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.

Regarding Exeter, I have a question regarding predicted A levels - on their table they require 3 A stars for the maximum points, my dd has 3 predicted A stars and a further predicted A, but this A is in chemistry. My question is do they use the best three predicted A levels, or must Chemistry be one of them, which would bump her score way down the table? I can't find the answer to this on their website so if anyone has any insights I'd be grateful!

Does anyone know the UCAT cut-off for Exeter with grades predicted last year, please?

@opoponax @buckleten the cut off seemed to be about 2800, but I'm guessing a bit. And they don't specify A star in Chemistry, but I'd be a bit dubious of them not taking it into account. They are not massively transparent about selection process.

However, I had a student get in on results day from the wait list so no one really knows about cut offs last year. It was a weird one !

@mumsneedwine her ucat was over 3000 so ok on that front, it's just the uncertainty- she really liked Exeter!

2800 would count my DD out of Exeter probably as her UCAT score was 2760. So probably needs to decide between Plymouth and ARU. Can’t wait for the final choice decision to be made and the send button pressed on the application!

Hadn’t thought of that! Will look into placement locations. DD’s favourite place has been BSMS so perhaps a newer medical school like ARU would suit her. Thank you @mumsneedwine

Thanks very much @mumsneedwine. DD has still to sit her UCAT and I am just quietly gathering stats in the background so the info is to hand when she needs it.

Does anyone know, from their DC's experience, if one of the UCAT official mocks is a lot trickier than the rest? I think it was Mock A where DD scored quite a bit lower than all her others and she is a little bit jittery about it.

@opoponax yes, my dd thought mock by far the worst, and it was a worse score than any of her medify ones, even the first! And mock D was the best..

Thank you so much @buckleten. That's really reassuring. Exactly the same here and it kind of her threw her as it was so off all of her other scores.

@opoponax if it helps my dd did better in the real thing than in any of the mocks, but she said that mock D was the most similar and that the real thing was slightly easier than mock D.. best of luck!

Hi @justjuggling my son is starting first year this week at ARU, he is very excited about it. I don't know much about it yet but I can report back more in the coming weeks if you are interested?

Yes please @CharlieSJ, that would be fantastic! Can I ask what tipped the balance for that to be one of his choices? And a huge good luck to your son, am sure he’ll have a great time!

Hi @justjuggling he (we) just tried to apply as strategically as possible. This time last year when he was filling in UCAS he was predicted three A stars, had a UCAT of 2740, and his GCSE’s were one 7 and the rest were 8’s and 9’s, so quite similar to your daughter in terms of UCAT and predictions. My son applied to Exeter, Southampton, SGUL and ARU. We thought that he was more likely to get a interview at these rather than other universities. He (only) got two interviews (SGUL and ARU) and one offer (and as everyone says, you only need one offer…)
Looking back, we shouldn’t have applied to Exeter, as last year (for 2022 entry) they used a cut off UCAT score whereas before they offered interviews based on predicted A level scores. Let me know if you have any other questions. Has your daughter decided which UCAT universities she will apply to yet?

The two situations seem very similar, yes! And the (only) need one offer is great advice and important to keep in mind.

My DD loved BSMS so fingers crossed for the BMAT. She’s determined to apply for Cambridge too which I think is a waste of time but she cannot be budged.

The UCAT options have been narrowed down to UEA, ARU and Plymouth. We’re off to the UEA open day next Saturday but I think the ARU and Plymouth days are both 1st October, need to check.

It’s probably better to pick options with different interview processes I guess?

Thank you very much for the UCAT reassurance @buckleten. It's done now and it went brilliantly. Relief all round!

Could I ask another quick question please? I am reading the very helpful google doc "a guide to the medicine application process" linked on here. In it, is says not to put in a 5th, non medicine choice, however tempting. Does anyone know why this is? I thought the unis couldn't see what else is on a UCAS form so why does it matter if there is a 5th choice or not?

Leaving it blank follows the approach of considering application for medicine as a two-year process and not looking at a fallback option, should it not work out first time round. Also, you can't apply for medicine clearing if you are holding an offer for any course even if not medicine, so in the event of any med schools going into clearing you would have to reject the fifth choice offer to be eligible. Bio-med is a popular fifth option for medicine applicants and some candidates think that they might accept that if they don't get a medicine offer and try to switch over. This really doesn't make sense as there is extremely limited opportunity to switch to medicine (maybe one or two places a year). Also, once you do another degree then you are going to be in the realms of applying for post-grad medicine which is much more competitive than undergrad and you also have second degree funding to think about. So, unless you really think that you would take up your fifth choice offer in the event of being unsuccessful with medicine, best to just leave it blank.
The only other reason to put a fifth choice would be to get an offer alongside your non-med friends as these medicine offers can take a long time to come through. My DS actually did this but he said the offer didn't really mean much as he only wanted to do medicine. Also, if you have a change of heart and decide not to go for medicine a second time round and you haven't put a fifth option, bio-med places tend come up in clearing.

Well done to your dc @opoponax . Glad that it went well for them.

Another question on Exeter please. DD is keen to leverage her UCAT as much as possible and that will affect where she applies. Just reading through the latest selection information for Exeter, it seems that your absolute UCAT mark doesn't matter for interview selection, just that you are in top 10%. However, it seems to read that once interviews are complete and if panel deem you worthy of a place, the UCAT ranking comes into play again. Is that correct or am I reading it wrongly? They say they will interview 650. Does anyone know how many places they have?

@opoponax they have about 240 places if I remember right. They seem to use the UCAT to shortlist those 3 A star candidates and then use it somehow again after interview (but it's not as simple as just the UCAT rank).

Thank you @mumsneedwine. She has 3 A star predictions (Maths, Chem and Biology), UCAT approx 3200 (I'm not allowed to post exact score!) Band 1 SJT. It looks like it could be a good fit for her stats.

@opoponax I very rarely say this, but I think she'll be fine 😊. Can choose pretty much anywhere with those stats. Well done !!

Well done @opoponax DD, great score! Did she beat her brother? Do they care?

Exeter has 208 Home places for 2022 and I expect 2023 will be the same - www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/funding-for-providers/health-education-funding/medical-and-dental-target-intakes/

The only one where the actual UCAT score seems to help, rather than the band it hits, is UEA where offers are based on 50% interview performance and 50% UCAT. That would be the safest option for your DD as SJT is also a virtual interview station, so she could really bomb some interview stations!

The only ones where she might not get an interview are Cardiff and KMMS because nobody understands how they work!

I think DS2 will be applying to Sheffield, Newcastle, Leicester and UEA, assuming the UCAT goes well - his lowest mock was fine for all of them, but you don't know until it is done! I was looking at some offer/interview ratios today and had forgotten that Leicester had gone down to 25% for 2022 entry. I think that is just down to misjudging the criteria for shortlisting for applicants with achieved grades, they have radically re-adjusted!