Medicine 2024 part 2

[mumsneedwine]

New thread. Hope the offers keep flowing in

@rosesinmygarden Sheffield are b likely to go to their waitlist, sometimes before results day. So stay on it !

What happens is people start to firm places and Unis then know how many are accepting them (the lucky few can turn things down). They'll then offer a few more off the waitlist. A week before results day the Unis get the results and unfortunately some will not have made the grade, and more offers will go out. And then if you call them on results day, and there are places left, they will take you.

It's not over til August !!!

@rosesinmygarden not Sheffield but my DD had an offer from a waitlist in April, and then on results day, she had an offer from a uni that had previously rejected her after interview. Another family friend got an offer just before she sat her A level papers the year before. As @mumsneedwine says there is still movement and as upsetting as it is to be without an offer at this stage, don't lose hope.

@MMMadness - I know my son said , when we were in Manchester and he had a difficult interview that he didn't think he could put himself through it all again.... but I wonder if you'd always regret not giving it one last chance - I had that conversation with Ds over the weekend about his Plan B .... and I almost wanted DS to have a year off for a gap year and a bit of growing up. But it would have been hard all his mates going off and not knowing for sure of what he would be doing eventually. Just sending supportive parental vibes your way.

Sorry that was for @roseinmygarden !

@Africa2go that was a fun year. The 'you're rejected, oh no wait, we've not got enough students now, actually you have a place' debacle was not fair. Wasn't just one Uni that got in a pickle.

Sorry to hear about the waitlist situations…but on the positive side, it is better than nothing and as others have said, don’t give up hope just yet. Sounds as if previous experience has proven it’s not over til it’s over! 🤞

I'm absolutely thrilled for your ds @thillanddale42 !! 🎉 I have been hoping that you would get some good news soon! What a relief after all that waiting! Well done on the first offer! 😁

@mumsneedwine I don't know - dont think it was a consistent approach / some were caught off guard, some were rigid with grades, quite a few unis that accepted dropped grades (rather than go beyond waitlist / previous applicants?), but at least 1 filling places on results day (thankfully). Seem to recall at least 2 or 3 others went to clearing (and before that, Kings re-opened for internationals once IB results were out I recall).

Just as above - nothing is certain until August.

@Africa2go we had rejections from Bristol, Notts and B'ham that then became offers. Was a strange year !

It's so tough, but if you're on a waitlist then they think you are good enough.

If it helps put them off, my DD is currently on a 13 hour shift in a hospital in critical incident with over 100 patients in A&E. For £15.33 an hour. I'm really hoping for change by the time yours all graduate.

Well done all these with offers.

DS has one (Cambridge, absolutely delighted with that) but no news from any of the others, all interviewed before Christmas. Obviously he only needs one offer (and to get the grades!) but would be good to have a reserve...

I have heard KCL notoriously late in notifying.

Anyone still waiting for Bristol? He's not heard yet others have so I assume that isn't positive.

DS2 also has an offer from Cambridge still waiting for UCL, KCL and Leicester. Congratulations to everyone who has received offers over the last few days. Hopefully more to come in the next few days.

I remember when my brother was applying for uni (over 30 years ago now!) and there was some sort of belief that if you applied to Oxford or Cambridge a number of other unis wouldn’t offer you a place as they didn’t want to be considered second best. I wonder if that is the case with Cambridge. If a candidate stands a good chance of a Cambridge offer then the others don’t offer to them. It would be stupid if it was the case, but it has made me wonder what with what I understood from all the odd years ago and the fact 2 people have Cambridge offers but no others (as yet, they may be on the way! 🤞) maybe @mumsneedwine has a view on this, knowing so much about getting pupils into med school?

@SuperSue77 I don't think that they would be able to tell. Unlike for other subjects the deadline for Oxbridge medicine submissions is the same as all other medical schools. The universities can't see which other places you have applied for unless you write about it in your personal statement and many places don't even read the PS. Most students applying will have excellent grades wherever they apply and many applying for medicine will not like the structure of the Oxbridge courses so will apply to other places. The main rumours of that which I have heard about is Durham and they don't offer a medicine degree.

Fab news @thillanddale42 so pleased you got an offer from B’ham! It’s DS’ only offer too but he got a really good feeling about it on the day ;)

Yes, absolutely- focus on the grades now!

We are only waiting for BSMS now but not expecting to hear until later this month

Other Unis don't know who've you applied to. And many don't like the Oxbridge courses as too theory heavy for the first three years. If you want early patient contact they are not the best.

One offer is all you need as you can only go to one place. So if you've got one, you're on your way.

Lots still to come

It is of course possible to get offers just from Oxford or Cambridge. From what I have heard about the interviews there it was much more theory/ academic focused but perhaps with less of an emphasis on the ethics/ practicalities/ work experience that some other places focus on. Different interview styles will suit different candidates.

V true. Each Uni is looking for different things. Courses differ a lot (although Cambs keep saying they are going to change theirs). So it makes sense they look for different attributes. Oxbridge has 3 years pre clinical where you are unlikely to see many patients. Most others will now have you on the wards in the first term. So it depends what you are looking for as a student to.

@rosesinmygarden So sorry to hear that. The only thing you can do is to plan a killer gap year for them to de-stress. We'll probably be in the same boat - only got one interview and that was with a uni where it's really hard to convert interviews to offers... plus the language A-level is still really problematic and so even if an offer is made, it'll be a real struggle to get the grade. Luckily my Dsis has just been posted to SE Asia, so mine will have somewhere to go and stay to get away from retakes and reapplying, should it come to it...

@mumsneedwine -advice please - if all offers AAA how do you go about insuring one? Are you even allowed to?

@ipredictariot5 you firm your favourite and put your 2nd favourite as insurance. You never know, they might take you with AAB ! But if you get AAA you get your firm. Hope that makes sense

@ipredictariot5 no guarantee that it will be the same this year but if your YP is in the amazing position of having several offers and deciding which to put as an insurance (if no real preference and all the same offer), it might be an idea to have a look through last years' thread about unis that still accepted dropped grades on results day - know from DD & friends that Notts, Newcastle & Liverpool definitely did.

Final offer for my daughter from Sheffield - 4/4 - honestly can’t believe it!!!!!
Now she needs to decide - very interesting to read that they may take lower grades for medicine - all her offers are AAA……….

@Randomactofkindness it's a v v big may. Most won't. That's why they have the waiting lists.

Well done ! Now comes the hard bit. Turning 2 down 😊

Wow! Well done to your dd @Randomactofkindness 🎉 What a great result to have all four!
My dd considered Sheffield as they used to state AAB if A in EPQ. Is this something your dd has done?

Yes - now to make the decisions! Yes I agree unlikely to take her on AAB - it wasn’t something we thought of - she was going to put her 5th option as her insurance 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you! She’s delighted! Yes I think Sheffield give offer of AAB with A in EPQ but only if you firm (a friend whose daughter has this offer told me this) - mine didn’t do an EPQ so her offer is AAA