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.

that sounds like really good set of background experiences for his application, 242M.

DD &DS have signed up for the late August UCAT & will do the October BMAT as school is very good at preparing the students and it gives a nice gap to learn gcse content etc.

Glad to see people sharing etc.

What did you all think of the medical schools you visited ? We loved Imperial but disliked Queen Mary & KCL.

DD liked KCL but is wary about London living. Initially she adored Edinburgh but now sees it as far more traditional than others - the benefits of this whirlwind of Open Days is that you are able to compare and contrast and I hadn’t fully appreciated this before now. She didn’t like Bristol as a city but raves about the courses at Newcastle and Cardiff. She has Nottingham and Birmingham to go to in early Autumn. I’m glad there’s a break but i am thankful that she will be able to make an informed choice. My university selection process eons ago was shameful and frivolous in comparison 😳

I didn't go to any of the Open days so I can't comment (!).
I suspect DD likes the name 'Imperial' so that sells her.

She said that UCL was downright snooty. That's attractive to DD but she recognises that other people would hate it.
She knows she'll be lucky to get any place so not too fussed which one.

DS1 is the same - he's the sort who will get on with whatever he's given. The key thing is to get a place!

That said, he won't go and see QMUL as he dislikes that area of London. We were walking from the station to the Barbican on a Saturday afternoon and it did NOT have a nice vibe. I don't think that student life would suit him. He's also discounted York as the uni didn't impress him at the open day a couple of weeks ago.

We are going to visit Sheffield in the summer hols and UEA and Nottingham in Sept.

I just came back to resurrect this thread and saw that you've kept it going.
DD has been busy going to open days (currently favouring Exeter, Oxford, Southampton and Plymouth, went to look at Kent but they seem unprepared for their 2020 start so she is less keen).
She's just done a week lab work experience and has hospital work experience next week. She has the UKCAT in August just after her AS level results (Wales based so still have AS levels).

She didn't get any of the Oxford summer schools she applied for but she did get a scholarship to the Yale Young Global Scholars summer school last month which was an amazing experience for her. As the youngest in her year she seems very young to apply so the experience of travelling solo really helped her maturity.
I hope this group will be really supportive as we all go through this with our DCs. I'm happy to answer any questions about the open days I've been to with DD.

Wow! The Yale Summer School sounds amazing. We visited Harvard a couple of years ago; DS1 loved it and wanted to go there. The cost and length of study make it challenging, to say the least

DS1 is currently on his way home from the Eton College Uni Summer School - he has been mostly incommunicado so I can't wait to hear what he has been up to. Hopefully something useful for his personal statement!

May I ask how you found Exeter & Plymouth? @EightToSixer

We don’t live too far but doubt we’ll have time to go for an open day ( could visit city, though!)

DD just came back from UNIQ Medicine. Seemed to have really enjoyed it and I think stats for UNIQ students who get into Oxford is rather high. Work experience next week!

Glad to see all our future (hopefully!) medics are progressing well !

@sincethereis They are local - ish to us too (Cardiff) so that was a big draw and we love Devon so we're keen to look. DD doesn't love big cities so was on the lookout for a campus ideally.
Exeter was her favourite so far, the medical school is bassd on St Lukes campus so it is very small and pretty. The course is very clinical based with students going out into a clinical setting in the first week. They use problem based learning like many unis these days. Students spend a year or two in Truro which is popular, as part of their course.

Plymouth is more of a safe choice grade-wise I think (& they are the only medical school to take Welsh bacc as an a level choice). The medical school is a long way from the main campus but students get free buses between the two. Plymouth used to be joined with Exeter at the peninsula medical school, but Exeter split off a few years ago and now Plymouth has its own course.

I definitely think Exeter seems more put-together, the staff seem lovely and you can tell as it's such a small campus that they all know each other, which would suit DD. I think DD will keep Plymouth as the safer choice as the others she's selected are aspirational and its a good idea to have a back up.
What are your DCs doing about their 5th choices (non-med). If DD doesn't get any medicine offers she will likely reapply for 2021 so she sees the 5th choice as a bit pointless. That said, she loved the Kent campus so may apply there for biomed as a back-up because she doesn't want to waste a med application on a brand new course that's not set up yet.

DD is of the same opinion, definitely only wants medicine so sees 5th choice as redundant and will take a gap year and reapply instead.

We don’t really do gap years in our family (just generally tbh) so DD will likely do Global Health at KCL or Biomed for DS.

Exeter seems lovely.
Plymouth sounds like it could be a great safer choice !

May I ask what the diversity is like at Plymouth, though? DD&DS are blasian and not being the only POC is quite important.

@sincethereis I actually looked out for that as when I did my undergrad there it was very white. I can't speak for the reality but at the open day there were current students there and of 6 that I saw 3 were white, 3 non-white.

Dd waiting for her A level results and hopefully if everything goes well will be heading to UCL this year.
She decided on medicine quite late and reading the previous medicine threads were quite used for me.
Good luck to your DCs and am here to support to you all as well..

Eighttosix- how did your Dd get into Yale summer school ?

@ProfessorLayton1 She loved it. She made some great friends there and really enjoyed the courses. They do a group project over the fortnight as well and she was allocated one in public health which was good, they chose the anti-vax movement which was interesting. The lectures covered all different science subjects and seminars were more specific so there was a good mix over the fortnight. The main thing I notice though is her confidence has improved, she's more willing to do things independently and more determined to make the most of every opportunity she can, despite her previous anxiety and nervousness. Definitely the making of her.

It is good to know that she enjoyed it so much and found it useful. Sounds like an amazing opportunity..

Is the Yale summer school free? Is it run by Yale the university or by external people ? It sounds like a good opportunity.

@sincethereis It is 6250 dollars, but thankfully the Seren Network, which is the Welsh government initiative for Welsh state school highest achieving students along with Yale paid for it all. She is very lucky. I paid for her flights but if she was in receipt of free school meals then she would have had those paid for by Seren as well. It was a great opportunity for them all. There were more students from Wales than England, there were a handful of self-funded private school English students there though.

@sincethereis forgot to add, it's run by Yale, they stay at Yale colleges and the courses are taught by yale professors.

Wow.. She is really lucky to have had this opportunity.
Seren also has a very good support for medical applicants.
If I remember correctly that seren students have guaranteed interviews for medicine in Cardiff and Bristol in line with their widening participation scheme.

May I join you, please? My DS will apply for medicine for 2020 entry. He/we have seen four unis so far, Imperial, Brighton & Sussex, UEA and Southampton. Will see Leicester and Norwich in September and possibly Kent in October. He can have a look at St Georges by himself. He will be sitting UCAT next week...

Goodness! I meant Leicester and Nottingham in September.

Loving your username, Hattifatteners. Also very impressed with your DS taking his UCAT next week. DD is putting it off to the bitter end of holidays. I’m thinking there’s an element of denial going on...

Thank you Shangrilalala. To be honest my DS leaves the prep always to the last minute, so I don't think any extra time would help here. Best to get it over and done with. Also, we are going to be away for two weeks as a family, followed by him going away for a week with a friend. He wouldn't be in UCAT frame of mind after all that!

@hattifatteners Good luck to your son ! Getting it done early is probably far more sensible than putting it off ( which my children have done).

That’s a fantastic opportunity! We have relatives in the States so if university costs were lower we would consider funding the twins to go over there for medical school. It sounds similar to UNIQ but obviously international!

Good luck hatti with your DSs UCAT. DD suits hers in mid August so will be revising on our summer holidays next week.

I didn't know that re Seren and guaranteed interviews. I'll look into it. She is refusing to apply to Cardiff because she wants to move away (but not too far) but may consider Bristol (although she prefers campuses to cities).