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??

@Monkey2001

Thanks *@GANFYD* . DS's best friend wants to apply to Nottingham with a band 2 and around 2950 UCAT but VR in the 600's . He has excellent general stats and is contextual for many places so could be confident of interviews but likes the sports at Nottingham. I think I will send your comment above to his mum - feels like interfering, but no point saying afterwards that I thought that would happen!

If he is an elite athlete, then they will likely take him anyway!

I also often assume more people are aware of the need to apply strategically than really are, and seemingly sensible young adults, with excellent grades, so presumably at good schools with advisers, apply to the most unsuitable choices every year. So maybe all those with a B1 will wander off elsewhere, and Nottingham themselves may not have thought their new system through fully, but I would only just have felt comfortable advising my DS to apply last year and he had >800 in 3 sections of UCAT (including VR), high 700s in the other, 10 x 9s and 2 x 8s if he had had a B2. Not that he would have listened to a word I say anyway!!

I still think there will be band 2 people who get interviews with perfect GCSEs and UCAT scores in the 701-799 bands, so I am estimating a cut off around 135-137, but always grateful to hear your thoughts, and adjust the risk assessment!

I don't think he is an elite athlete, just a very competent one, but don't know what counts as elite.

SJT is a funny thing, the students tend to focus much more on the main sections and for some med schools it is a deal breaker whilst others don't care.. I have been advising the ones who want to apply to Nottingham to invest time in SJT.

Presumably there are FOI requests currently going in to find out how many 2022 places each university will actually have available once the 2021 students have taken up the '£££ to defer' offers?

Becasuse that could be a massive missing piece of the jigsaw.

@Monkey2001

I still think there will be band 2 people who get interviews with perfect GCSEs and UCAT scores in the 701-799 bands, so I am estimating a cut off around 135-137, but always grateful to hear your thoughts, and adjust the risk assessment!

Perfect GCSE, so 8 x 9s (32) plus 701-799 in each UCAT section (50) plus a B2 (45) is only 127 points, this is the problem. I am not sure cut off will be as high as 135, but I am not sure 127 will make it, either.....

@KingscoteStaff

Presumably there are FOI requests currently going in to find out how many 2022 places each university will actually have available once the 2021 students have taken up the '£££ to defer' offers?

Becasuse that could be a massive missing piece of the jigsaw.

What is the betting "covid delays" means none are answered until after Oct 15th?? Plus different med schools are treating TAGs resits differently, so some are going to have to save places for those who may make their grades in Autumn and/or summer. Numbers of places seems to be impossible to estimate, nor to know whether fewer places will = fewer interviews, as this has the biggest effect on cut offs, or whether they will interview the same/more to keep cut offs down and tank the interview to offer ratio (as Liverpool did last year)......

At the Newcastle open day today they said 1,000 interviews, 460 offers this year. Normally it is 1,000 interviews for about 700 offers. They are currently planning 1,000 interviews again and I fear they will keep the offer rate down.

They said "we've been largely unaffected by deferrals"

@Monkey2001did they really make 700 offers this year? DS wasn't asked to defer his Newcastle place and we haven't heard of anyone else having been asked either.

No, they made 460, normally 700.

Sorry I speed read your post while running out to car! I thought the 460 was for this coming year. That makes sense as the whole process seems to have run quite smoothly there.

@opoponax is your DS going to Newcastle?

New thread here for when this one runs out shortly - we got caught out on the Y13 one. Hope it will be full of interviews and offers.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4358647-Medicine-2022-entry?watched=1

Yes DS has just started at Newcastle and he is loving it @Monkey2001.

@opoponax

Yes DS has just started at Newcastle and he is loving it *@Monkey2001*.

Good to hear! Where is he living? Did he get his first choice? Maybe he is out partying with GANFYD"s son!

@opoponax it is reassuring to hear your DS is loving Newcastle - it's absolutely my DS's top choice and he's heard lots of good things about it..he mentioned on the open day today there were lots of questions being asked in the chat about offer ratios/ interview stats etc which all seemed to be being studiously ignored!

Newcastle was always his top choice too @Solarlantern. He loved everything about it - great Med School, everything close by and brilliant, compact, friendly city. The process ran really smoothly with them from start to finish and he loved his interview too. It sounds like he has been out partying with most people, @Monkey2001 so quite possibly!

@opoponax

Newcastle was always his top choice too *@Solarlantern. He loved everything about it - great Med School, everything close by and brilliant, compact, friendly city. The process ran really smoothly with them from start to finish and he loved his interview too. It sounds like he has been out partying with most people, @Monkey2001* so quite possibly!

If there was some drunken 6'4" chav staggering around in dreadful designer clothing he worked all summer to afford, that probably belongs to me! He is a sweetie though, and has been looking out for people, knocking on doors of those who are quieter to try and involve them and getting everyone covid tested for Fresher's Flu, so I can forgive him! Today's gem "My baking tray is a bit big for the oven, so we are using it as a tray to hand the shots round on" #resourceful!

@GANFYD mine sounds very similar, except the clothes will also have 1,000 wrinkles and probably look too small for him as he put everything in the industrial strength tumble drier and then stashed it in a bag and forgot about it for a week. One of his priorities was to make sure he took enough shot glasses for everyone in his flat so nobody would be left out. It sounds like they would get along just fine!!

May already be doing that!
Mine took his washing to his older brother's place to do it today, as a)brunch paid for by Mum in exchange for a videochat with the pair of them b) free and c) trusts the machines with his precious clothes!
Had to go through every item of clothing on video to say if it could be tumble dried, as apparently, I am more trustworthy than the labels!

Love our "manchild"s!

We went through the same video chat and carefully split everything into different washing loads. Then he went on to chuck the whole lot in the tumble drier together. Situational judgement - nul points!

Mine have heard me berate hubby over the years for ruining things in the dryer, so know it is something to be aware of, but not the technicalities. Oldest brother no help, as has zero fashion knowledge, buys clothes when in Costco and lobs it all in the dryer, then buys new when ruined. Next oldest brother also a fashionista, but his tumble dryer not readily available, so went for the own home/brunch/kitchen appliances route and deigned to speak to me so I could protect his gear! Probably give that at least a band 2

Just catching up on today's posts and have had a real giggle at your posts @GANFYD and @opoponax.

I was in Newcastle briefly last week as I walked Hadrian's Wall with some girlfriends and we had an overnight stay there at the Premier Inn. We had the most amazing night out at a place called Stacks. It is brilliant - live music, a huge TV screen and great food. I was blown away by Newcastle architecturally.... really impressed me. It must be a brilliant city to study in.

That was post 998 - time to move to the new thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4358647-Medicine-2022-entry?watched=1

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