes, it feels strange now UCAS is in and just the waiting game to play. All the unis bar one (looking at you, Liverpool) have replied to acknowledge receipt of application. My DD is not going for BMAT - she'd already decided UKCAT would work better for her, and so it proved. And so we wait...!

Nightowlpossibly · 13/10/2018 02:49

Hi
Can I join you all. First time posting. My DD has just submitted her UCAS choices. she has chosen Manchester and KCL as she did well in UKCAT
BSMS, and UCL,which are a risk as not taken BMAT yet! But She is really keen on those ones. However she only decided on medicine very recently hence taking late BMAT. We are hoping she will do well and the risk will pay off. Have been following this thread and TSR so feel relatively informed about the whole process. 'DD also received 3/4 confirmation emails. So now just need to focus on the BMAT test, and like everyone else just sit back and wait.

swingofthings · 13/10/2018 07:46

Hi nighthowl. DD is in Manchester and had an offer for bsms so feel free to ask any questions if you have any you don't get an answer here or on tsr.

Nightowlpossibly · 14/10/2018 00:27

Swingofthings
Thank you, I do have a couple of questions. My DD is quite keen on BSMS , what did your DD prefer about Manchester over BSMS? Also what differences did she find between the UKCAT AND BMAT TESTS? Did she find one easier than the other or are they difficult to compare, DD did well in UkCAT and wondering if that means she should do well in the BMAT.