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??

[quote mumsneedwine]@MidLifeCrisis007 hope you're feeling ok and it's a mild dose.
And really kind of them to space Boardmasters and Reading far enough apart so they can go to both - and still isolate 😂.[/quote]
I took a bad turn overnight and had blood oxygen levels of 92% this morning so my GP friend told me to ring 111... I wasn't actually able to make the call myself so DH did it and they advised me to go to A&E.

Anyway 5 hours later while in St Georges I'm asking the doctor, "where did you do your medicine degree?". LOL. (Answer - Birmingham and she loved it there!)

Gosh our doctors and nurses are amazing.

Meanwhile DD is no doubt having a ball at Reading...

So sorry to hear @MidLifeCrisis007. Hope you are feeling a bit better now.Our doctors and nurses are amazing and St Georges is brilliant too. It is quite humbling when you see them in action.

@MidLifeCrisis007 I hope you are out of hospital now and feel better

@MidLifeCrisis007 - get well soon! Another fan of St George's - DD had her appendix out there and they were so kind. Handy to have the mini M&S in the foyer as well to get nice things to cheer you up.

A good friend trained at St George's and turned out to be an amazing doctor.

@MidLifeCrisis007 I really really hope you are being well looked after and feel better soon.
Can use the time to quiz all the doctors on their Unis and how good they were 😊.
Our DDs will be enjoying Mabel about now, followed by Stormzy (so I'm told by Twitter).
Look after yourself and I can pick up from Reading if you need a hand with that. I'm not too far away 🥰

Thinking of you @MidLifeCrisis007, I guess you should be glad that you are double jabbed as you could have felt so much worse. Bloomin Boardmasters!

Hi there. Total novice to this but just trying to work out my DD’s chances of getting into a medical school. She’s got 8x9s, 1x8 and 1x7 GCSEs, predicted 3xA* but only got 2570 at UCAT. Has she got a chance of getting an interview anywhere and if so where? She’s got the work experience etc. Thanks to anyone who can give us a steer! Should she try again next year for UCAT? She is also thinking about BMAT as loved Cambridge.

I forgot to say, her Situational Judgement was 1.

@Anotherhovemum YES! A disappointing UCAT just means that she needs to be more strategic. I am out on dog walk, so don't have my spreadsheet with me, but for UCAT Plymouth and UEA are nice options. Depending on which subjects her 7s were, Leeds could be good for BMAT. Cambridge a good option if she is doing 3 science/maths subjects. Don't worry, if strategic she can still get 4 interviews and BMAT will probably suit her better than UCAT (which is a weird exam!)

@Monkey2001 Thank you so much for replying. I honestly don’t know another soul who can help with this to discuss it with! I like the sound of your spreadsheet! Would you be able to share when you are back home? Honestly, can’t thank you enough for any guidance. DD is actually doing Chem, Biol and French - so you think Cambridge a no go? I didn’t see that anywhere which shows how little I know!

@Anotherhovemum
Here is the A level requirement breakdown by Cambridge college - not all want a Maths/Science as a 3rd A level.

Thank you @KingscoteStaff, that’s really useful.
And anyone who has any other guidance, thank you in advance. It’s a minefield!

[quote KingscoteStaff]@Anotherhovemum
Here is the A level requirement breakdown by Cambridge college - not all want a Maths/Science as a 3rd A level.[/quote]
BUT the success rate is very low - something like 6% of applicants without 3 science subjects are successful. DS1's interviews were very mathsy. Will link some data later.

@Anotherhovemum depending on breakdown of UCAT Notts might be an option. Double points for VR and SJT this year and will get full marks for GCSEs. Plymouth and Sunderland look good options. Maybe Lancaster.
If doing BMAT then Leeds and Brighton open up and GCSEs will help there.
If your DD goes into TSR and posts on the 'which medical school' thread they'll get amazing up to date advice on top of what you can get here.

Thank you v much @mumsneedwine.
Do you think it’s grasping at straws and better to have another go next year?

@Anotherhovemum definitely worth a try this year ! UCAT is not everything as some Unis take a more holistic approach and look at GCSEs, A levels and roles and responsibilities forms/PS. I've had students get in with much lower (non contextual) UCAT scores.
This year is going to be tough. But it always is tough. It's medicine. If you want to PM me his exact stats, with UCAT breakdown, I'll try and have a look today for you.

Anotherhovemum, this happened to my DD, who had similar grades. It is miserable, but all is not lost.

Mine decided the first year was a practice run. She only applied to places she was interested in going to, focussed on achieving the grades, whilst simultaneously making plans for a gap year.

As it turned out she got one of her choices, but then asked them if she could take a gap year anyway.

1. She sounds like a BMAT type. DD could not take BMAT first time round as she was ill, but would have taken it on reapplication. BMAT apparently suits those with a strong academic profile.

1. Experience first time round will stand her in good stead. She will be able to do more practice on the UCAT. She will have friends who have started various Universities so a better idea of where she wants to go. She will have more on her PS, and, hopefully, will have achieved an interview or two. She will also start medical school with more maturity, which is no bad thing.

Strange things happen in March and after. Medical schools need to get their numbers right, so those who are undershooting on acceptances may revisit those who have been rejected previously. DD had three interviews in March.

In terms of Cambridge, and indeed Oxford, UCL, and Imperial, these courses can have a much more scientific slant. At Oxbridge you don't see a patient for three years, whilst DD intercalated at Imperial last year and felt the course her Imperial peers had followed seemed more academically focussed. In contrast she had had more clinical exposure and more training in things like communication and more experience of group work. Being comfortable with maths could be important. Worth considering the fit, regardless of subjects required.

@mumsneedwine Thankyou, I have PM’d you. I’ve never PM’d before though so pls let me know if you got it!

@Anotherhovemum got it 😊. Will look asap. In school planning for return of the masses.

@Needmoresleep That is excellent advice - thanks so much. I can’t tell you how much it helps xx

@Anotherhovemum look at
ARU
Edge Hill
UEA
Keele
Lincoln - use same shortlisting as Nottingham, but a bit less competitive
QUB
Maybe HYMS as band 1 helps there
KMMS if she may do well on contextual

For BMAT I suggest you/she go to BMAT website and download a paper to try. Do a recent one as the marks required for a good score have increased in recent years. BMAT is more like GCSEs, but with significant time pressure. The maths and physics might be an issue, so best to know sooner rather than later whether it is!

.... forgot that Plymouth should still have been on that list.

I tell everybody to look at it as a 2 year process and just feel lucky if you get in first time.

@Anotherhovemum my DS got similar to your DD, a bit worrying as he was doing ok on the mocks. After the initial shock, he has decided to apply to those he stands a chance of an interview-if he doesn't get in this year he will do his UCAT again early in the summer. If he gets a better score he can apply again and do a years work experience, if he does badly he needs to think about doing his 5th choice or defer uni and do something else-which he really doesn't want to do. This process is horrible :-(

Good luck.

Upthread you can see me ranting about UCAT, and how kid's futures are decided in a single morning. DD ended up adopting quite a bolshie stance in relation to medical school hurdles. She was good enough. If they failed to recognise it, this was their problem. Luckily she tempered this with some pragmatism and did her best at each stage, though took the pressure off by treating it as a trial run.

Be warned though, a low UCAT may mean a late interview as those who score highly may be seen first. Easter term is then miserable with mocks and hard work and everyone else knowing where they are going. Perhaps look at it as resilience building

DS did his this morning! Did well but very bumpy profile. But overall Band 1 2900+ Day off for him now then he and I will be trying to figure out how his gcses fit into where to apply. He's not on the student room yet but I've been suggesting/pushing it. Silly not to take all the advice he can get.