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.

@mumsneedwine that is what I linked - spot the old hands!

@Monkey2001 😊 missed your link.
I am going to sleep this weekend as all UCAS submitted and nothing more I can do for my lot now. Someone else gets to check it all and add references (that I wrote) and predicted grades.
Now for the long wait. Oh and BMAT day, which I hope goes better than the last 2 years. What can they possibly mess up with a pen and paper 🫣

@mumsneedwine well, they might lose some!! Definitely fairer going back to pen and paper, as long as exam centres are all fair and we have to show some trust.

Thank you, have ordered the book and will go with the diy plan we have. I don't think the places she is applying for will want really polished answers. I think they are looking for genuine. At least I hope they are because that is why she chose them! Enjoy your well earned weekend @mumsneedwine 🍷.

@Monkey2001 oh yes, the lost papers (we had 3 A level and 2 GCSE papers lost be exam boards this year - just how ?).
I'd hope every centre would run them like all external exams, and honestly I'd be no help anyway 😂

My son has submitted his application now and I just wanted to thank you for all the advice on here . I've only posted a few times but I read it everyday . Fingers crossed for a positive outcome for everyone applying .

@Hopeful646 now relax (or at least try). Nothing will happen until late November at the earliest. Most will be waiting until the new year.

@mumsneedwine fhat is a really helpful timeline. Thank you. Many med schools seem to say interviews are in December so to know it’s unlikely to happen this side of Christmas is really useful. Though it would be better to get them out of the way before mocks but that’s just another part of the pressure they have to handle I guess!

Thank you so much for generously sharing your expertise. Very much appreciated. Good luck to everybody with the whole process. We will hopefully finalize the application this weekend and submit it to school on Monday.
We are still a little indecisive about schools since we have not managed to visit them all. We are looking for medium to large vibrant cities and a more hands on practical course.

Thank you @mumsneedwine and I hope you get a rest this weekend.

DD has taken herself up to Newcastle for their open day today. She just called and said they confirmed that for A100 they said they will interview approx. 1,000 for 450 offers. I thought that seemed quite low but I guess it's quite close to Bristol's 'If you get an interview, you have a 40% chance of an offer' comment at their open day. When DS applied to both 2 years ago, I think the ratio was around 50% for Bristol and >60% for Newcastle.

Just to chip in re interview prep, DS didn't do a course as he thought it could make him too rehearsed. He just used the green interview book and did a few practice interviews with teachers and non-medic family friends. He said he was thinking about questions a lot at the time but I remember being quietly concerned that maybe he hadn't done enough 'out loud' prep but left him to it. Re timing, I think he started structured prep when he got his first interview offer although he would say that he had been thinking about content that might come up before then.

@Cratos, has your DS thought about Manchester? Could fit the bill of medium/large vibrant city and hands on style of course.

@opoponax interesting you mentioned Manchester. We looked at it today and we tried to understand their process.
Does everybody applying to Manchester complete a non academic information form? My DS would not be going through the Holistic route I guess due to higher UCAT however he doesn't have much care experience and they mention this a lot.

@Cratos loads of choice with that UCAT. Sheffield, Southampton, Bristol, Newcastle, Leicester etc. My personal current favourites are Sheffield, UEA and Sunderland as they have fab courses and are v helpful. But for you I'd choose a city he likes the sound of. If it's any help at all my DD at Bristol loves the place as a student.

My DS applied to Manchester and got an offer two years ago @Cratos. He did fill in a non-academic form, a lot of which was just expansion of what he had in his personal statement. He wasn't holistic route either.

Hope your weekend has been restful so far @mumsneedwine

@Thethingswedoforlove I've done the housework, walked the dogs and been to the post office to send off the bits my youngest left at home (I am on first name terms with them as it happens every term 😂).
Dinner out with hubbie tonight and intend to have done cheeky wine. So ignore any advice I give after 9pm 🍷

@mumsneedwine sounds perfect. Enjoy the wine 🍷

@mumsneedwine do you know about Parcel2Go for sending forgotten things much more cheaply than PO?

Enjoy the well deserved evening off. 🍽😊

@Monkey2001 oooh thank you, I'll look into that. In the last 3 years I've sent riding hat, hockey sticks, hair straighteners, trainers, and many items of clothing.

@Cratos Manchester don't use PS, instead everyone is sent the NAI form to fill in the stuff they are interested in and it is given to the person doing one of the MMI stations. My DS was not holistic either when he filled in the form for the foundation year. He hated the interview though because the first woman was horrible and put him off for the other stations.

One relevant thing for Manchester is that for years 3-5 you are allocated to a base hospital and most students live near that hospital. About 20% (including DS1 when he goes there from St Andrews) are allocated to Preston, so not in the big city. He is planning to commute out to Preston from Manchester, but will be over an hour and expensive, so not ideal.

@mumsneedwine thank you. we will apply to Bristol and Leicester. And Brighton.
Sheffield might be an option. We might look into Liverpool as well. What are your thoughts on Liverpool ?

@Cratos I love Liverpool but it has a low interview to offer ratio (because they interview a lot). It's a fab city and course though. We've sent a lot of students there as they love the feel of the place.

Sounds like a very productive day in every way. You really should enjoy the day. Well deserved. I am taking my question back 🤗💐

Great to know this. Thank you very much. I guess you decided against it.

Thank you so much for sharing this. We should take this into account. Hope your DS still enjoys the experience.