Medicine 2023 Entry - Part 4

[opoponax]

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

Great news, well done!

DD has 2 offers thanks to all the amazing advice on this thread - UEA and Newcastle. UEA came quite late so no open days etc. She LOVED the Newcastle offer holders day - we are London based so I'm not loving the distance! Any insights on either option that anyone can share? She has ADHD and ASD in case that's relevant.

@Absolutechaos I have a Newcastle Med DS and a DD who may well firm it too. I too was nervous about the distancebut it is really well connected to London by train and DS sometimes flies back when it is a quick trip home too. It's not too expensive if they can be a bit flexible with flights. I can't really say how Newcastle compares to UEA pastorally as neither of mine applied there. However, what I can vouch for is that the Geordies are so friendly, welcoming and just generally helpful and DS loves living there.

Thanks @opoponax - that's reassuring. DD is definitely leaning (heavily!) towards Newcastle as she loved the city and people, she hated the look of UEA buildings and Newcastle made her an offer very promptly vs UEA who are clearly now mopping up their "reserves list". However, 5 years is a long time and I want to make sure she is making her decision on slightly less emotional grounds!

@Absolutechaos good luck to your DD in choosing. An offer is an offer whenever it comes. The margins can be so slim between getting one and not. DD's Bristol offer came in fairly recently too.

Ive got one in first year at Newcastle and one who has recently insured UEA for Sept 23.

My son loves Newcastle. Town is lovely, really enjoying the course and of course the social scene.

i went to the UEA offer holder’s day a few weeks ago. Was really impressed. Lovely safe campus. The staff were so proud of the school and passionate about their medicine course. Pastoral side of things was very good too. @Monkey2001 may have more inout as she was at the open day too.

Thanks @kackle. I'm conscious she has 2 great choices and is very lucky. Did you notice any major differences between the courses eg how they manage placements?

The UEA patient contact is from week 2/3 ono so earlier than Newcastle

Newcastle do have the option for a term in Malaysia in y2

DS has been in Park View this year - accommodation has been superb and he is off to a shared house in Jesmond for y2

@Absolutechaos they are very different. UEA has a day a week with GP from the beginning and 4(?) week hospital blocks from the first year. Cadaveric dissection at UEA, prosection at Newcastle. DS much preferred the UEA course, but different courses appeal to different students, he was also not too keen on the "party central" reputation of Newcastle as he doesn't drink. I prefer the look of Newcastle, but he liked the feel of the UEA campus, which was just as well as it was the only offer he got! See for a good overview of UEA.

Thanks @Monkey2001 and @kackle. She has some research to do this weekend!

If anyone has firmed Birmingham and hasn't had the expected DBS email we have just found it in DS' spam folder.... deadline Wednesday.
Cue us panic applying.... off to PO this afternoon to have all the ID certified.
ANOTHER salutary lesson for DDmS about always checking spam folder.... I must have asked him every day sine he firmed to check.... it came 26 th April. 🤦‍♀️

Hope revision going well. Covid rife at college....anyone know what rules are if a child is ill (covid or anything else) during exams?

@curvymummy sorry no definite knowledge so I won't guess what happens, but mine is going for a night out with friends for end of school and that's my worry that she catches covid (for the first time, the rest of us have had it once or twice) or a bad cold. Or gets spiked. Ugh. She will be fine, she will be fine.

My daughter came down with one of those 48 hour sick bugs before her final

First step is to phone the school exam officer and ask for guidance. They may differ.

DD was told to go immediately to the GP and get something in writing. (They let her see the practice nurse.) She then sat the exam next day, but had to leave halfway though in order to vomit. The school said it made it easier that she had started the paper than not attended. I guess they were in a better position to confirm she was not well. DD says she could barely read it and has no memory of doing anything useful. The school had what they needed for mitigating circumstances. DD got quite a low mark for the paper so her overall grade was A rather than the predicted A*, but enough. I assume with clear evidence in hand she would have been able to make a case to the medical school had she narrowly missed her offer.

Sorry ‘final exam’

Thank you for your responses - hoping we all stay well.
@FedUpOfThisDynamic she will be fine, mine is out too...they will be fine.

The jcq have some guidance

https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Guide_to_spec_con_process_2223_FINAL.pdf

Last year students who came down with covid at DD's school were given average marks for the papers they missed.

A friend of hers applying for medicine for example missed a chemistry paper - but his mark (A star) was based on his 2 other chemistry papers.

Yes, last year they juggled the timetable to make sure there was a week between papers for each subject so that Covid would only know you out for one paper. Of course, if you have the sort of Covid which means you can't focus, you still have a problem.

I have not been following what is happening to grade boundaries this year. Are they still planning to go back to 2019 grade split?

I believe they are hoping for similar grade distribution as 2019.

Our school is marking according to boundaries of 2019 exams

We went to the offer holder day at Southampton today and as a result DD has firmed Southampton, which will release a place at Exeter for someone else. Now her decision making is done she can focus on her exams (and digging out the various emails re vaccinations etc that she hasn't dealt with).

Hi Everybody,
Hope you had a nice weekend. @jasminetrampoline congratulations for making your final decisions.
We visited Liverpool offer holder day yesterday. Was anybody else there ? What did you think?
It was a sunny day and we really loved the city, the University and also the accommodation facilities. It seems much cheaper than Bristol and the university and accommodation looks new and bright. Students definitely get more for their money there. Greenbank accommodation is really amazing. But we still left with a little unsure about the course since the presentation about the course was not very detailed (not as detailed as Bristol's one). I think we have now eliminated Sheffield since the offer is the same as Bristol it is not ideal as an insurance choice and my DS prefers Bristol but we are indecisive between Liverpool and Bristol. I came out thinking that Bristol is more competitive perhaps and a newer / refreshed course whilst Liverpool looks more relaxed and gives more importance to students' wellbeing. This is so hard.