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.

It would be interesting to hear how the schools felt the waiting list approach worked. Whilst perhaps psychologically not as good for students - creating an 'only got in off the waiting list' feeling, I can see the attraction for the medical schools.

Was it St Georges which started offering 2023 entry? I can also see the attraction of that for both sides - the medical school bagsies someone they think will be a good student but they don't have space for - maybe a yr13 with less experience. They might get more offers next year and not pick SGUL. The student has a guaranteed place for the next year, doesn't have to apply again and can enjoy a full gap year.

@Unexpecteddrivinginstructor SGUL did that in earlier years too for Clearing applicants - some got deferred places which might be brought forwards.

I don't think students mind the "only got in off the waiting list" bit as much as they mind waiting, some hearing during A levels, some not until results day - it is REALLY stressful. Much nicer for the applicant to have a deferred place which will be brought forward if there is space.

Did many get in off the waiting lists this year? The thread wasn’t very active here so I sort of assumed not much happened. Curious to know….

We had 4 get in off the waiting lists, one on results day. And another going to York after results day interview. I really hope they don't do things the same as last year. Sending rejections the morning of an A level was pretty mean. We won't mention Kings - I'm still angry with them !!!!

Although dd wants to go straight from school, a deferred place would definitely be a next best option and I imagine over time would save the unis time in terms of interviewing people another year. It seems such a waste of effort and stress to put them through another ucat/bmat, more interviews, more waiting. Half the year is gone before they know. Dd probably would just work but others might be able to travel or do some work overseas.

Hmmm, Sheffield timeline says:

November 2022
Applicants who meet our Academic entry requirements (and, for A101 applicants, who also meet our Widening Participation requirements) whose UCAT score meets or exceeds these UCAT cut points will be invited to attend a Structured Online Panel-Based Interview.

But the next bit refers to MMIs.

DS does not know what he wants, but it is a bit of a pain if the ones where he has friends are on line and the ones which are a really long way away are F2F!

I have not had a reply from Sheffield, I think I emailed the Medicine dept instead of Admissions. Will ask the right person next week.

@Monkey2001 This was in the summer at open days, so it may well have changed. Or they may have seen that many others were still online and found it hard to justify the costings.

We went to Sheffield a couple of weeks ago and they said they hoped to be back to F2F MMIs. 8 stations plus SJT

Hopefully the website wasn't updated properly then, would be easy to miss updating the timeline.

Thank you that seems more reasonable. My DC turns 18 years old at the end of August 2023 so a gap year is something we are considering however, DC still wants to apply this year to experience it! UCAT score hopefully in the 8th or 9th percentile and doing BMAT also. It is a very stressful process for the parents! DC at Lancaster open day today. Steering towards smaller campus-based Universities. Sunderland looks interesting, all brand new facilities, friendly, can't decide on that one.

We are taking the same approach @TODAYISTHEDAYICLEAN. DD is a summer baby too and a gap year would be okay. That mindset takes the pressure off a bit. Hope the open day goes well today. We are doing the rounds this weekend as well.

We loved Leicester today! Confirmed as likely second choice. Think the course might be better than Sheffield, but better student life in Sheffield. Love the way they do their teaching in Y1/2 and the way they do concentrated placement's in Y3. @mumsneedwine do you know how affordable Leicester is? Accom with shared bathroom available from £2,800pa, they fund travel to placements and provide accommodation for all outside Leicester. Some people save money by not having accommodation and requesting "out" placements as @Needmoresleep said some do in Bristol.

@Monkey2001 Leicester is pretty cheap for student rent I believe. On a par with Notts. Has 'defined' student areas. Fab course and they sound very organised.

@Monkey2001 my DS also thinking of Leicester . Pleased you had a positive visit today . Did they confirm their interview / offers number ?

They confirmed that they would be interviewing around 1,000-1,100 and that if it worked out like 2019 (exams are supposed to back to 2019 stats) they would expect to make about 850 offers, but they will start cautiously. In the medicine talk they said they have moved up the league tables in recent years which might make their acceptance rate higher.

They quoted some very impressive stats:
National Student Satisfaction - 5th in UK and 2nd in England
3rd in country for their students getting first choice speciality training
Can't remember where they came on how prepared their students felt for F1, but was very high.

We spoke to a GP who teaches Leicester and Oxford students and said that the Leicester ones pick up the core skills on the job more quickly because of the amount of patient contact they have.

We had not realised that Leicester would be using QR again as a virtual MMI station (7 stations altogether). DS very happy as he got 850!

@mumsneedwine I phrased that badly - I was sharing with you how astonishingly cheap some Leicester accommodation is, not asking for info! It would be a great option for any of your students who are worried about costs, I have not seen anywhere with so much cheap accommodation - single room with washbasin for £70/wk, £2,800 pa is extraordinary, equivalent to an indexed version of what I paid as a student - le.ac.uk/study/accommodation/search/southmeade-court

Did they give any indication as to whether they expected their cut off to increase?

@Monkey2001 😂 it is very cheap. And they also have a fab bursary system (we do indeed send quite a few). And that is an insane QR score !!!!
So glad it looks like interviews will be back in person as it's so hard to shine over a screen.

@mumsneedwine interviews online at Leicester

@Africa2go they are expecting fewer applications this year because of the change in the way achieved applicants are asssessed. I should have asked how many Y13s they interviewed last year v previous years as that is what drives the cut off - the stats were very much distorted by their generous achieved grade policy last year. I can email to ask that, but with GCSE grade inflation for this lot, I would be surprised if it went down.

@Monkey2001 ah that's a shame. It's a great course and students seem to love the city.

@mumsneedwine maybe as on line interviews become normalised, they will improve in quality. It is certainly cheaper for students and medical schools and saves everyone a lot of time. Many GPs are sticking with e-consults so maybe it is a natural evolution. Leicester is proud to embrace technology, was the first medical school to give all students iPads and use technology enhanced learning.

@Monkey2001 I know it's easier and cheaper (not sure I like GP online I'm afraid), but from experience it's harder for students to show who they are through a screen. Some schools have employed coaches so their students come across as more confident and polished via Zoom. I may have sourced a rather well known YouTuber this year to come help mine, although I suspect this will end up being an hour of making fab TikToc videos. Helpful for St George's !!
We have many with no wifi at home so they have to do the interviews in a cupboard at school, where the wifi is also patchy during the school day. And our IT is old (although we have kept a few of the covid government ones for just this purpose) !! I always write to Unis now, explaining the situation of our students and the limitations of online for them, and they have been really understanding. But meet mine F2F and you'd be blown away by their enthusiasm, interests and life experiences. Doesn't always come across on a small screen.

Yes, I do understand that, and hope that universities realise that some people will get coaching, but that is also true for F2F interviews. However, even for people like us who can afford it, attending interviews at 4 medical schools, all of which would need an overnight stay if in the morning, would cost us over £500 in train fares and accommodation and take 4 full days out of school/work, which makes on line interviews seem worth working on to get it right. It would be interesting to see the stats on success rates of students from different types of schools.

True about time and money. My DD attended 6 open days, 4 interviews (including one involving a 9 hour drive in the worst snow in a century), but decided against offer holder days as had missed a lot of school already. It did cost a lot as most involved an overnight stay. I fell in love with Liverpool on these visits 😊.
Weirdly my students at school get it funded as Unis have lots of money to help WP. But for the majority of normal parents it adds up fast.
Not sure what the answer is really 😂.

Did interviewed at UEA December 21 and it was f2f then so will probably be so again this year.

Hi all, can you help advise the safest options where my daughter can get a chance for medicine interview? see her below stats, she’s not happy with her ucat, on top of AAB predictions(which we tried, but can’t be changed).

My DD after her UCAT score got a bit scared of the medicine application, she’s always coming back to it- initially she was not thinking of doing BMAT, now she’s considering if that can give her a chance. She’s just today now looking at picking KMMS or Sunderland (UCAT) and Lancaster(BMAT) for medicine while the rest of her 3 choices will be pharmacy. She said she really want medicine so only want to pick her shots but don’t want a gap year and would rather go for pharmacy if she didn’t get in.

GCSEs:
Biology: 8
Chemistry: 8
Physics: 8
English Literature: 8
English Language: 7
Mathematics: 8

History: 7
Economics: 7
French: 7
Drama: 7

A Level Predicted Grades:
Biology: B
Chemistry: A
English Literature: A

Work Experience:

Volunteered in a local pharmacy in the summer

Brighton and Sussex Med School Virtual Work Experience

As a member of staff for local Disability of arms, shoulder and hands(DASH) club

Volunteered as a netball coach for a local charity

Worked for and now qualified as an Assistant Netball Coach for all netball coaches under England Netball

Volunteered in local charities by distributing excess food from shops like Greggs to homeless shelters and various community centres

UCAT Score:
Total score: 2460
SJT: Band 2

No contextual or WP flags