Medicine 2020 (part 2)

[Monkey2001]

This follows on from the first thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3380915-Medicine-2020

Dd at state comp with sixth form consortium

Thanks @PiggyPokkyFool
I've managed to get through to the college and unfortunately there's no grounds for appeal (mocks are no higher) so DD is going to have to retake.

Just in case anyone's DC is planning to resit in October, the timetables can be found here

www.tes.com/news/level-2020-autumn-exam-timetable

They are full a levels with no reduced content.

@medicineappstress Has your Dd checked with other Med schools or is she only interested in the two you mentioned? One of our pupils got the same results as your Dd & got accepted at Hull-York. Though I appreciate they may only be lenient with applicants who had already formed or insured with them

Such a rollercoaster of emotions. This year DS had good news - 3As and A in EPQ so off to Sheffield (second time lucky). It has taken us the best part of the day for the news to sink in.
DS had scored A*'s in Maths and Physics this year so is a tiny bit miffed. Has mentioned appealing but I think that idea will soon pass.
Sorry to hear that some have missed offers but it is what you do from here that matters. An extra year can have lots of positives, a bit more maturity really helped DS.
Such a crazy year, it was hard enough last year when DS missed his grades but much easier to understand what had gone wrong. So unfair for some.

Oh @ladsmum- that is fab news - see my post at 10.55 this morning. I have been thinking of us and your DS off and on all day.
Sleep well

@PiggyPokkyFool - thank you so much for thinking of us. Trying to decide whether it's worth waiting up for a drunken DS to roll in. Probably not!

@medicineappstress sorry to hear your news, but it is a good thing that Imperial are holding the offer for 2021. Sounds like she should be able to get the grades, although she should not have to ! Will she just take Maths and the B subject?

When DS re-applied it was very little work as he just did some minor edits on the PS, and I agree with Ladsmum that the extra year of maturity is great. He would have learnt to drive and got a diploma in singing in his gap year if the rug had not been pullout from under his feet by Covid. If your DD can think of something she would really like to do, it may help her to feel that this happened for a reason.

@ladsmum delighted to hear that he has made it and that the year has been good for him.

I can second the advantages of taking a year out. That year's maturity, ideally with a mix of experience, helps a lot when dealing with the new issues that first year medical students come across, especially on courses with early clinical experience.

It gives a chance to mix with a wider range of people, deal with bureaucracy (which is endless in the NHS), and gain some perspective. Indeed one friend of DD's realised he didn't want to study medicine at all. (Doctor parents, so he had always assumed that is what he would do.)

Good luck to all.

How are everyone’s heads today?

DD went into her school to ask for her centre assessed grades which were A A A so she got downgraded on two of them. She has appealed those (free in Wales). She has now spoken to 23 other students from the school and they have ALL been downgraded (20 by 1 grade, 2 by 2 grades, 1 by 3!). So it seems her school got a raw deal.

Actually @EightToSixer, that sounds bang on national average level of downgrades. If all were doing 3 subjects, 23x3=69 A levels. 27 grades down is 39%. It is dire, and because it is all done at a subject level, you get the poor students with all 3 reduced.

Well done to everyone, no matter the outcome. Such an awful mess.

DS off to Kent but so many people in bits. His (state comp, very large 6th form) got hammered.
I don’t see how these results can be allowed to stand.

Well it looks like I'll have to join the medicine 2021 thread (if there is one!). Despite the latest u turn from gov, DD still won't have the grades. Her sixth form only gave her AAB as her CAGs. I can't understand why as that is no improvement on her mock results. Anyway, she's resigned to retaking the year and reapplying on UCAS. She's prob not going to take exams in October. She is still so angry that she was robbed of the chance to take her exams. I feel so sorry for her.

Sorry to hear that medicineappstress. I’ll see you on the other thread at some point as Dd is also reapplying. She’s doing UCAT again in 3 weeks time. Good luck to your DD.

@medicineappstress sorry to hear that. Doesn't it make sense to sit the B subject in October? It will not count as an extra sitting; if she gets the A she will not have to take it in the summer and if she gets a lower grade, the B will stand and she can think of it as a mock.

I check medicine threads now and then but been inactive for some time.
What a mess, feel really sorry for those who have missed out on their offers. Taking a year out is not at all bad and in fact, a lot of them gain experience in various important aspects of life.. I know it is really hard for 18/19 year olds to comprehend this especially in the present chaos ! But please ask them not to loose hope and reapply next year. One year of maturity will help them a lot in their interviews, ukcat etc.,

There is a real silver lining to not starting medical school in September. Hopefully in a years time we will have a vaccine and things will be less chaotic. The impact on each medical school will have been different but teaching staff were pulled back into hospitals and other years will have gaps in their learning which they will need to catch up on. And that is before you start thinking about the social side.

DD is intercalating in a University rather than a medical school setting. It’s not ideal as it will be online till January. She is very pleased that since things are sub optimal it is this, rather than her medical training, that will suffer.

medicineappstress Which are your DD's firm/insurance? Any chance of them holding the place for your DD for 2021 if she improves on the B in the October exam? That would save the stress of sitting the UCAT/BMAT again, at least.

@242Mummy
Imperial was firm, Bristol insurance.
Yes imperial are holding her offer, she will have to reapply through UCAS but not do the bmat/interview for it. Bristol wont hold the offer.

She has decided to retake the year and take all her a levels as she wants to be able to get the results of which she is capable. October would mean increasing chemistry from B to A*. And as there were 2 units they hadn't yet finished she thinks it's not feasible. She will also apply to other med schools again just to hedge her bets. I know it means doing the entrance exams again but so be it.

Of course all this means I'll have 2 DDs in year 13 in September so that'll be fun! Luckily DD2 doesn't want to do medicine!

How are plans coming along for your DCs?

DD starts Exeter on 12th September Which seems very early. She’s been allocated her first choice of halls and is on the WhatsApp groups for others in her hall. All seems a little real now. DD has driving test tomorrow and then finally turns 18 on back holiday Monday so it’s been a crazy month.

DS starting 5th Sep, so we are driving up to Scotland on 4th. All very exciting! He is not great at engaging with packing, but I think he will have everything he needs, if not he can sort himself out!

@Monkey2001 wow! So soon! Don’t think there’s anything DS won’t have when he gets to Sheffield- I can’t get in the spare room for all his “I’ll need this for Uni” buys, shower curtain included - DH is a bit of a soft touch (I was doing a lot of eye rolling when the two of them arrived back from Ikea yesterday)!

Our ikea trip - 3 plants, a spatula and a pair of tongs.
Minimalist!

@Monkey2001

Our ikea trip - 3 plants, a spatula and a pair of tongs. Minimalist!

What, no tea lights? How is that a proper trip to Ikea?