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.

@Africa2go unfortunately it does. Previous applicants this year won't be considered. If have no offers then can go into clearing. There is a button on the ucas page to apply.
Worth a go ! Calling first might help but I'm sure they've been inundated so I'd just go via ucas.
A few days before results day things will appear in clearing. Unis get the results the week before the students. And on the day itself Unis might have a few spaces - TSR is great for this. It's then hit the phones (we had 15 going last year trying to get through to Hull York).

The IB results are out at 2.45pm U.K. time today so it may be taken this afternoon.

Thank you - I've passed it on to DS.

Very much appreciate you thinking of him 😊

On results day - should discussion with med schools need to happen- does this have to be the student making the call or can the parents? Just discussing with my DD who is adamant that should the worst happen on results day that she wont be able to speak to anyone!

On results day - should discussion with med schools need to happen- does this have to be the student making the call or can the parents? Just discussing with my DD who is adamant that should the worst happen on results day that she wont be able to speak to anyone!

It has to be the student. Absolutely must be.

If I had places available for near-missers, I would definitely not want to give one to someone who got their mum to phone on their behalf. I already have to turn away people who make huge efforts to talk to us directly and present themselves very professionally; I'm not going to let someone who hides behind their mum have a place in preference to them. And, no: I really, really don't care how few marks they missed their A grade by.

If she seriously doesn't think she could talk to medical schools directly under these circumstances, I'm afraid I think she's chosen the wrong course. As a medical student she will need to negotiate with other students, with staff at placement providers (including GP receptionists, who we all know about), with nurses who control access to patients on hospital wards, etc. Nobody else is going to do this for her.

This 👇

..... But what the family can do is try to get through. As many as possible dialling the numbers of the medical schools they are trying to speak to, but hand over if you get an answer.

Yes. We had 16 phones going in 6th form common room last year - I used every staff member there. We got 2 in 😊😊

If you are targeting specific medical schools it might be worth reading the tail end of last years Student Room threads. There will be quite a few posts about how that medical school covered results day vacancies last year. No guarantee they will do the same this year, but they might.

Lots of wait lists last year so they went to those. Remember to check the procedure if you have one of these as some need action on results day. Only Hull York were interviewing on the day for new applicants.

The post Covid years have been odd. If things have settled down a bit, one to look out for is SGUL, which traditionally was the only, or one of a very few, to go to clearing. If it does, it is worth thinking about. The fact is is a standalone medical sciences school does not suit everyone. Unlike other London Universities it has the advantage that it is in a nice suburb (with a good Lido nearby!) and close to the northern line so more access to lower priced accommodation. People we know who went there, and there were always a few students from there playing with DDs sports club, liked it.

St George's has a waitlist this year. I think lots have realised it's easier to take any extras from that than have to reinterview. Only Uni where UCAT came down.

Okay obviously this is a massive whoops but we will be in Japan on A-level results day. Trip of a lifetime etc, DD didn’t think it would be a big deal to be away and thought she’d be able to access her results online since they can for GCSEs (why can’t they btw?). Also she seems to have been told that the school/Head of 6th Form sorts out Clearing if that’s necessary…but I see in the most recent posts here that that’s obviously not the norm.

Anyway as her Dad and I are didn’t grow up with the UK school/exam system, can anyone explain the issues/what should we be watching out for? We can make calls from Japan if needed: 8am apparently is 4pm over there. If she misses a grade, what do we do? Thanks for any advice xx

@Peachy2005 it won't be a problem. If don't get the grades and have a medicine offer of AAA it is v unlikely that you'd get another place this year.
However if holding no offers and get AAA then keep an eye on TSR and on here to see if any courses go into clearing - they don't always make it in to clearing website. It's then a case of calling admissions (expect to be trying for an hour), giving your stats, and if lucky get a phone interview that day.
For non medicine clearing you can just go onto ucas and add courses that are in clearing but always worth a phone call first just to check what you want.

@mumsneedwine Thank you for clarifying. She has offers for AAA. I think she’ll be very disappointed if she doesn’t get all A stars so would probably request a recheck if was borderline on one grade for AAA, but presumably that takes time so she would lose place anyway.

Assuming all Medicine courses require achieving AAA, then Clearing is only relevant if she missed a grade and was willing to do say, Biomed, if that became available in Clearing…is that right? The phone call first would be to ask what? Thanks so much xx

@Peachy2005 if she misses a grade then ask for a fast remark and call the Uni to see if they will hold her place until this is done. It should be within a week.

@Peachy2005 if miss a grade so doesn't get the offer then you've 2 choices. Resit and reapply. Or go into clearing for another course. The reason to call in advance rather than just pressing the buttons is to check the course is actually what you want. Even things like Biomed can be very different at different Unis.
However do not enter into a degree unless you are going to enjoy it. If you want to do medicine then resitting is better than spending 3 years doing a degree you don't like.

@Peachy2005 sorry should just add it's not really a remark. It's an admin check to make sure marks have not been missed. And grades can go down as well as up. If they get the grades to get in I'd personally just move on. No one is going to care !

Thanks for all that info @mumsneedwine

Lots to think about for DD!

Have people seen that Edinburgh is now in Clearing as well as KCL? I think this could be an interesting year for Clearing.

If a uni offers up medicine in clearing and you meet all their requirements but your UCAT score is lower than whatever their cut off score for interview was for that year will they still consider you?

Do you think that this might mean that medical schools are likely to be more tolerant of a missed grade if it came to it? Would they prefer to take someone with AAB who they have interviewed than put it out for clearing or is the person with AAA more likely to still get the place on the day.

Tried to look for Edinburgh for a friend but cant see it in ucas?

Is there likely to be a knock-on effect of these prestigious unis going into clearing? I am sure, certainly for Edinburgh, it was discounted by many due to the low number of RUK places. Do you think anyone with an offer from somewhere else would be tempted to switch if an offer could be secured (or is that too much of a gamble)? Must admit I don't really understand it.

I can't find Edinburgh medicine in clearing either. Can you let me know how to find it?