Medicine 2021 - part 2

[Millylovespuddles]

Following on from the first thread:
DD now has UKAT booked for mid-August. She couldn’t get a driving theory test booked until after the UKAT date, but will keep an eye out for cancellations.
Now, her big dilemma is Oxbridge it not....

@redtulip - oh how awful. I suppose the only reassuring thing is that they took the time to check! With Bristol, did she put her UCAT number into their dashboard? I think they were the only ones who asked for it although maybe Nottingham did, I don't remember what DS said).

@LaLaFlottes - I am amazed any of the choices were sending out 5th November last year! that is so early - surely they would only just have got the UCT, and not yet got the BMAT???
But just the reassurance that just because they say they are ranking by UCAT doesn't mean that they send out in that order is useful information. Last year on one of DSs choices there was speculation that they were sending out by region. Not sure that was ever confirmed. I can see the sense in sending out by region if you are having in person interviews and you start with the furthest away, as it is likely to be more difficult for them to get there, but I imagine there is no sense in that this year.

@bimkom yes we were very surprised too! But more than one person had noted that on the fastest-slowest thread on TSR

I think I maybe saw something similar about regions too - one of her choices is St Andrews and I think it was being suggested that the non Scottish applicants received theirs first maybe?

You're right though, they won't have to think about making sure people further away have time to plan their journey and accommodation etc!

@bimkom no she hasn't ever put anything on the dashboard and is adamant she hasn't been asked to. Have you seen something asking them to do this? She has just called admissions and they have confirmed it was a mistake, they have everyone's scores and that she doesn't need to add it to the dashboard. She was very stressed - not good

@redtulip 12 - they didn't email asking - they just provided a link to the dashboard, but once in there, they asked for the UCAT number to be inserted. We had to scurry around to find it, because as you can imagine, his UCAT number was not something he knew off the top of his head. Scores maybe, but not the identifying number! We wondered if they were trying to get a march on the UCAT provision of data, but then they emailed saying that they were waiting for UCAT to give them the scores. We therefore assumed it was just as a double check to get the candidate to confirm that it was the right John Smith, say, in case there were two John Smiths

@bimkom she has been on the dashboard a few times but says she has never seen anything asking for her Ucat details. Just had a look now and again can't see anything so we will just have to keep our fingers crossed that they have what they need.

@opoponax Thank you for confirming that your ds had done exactly the same as my dd. Having rung the Uni she is no longer worried. Back to waiting for interviews to be released. Fingers crossed for everyone!

@redtulip12 - I wonder why it did for some and for others it didn't. Certainly it did for others on the TSR Bristol thread see -
www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6560548&page=12 - ie it came up as a task. Do you think it was for people who had similar names to others who had applied? Although DS's surname is not that common, although it is not the most rare either.

I see that a number of other people also got your email saying that UCAT was not attached - see this page www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6560548&page=13 and the following page - which suggested quite a number of people got this email about UCAT not being received, and then apparently a follow up email saying it was a system error or something. We got neither of those.

@bimkom that's interesting that it came up as a task for some and not others. I also wondered if it was something to do with students with similar names. Or maybe the task disappeared after a while so my dd didn't get to see it when she logged on. No idea but as long as they have it now I'm not going to worry and yes she received both of the emails from Bristol.

Hi @redtulip12. I deleted my post as I didn't want to mislead saying that my DS was100% sure he hadn't been asked for his UCAT details by Bristol. He can't recall having been asked for those details but also said that over on TSR someone said they had been asked for their UCAT details back in October so we really don't know. I think you are right, it seems like a glitch yesterday and it's just a case of waiting for interviews to be released now and fingers crossed for everyone.

@opoponax - yes, it came up as a task for DS almost immediately his application was submitted and he received his acknowledgement from Bristol - ie he got his acknowledgement on Wednesday 14th October, and I think he logged in either that day or the day after, and it came up right away. And of course being anxious he put it in right away (as soon as we hunted around and tracked it down), so it would have been no later than 15th October. So maybe they stopped asking for it. Very strange.

Hi @bimkom my DS got his acknowlegement on 10th October and checked dashboard then so can only think that maybe it hadn't been put up on the dashboard at that point. A bit puzzling but, aside from a bit of drama for him on Friday, no harm done. Just a waiting game now!

I assume all of you applying to Bristol have seen the new information regarding interviews at:
www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/after-you-apply/interviews/medicine/
@redtulip12 a@opoponax

No interviews before January (but presumably invitations to interview will come out before), structured format on Zoom (not MMIs)

@opoponax

Thank you @bimkom. So interviews starting later than last year. Let's keep in touch along with @redtulip12 on any further Bristol developments. Anyone else's DC applied to Bristol?

Thank you @bimkom that's really useful, will check whether my dd has seen it.

DD applied to Bristol and got the emails saying they didn't have her UCAT and then the email saying it was an error too
Luckily in fast enough succession for her speed of email checking that not panic inducing

For those applying to Nottingham - I don't know how long this has been buried in their website, but they say regarding interviews:

For 2021 entry, due to the pandemic, all interviews will be online using Microsoft Teams.

The interviews will:

Have two interviewers on the panel
Last between 30 and 45 minutes
Include questions on four scenarios which may include role play.

Please make sure you have access to IT equipment with a webcam and microphone, reliable Wi-Fi and a quiet space. If you don’t have this at home, we would encourage you to ask your school if there is an appropriate room where you would be able to have your interview.
www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/course/Medicine-BMedSci+and+BMBS

Thank you for that. It also says they'll ask for work experience evidence but I'm not aware of anyone having been asked.

I nearly posted on here last night in a panic. Is anyone reading the Interview megathread on TSR? There are some deep discussions going on and now I'm panicking DD doesn't know half of what they're talking about.

I don't know if they're over the top or if DD needs to seriously up her knowledge game!

@MaddieElla have you got the ISC medical school interviews book for DD?

It's a good place to start I think. DD is using it to make lots of notes and flashcards, and to think about how she would answer the questions. Along with reading and keeping up with the medical news.

@MaddieElla - also re TSR, it's a great resource but can be quite alarming at times! I'm sure our DC will be just fine if they prepare. At the end of the day, their answers are meant to be natural and not scripted.

I saw a comment on TSR saying that they should try and answer the questions well, be able to back up their argument etc, but not try and overly "stand out" as often those that stand out, do so for the wrong reasons!!

Yes I don't think the idea is to stand out, is it.

She has got the book but I'm not sure how much of it she's read, I'll have to ask her. But as you say, their personalities and natural answers need to come across too and not just reeling off facts.

I'm giving her two weeks and then I'm going to start firing interview questions at her randomly.

She doesn't know this, but the way. I'm all for the element of surprise.