Medics et al 2021

[Rocksbestdoc]

Does anyone wish to join a nice supportive thread for people interested in applying for medicine & related degree courses in 2021? No one-upmanship, no nastiness, just general support & advice from people with very recent relevant experience of the application process and those going through it. Possible applicants for Aberdeen to Plymouth, Cardiff to UEA, all are welcomed here.

[GANFYD]

If there are any DCs out there worried about work experience, have you seen the virtual WEx available at the minute?
BSMS have set one up
bsmsoutreach.thinkific.com/courses/VWE
and the RCGP (which is approved by the MSC)
//www.rcgp.org.uk/observegp?gclid=Cj0KCQjwka_1BRCPARIsAMlUmEojcmV88m-Rv4fGMm9icxo5fe97NNccH5riPrDL-khqfkNZ8qtIB5YaAodUEALw_wcB

I suspect lots have people will have done them, but might be worth a look?

[Pumpkintopf]

Ganfyd that's such a useful link! Have been trawling the websites for this info- so handy to have it all in one place!!

[GANFYD]

Cannot remember if I have posted this here, but someone just asked for advice elsewhere about preparing for med school and I linked this. Am sure you have all found it, but this is about the best website out there for info as it is put together by the med schools themselves
www.medschools.ac.uk/studying-medicine/applications/resources-for-students-and-teachers

[GANFYD]

Although I do know for somebody who applied for PPE at Oxford for his 5th place and forgot to fill in any of the supplementary information stuff. He did get a straight rejection!

[GANFYD]

@Rocksbestdoc
Most places are not remotely bothered at being a fifth choice on a medical school applicants UCAS form, in my experience. Occasionally they ask for a second PS more related to the other subject applied for but generally most people seem to get offers without the need for any additional input

Cambridge have certainly been known to make 4 A-level offers but pretty much everywhere else would only offer on three subjects and would usually only specify that one of the A's (or A stars) has to be in the sciences they require, ie. if somebody has four A-levels they can make up their offer with any of the remaining subjects

[speedyhedgehog]

I only have limited experience of one case 😁 my dd having applied for 2020 entry so yet to sit A levels and actually get on the course. She did apply for a 5th choice at her favourite uni where she had also applied for medicine. I agree that her personal statement was clearly for medicine but she did receive offers for both courses and the 5th choice (no interview) was the first offer she received. So how unis in general look at this i can't say but it was fine in this one case.

[Rocksbestdoc]

Another stupid question. If you have a 4th A level for something totally random like music, does it get ignored if you do get any offers or could they offer on 4 grades?

[Rocksbestdoc]

Interesting. Thank you. Would you think they really like the uni or they don't have much confidence in their medicine application? I know there's a sliding scale in between.

[SirTobyBelch]

*So if you put biomed or biochem degrees down as your 5th place at a uni on your medical list, do the different departments in the same uni know?

Yes. Those are the only other applications we can see.

If a personal statement gas been written for medicine that will usually be obvious to the 5th-choice department anyway.

[Rocksbestdoc]

Shows much much research I've done! That's halved the Welsh & surfing options!

So if you put biomed or biochem degrees down as your 5th place at a uni on your medical list, do the different departments in the same uni know?

[GANFYD]

5th choices vary, in my experience. Some are sure they will take a gap year and reapply if they get no offers first time, others feel they would be happy to follow an alternative path (I know people who have put down 3 med schools and 2 "5th choices" as they felt they would be equally happy doing either), so it is down to individual applicants.
I have had children use the 5th choice (Pharmacology at favourite uni) and leave it blank.
You can apply anywhere for any course (except doubling up on Oxbridge, of course)

[GANFYD]

Swansea is Graduate Entry Medicine only.
Cardiff is an excellent med school, what would you like to know?

[Rocksbestdoc]

Started to lose the will to live again. Any views on Swansea & Cardiff? Do most applicants put down a 5th choice & if so, do they automatically rule out anywhere they have applied for medicine at for a reserve degree?

[bengalcat]

Apologies yes it’s //www.themedicportal.com

[goodbyestranger]

I will just say this in response to GoodByeStranger comment. Not all medical applicants are the stereoytype high achiever from a privileged school, who've attended debating and interview skill classes and who therefore are likely to get offers from whichever school they apply to.

Not all no that's true swingofthings, including many kids at our school (state grammar) who are successful. Debating classes and interview skill classes are a nice idea (I think). Unlikely to happen to any significant degree in the still poorly funded state sector.

There's everything right with encouraging able kids to aim high and everything wrong with insisting that that concept is bred from a position of privilege. Very often within education you'll find the opposite. Our former Head Teacher said that the first beautiful thing he saw in his life was a blanket of snow when he was five, because it covered the grim back to back housing where he grew up in the industrial North. He's very influential in the world educational access and speaks nothing but sense.

There's also something wrong with a formulaic approach which demands that reams of statistics are analysed prior to a med school application, or you'll fail. It is much simpler than those demanding obeisance on some internet forums would have you think. The uni websites are the place to go.

[MarchingFrogs]

Do you mean
www.themedicportal.com/ ?

[bengalcat]

Rocksbest i'd recommend the medicportal for an overview and source of information //www.medicportal.com

[Pumpkintopf]

@MaddieElla our nearest hospital is Pilgrim at Boston so he did a week there shadowing a consultant, which he found a real eye opener- couldn't believe the amount of paperwork apparently! Hasn't put him off though but good to get an insight into the realities.

I know what you mean about Lincoln - it is very new, first cohort this year I think. However my understanding is they've not had as many successful local applicants as they'd hoped so may be a good insurance choice. I think DS will feel it's too near to home though!

[MaddieElla]

This thread is lovely and it's brilliant hearing about positive experiences.

[swingofthings]

Thanks @mumsneedwine

[swingofthings]

@MaddieElla, I'd definitely recommend a visit to Manchester. It's one school not much discussed but that scores high in student satisfaction.

They seem to welcome students from all walks of life. They offer 1/3rd of offers to pupils who haven't scored as high at the UKCAT, looking at their personal statement and experience. They also offer a higher percentage of places to graduates. There is therefore a great mix of students who are thrown together from the start through PBL. She says that havingto adapt to working with people with different level of maturity, different cultures and style of learning has been a real eye opener and very valuable.

She will be doing her third year in Preston in the hospital and is looking forward to it. As said, she's also been approached to put her candidature to do a PhD through the Uni in association with Cancer Research that will be well paid, which could open other doors too.

Definitely don't think your DD has less chance than anyone else to do well. My advice would be to give everything preparing for the UKCAT, it's all about practice practice practice practice, and so discipline at a time when they crave a break from it all. She can register and change the date until she feels ready, which is often not too soon but not too late either as anxiety can then take over.

DD gave up her 4th A level and EPQ to focus 100% on the 3 A levels whilst continuing with her work at a nursing home and volunteering at a hospice which she did every week all through her A levels.

She had to work very hard to get As/As* at her A levels and I worried that she'd struggle with the coursework at Manchester with everyone else very clever, but she hasn't at all and is scoring high in all her exams, so it really shows that GCSEs are not forcibly a good representation of what a student is capable at a higher level.

[mumsneedwine]

@MaddieElla student this year has 7 7s and 3 6s. Is now deciding between her 3 offers 😊. Sheffield, Bristol and Plymouth.

[mumsneedwine]

@swingofthings awesome post. So glad your DD is loving life.

[swingofthings]

t's very easy to be misled by the MN medical threads into thinking that it's all incredibly complex when it isn't

I will just say this in response to GoodByeStranger comment. Not all medical applicants are the stereoytype high achiever from a privileged school, who've attended debating and interview skill classes and who therefore are likely to get offers from whichever school they apply to.

As stated, my DD was as far from this stereotype as can be. Daughter of divorced foreign parents, went to a very average comprehensive which never had a pupil making it into Medical School and whose priority was to ensure more than 50% of Y11 got Cs in Maths and English rather than picking out pupils elligible for entry to Oxbridge or Med school. No such thing as coaching, debating and interviewing skill classes.

Three years ago, if we'd limited ourselves to reading school websites and following the advice of arrogant preachers, I suspect she wouldn't currently be where she is now, getting top results amongst her cohort and considering doing a PhD in research after her 3rd year.

So yes, these sites are extremely helpful for many parents and children. Few kids will have all the skills and ability to get an offer from any school they apply to, so knowledge about the process and the ability to select the 4 choices wisely is what can make the difference between a future successful career in Medicine and one missed.

[MaddieElla]

That's brilliant @swingofthings . It is sometimes daunting reading these boards and thinking she'll have no chance without a string of 9s. We were supposed to visit manchester last year but had open day fatigue so didn't go. We definitely will this year though.Thank you for that.

We have got a list of schools she's got a chance of an interview at, but we're stuck until we take that ucat. Think she wants to start practicing after her exams.

She had applied to be head girl but has said today she doesn't want to have to be focusing on that. She's said she won't be doing head girl duties and an EPQ so one has to go. EPQ is far more useful especially for Sheffield so I'm hoping she forfeits the HG application. Hard to know what medical schools want, they're so different.