Medicine 2023 Entry - Part 2

[opoponax]

Anyone out there with DC applying or reapplying for Medicine 2023, please join a friendly thread for mutual support and useful advice.

Congrats on the interview @GoldieRetrieversRule1 . And so it all begins...

Congratulations to @GoldieRetrieversRule1's dd!

DD's school have moved Y13 mocks that are traditionally at end of Feb to January. Not giving subject exam dates and just blocking out two and a half weeks for them. DD is taking the view that the interviews are more important so she will try to avoid these weeks if she can but if she can't she will just book anyway. I'm not too worried if she has to miss a mock as she is consistently hitting A stars in all her subjects but in the event that she had an off day in the A Level day @Monkey2001 @mumsneedwine, would it be a big issue if she has missed the mock?Most of her interviews will be F2F so more time out needed too.

@HAMROGUE I believe the BMAT result will come out in the next 2 weeks - on 25th.

@GoldieRetrieversRule1 Thanks x

@opoponax It is what it is! I think the high UCATs often get invited first, so she may manage to get all her interviews in December. Most allow you to choose dates now (for the 2019 start they were given dates and if you got 2 the same day some would not change them!) so I would ask the school when they expect to know the exam timetable and explain that you want to plan interviews around exams if possible. In truth, as she is a diligent student, I expect that they will just let her do the exam at a different time, but my feeling is that for these DC who did not do real GCSEs, any exams in a proper exam hall are more important than they might have been in the past.

I am expecting interview invitations to come out in bulk next week so definitely worth having dates in mind. In the past, if you delay a bit (being careful about deadlines), the later dates were released when the early slots were filled at some places. For us:
UEA gave dates last year, so I don't think we get a choice, but expecting it might be an interview 25/11 as high UCATs were done on first day last year.
Sheffield have given their dates and he will choose 5/12 if he can.

Newcastle have indicated they will be interviewing between December and Feb, and he wants January.
Leicester is on line, so will just try to choose a time he is not working or at school.

BMAT results are so late this year! I hope the medical schools get them earlier as Oxbridge interviews are usually the first 2 weeks of December.

@opoponax school should let her sit the mocks at a different time if she has an interview clash. And they don't matter at all ! If an A level goes badly on the real day nothing can be changed about it. Even if we have another pandemic (🤢) I can't see mocks being used (they never were the only thing grades counted on).
This part is the toughest. Some will get early interviews but most will be waiting a while yet. And they'll go out in all sorts if random order by most Unis.
Fantastic news they are starting nice an early this year though. Hopefully all done by Spring.

5th choice offer today which has helped the wait for interview news - so hard when all their friends are getring offers and they hear nothing!

Yes @Africa2go it is so hard for the medics - you can see it as a way of developing their resilience which will be so crucial in an NHS career!

Congratulations @GoldieRetrieversRule1 for the interview invite.
@Africa2go Congratulations for the fifth choice offer.
For my daughter, we are still waiting. No 5th choice offer either as yet.
Do Unis get BMAT result earlier than candidates or at the same time?

At the risk of straying into Style and Beauty territory, what are yours planning to wear to interviews? Current sixth form dress code is fairly casual and mainly short. Would a full suit be too much? Matching top and bottom? Will they need suits later? Scrubs is one of the main attractions for dd and not needing to think about what she wears so we are a little lost!

Thanks both. DD texted to say she has spoken to her teachers have been lovely and said not to worry, they will reschedule her mocks if they clash and that the mocks are only for practice anyway.

@Unexpecteddrivinginstructor full suit is not common. For girls it's a smart jumper or jacket and non revealing top. Trousers or skirt both ok. Boys, smart trousers, shirt or polo shirt and optional jacket. They are not being judged on their outfit as long as it looks suitable for the GP (think how they dress). Although I have had them turn up in black jeans and a t shirt and still get an offer.
Most hospitals wear scrubs but some wards do wear smart wear. Short sleeves only !

Great thank you @mumsneedwine , just need to wait for interviews to come in 🤞.

@Unexpecteddrivinginstructor - The key message about dress for interviews is that the interviewers should not remember you for what you were wearing: they should remember you for what you said/did. When we did face-to-face interviews I would invariably get complaints from interviewers about at least one candidate's clothing each year: always female, usually wearing an excessively short skirt. Some medical schools don't issue scrubs in year 1 because there aren't enough placements to justify them, so these will expect smart bare-below-the-elbow clothing for the small number of year-1 placements, but also for skills sessions with simulated patients. Students are also likely to have to give presentations on in-course assignments and would usually dress smartly for these.

Re interviews and mock exams, DfE guidance to schools is that they need to collect assessment data at every opportunity. Nobody is expecting schools to have to close this academic year, at least not near exam time when heating should be less of an issue, but DfE was so severely burned by the fiascos in 2020 and 2021 that it won't take any chances on being totally unprepared again. So anyone awaiting interviews should make sure the school knows when they might happen in case there need to be contingency sittings for mocks.

@mumsneedwine if the students wear a suit for school would it be a problem to use that to wear to an interview (saves buying something new) ?

I’m thinking for dd in particular

@mumsneedwine it may vary a bit, DS1 said that back in 2018 and 2019 most boys wore suits, although girls are more flexible, I think it was smart sixth form look, so I think polo shirts might feel a bit casual, and for DS1 he would have felt uncomfortable if he judged himself to be more casual than most. Oxbridge really don't care!

Sheffield says
We do not set a dress code for the interviews but of course your appearance at interview is important. You should dress appropriately and in a professional manner. The conduct of applicants is assessed from the moment that they log in for their interviews.

I have bought DS2 a new blazer, so he will wear formal trousers and shirt and tie. I am not buying him a suit as he spends so much time in the gym that he goes up a couple of sizes a year!

Just wondering, if the DCs are given options of interview dates, is there any advantage to picking earlier interview dates? Apart from getting some out of the way early (mum logic) versus less time to prepare (DD logic)… Do they complete all the interviews before they start making offers?

It’s complicated to think about choosing dates under pressure as we have to book flights/ferries, then trains etc.

Thanks so much🙏

@Peachy2005 most will make all offers at the same time, others will have a rolling programme before interviews finish, others a rolling programme after interviews finish (actually a lot will probably do that through a waiting list). I think waiting for the interview outcome is worse than waiting for the interview, so would go later, but different things will suit different people. I would have thought that if you were organising complex travel you would want a to be able to book reasonably well in advance.

My students don't own suits so they go to Asda and get a shirt and some trousers. Our 6th form is anything goes !
My own DD wore black trousers, a blouse thing and a black cardie. Of her male friends, a few wore ties but most didn't. I think a lot of students who wear suits for 6th form wear those. But otherwise it's smart, office clothes (which these days are pretty casual). For placements it's professional and clean. So no boobs, bums and clean

@Thethingswedoforlove I think school suit would be fine.

And one of mine last year rocked up in a pink polo shirt and black jeans. And trainers ! Got 3 offers. I think med schools realise not everyone can afford a suit, especially this year !

Thanks @mumsneedwine hoping she gets at least one!

Tried some blazers on today but think it would take time to get used to, she has never worn a blazer, lower school is just jumpers. Sixth form is essentially just no jeans. Reassuring that it isn't too important, she just doesn't want to be massively under dressed if everyone else is in suits.