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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Medicine 2025 entry

995 replies

HGC2 · 29/03/2023 13:34

Inspired and slightly terrified reading the 2023 entry threads and how much prep has to go into a medicine application!

DC wants to do medicine, probably in Scotland as a Scottish student, doing well at school but this doesn't seem to be enough! School has little / no experience of applications for medicine as a not fantastic state school!

Can anyone advise what work experience / volunteering they will need (currently volunteering at sports club with hope of job)
what are the spreadsheets that people talk about?
How do you strategically apply?

I have one child at uni and they just applied and got a place, this seems like a whole other level!

OP posts:
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mumsneedwine · 14/06/2024 16:45

Lots of nuance at each Uni so find the similar document for the ones you're interested in. Selection criteria are there but need digging for sometimes.

HGC2 · 14/06/2024 17:24

Medentry or medify for UCAT prep?

OP posts:
mumsneedwine · 14/06/2024 18:19

@HGC2 either. Both good.

Ib1234567 · 15/06/2024 07:44

mumsneedwine · 14/06/2024 16:43

The tables for each category are there. Needed about 80+ points to get an interview this year

so we need 80+ so 3A stars and be in 7th for ucat(predicted, not wp ).

Thanks

mumsneedwine · 15/06/2024 08:19

That should get you an interview. However it's a should as this system has only been in place a few years and what tends to happen is people get more savvy about the rules so Uni attracts more students who fit those criteria, so things move upwards.

But 3 A stars and a decent UCAT should be good.

SoTiredNeedHoliday · 16/06/2024 08:12

mumsneedwine · 12/06/2024 19:01

All declared and all UCAT. You get handed your results as you leave the test centre !

For Notts ace the SJT as it's worth a lot of points, and VR is worth double all the other sections. Assume have fab GCSEs as they score those too. If you know all this please ignore me 😂

@mumsneedwine that is really helpful information. How do you find out which unis focus on what areas more than others, such as your example in the quote?

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 08:14

@SoTiredNeedHoliday a lot of research I'm afraid. Each Uni looks at different things and scores them to select for interview. All details are on each website, but can take some digging to find them.

If you have some ideas of choices let keep know and I'll tell you their selection method.

SoTiredNeedHoliday · 16/06/2024 08:31

@mumsneedwine thanks. At the moment predicted are

  • A, between A/A, and A
  • She's also done her EPQ and received an A,
  • she's also just sat the AS maths course and is expecting an A / A* mark to come out in August for that.

She's done volunteering for 3 years each holiday at a local charity and she's also completed a week's work experience at a local hospital

Any pointers of where we should start looking?

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 08:33

@SoTiredNeedHoliday GCSE results ? Unfortunately until UCAT score is done it's hard to narrow down choices but GCSEs can rule some out.

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 08:41

@SoTiredNeedHoliday best thing to do is look at the type of course, how it's taught (PBL/CBL/integrated), dissection or prosecution, campus or city, intercalated or not, cost etc. Things that are important to DD.

Shortlist some and then go visit some on open days. Talk to current students about placements, where they are, do the Uni provide accommodation or transport costs.

If have stellar GCSEs there are some that score them. Predicted grades don't really matter as long as AAA (except at Exeter).

NoNotHimTheOtherOne · 16/06/2024 09:14

Predicted grades don't really matter as long as AAA (except at Exeter).

Bart's (QMUL) also uses predicted grades heavily in selection.

A few don't look at predicted grades at all (Nottingham, Aston, Kent & Medway, Keele, Cardiff, Sunderland, possibly others).

NoNotHimTheOtherOne · 16/06/2024 09:42

best thing to do is look at the type of course, how it's taught (PBL/CBL/integrated)

Sorry, this kind of thing bothers me. PBL/CBL/TBL and integrated are not mutually exclusive. I think all medicine courses using small-group learning approaches like those are integrated. In fact, there are very, very few medicine courses that aren't integrated, although the word "integrated" can mean pretty much whatever a university chooses it to mean.

As @SoTiredNeedHoliday is new to this game, I'll just add a glossary:

PBL: problem-based learning. Uses paper-based scenarios including clinical details of presentation, diagnosis and management to cue self-directed learning about a medical condition and its underlying science.

CBL: case-based learning. Again, can mean whatever someone chooses it to mean as long as there is a clinical case involved somewhere. Strictly, it is a form of learning where students are presented with the information a practitioner would have about a patient (notes, test results, radiological images, any management steps already undertaken, etc.) and have to do independent/group research to understand the patient's condition, reasons for investigations, interpretations of results, etc. However, it is also often used to describe lecture-based teaching where a week's learning revolves around a particular patient case.

TBL: team-based learning. A kind of "flipped classroom" approach where students are given resources to study in advance (e.g. a textbook chapter, videos, etc.) and then given a case in the session to apply that learning to.

Integrated most commonly refers to one of two things, which may or may not both be present. First, integration of fundamental bioscience and behavioural/social science learning on a systems basis. So, for example, you might spend some time studying the respiratory system and will study the anatomy, physiology, pathology and therapeutics of the respiratory system and the psychology/sociology/epidemiology of respiratory diseases all together during that time. This is distinct from the - now vanishingly rare - "traditional" approach of having separate, non-overlapping modules/courses on anatomy, physiology, pathology and therapeutics. The second definition of "integrated" is to learn the relevant clinical skills at the same time as the science, so while you're learning about how a patient's condition was diagnosed in a case, you're also learning the practicalities of taking histories, performing examinations, etc., relevant to that case.

Pretty well all medicine courses use a combination of large-group (i.e. lectures) and small-group (seminars/tutorials) learning approaches. There are no exclusively lecture-based or problem-based courses.

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 11:01

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne I was trying to give info in a v short text. If you want my entire medicine talk it's an hour long complete with PowerPoint. Deliver it every year.

SuperSue77 · 16/06/2024 11:18

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 11:01

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne I was trying to give info in a v short text. If you want my entire medicine talk it's an hour long complete with PowerPoint. Deliver it every year.

Do you deliver this to the students at your school? Just wondering where my daughter could find equivalent info, I’m not aware of such a talk at her school.

Ib1234567 · 16/06/2024 11:50

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne Hi

You mentioned queen mary , do you know what was the cut off this year.

if you have 3 A stars then less ucat (how much do you know roughly)
if you have 2 A stars then you need higer Ucat

I know it is 50:50 , appreciate any help.

Puffalicious · 16/06/2024 12:03

Hi OP,

I've just stumbled upon this thread. Thought I'd give my perspective. Scotland based.

DNiece got 5As at H & 2As at Adv H. Did v well in UCAT (unsure of exact score) not even an interview after S6 for medicine. Did a 1yr college course in Anatomy whilst working as a phlebotomist. Got top grade in her year- rejected again without interview despite even higher UCAT.

She entered 2nd year of an Anatomy & Forensics degree. She's just about to graduate with a First & the Honours prize for top in her year.

At long last was offered places for medicine at all 3 unis she applied to & ScotGem (funded scheme for GP training). She starts at Glasgow in September.

My point? Despite being ridiculously able, she was rejected twice. All applicants for medicine are very able. It's brutal. Her resilience got her through, but it's come at a high cost financially.

Make sure your DS really wants to do it before the brutal process.

Thankfully DS, who flirted with medicine at one point and is more academic than DNiece, is happily reading Maths.

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 12:10

@SuperSue77 I do, and at several near by schools too. I'll post my spreadsheet - it might need some explanation ...

SoTiredNeedHoliday · 16/06/2024 12:12

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 08:41

@SoTiredNeedHoliday best thing to do is look at the type of course, how it's taught (PBL/CBL/integrated), dissection or prosecution, campus or city, intercalated or not, cost etc. Things that are important to DD.

Shortlist some and then go visit some on open days. Talk to current students about placements, where they are, do the Uni provide accommodation or transport costs.

If have stellar GCSEs there are some that score them. Predicted grades don't really matter as long as AAA (except at Exeter).

@mumsneedwine GCSEs' were were good all 8 and 9's. All sciences were 9 from memory.
Thanks so much for your help!

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne thank you for your info!

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 12:17

Right, this might not be v clear but is a small part of a v large document. But it shows selection criteria and required grades for each uni

Medicine 2025 entry
Medicine 2025 entry
mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 12:18

@SoTiredNeedHoliday GCSE scoring Unis with a look - depending on UCAT. Belfast, Notts, Lincoln, Birmingham, KMSS (scores contextualised so if best in school a good choice).

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 12:20

I'm very happy to share the whole thing (includes how they score (the little flag things hid it), A level choices, GCSE grades required and any vagaries about that Uni. It's a big old thing so would need to be emailed.

SuperSue77 · 16/06/2024 13:54

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 12:20

I'm very happy to share the whole thing (includes how they score (the little flag things hid it), A level choices, GCSE grades required and any vagaries about that Uni. It's a big old thing so would need to be emailed.

You’re not in the southeast are you?

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 14:16

@SuperSue77 I'm currently in London. In a v smelly classroom doing some stuff for a friend. If you know me, keep sctumn please 😂

Needmoresleep · 16/06/2024 14:20

I know others disagree but some students may benefit from looking at the intercalation policy at various medical schools. Some will only allow as all number of students to intercalate, indeed some don’t allow intercalation at all. And if they don’t allow external intercalation the available choice may be limited.

List of external intercalations is here.

https://www.intercalate.co.uk/

There is currently a real issue finding training places, indeed jobs, post F2. There is a significant shortage of the former and PAs have started replacing junior doctors in many areas. There will also, and inevitably, be a number who realise part way through their course that medicine is not for them.

A good intercalation can help get on specialist training. Or help find an alternative career if either the job bottleneck is not resolved, or if a newly qualified medic is looking to use their knowledge in an adjacent career. DD studied biomedical engineering at Imperial, so will be able, if she has to, to switch into research. The year itself was enjoyable and intellectually challenging, and a useful contrast to the very hands on medical degree she was taking.

The UK database of intercalated courses for medical students

https://www.intercalate.co.uk/

mumsneedwine · 16/06/2024 14:24

@Needmoresleep unfortunately most specialist training posts have now removed extra degrees for points. Real shame for yours and mine.

But do agree that intercalating can open up new interests and help find a speciality you'll like.

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