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Higher education

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

Original poster

Medicine 2020

990 replies

EightToSixer · 30/09/2018 20:53

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.

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Original poster
EightToSixer · 06/08/2019 18:13

@SirTobyBelch.thank you for that comprehensive answer, really helpful. DD does well on the SJT in mocks on medify but needs to work more on her mathematic reasoning, which is something she didn't expect to struggle with, I'm glad I subscribed her too medify, her school has done nothing yet to assist medicine applicants and It seems that they have record numbers planning to apply this year, often with poor grades and no work experience so it's a shame the school haven't given them realistic expectations of success as it will be a harsh lesson for many applying when shortlisting is done.

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sincethereis · 06/08/2019 21:57

Not to come across as brash but how do you know they all have bad grades & no work experience ?

emummy · 07/08/2019 17:26

Aargh! Dd is meant to be sitting UCAT tomorrow and is in a blind panic. She got straight As in her Highers but is convinced she is going to do badly tomorrow. She finds the quantitative reasoning a real struggle. We are trying to decide if she should postpone it for a few weeks, which means she will be back at school before sitting it or just to get it over with. She is so stressed that the thought of prolonging it for another 2 or 3 weeks fills me with horror - and she feels the same but she also wants to do well. Any words of wisdom?!

ProfessorLayton1 · 07/08/2019 18:19

We have been there and postponed UKCAT three times! It is a vile exam and if she is not prepared let her postpone it. It is important that she is mentally prepared to do the exam. Dd just wanted to get it done and over with in the end. Did much better in BMAT compared to UKCAT. I know it is not a mumsnet thing to do but a huge hug for your Dd!

emummy · 07/08/2019 19:48

Thank you! She did a practice test just now & got 1980, so we're going to look over it tonight & make a final decision in the morning.

MedSchoolRat · 07/08/2019 20:35

DD is sitting UCAT & BMAT at end August/start September.
I'm a bit fatalist & reckon they are just prolonging inevitable if they don't get it over with.
DD seems quietly confident she'll do as well as she needs to.
She also commented on the quick thinking being tough in the UCAT test.. and there's some kind of reasoning she found tricky at first but feels she's improving on (verbal?). She reckons she has sussed the strategy for SJT.

Has anyone's DC been on StudentRoom? DD can't get interested in that site.

emummy · 07/08/2019 21:13

I agree with you about prolonging the inevitable! I think we will try & postpone it just to try & get her into a better place mentally. It's just really stressing her and I'm not sure she'd be in a fit state to sit it. I have had a look at StudentRoom; I think I'll keep her away from it as there is a lot of discussion of scores that might stress her. I have been reading it & passing on bits I think are helpful.

sincethereis · 08/08/2019 10:33

Postponing it in you situation seems like the best option. I have heard, however, that students who sit the UKCAT before they resume school tend to perform better as they don’t have the stress of school, UCAS applications, personal statement writing. But, of course, you know your DC better.

emummy · 08/08/2019 10:43

Thank you. I think ideally before school goes back is best but I guess we'll just have to make the best of it. Can't rebook till tomorrow now, hopefully we won't have to travel too far.

PiggyPokkyFool · 09/08/2019 13:38

Such good timing to find this thread as DD is doing her UCAT tomorrow and I have started to feel vaguely nauseous on her behalf. She has been plugging away an hour or three a day most days for the last three weeks on medify and now just wants it to be done.
A week at our nearest hospital beckons for next week.
May I wish all of your DCs the very best of luck with this process - it is like trying to hurdle with a blindfold over one eye based on a fluid list of rules and absolutely no idea who you are competing alongside.
@ProfessorLayton1 - so impressed you survived postponing the UCAT once nevermind three times - I didn't even know you could change the date!

emummy · 09/08/2019 15:39

It's crazy isn't it Piggy! Good luck to your daughter tomorrow, we are now doing it at the end of the month. My dd also has a work experience at the hospital next week

PiggyPokkyFool · 09/08/2019 15:41

She hasn't been on Medifty she tell me - she has been on The Medic Portal - I thought they were the same Blush

PiggyPokkyFool · 09/08/2019 15:43

Thanks @emummy - So stressful for us watching the for them.

emummy · 09/08/2019 18:04
Wine
Original poster
EightToSixer · 11/08/2019 20:48

How did it go @piggy ?

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PiggyPokkyFool · 12/08/2019 21:50

Pretty well - SJ Band 2 and strong scores in everything bar Verbal Reasoning which she found much more difficult than in mocks and that dragged the overall down a bit.
It should be enough based on previous years for most but I think we might be advised to swop out Exeter for another to give best opportunities.
'We' haven't discussed it yet as she is in our local hospital this week and there is plenty of time to do the shuffle.
She says she is a 'one hit wonder' - she will try this year and if she doesn't succeed take her fifth choice which she is excited about - though not as excited as she is about medicine...
Anyone else up this week?

emummy · 12/08/2019 22:28

That's great piggy well done to your Dd!

Original poster
EightToSixer · 13/08/2019 15:50

Excellent well done to your DD @PiggyPokkyFool. What makes you think that Exeter is a stretch now? Also, generally to you all, how do you know where is a stretch to apply to? I only have the Plymouth cut off numbers, no others and I'm not sure where to go for advice as her school UCAS Coordinator doesn't seem very knowledgeable, she didn't know DD could sit UCAT before October, DD has been finding things out for herself. Where should we look for this kind of information?

DD has her UCAT on Saturday. She is well prepared but nervous, she also gets her AS results this Thursday so is a little on edge this week. Her results are improving daily on medify mocks so she's gaining confidence which is good.

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emummy · 13/08/2019 15:56

Eight I just googled UCAT scores for the universities we were interested in and found them. I also found this - www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2355/msc-journey-to-medicine-ucas-application.pdf which Dd found helpful. Also if you have time the thread about applying to medical school for 2019 entry has a ton of info on it.

ProfessorLayton1 · 13/08/2019 17:14

Eight - There are medical schools like Newcastle and Kings which places a lot importance to UKCAT scores. Bristol admissions also places a lot of emphasis on UKCAT. This never used to be the case in the past as they relied heavily on ps.
I would recommend go through the finer details regarding admission procedure given in the university webpage.
Birmingham and Cardiff requires good GCSE scores ... no point in applying to these sort of universities if your child does not have the grades.

Please me mindful that they do change the way the UKCAT and other criteria ( GCSE, A level reduction, Ps etc., ) are given importance every now and then - in other words make sure the information you obtain if from an official source.

Original poster
EightToSixer · 17/08/2019 12:37

Hello everyone, DD did her UCAT this morning and was really pleased with her result, likely to be in 90th percentile which means the score shouldn't rule her out of anywhere in principle. She was frustrated to get a band 2 in situational judgement though as she has done 20 mock tests on medify and got band 1 19 out of 20 times, but still her actual result was in line with her medify mocks results this week.
Thank you very much for those of you who recommended medify, she really found it useful and has been using it 6-8 hours a day for a fortnight (she's very committed to studying and determined to get into med school even if she has to take a year out and re-apply).

If anyone has any great knowledge or insight to Impart I'm always happy to hear it and appreciate all we've learnt in this thread so far. (her school is so rubbish with advice on medicine I'd have been lost without this thread).

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emummy · 17/08/2019 13:13

That's fantastic Eight! Well done to your Dd! Mine has just started using medify so hope it helps her in the last 10 days before the exam. It sounds like your Dd has a great attitude, good luck with uni applications!

sincethereis · 18/08/2019 13:10

Well done to your DC, Eightsixer

DC just came back from hers. An average of 810! Far higher than she were expecting, might I say. It’s put her in a good place to apply essentially anywhere (almost). She struggled with AR a lot but that ended up being her highest score. Good Luck to the rest of DC sitting the UKCAT this summer!Smile

emummy · 18/08/2019 14:39

Brilliant since! Good luck to her with the applications

MedSchoolRat · 18/08/2019 14:55

Abstract reasoning on BMAT... is what DD finds challenging. But she is improving as she works on it. We just coughed up a payment for... something. UCAT access on Medic Portal? DD is blitzing this morning on practice.

Can anyone confirm if I have this right? I gather that early-takers BMAT results are available 20 Sept, so early-takers would know for sure how they did before they apply. But October BMAT is obvs after application deadline; this means Oxbridge applicants won't have any feeling (not actual result, not even impression on the day) how good their BMAT result is when they apply, correct? That seems quite mean to applicants. I am so glad both DD & I are unimpressed by Oxbridge.