Medicine 2022 entry - How difficult is it really? *title edited by MNHQ at OP's request*

[notmedicmum]

I couldn't find a thread for 2022 entrants to medicine - maybe I didn't look hard enough! DD is in Year 12 and has wanted to do medicine since Year 10. It's only this year that we realise the enormity of actually getting a place. Not only do you have to have brilliant grades, you must also have done work experience, volunteered (both difficult in the current situation), got excellent BMAT/UCAT scores. Oh, and you also must have cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for charity or climbed Kilimanjaro or won the Nobel Peace prize or found a cure for cancer (joking about the last two). How competitive is it REALLY? I'm not sure about the value of the last apart from being used as a selection tool as the unis get so many qualified applicants - and showing enterprise and drive. Apparently this sort of thing is even more important this year as getting work experience is very hard this year. How does climbing a mountain make you a better doctor anyway? And what can normal students do to improve their chances of success??

The other reason for wanting all the extra curriculars it's being able to cope with the workload. Dd said the medical course was not in itself difficult but a huge volume of material to deal with. Also need the stamina to be able to deal with the long work sessions, the continuing post graduate study and the continual changing of jobs every four months.
The year 12/13 stress is just the start - but at least there is a guaranteed job at the end.

Thanks @TripleTime - that's very kind.

One of the benefits of online schooling is that you can find out all sorts of things about what is happened and school. I listened about in today to a talk about medical, vet med and dentistry applications for DD's year. Looks like there are about 30 out of 200. The bulk of these are aspiring medics and apparently its the biggest number they've seen.

I guess it's the 'Covid' effect 😬

@jenthehen - this is the 2022 thread!

Can I join the party? DD (year 12) is another planning to apply to med school later this year. She was previously looking at vet med and I have to say I'm delighted that she's now opting for humans rather than animals! (Did anyone else see Ben Fogle's programme last week featuring those 2 very disillusioned ex vets?!).

She's somehow managed to get a volunteering role at a big London hospital against all odds and now knows how to put on PPE.... oh and has done the radicalisation course inter alia too!

She did her first virtual med school open day last Saturday too....

Welcome @MidLifeCrisis007 - nice to have another joiner.

Not a lot happening here. DD seems to be getting on well with online school (I eavesdrop) but is frustrated with not being able to do everything she was planning. But aren't we all?

I did see some stats saying that 2021 medical applicant numbers are significantly up on 2020. I guess that means there are likely to be plenty of re-applicants in 2022 with grades in hand.

Morning,

May I join/restart thread?
DD (year 12) hoping to study medicine next year.
DS is in his first year of medicine at Cambridge.
I have the problem of DD being very bright but following in DS's super bright footsteps. Difficult because she, not I, compares herself to him all the time. Add in the fact that, due to Covid, she has not had nearly as many opportunities to develop a strong personal statement so far. This means that I am constantly treading a fine line trying to keep her confidence up. She attends DS's former school, so we also have the problem that teachers constantly compare her to DS.
I'm making suggestions to her but she knows best!
So far she has volunteered at an animal sanctuary dealing with the sickest patients, is up to DofE Gold and is registered with RVS to volunteer at our local Cancer Treatment Centre. Nothing happening with that as yet, again, due to Covid.
She's taken up the guitar during lockdown and is tutoring younger DS.
She hopes to run for prefect or Head Girl when back at school.
We are attending a virtual medics seminar next week.
That's it.
At this point DS had volunteered at a care home, done a residential at Uni, a weeks work experience at the local hospital and various seminars in London, was captain of his sports club and was doing various other sports and activities, including helping build a school at a remote village abroad!
Covid has a lot to answer for.

@NK5fd36457X11218d61631 - welcome!

DD also has a high-achieving DB but helpfully not doing medicine.

I don't think it's helpful to compare the preparation of the two of them in terms of experience gained. Our DC are all in the same boat, limited opportunities for WE in a medical setting so they just have to get creative. DD has a zero interview to be a vaccine helper at one of the London hospitals and has been working at a food bank. She's also done the Brighton online course.

There's still plenty of time between now at the UCAS application date to gather up experience.

@sandybayley thank you!
I think, at the back of my mind, I'm feeling guilty. At this point, I was able to assist DS in so many more ways than DD.
Add in the fact that she's not actually letting me in at all right now and I'm feeling a bit helpless.

Please don't think you need mountains of medical work experience to get a place. My DD had a week at a GP and 3 days in a hospital. She volunteered at an educational stables teaching kids horse care. And that was it. No head girl, did silver DofE (but not sure it even made her PS), no outstanding achievements. None of it mattered as most Unis don't read the PS. A few have their own roles and responsibilities forms and a few use PS to discuss at interview. But selection will come down to grades and UCAT/BMAT mostly, and then shining at interview. DD got 4 offers. Too too for MMIs - to listen.

It is tricky getting relevant work experience and volunteering experience at the moment. I’m sure that the unis will factor this in next academic year - everyone is in the same boat. My DD is lucky to have be able to volunteer to help with the Covid vaccination effort at our local hospital (we’re just waiting for the call up). The hospital is also doing some virtual work experience next month. Plus she managed to do some shadowing with our GP during the 2019 summer holidays.
BTW DD rates the medicmentor virtual work experience course highly.

Can anyone advise what is the best way to prepare for the UCAT and BMAT exams? And what resources to use? I’ve heard medify for UCAT is good, not sure what is best for BMAT.

For ucat, medify is hands down the best resource. The tip is to not start too early, it’s a speed/accuracy thing and if you start too early you risk both peaking too early and running out of resources. My d did (I think...) about 4 weeks prep, starting off with an hour or two a day and increasing that in the last two weeks. She did it early, before the schools broke off for sumner in year 12, so that she had plenty of time over the summer with her result in hand to make decisions on where to apply - also year 13 is busy enough with BMAT, ucas, and actually getting the grades. BMAT is more like a traditional exam in that it has a syllabus that you can revise for, although the questions are a bit more ‘applied’ than gcse. She prepared for this using the syllabus and past papers, and revised the content that was highlighted by her past paper results. She mainly needed to brush up on physics.

She’s a current second year at ICL, so if anyone has any specific questions about the course there I’d be happy to help.

BMAT Ninja is good fir BMAT

Am I right I'm thinking that if DD applies to Oxford she has to do the November BMAT?

With UCAT testing from late July I'm guessing it makes sense to try to get a UCAT date in early August and get it out the way and have a bit of a summer break. She'll be finished at school by the first week of July do could do a solid month of prep beforehand.

Is that a sound plan?

@sandybayley that sounds a v good plan. Get UCAT done as then can apply strategical knowing your score. And yes you have to do the 2nd BMAT for Oxford so have to apply before get score back.

Thanks @mumsneedwine - DD has very good GCSEs and that plus her UCAT score should give us good insight on where to apply. Oxford will have to be a punt but one punt is probably OK.

Bit worried about her provisional 2nd choice if Edinburgh as she'll be a RUK applicant and the odds don't look good.

DD has course structure, UCAT/BMAT + how they use it, applications/places ratio, intercalation, grades and interview type on her spread sheet. Oh, and whether they have a women's cricket team.

What has she missed?

Location? Proximity to home? Campus / City?

'Oh and 'romance' factor. DH and I met at Edinburgh and she thinks it's 'romantic'.

Edinburgh claims it's campus, but it looks jolly city to me.

Edinburgh is a bit weird. The main bits of the university are clustered together so feels like a campus but the medical students are mainly out of town at the new-ish hospital.

When we were there the medical students were mixed in with the rest of us. But the science students were off at another site.

@KingscoteStaff full body dissection or prosecution, early patient contact. Intercalated degree will no longer carry any extra points for F1 if that's important.

New columns added!

Interesting about the intercalation no longer boosting F1. I wonder if it will make a noticeable difference in students choosing it?

Current 3rd years a bit angry as some have already intercalated and now been told it won't count. There will now be one final exam for every medical school to go alongside the SJT. Look when start CP1 as it varies quite a bit.