Medicine 2025 entry

[HGC2]

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!

Sounds like we were lucky. DD got the day and the centre she wanted (early August, so done before her summer holidays). The medics person at college told them all to get up and book it at 6am, which sounded excessive to me but maybe not. It's all getting real...

Yep definitely feels a lot more real now

Morning, my daughter logged on to book UCAT at 7am this morning and there is nothing near us beyond July so we have waited and hope more dates will come out. July isn’t enough time for her to study as her AS exams don’t start until next week.

Oh no. I thought logging on at 6am seemed excessive but didn’t want to chance it. It seems it wasn’t after all.

Now wonder whether to book a travel lodge the night before or get up early. It is a 90 minute drive but we would need to allow for hold ups

The test centres are also used for driving tests and professional exams, so dates will become available as others cancel. Check v regularly and hopefully something comes up. People will also change the date of their UCAT after booking too.

Tip. On day of the exam make sure your whiteboard pen works. You might not see anyone to help for the next 2.5 hours ! Practice with the on line calculator (I hate it). And use the flags - answer, flag question if not sure and move on. Speed is important.

Whiteboard pen?

Yes. You get a whiteboard and one for working out.

@Karolinska "mumsneedwine you made it about Oxbridge. I have from the outset named a collective of unis - five to six. It always seems to happen but it's a gauche move. My posts are very clear."
I really disagree with that statement, your posts have clearly shown that you believe these are the schools to go to if you want to be able to have the best chance of your training and that these are the ones most likely to get to specialise and reach consultants more quickly. You make it sound like these students stand on a pedestal above all other medical students. I think there was a reference to "those sort of people" when referring to other unis.

This all came from a question that I asked and I did not expect this to spiral into a completely unhelpful debate.

I've asked you numerous times for the stats that show where these unis are able to help their students achieve their first choice posts etc, significantly more than other universities are able to do the same.

I really want to see it so it can help in my DDs decision making but you have failed to provide it over and over again.

Are your statements in this debate all based on your child and their friends and nothing else? I really feels like that TBH.

What I have taken from this debate is that any medical school is a good medical school to attend and that if the student is highly engaged, diligent, invests in their career by doing all they can outside the classroom, has emotional intelligence and a personality to go with they will succeed and will go far.

Like in any career, getting your foot in the door because you went to XYZ uni doesn't mean you actually perform in all areas and are the best in your industry.

that is a great tip! MY DD is booked in for 1 August. 😬

Booked to stay nearby. Decided we don’t need the stress of the journey on the morning. I know not my test but I would probably be more stressed about travel than they will be. Will toddle off to do some shopping while DC takes the test.

I saw an earlier tip of using num lock so you can use the keyboard for the calculator.

Oh my goodness SoTiredNeedHoliday, this is super tedious, especially since I've already corrected mumsneedwine on precisely the same mistake.

Here is the post which you have read incorrectly:
You were actually asked about future career prospects and given that the top of the profession is dominated by far fewer uni names than the F1 part of the profession, logic would suggest that [uni] does matter. Not to do with uni per se, let alone anyone asking you or caring where you studied, but purely because of the quality of those unis/ their teaching and the sort of students that study at them after the admissions cull.

That really isn't capable of misinterpretation unless the reader is seriously sloppy at comprehension. I am quite clearly saying that getting into the five or six unis who dominate the top of the league tables as well as the coveted training places is tough. It's those students that I am referring to, not those who go elsewhere. I really can't see why it's hard to say that sort of student is especially good.

And no, although you're having a jolly good go at turning white into black, I'm afraid that I've been consistent throughout: I've been talking about a group of unis and not Oxbridge alone. But anytime one includes Oxbridge in any discussion about careers a red mist descends and the quality of posts deteriorates into a sea of implications that all Oxbridge students are uber wealthy, only get offers due to extensive coaching, not especially talented etc etc etc.

If you're in any doubt about what I've written please check back. As for evidence of whether what I'm saying is correct or not, check it out yourself when your own DD approaches that stage.

Other posters have made the same point as I have: it's not about the uni per se but the effect is the same. It seems as though you're not understanding that for whatever reason, and I'm not sure what else can be said to help you do so.

Please stop derailing.

Ucat booking today was struggle, Is this happens every year or just this one (as there no BMAT).

😂😂😂 I've been a very naughty girl and 'been corrected on my mistake'. Nope. Never made one.

UCAT bookings - more came available at our local centre this morning. If you've booked one and isn't what you want keep checking as it's easy to change.

One of our ex students, who arrived in UK in the back of a lorry, aged 14, speaking no English, has just graduated from Oxford. He's heading back to his home country as soon as done F2 to help in the camps. He is the must awesome person I have ever met.

@Ib1234567 same every year. Every student pretty much did UCAT even when there was BMAT. The centres just get so busy. Used to have to sit the SJT part of finals at them too, but that's gone (for now).

Sloejelly it's the poster who asked the question and keeps coming back to it who derailed. I replied, since my (very clear) posts are being read incorrectly (not sure how it's possible). I would prefer that this poster didn't keep coming back to it/ me.

mumsneedwine yes you made an extraordinary mistake in that you told me that when I referred to the 'sort of student' who gets into one of the five or six medical schools at the top of the league tables that I actually meant (despite very clear phrasing) that I meant the 'sort of student' who does not get into one of those schools. So yep - mistake. Need to read closer.

It would be nice to have a bit of civility and less of the uncivil posting please.

mumsneedwine my son's fiancee will certainly know him in that case. Impressive, obviously. My father arrived in this country slightly younger also speaking no English so I can relate by extension.

That's nice.

UCAT bookings - more came available at our local centre this morning. If you've booked one and isn't what you want keep checking as it's easy to change.

I didn’t want to look again in case I upset the booking 🫣 So you can log on and go back in to look? I thought I read somewhere that a cancellation had to go through the system which could take a while (as in not immediate) so that makes it feel a bit risky to cancel in order to rebook in case you lose both?

I’m doing this in DC absence so feel a huge sense of responsibility about it! (I’ve not done much research and was just following instructions that I had been left)

That there may be a connection through Oxford? I'm sure you can't mean it's nice that my father was a war refugee.... But just take care about revealing personal information about your ex students online. Not that you've said anything negative but just that what you've said is obviously very identifying for the young person in question. With our own DC it's up to us - but another young person and especially a young person you would have had a duty of care towards: probably better for you to ask for the post to be deleted.

@Karolinska yes.

@Sloejelly you can log back in and check for new dates. People so t have cancelled yet but the centre might have opened up extra time slots. Depending on size they can add more stations and more staff.

Hi @mumsneedwine are you ok if I PM you! Thanks

@Ib1234567 of course. PM away 😊