Medicine 2023 Entry

[opoponax]

Hi all,

I don't think there is a Medicine 2023 Entry thread yet, so it might be an idea to get one started.

Anyone out there with DC applying or reapplying for Medicine 2023, please join a friendly thread for mutual support and useful advice from those who understand the UK Medical School application process.

Not sure who mentioned about 4th A level being completely disregarded. During the medicine talk at the open day at Manchester, they stated that they do look at a 4th A level as being beneficial.

@Niceperson there are a few places which quite like a 4th A level, but only at Barts, Manchester and QUB can it have an affect on whether they get an interview. If your UCAT is below the cut off, but application very impressive (possibly including extra A levels) it is possible to get an interview through the holistic route at Manchester. QUB like 3 A levels and an AS, Barts score UCAS points, so 4 is worth more.

It is still considered risky to do 4 for little advantage as medics have a lot of work to do the application, UCAT, BMAT, interviews and if you get AABB, you are unlikely to get in. I knew someone who got AABB and ended up doing Biomed. If she had done 3 she would probably have got AAA+.

@Monkey2001 I saw on the other thread someone was saying that Keele were increasing offers to A star, A, A for next cycle, so same as Oxford is currently. Do you think this is a one-off or do you think there will be a general shift towards that next cycle? We're not worried about the predicted grades angle as DD has all A stars but it does put extra pressure on come A Levels, particularly if a specific subject is specified as the A star. I'd say her predictions are realistic of what she should hit but anyone can have an off day in an exam.

@opoponax I don't think most Unis will change the required grades from AAA. The ones that do will be those outliers that don't just use UCAT, but use other criteria (my guess !). The 4th A level is a a bit of a mystery as they say one thing, but we've got lots into those Unis and none had 4 A levels - even the non contextual.
As Monkey says, getting AAA is soooo important.

Thank you @mumsneedwine. I'm drilling into DD not to get any fixed ideas about applying to any particular ones until she had done the UCAT. It seems that it gets more important each year. I agree with you about the mystery of the 4th A Level. DS got an offer from Manchester last year with 3 A Levels and non contextual. The EPQ seemed more useful as that got him a reduced offer from Sheffield. DD is also doing just 3 plus EPQ too, although she kind of wanted to do further maths but not at the risk of jeopardising her other A Level grades.

@opoponax It seems a bit of a muddle to me if they raise the grade requirements after the years of grade inflation! Maybe they want flexibility to require gap year applicants with inflated grades to meet A*AA.

I think medical schools are looking for the top 20% or so of the cohort. This report shows that in 2019 17.9% of exam takers got AAA+, but in 2021 31.5% got A*AA (37.1% got AAA+). There will be a lot of reapplicants in 2023, so the people who would have got AAA in 2019 would probably have got at least 1 A star in 2021 or 2022. I expect Keele get a lot of gap year applicants as they value work experience.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-results-a-levels-and-gcses-summer-2021/summer-2021-results-analysis-and-quality-assurance-a-level-and-gcse#analyses-of-a-level-results

Mumsnet has lost my star! 31.5% got A star A A in 2021. I expect that over 20% will get those results in 2022, making A*AA in 2022 slightly more common than AAA in 2019.

Thank you @Monkey2001. That would make some sense. I knew Keele was generally popular but hadn't realised just how popular this year.

Hi @opoponax yes she’s loving it! Time flies doesn’t it - I hope DS is having an amazing time at Newcastle too. Can’t believe you’re starting this all again with DD!

Time certainly does fly @LaLaFlottes. Yes, DS is still loving Newcastle. I can't believe I'm starting all this again with DD either. It's feeling a bit like Groundhog Day already!

Hi All,

It seems like my DS s application may lack the element of research without an EPQ and I am not sure if EPQ is right for him due to the workload. How else can he bridge this gap and how important is it you think ? Thank you, hope you all have a nice week.

The couple of open days we have been on all highlighted Psychology A level as a plus because of the research element. Not sure if this helps.

The couple of open days we have been on all highlighted Psychology A level as a plus because of the research element. Not sure if this helps.

The most important thing by far is that they get AAA (unless they are eligible for WP). Next most important is a good UCAT. Both of these matter far more than research experience.

Doing an EPQ will give them great skills for doing a dissertation but only makes a tangible difference to your chances at Sheffield and HYMS, where an A/A* at EPQ will get an AAB offer or Manchester (on holistic route), Barts (for extra UCAS points), QUB.

@Monkey2001 thank you. Very much appreciated.

@Niceperson thank you for this suggestion. Yes psychology is very relevant. It would be good if he took Psychology instead of Maths in year 12 since he is very interested in this subject but we are late to consider it now.

@Cratos he doesn't need any research. Monkey is right (as always) and AAA predictions an a good UCAT get those interviews.

@mumsneedwine thanks for your message. 🙏🏼
What is the best way to prepare for UCAT ? Any good resources you can recommend? I think we can use Medify.

@Cratos Medify and use the practice papers on UCAT website. The 1001 UCAT questions book is also helpful to understand the patterns and how to answer quickly. Speed is the tricky part. 4-6 weeks practice seems to be about right.

@mumsneedwine thanks so much.

@PritiPatelsMaker re cutoff. They may not even have this year's score as they might be taking a few more for interview. I know that one (big city Russell group) university is going down the list for another 40 students very late in the day

@wijjjy several Unis doing it. It's nuts this year

@wijjjy do you mean they are sending more offers now to the students who didn't get any offers?

@Cratos , like other med schools, they are still running a waiting list and they may still be making offers for this coming year right up to results day. So if they end up doing more interviews, in effect they don't know what their UCAT cut off is this year yet as it is all still moving.

And they are using Extra to give previously rejected candidates offers. It's so chaotic as kids should all be able to apply via Extra, not just previously interviewed ones, but this year continues to be awful.