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.

@Monkey2001 , thanks for this. I will confirm tonight but I think UCAS for medicine has to be in early September up here (9th rings a bell) so we wouldn't have time to do the FOI requests, I don't think? I will definitely trawl the student room though.

@BungledBundle I think the dates are the same countrywide for UCAS. So opens Sept 7th but deadline not until October 15th. School might want it in earlier though.
To be honest I still doubt you'd get an FOI back in time. So maybe apply to places you think you've got a chance - none of us know what the final cut offs will be. Only certainty is if you don't apply you won't get in.

Thought I'd better check ! This is from Edinburgh Uni website. Hope it helps.

Thanks very much, @mumsneedwine , honestly, I am slightly in despair at my DD and now thinking I have to double check everything she tells me. She may be good academically but beginning to think her organisational skills are sadly lacking...

@BungledBundle I think she probably means when she has to give it in at school as @mumsneedwine says - my DD has to give hers in the first day back in Yr 13.

@BungledBundle they will want to check the PS, qualifications etc. You can put it in with just 1 choice and change the choices in the first 2 weeks up to 15th October if it goes in early.

Lots of FOIs come back in 28 days, as I said, you just need to get the words exactly right so that they can't mis-interpret what you want, leading to a second round of 28 day correspondence. It is like playing Happy Families - you need to ask the right person for the right information!

Well, turns out that I was worrying about dd's lack of practice for nothing as she did really well today and much better than any of her mock exams - 3080! And a Band 2 in SJT, for the first time ever - in the practice exams, it was always a band 1 or a band 3!

Very happy for her, as it means that she will be able to apply to the two UCAT places that she wanted to go for. She is still dead set on doing BMAT as well, so will just have to see how that goes.

I have been so encouraged by all of the lovely support and solidarity on here, and I really hope that all of the dc who are yet to do their UCAT exam will do brilliantly as well. Please do assure them that mediocre scores in practice tests don't necessarily mean that they will do badly in the real thing - dd said that what helped her today was getting into a positive mindset and believing that she was going to come out with a score of 3000 even though she hadn't ever done that in the mocks!

Thats a fabulous score, well done to her

That's an amazing score Another!

That's great news @Anothernamechangeplease. Celebrations tonight! It's also reassuring to hear of someone doing better in the actual than in the mocks.

Wow, @Anothernamechangeplease , that's fantastic! Well done to your DD. Celebrations tonight!

And thanks again, everyone for the info re deadlines/school. I am probably being too harsh on my DD .

She was way off that score in the mocks she did earlier this week - literally nowhere near. Yesterday was much stronger but she seems to have peaked at exactly the right time!

I do have to question the whole process though. I'm far from convinced that such an arbitrary test is actually a good way of selecting those who have the potential to be good doctors. They must lose so many brilliant students along the way.

Woo hoo @Anothernamechangeplease , well done her! I agree that there is a random element, but that mental state is absolutely critical.

I think the UCAT definitely suits some DC much better than others @Anothernamechangeplease. DS got 3200+ in the first mock he did without any practice other than a quick familiarisation of the types of questions and then said his scores actually dipped with practice although they did go up again at the end. He has a very clever friend now doing Cambridge med who didn't do well at all in the UCAT. It is definitely a weird one.

@Anothernamechangeplease that is a great score and should mean she can take the risk with BMAT knowing she should get interviews for UCAT.

@Monkey2001 🤞 for your ds for results day and anyone else getting results tomorrow.

@Anothernamechangeplease fantastic score. I would suggest 3 UCAT Unis as she will be guaranteed interviews. 1 BMAT if she loves it. But she can get 4 definite interviews if she wants so why risk it. Well done.

@Anothernamechangeplease that is such ab amazing score. I was thinking of your dd today. Thank you for coming back and sharing. I can’t imagine how relieved yoh must be. Two more weeks of prep and stress here.

Has anyone heard of band 1 SJs this year? It seems to be different and a lot of people who have been getting band 1 consistently aren’t getting it.

@Thethingswedoforlove my DD got Band 1 but a lower score than @Anothernamechangeplease's DD. There are quite a few people reporting Band 1s on the Student Room. Interestingly, most of the people reporting top scores in the 3000s are not getting Band 1s. Perhaps a slightly different mindset, I don't know.

@Africa2go well done to your dd! Thanks for the update. I find tsr a bit overwhelming but should head on back over there….

Thank you so much for the lovely comments, and yes, I'm really relieved. Was so worried earlier in the week that she would regret not doing more practice.

@Africa2go , well done to your dc on the SJT.👏And good luck to @Thethingswedoforlove 's dc in a couple of weeks! DD only really started preparing properly a week ago, so there is still everything to play for!!

@mumsneedwine , I did ask if she might want to apply for 3 ucat unis and just one BMAT, but she is adamant that she wants to stick to her top choices. She spent absolutely ages looking at different universities and going round tons of open days, and after all of her research, she ended up with totally different choices from the ones that she originally thought that she would go for, but I think she is now just really emotionally invested in the ones that she chose. She does understand that it's risky, and it will obviously be a more stressful route, but she is prepared to take a gamble on herself and happy to take a gap year if it doesn't work out. What will be will be, I suppose!!

UCAT is a rubbish experience for some, and not scoring highly does not mean somebody will not do well at med school.
I agree that this needs to be seen as a 2 year process, and what your DD has learned over the last couple of years will stand her in good stead if she can get to an interview.
In terms of applications this year, depends if she is happy to move outside Scotland? If so, QUB have certainly given full academic marks for AAAAA at Higher in past years, so 36 plus 3 for UCAT is 39, which should be OK. As stated, look at Keele and Sunderland and their R&R form
www.keele.ac.uk/media/k-web/k-study/coursepages/undergraduate/R&R%20Guidance%20Notes.pdf
She may also have a possible shot at Aberdeen, as although their lowest UCAT was higher than this last year, it has been around that level and lower in previous years.
If it were me, I would be advising a speculative application this year, to QUB, Aberdeen, Keele and Sunderland if material for R&R or one of the other lower scoring UCAT unis (UEA, Plymouth, ARU, Liverpool), or see how Aston would treat her grades, as academics are 75% of their pre-interview scoring and UCAT only 25%, but I would not expect great tings for it, and use it as a prectice run for next year. Otherwise, if she feels up to it, sit BMAT and look at Leeds or Lancaster.
I don't think any of them will fuss about her year at a Conservatoire, as long as she was not asked to leave for failing exams, and certainly QUB do not suggest it is a dealbreaker (though 2023 entry info not out yet).
Good luck - happy to discuss anything, if it helps

TSR is frustrating to use, but feel free to PM, if you would rather

Thank you @GANFYD and thank you @Anothernamechangeplease

DD is taking a gap year due to no offers last cycle. We are a FSM family, will that still be a contextual flag for next cycle (even though she isn't going to be at school) and if so how will they know?

I'd ask her school/college reference to make sure it was mentioned.