Clearing 2023 - Medicine

[Strix]

Any other hopeful medics looking at Clearing tomorrow? He has no offers at this time, so hoping for a pie in the sky tomorrow... More likely we are headed onto a Gap Year. Which isn't the end of the world but certainly not where he expected to be.

There won’t be places I’m clearing for medicine.

Has he looked into why he didn’t get offers? Is it rectifiable eg experience?

Alternatively look at degrees such as biomed science, clinical sciences etc. Some of these will allow movement to medicine. Or can then progress to physicians associate.

My DD was in this position a few years ago!
My advice would be, make sure he thinks through anything he’s offered properly and doesn’t go for something he may regret.
Does he know if he’s on a reserve list anywhere?

Alternatively look at degrees such as biomed science, clinical sciences etc. Some of these will allow movement to medicine.

Please be very careful about this, and read every bit of small print. Being able to transfer into medicine from another degree programme is very rare. Some universities say it's possible but it depends on whether there are places available on the medicine course and how many other students are applying to transfer.

There could be places in clearing. SGUL has had places for the last few years - deliberately kept for medic applicants who have no offers but excellent A levels. It's worth looking and having them on speed dial, assuming he didn't apply there this year and get rejected already post-interview (in which case he wouldn't be considered).
There's a chance some other places will come up but I think it's a small one. It's been a funny year this year with offer names being significantly lower than usual (3 times lower in some cases). This might mean that unis are more confident of students making their grades but it also might mean that they got their algorithm wrong this year.
It seems that there are definitely more students than usual with zero offers - possibly 40% of applicants.
Don't apply to biomed with the hope of moving after a year - most courses allow 1 or 2 to move despite saying it's a possibility. And definitely don't apply to do PA training if he wants to be a doctor. It's a great role but it's not being a doctor.

Oh and DC's friends who had an unexpected year out all got into medicine the following year and are enjoying it - and enjoyed their years out too!
The acceptance rate is higher for re-applicants though I can't remember the statistics off the top of my head.

That should have said "offer numbers" not names

My dniece took a gap year. Worked in a small town Tanzania in public health ( for three months) and as a carer for six months.
Gained lost of valuable experience

It's worth looking, there are definitely sometimes a small number of places available- not just SGUL necessarily. It's sometimes worth phoning unis on spec, as they won't always advertise these vacancies (you'll sometimes hear this called "secret clearing").

Sometimes, on the student room forums, people will share unis that have given them clearing offers, so worth a look on their medicine board to see what people are saying?

That said, it is a long shot, and of the 1000s of people who'd like to get a clearing offer, only a very small number of them do, unfortunately.

It’s still worth considering other options but as I said previously it will depend on why got rejected and if it’s fixable.

if it is experience then a year out getting this is a great idea.

Im working with a grad med student - she did biomed degree first then applied with lots of experience. Just graduated and doing well.

But worth looking at back up plans too in case.

DD applied for veterinary science last year and got no offers. She got a place this year. She has managed earn lots of money and has leant valuable skills in her gap year so it has been a good experience.

Getting a place to study postgraduate Medicine is a lot more competitive than for undergraduate. Funding can also be an issue. If possible, much better to take a gap year and reapply for undergrad if your heart is set on Medicine. Some universities mention the possibility of switching over from bio-med to med but the reality is that there are very few spaces.

But most people getting rejected will be because they didn't get the ucat score needed for that med school. 1 in 2 get through the interview so it's a lot easier once you get the interview. Barely any medical schools consider personal statement really - so it's not usually possible to tell why you were rejected for medicine - assuming it's post interview, it will be because you didn't answer as well as someone else did. If it's pre-interview then it will be simply not scoring enough on that med school's system to get the interview. There are less than a handful of medical schools that have any "white space" process in deciding on admissions nowadays.
I've worked with some amazing doctors who got there via another degree first but it's much much harder to get onto a GEM course and much more sensible to reapply after a year out. Most medics doing it as a second degree still go through the normal route which is hugely expensive compared with GEM.

Any feedback on why he got rejected?@Strix

Eg Liverpool uni seem to be quite strict on GCSE reqs being achieved in year 11.

SGUL is in clearing

For anyone who's DC is considering trying clearing for medicine, TSR are saying KCL, Leicester and SGUL may have spaces available: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7371987

Obviously I can't verify this, you can probably find discussions of it at the end of the thread. But may be worth a shot if anyone's DC are considering it?

It's been a trying day. A levels were not quite what we were hoping for but still reasonably good. We've got three interviews through clearing. So there definitely are Medicine places in clearing. Should know more next week.

It's a really tough landscape in the UK for medicine. We are also looking at a different undergraduate degree in the uk followed by Medicine in the US - but only if clearing options for medicine are unsuccessful.

My DD ended up taking an alternative degree, with the thought of doing medicine later. She’s now really happy, and has no intention of doing medicine, sees it as a lucky escape!!
You never know where life will take you. Just be happy with each decision you make,

He has now spoken to three medical schools who have entered clearing. Had an interview with rwo of them and waiting to hear back. Interview with third will be next week. And, this morning, one of the schools he applied to last October through UCAS has written with an offer that has to be accepted today. Of the four that are currently possibilities, the one that has made an offer is his fourth choice. But he very much does not want to take a GAP year! If he accepts this offer and than another school makes an offer through clearing can he decline the offer he has accepted and put the preferred one in? If he accepts the offer he made today will it stop other schools from making an offer?

I think once an offer is accepted through UCAS, that’s it you’re done!!

I don’t think you can hold offers at this stage, there are other kids desperately waiting too

Take it

Bird in the hand and all that. If he has an offer I would be biting their hand off.

My DS had one offer. He's an F1 now