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Medicine 2023 Entry

1000 replies

opoponax · 21/01/2022 19:05

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
Monkey2001 · 09/09/2022 15:17

@BungledBundle has she tried a BMAT paper? It is nothing like the UCAT, much more like GCSEs. I don't know how Leeds assesses Scottish applicants, but Lancaster cut off is usually pretty low.

I would not want to pay £37k of fees in your position, so would go for a gap year!

BungledBundle · 09/09/2022 15:36

Thanks, @Monkey2001 no I don't think she has sat down and done a proper bmat paper. I think she went from being keen to do it to prove something, to being frightened of it. I think the ucat knocked her confidence. Very good point about the fees tho!

Monkey2001 · 09/09/2022 15:43

@BungledBundle she should do a paper and see how she gets on. It really is nothing like UCAT, most find the Biology and Chemistry fine, Maths easy if they are good at Maths, Physics takes a little work. The essay is straight forward - most get 3A, which is fine.

opoponax · 09/09/2022 16:21

@BungledBundle when my DS applied to med school 2 years ago, a couple of his really clever friends had disappointing UCATs and went on to do great BMATs. The two results were miles apart. One of those friends is at Cambridge now. It's just a strange test that doesn't suit everyone. Monkey's comment on the £37 k fees of the BMAT route for a Scottish DC is more of the issue. You could have an amazing gap year on a fraction of that.

OP posts:
BungledBundle · 09/09/2022 19:40

Thanks, @opoponax , that's encouraging and I'll show your post to DD. The fee difference is a huge thing though, I agree.

mumsneedwine · 09/09/2022 20:31

Had a student last year with UCAT of 2420. Now starting Cambridge. Smashed the BMAT.

Absolutechaos · 10/09/2022 13:14

I'm hoping for a steer with med school applications. Stats are:

GCSE: grade 8 x 5 (eng lit, eng Lang, physics, maths, history) and grade 7 x 5 (biology, chemistry, Spanish, computing, food tech).

A level predicted: A star (biology), A (chem), A (history). EPQ A (achieved). No contextual points.

Ucat: 2920 but band 3 SJT.

We need to find unis which don't weight GCSEs heavily and which accept lower SJT!

mumsneedwine · 10/09/2022 13:29

@Absolutechaos loads of choices with that UCAT. Newcastle, Bristol both close but would normally be OK. Sheffield (would lose marks at interview for SJT though), Southampton, UEA, Exeter, should be nice and 'safe'.

The lovely spreadsheet is attached for you to look at. Lots of options

Medicine 2023 Entry
mumsneedwine · 10/09/2022 13:29

@Absolutechaos sorry, not Exeter! Need 3 A star predictions weirdly.

Absolutechaos · 10/09/2022 13:35

Many thanks @mumsneedwine. You have been a huge help.

Monkey2001 · 10/09/2022 15:06

DS did UCAT this morning and smashed it (phew!), so he will be applying to Sheffield, Newcastle, Leicester (provided he likes the open day next week) and UEA.

I have to admit I was a bit worried as he only did 10 days of prep (around work) and 6 mocks, but the prep he did last year must have stood him in good stead. He used Medentry instead of Medify this year and thought that they were broadly equivalent. Medify better for DM, Medentry better for AR and SJT, Medify PC platform more reliable, but for him the phone version which he got alongside the PC version made Medentry a better choice.

mumsneedwine · 10/09/2022 15:17

@Monkey2001 😊😊😊😊😊🥰🥰 so pleased for him.

mumsneedwine · 10/09/2022 15:17

Anyone at Notts today please say hi to the medical students for me. One is mine 😊

opoponax · 10/09/2022 15:26

Great news @Monkey2001

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Lottsbiffandsmudge · 10/09/2022 21:56

Great news @Monkey2001
Went to Sheffield Open day today and DS loved it (as did I but its my old uni so that was a given!).
Selection for interview entirely on UCAT (as long as 3 As predicted) and top c 1000 applicants offered interview with 9 MMI stations marked out of 5 with SJT one of stations. Offers made on ranking of interview scores only. No ucat involved once at interview stage.
They don't read the PS at any point in the process!!
Last year's UCAT cut off was 2780 for interview.
C 600 offers made.

justjuggling · 10/09/2022 23:09

Great news @Monkey2001 !

We visited UEA today which I really liked but DD wasn’t so keen. Now trying to decide whether to visit Plymouth or ARU on 1st October.

Africa2go · 10/09/2022 23:52

Did Notts and UEA today! Decisions, decisions!

Thethingswedoforlove · 10/09/2022 23:52

@Monkey2001 sooo pleased 🤩🎉

Monkey2001 · 11/09/2022 00:24

Africa2go · 10/09/2022 23:52

Did Notts and UEA today! Decisions, decisions!

That must have been quite a day doing both!

It makes it easier for us that DS isn't doing Biology, doesn't want London or Scotland and doesn't want to do BMAT. Only about 8 options left after that.

Thanks for the congrats 😁Now have to move on to open days and the UCAS application. We did not any open days last term because we hoped he might get a Newcastle offer last year. However, all good now and I think he prefers Sheffield to Newcastle, so it is a good thing to be doing another round. @justjuggling UEA is very much a third choice for DS, but with a very high UCAT and Band 1 it is a safety net choice. The course looks very good, but I don't know whether he would love living in Norwich.

Monkey2001 · 11/09/2022 00:25

Fourth choice, not third. Time for bed!

justjuggling · 11/09/2022 01:04

Africa2go · 10/09/2022 23:52

Did Notts and UEA today! Decisions, decisions!

Wow! That must have been a full on day!

Needmoresleep · 11/09/2022 09:08

I have written this before, often to objections from those who believe a doctor is a doctor is a doctor, but it can be useful to look at a medical school's intercalation policy. Or the intercalation options at those places that only allow internal intercalations. DD was lucky in that Bristol allow external intercalation. Not all do, and some that do limit it to those coming within the top 10% of the year.

(You usually have to study very hard indeed to come towards the top of the year, and there is a personal decision to be made about whether to do this, given you will be working very hard as a Junior Doctor and then on through further training etc. Indeed one piece of advice DD was given by a high flying Doctor in a London teaching hospital was not to repeat his mistake and work too hard whilst at University. There was plenty of time to do that later.)

This has meant she was able to take an intercalation degree in a leading research centre in an area that is of particular interest to her, and is now spending her 2 month elective as a graduate research assistant in the same place. She is loving it, will probably get her name on a research paper, and has already had the chance to meet and talk to some of the very top people in the field. Who knows what she will get in the F1/F2 lottery or what she will want to do in three years time, but if she does well the door should be open for a research orientated "F3" and hopefully a strong CV when she comes to apply for further training.

A friend's DC equally was able to make her way into an interesting career via an intercalation at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

mumsneedwine · 11/09/2022 09:49

@Needmoresleep I know your DD has gained valuable skills through intercalating. But I'm afraid it's a bit of a preserve of the rich these days. Finding an extra years funding is not possible for most people.
If you can't afford an extra year then Notts and Southampton both offer research opportunities during their 5 year course and you get a BMedSci degree as well.
I'm sure that extra year can be a great thing and may open some doors after F2.

But it's an expense lots can't afford.

Needmoresleep · 11/09/2022 10:07

Mumsneedwine. You say this, however the final years when medical students are on placement can be very cheap indeed. (Again perhaps something to look for when applying.) No accommodation costs if they are living in placement accommodation, no fees, a lot of cooking together and less going out as they are studying for finals on top of spending all day in hospital. We let our DD have the summer off, but many of her friends worked as HCAs and will be able to balance their books.

One additional saving is that she is paying nothing for her elective. Your DD will know some who are paying £££ to spend two months abroad.

Graduate medicine students manage their whole five years, and according to DD, despite them often having to balance work and study tend to do better.

I also don't know whether University bursaries continue. I do know that Bristol prioritises the less well off for "out-placements" precisely to help with costs.

Yes it is an extra year, but there is always something. Lots of charities around like City Guilds will grant money for young people who need funding to achieve ambitions.

The message that you can't do something because "you are poor" is a sad one. Yes money helps, but overcoming adversity is also a useful skill to gain. Plenty of less well off students do seem to find a way to find the money. My message, and I predicted the blowback, was that ambitious students who have a clear interest in a specialisation, might like to look at intercalation opportunities when deciding where to apply.

mumsneedwine · 11/09/2022 10:39

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