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....

@GreyBow fingers crossed for her UCAT. It's a shocker of an exam and I think it's a real roller coaster leading up to it. Every time DD did a mock, I was on edge wondering how it had gone and she had her ups and downs.

When is your DD sitting hers? It's stressful but hopefully she has it soon and does really well.

My daughter is hoping to apply for 2021 and she refuses to have any help from us at all. She is an extremely private person and spent 4+ weeks now locked in her room practising for UCAT. She has her heart set on Bristol and has mentioned Glasgow too but other than that she is a bit stuck on other choices. She is ridiculously confident academically and I am concerned that she has sailed through life up to this point academically and the idea of not getting intoBristol just isn’t on her radar. How do you temper their expectations as I feel that it actually might not happen fir her till 2022 due to the a level fiasco?

She has UCAT on Friday

This is probably a stupid question, but do achieved AS levels count anywhere for points/thresholds? Im trying to help as with PS drafting, mocks next week and BMAT DS is feeling a bit under pressure just now. I can only see refs to GCSEs on e.g Birmingham and Notts websites points calculators. My DS has further maths AS at A (he's not sitting full A level ). He's slowly trawling through uni websites that have point calculators to try and narrow things down but not getting v far so I think a spreadsheet suggestion is a good idea!

HELP! DD has just asked if I can "ask the mummy group" what the diagnostic mock is on medify? Does anyone know? It's only 30 minutes long..?

@GreyBow I think it’s like a condensed version of a full mock, so a good stepping stone from doing practise questions before moving on to a full mock.

@Lega I’m not completely sure about AS levels but I think I’m general they are not really taken into account as not everyone does them.

I know Barts use a UCAS tariff when they select for interview so if an achieved AS level gives UCAS points then it would be used.

Also Queens in Belfast have a requirement for a 4th subject at AS level. Or if they don’t have the 4th AS they have to have an A star in one of the 3 A levels. Or an A at EPQ can take the place of the AS level!!

Thank you @LaLaFlottes

She's already onto the full mocks. I suggested she go back and do this and it resulted in a slammed door and a strop.

She has now said she is doing another full mock in five minutes and can her family please not shout.

I need wine already. Or gin.

Anyone else?

Please can anyone advise?!! Son had to postpone his centre based UCAT last week because he was unwell and because of availability has had to change to online testing in a couple of days. Is he allowed to use a separate keyboard with his MAC? Any other advice re online test differences? Thank you!!

@HomeWorking
Yes, additional keyboards are allowed, monitors are not.
More info about requirements here:
www.ucat.ac.uk/media/1419/ucat-online-candidate-guide-2020.pdf

@GreyBow I feel your pain! DD said she didn’t actually do the diagnostic mock because she had started the full mocks and don’t go back to it.

She did also use Medentry as well as Medify in case you’re DD wants to use a different platform too? Maybe she is already but just thought I’d mention it in case

When DD was doing mocks, she would be so grumpy if we were noisy at all! Sometimes 2 hours would pass and there would be no sign of her and I’d worry that she was sat upstairs upset or something and I’d creep in, to find her still doing it! She started leaving a note outside the door or what time she had started!

Keep the wine and gin flowing and just count down the days!!

Hope the mock goes well and gives DD a boost.

@Lega
As mentioned, Barts score AS levels that are not carried forward to A2. Manchester use them if assessing people through their holistic pathway, at QUB they lower an offer from A*AA to AAA(a) and at Lancaster from AAA to AAB(b). Leeds used to use the best score out of GCSEs or AS levels in their shortlisting process, but I am not certain they have not dropped that now so few offer them

@LaLaFlottes she has just finished it and says it went very badly and she doesn't want to talk about it.

The real thing is on Tuesday, unless I delay it. She has a couple of mocks left I think, but will think of a way (via DH who she does listen to!) to suggest the other site as well. Thank you 😊

I have send DH to the coop to buy more red wine while I have a gin.

Ahh I remember trying desperately to be quiet and stop the dog barking at the inevitable post delivery that would come half way through a mock. Or being quiet for 2 hours only for her to say "I was only on the practice questions, I'm just about to start the mock."

It's one they really don't enjoy and my DD was more stressed about this than GCSEs. Think it's because it's full on but in a short space of time.

DD is okay now after her slightly disappointing test. She is going to apply to Nottingham and the Nottingham Lincoln pathway even though she knows Nottingham is probably a straight rejection at 44 (45?) points. Purely because it's her dream course. Hull York is on the list with her band 1 SJT. Not sure on the other choice yet but she is having two options for the 5 year MPharm, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Feeling so bad that she might not get her foot in the door to highlight her work experience. She could talk all day long. But we have to have hope.

@GreyBow hope you are enjoying a nice cold gin!

Re the Medentry option, they do have a free mock on their website, but if DD goes ahead with Tuesday it might not be a good idea to muddy the waters with a different website as they can be a bit different in style, and Medify is definitely the main resource. If she does decide to postpone then it might be worth a look

I hope she’s ok - it’s so stressful for them (and therefore us too). The only good thing about this test is the instant results and not having to wait for them.

I heard today that BMAT is on line now rather than a written exam. DD does not plan to sit it as she’s happy with UCAT universities but a friend told her this today.

@MaddieElla that sounds exactly like us! A parcel would inevitably be delivered mid mock, with the dog going bonkers -
Or I’d wrongly assume she’d finished when she’d not actually started. When you look back it seems silly but at the time it’s just so all consuming for them.

DD also has band 1 for situational judgement and is applying to Hull York. I think Sheffield, and UEA also use it favourably so maybe worth a look for that fourth place? There are more than likely others but those are a couple that DD has mentioned.

@GANFYD thank you!

Thanks @LaLaFlottes and @GANFYD for your (as always) helpful advice! Leaving D's to wrestle through the TSR boards and the Manchester uni website now as he hasn't considered that one befire - I think he's aiming to move a bit further away from home 🙄. Good luck to all still to sit the UCAT - feels like all our DC have a lot on their plate at the moment with UCAT/BMAT prep, the pressure of imminent mocks and the need to sort out a PS and uni choices so quickly after such a long time off....

@Lega

Thanks *@LaLaFlottes and @GANFYD* for your (as always) helpful advice! Leaving D's to wrestle through the TSR boards and the Manchester uni website now as he hasn't considered that one befire - I think he's aiming to move a bit further away from home 🙄. Good luck to all still to sit the UCAT - feels like all our DC have a lot on their plate at the moment with UCAT/BMAT prep, the pressure of imminent mocks and the need to sort out a PS and uni choices so quickly after such a long time off....

Just tell him to post all his stats and ask on the megathread on TSR and people will offer what advice they can

Good luck to all sitting the ucat this week. That test is evil. But it's great for starting to plan strategically and look at unis in depth. It's going to be a difficult year for applicants, and to some extent unis too. Ds is trying to focus on the return to school. He's had no online learning since March save for a 2 hour session in July and a few ad hoc lessons in the final week of term. With the best will in the world it is almost impossible for year 12 to teach themselves a level content. Fingers crossed school open up fully with a full learning timetable as there has been some discussion about it being online learning (the offering from our school online has been wholly inadequate) .

@powergower - same here re lack of input since march- my DS has had minimal input from his further ed college since March so is not on a level playing field with students who've had online lessons since then and more support from careers teachers etc. He's been told this week that college are operating a remote learning one week/physically in one week model too so not back full time (over 2000 students so I'm assuming to help with social distancing). Plus apparently the med students are having mocks next week (so less than a week after return) as the October mocks will be too late for the UCAS deadline. So he's revising as best he can for the next few days but I don't think it's going to give him the chance to do his best (and if mocks etc end up being used as evidence for CAGs again next year is not going to do him any favours there either!).

@Lega - sounds like a very stressful time. DS school sprung mock exams on them in July with little warning so he is in a similar position, feeling he hasn't had the opportunity to perform at his best. I hope they all do well and get the predicted grades they deserve.

Lega - that sounds very stressful. Ds is also worried about predicted grades for UCAS and hoping school will give him the predictions he needs for med. I have one dc going into year 11 and have told both of them that they really need to be on top form from the get go as any piece of work/ mock could potentially be used as evidence of ability. I see that Labour are pushing for exams next year to be delayed. This is not the solution as it will impact uni and further education/ vocation plans. Who knows what will happen for our dc.

Just come through on phone that a levels will be delayed but not beyond normal state school term times

Just come through on phone that a levels will be delayed but not beyond normal state school term times

Where is that from? I can only see, Labour calls for... type 'news' still.

This sounds less like labour calling for action but presumably not definitive as not covered on the today program that I have heard