Medicine 2021 - Part 4

[MaddieElla]

Fingers crossed for those final offers coming in!

Hope no one minds me starting the new thread...

I am so sorry @SATSmadness. I was really hoping the last one would come through. I don't think your DD's stats will ever be in question and it's much easier to get some work experience and polish interview technique than to ace a UCAT and she has already proved she can do that. Also some med schools prefer grades in hand so she will have that advantage next year. I feel sure we will all be following a Monkey-style success story next year.

@SATSmadness so sorry to hear the news, hope your DD is feeling OK. I remember DS wandering aroub

....around in a stupor after the 4th rejection.

One of my main bits of advice for next time is that now that she knows interviews are not her strongest point, she should look carefully at offer to interview ratios. I think she would get an offer from St Andrews - they make offers to upto 85% of applicants and if she likes the Cambridge course, she will also like St A. I am out now, but will send you a link to the site Nexttime from TSR bringing all the ratios together.

The school was wrong, work experience will not have been the problem, particularly this year. It may be that online interviews did not work well for her.

We will all be thinking of you as you navigate this awful week. I am SURE that next year she will have some good offers in the bag.

@SATSmadness

Has your DD look at using ucas extra? My DD had a friend with no medicine offers last year and he used extra to apply to Lancaster for medicine. He had an interview, got an offer from them and started last September. You can only use extra if you hold no offers and i think you can only apply to one at a time. However I'm not sure if the exams situation means that medicine won't be available in extra this year.

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/after-you-apply/types-offer/extra-choices

Also look at Aberdeen - the shortlist score makes up half the post interview score and with her UCAT and A levels she could get an offer even if the interview does not go well.

Lancaster was in Extra both in 2018 and 2019, I get the impression that being a BMAT medical school affects the number of applicants they get by 15th Oct and obviously means that a lot of the potential Extra applicants can't apply because they have not done the BMAT. My understanding is that the course style is unlikely to appeal to people who like the Cambridge course, but I could be wrong. Obviously worth keeping an eye on the possiblity.

I agree with monkey - she has good experience of work and plenty of places don't rate clinical shadowing anyway. That's even without the coronavirus situation where many schools specifically said they would not look at work experience

I'm so sorry

I would consider personally just UCAT next year possibly as you know where you stand with that and plenty of choice for universities
Also, although not popular on here, would an med school interview technique day like medic portal be helpful?

Also, did she use the book for interviews? Medical school interviews by ISC interviews. Just in case she didn't. DD found it invaluable

I'd actually go the other way, looking at all the applicants from DDs school, and go all BMAT if DD had to do this again.

@Sunbelievable DD has said the same re the BMAT Uni's. Exams/tests don't bother her, she reckons she's happy to sit both again to maximise her options rather than putting all her eggs in one basket.

Hi all- I am trying to find out information about applying for dentistry in 2022. There is not much! So I have strayed to medicine. What I am ideally trying to work out is the likelihood or otherwise of my DD getting an offer. So please May I ask, of those that are lucky enough to have offers, what are your GCSEs, A level predictions or achieved. And Ukcat (dentistry isn’t BMAT). Thank you!

@SATSmadness I really am so sorry to see your update. I honestly was hoping so much for good news for you.

Extra and clearing will be options and with your DD's amazing stats she would be a superb candidate. Apparently some Unis do save some spaces and deliberately enter clearing to scoop up some excellent candidates. Your DD has both a UCAT and BMAT score so can apply to any that may come up which is good.

In addition to @Monkey2001 suggestion of Aberdeen, I would recommend looking at UEA. They use UCAT as 50% of the post interview score, but also use SJT as part of the interview, so really the UCAT as a whole counts for more than 50% post interview. It's a lovely campus, we went for a look and also they score very high in the preparedness rankings which I think is important.

I really hope that either the Sheffield reserve list works out for DD or extra or clearing, and in the end she doesn't have to re-apply. But if she does, she will have grades in hand, she will know she can ace the BMAT and UCAT and will also have the experience of 4 interviews - plus could have another go at Cambridge maybe as she was so very close to an offer there this time round.

I'm so sorry though, I know it must feel so disappointing at the moment.

@SATSmadness - I am so sorry, it really could have been any of us, and my heart goes out to your DD and to you.

One thing though - you say:
She's in the frame of mind that even if she did re-apply, with her luck, due to likely repeated grade inflation, Uni's won't rank Y14 (TAGs) grades in hand as highly as predicted grades for the Y13s she'll be competing against in the autumn

I really don't think in reality that will be the case. It was pretty clear from this year's round (when originally it was thought it was CAGS from last year versus what were going to be exams this year), that once you get the interviews (and that process at least is transparent, and your DD should be able to ensure those given her skills), in the overwhelming majority of medical schools it seems clear it then comes down to rank at interview. So long as she gets the grades this year, it will then again be a matter of the interview - which of course is one of these one off performance things that is so dicey. I really would recommend the Discord server I posted above as a place to practice . DS said that in one of his practices, for example, he said something he thought was innocuous, and the person doing the interviewing said - "don't ever say that, it makes it sound like you have no empathy" - DS is in fact a very empathic person, but in the heat of the moment it is so easy to come across as someone who isn't, and having people working with you and picking that up and critiquing you (and then you working with them to do the same) it seems to me can be invaluable. DS used the book as well to help, and it was great, but the book won't tell him he comes across as arrogant or non empathatic, or wishy-washy, or whatever might get you marked down at interview. Having an significant supply of different human beings also trying to crack the system is much better for doing that and understanding exactly what your weaknesses are at interview.

@SATSmadness just another thought, it may be worth your DD (via TSR) asking for GANFYD's advice on Extra and Clearing and strategy for next year's process. She is so knowledgable and really gets just how tough this year has been.

Oh SATS I'm so sorry your dd is dealing with all this, plus a funeral and exams pending. I really do believe she will be a prime candidate to be snapped up through clearing. Don't give up just yet, it's a strange year and I think a lot of unis are holding back some offers for clearing.

I am so sorry to read your update @SATSmadness. Your daughter has amazing stats so hopefully Extra or clearing can come through for her. If not I do think grades in hand will be an advantage next year and she can try and get some additional work experience during the year to talk about at interview. Don't give up hope yet.

@SATSmadness St George's usually have places in clearing for students who were not already rejected by them this current application cycle. They normally put a huge emphasis on work experience in the selection process with automatic rejection of applicants who don't meet the work experience criteria regardless of how they perform at interview or their UCAT scores. They have relaxed the requirements this year because of COVID-19 but if your DD could get further work experience in the summer before clearing, it might put her in a stronger position.

Just FYI if anyone is about to firm and sort finance, I'm really impressed with SFE. 10 days from starting the application they've confirmed the amount she'll get. I was expecting it to be about 5 or 6 weeks. And we had to give info about our earnings too so not just the minimum maintenance loan to work out.👍

@MaddieElla if you do the application early every year (I never knew you had to do it every year 😂) it takes a few days to get the confirmation letters. Although they do seem to send the same letter out many many times each year. No clue why.

My financial circumstances are changing rather dramatically. For that reason, I am putting off the student finance application. I will also have to do googling on what to put when it's so drastically altered 😔

@Sunbelievable the details you put in for this year are last years figures (so from P60). It does let you give this years information if there is a massive difference - it says the amount on SLC page. Lots of Unis have bursaries for students whose parents may not be able to help. Hope all ok.

I was also surprised how quickly DD’s letter came through from student finance.

We did her application based on where we think she’s going to choose as her firm as you can change it later if need be. Just in case anyone thinks you have to wait until they have firmed before they apply.

Also on another note - the September BMAT has been cancelled again for 2021. I was quite surprised to see that but I guess they can’t leave it to chance and have to decide now.

It was actually quicker than I thought. We got the letter today but there was actually an online update in the SFE account on the 30th. So 3 days!

Yes I saw the BMAT was cancelled. I would have thought it would be pretty safe but its good they've actually been decisive, and early.

Yes agree @MaddieElla it’s better to know with enough time to make a plan isn’t it!

A lighthearted question to take the stress off a bit (maybe!), but is anyone else going to get their future medic a toy doctor kit? Or just me??

16 years after I thought I was through with plastic toys, I am searching for Fisher Price 😆😆😆