Medicine 2020

[EightToSixer]

Ok, so I know it's super early, but I've been hovering at the medicine 18 and 19 threads. DD is keen to apply for medicine in 2020. Is anyone else in the same boat?
I thought it would be useful to share info and stories, it's all a very steep learning curve because despite me now having a PhD and working in a RG university I was late to learning and not a patch on my DD who is very driven and organised.
Hopefully people will find this group and we can share the rollercoaster of the next two years.

Birmingham has an offer calculator which might not be of any use yet but closer to the time might help make a decision. My understanding is it only gives you a 'likely' to get an interview or 'unlikely' to get an interview for medicine though.

Bimkom Important to note that I am not discouraging anyone with 7s from applying to Birmingham. I was pointing out that my DS's 7s in English Lang and Lit put him at a disadvantage against others who have better grades. He might well nail the UCAT and get a 800+ score (not likely!) and whoosh up the ranking. However, we are a risk averse family so will go for safer choices.

Bimkom the Medic Portal has some really good info on GCSE requirements and where to apply based on UCAT score etc. It is a good starting point for making strategic applications to maximise interviews

Narked I don't know if there's a dentistry thread, maybe you could start one. You're welcome here too, and good luck to whoever in your family is hoping to do it.

@Monkey2001 - I am aware you are very knowledgeable so am not querying what you say but:
At Exeter they rank on A levels, only using UCAT as a tie break. If you are predicted 3xA you are safe for an interview, AAA should be good too*
How do you know this as I cannot find it on their website and I was thinking that despite AAA predictions DDs UCAT score might not be high enough for a likely interview?

@OverwhelmedandBemused, it's on here:

www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/medicine/medicine/#Entry-requirements

Selection process

Please see the BMBS Medicine Policy(pdf) for full details on our BMBS Medicine admissions selection process.

www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/undergraduatewebsite/documents/bmbs_detailed_admissions_process2020entryv6.doc

My DS is at Exeter just started Year 2. When he applied two years ago any applicants with less than 3 x A* prediction were rejected pre-interview. There are more spaces now though. May be worth looking on TSR Exeter Med 2019 thread?

Exeter moved down the tiers last year, may be due to linear A levels making grade predictions go down. It may also be that people with 2xA* and A predictions did not apply last year because they would not have got interviews the previous year. That is what happened at Newcastle after the had a year with an exceptionally high cut-off.

Birmingham people - The TSR resident expert says you need just over 8 for Birmingham. UCAT interim stats will be out by Monday, which will make it easier to estimate scores. Deciles generally move down between interim and final stats.

Also, don't forget that just about every non-selective state school is on the contextual offer list and they also say that the interview score cut off is lower - rightly so as it is harder to get a complete set of 8/9 GCSEs at a comp.

Could someone point me in the direction of this Newcastle list as no one from any of the schools I've worked in had ever got one. I know about their Partners programme for disadvantaged students but am unaware about this list. Thank you

The list is for Birmingham, not Newcastle. Do you still want link?

Birmingham only offer to state schools that make below average progression and you live in an area of low progression. This equates to a tiny fraction of state school students !!! They don't have a list as it depends on school and where you live.
Sorry but I hate it when the perception is given that normal kids at normal comps get some kind of advantage. They don't. Same grades expected.

Bristol on the other hand have a huge list !!

I had a look at the contextual lists for a couple of unis and none of our local state schools are on it. They are good schools to be fair although to expect same grades as from private school seems tough.

From Birmingham website:

Up to 20% of interview places are available to applicants who are allocated to a contextual category. Contextual applicants are identified using school performance data. Please note that about 90% of state schools are included in this category.

Applicants who attend a state (not independent) school that meets our threshold for either GCSE or A Level (see below) should take note of the following:

The process is designed to ensure that the threshold application score for selection for interview will be lower than for non-contextual applicants. It is not possible to predict where the cut-off score will lie, though past data indicates that the score is 1-2 points lower
If you use our offer calculator it is important to recognise that the guidance about the likelihood of receiving an invitation for interview relates to applicants who are not part of the contextual scheme
If an contextual applicant is made an offer it will be AAB
Selection via the contextual mechanism is competitive

www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-mds/courses/undergraduate/Medicine-and-Surgery-MBChB/Medicine-Contextual-Institutions-2018-19.pdf

Thank you so much Monkey. I have just emailed their admissions as we are in that list but not one student has received a contextual offer for the last 7 years I've been there. I think it might be that they also need to live in a deprived post code but I've asked them to clarify this. Really grateful for the evidence 😁😁

It might be new for this year. Hope it works out well for your students.

Thank you Monkey! Good research 👍

Ok spotted three local schools on the new list posted by Monkey but not DDs. She’s just going to have to ace it 😂

@Newgirls did you see that she qualifies if she did her GCSEs at one of them too?

Ah no I didn’t. That won’t benefit my DD but I think it does a friend. I think it’s a good thing - hope it leads to talented teens getting a chance. We are going to look at the ucat results at some point today and hatch a plan.

UCAT interims are out!

Yup! Dd sitting at around the average, but she'll be chuffed when she sees only 18% got band 1 on SJT. Hope the final results are a bit lower though.

Ok looking at results dd is between 6 and 7th percentile. Given her not straight 8s GCSEs does that sound good enough to apply? She is asking at school too but i said I’d ask on here.

They pretty much always go down !