Medicine 2025 entry - part 2

[HGC2]

Not sure how to link old thread, can anyone help me do this?

Onto UCAT and personal statements now - good luck everyone!

Thank you, that’s what I thought.

DD is set on:

Notts / Lincoln (depending on outcome of elite sports, she has 130/152
points so I wonder if that might be enough for Notts this year with lower GCSEs and fewer SJT b1?)

Leicester (54.5 points),

Lancaster; and

KMMS.

Not Keele as we’re not contextual and have no idea how they will mark PS and now 2670 ucat seems to be possible 6th decile whereas it would have been 7th last year so that’s one less point straight away.

I agree with notts / Lincoln as she can maximise her SJT B1 plus the way they score ucat works in her favour as she got 710 on decision making so actually scores higher than someone scoring 690 on each sub test.

I would rather she put Plymouth or Sunderland as a safe 4th option as opposed to Lancaster which is v risky in my opinion but she’s not keen and ultimately it’s down to her but do you think I should try and persuade her otherwise?

Other niggle is third A level is PE (plus chemistry biology and epq) - would any of those choices not accept PE? Can’t see it’s not acceptable on their admissions pages but maybe worth emailing?

She’s probably putting York biomed as 5th.

Brighton and Lancaster both had clearing biomed places when I looked so that seems much easier to get into and other options would no doubt be available to her if that’s what she’s chooses and a levels are good. However she’s coming round to resitting ucat and taking a gap year if needed.

I really hope she at least gets an interview so she can practice that ready for next cycle if nothing else..

thanks again for all your help and good luck everyone.

x

*practise
sorry, and I did an English degree ..

@islaoo all will accept PE as third. It's a really useful A level for medicine as has so much anatomy, physiology and is psychology in it. Lancaster with a punt if he really likes it, and other choices look solid.

My DD got three offers with chem maths and PE

Hi All, for Liverpool is there a grading system to look at or is it minimum grades accepted and then sorted by UCAT only?

@SoTiredNeedHoliday yes, just ranked by UCAT once got past minimum grades.

And from what I understood of the talk at yesterday’s open day, SJT 1-3 all considered (and don’t carry different weightings).

Yes. They'll check you've got the grades and then just rank by UCAT. They interview a lot.

It amazes me how much resources the must commit to interviewing when you consider how many they interview.

Does anyone have any actual figures for last year 2024 for the lowest UCAT interviewed at Southampton? They quote in their brochure a range but it seems to be based on 2022 and the scores go up each year.

From my notes last year, the vibe was 2750+. 2800 for reasonably safe offer to IV. But also that Southampton were a bit evasive around cutoffs.

@OnePinkCat
I know of someone who was interviewed and given an offer last year with a UCAT of around 2680. But obviously every year is different depending on the cohort that applies so it’s a difficult one to judge.

Hi,
Just about to submit UCAT with my DS. They got 2790 B1 and have AAA prediction in Chem, Geography and Maths.
7 9s and 3 8s at GCSE and no contextual.
Going for UEA, Liverpool, Manchester and Barts.
Do people think my DS has a good chance at getting 4 interviews.
Thanks for any help, this thread has been incredibly helpful.

@london26 2 v probably definites, 2 v likely. Good luck !

DC is getting themselves thoroughly tied in knots with where to apply.

Is there really that much difference in teaching styles (and I suppose student experience) between different med schools?

Definitely worth doing some research. First priority is making sure you choose unis that give you a good chance of being interviewed. But then personal preference comes in. It may be distance to home, is the Uni in a city etc. Remember it's a 5 year course (maybe more) so choosing the best place that you would be comfortable in is important

Some Unis do have 'very' different teaching for example I interviewed at Hull-York med school but am fortunate I I got other offers as for me I didn't like it, location and teaching style. But it's all personal preference at the end of the day. As current students, and just look online.

Thanks @Chemistrytutoring

They have done SO much research tbh at I think they're starting not to be able to see the woods for the trees. Finances are sadly an issue for us which means that there is a slightly restricted pool of potential schools anyway - and unfortunately some of those she likes best are very tricky due to cost and/or distance.

I stayed at home myself so if that's something you are looking into I think it's a good option but I'm only I'm 1st year so can't advise too much. Otherwise if really wanting to move out then yeah, consider cheaper places that should take precedence over teaching style I think. But of course if your daughter would be really against PBL then just try avoid those Unis etc. Ultimately its the same degree though and somewhere is better than nowhere.

I applied and had offers from Sheffield, Birmingham, Hull-York and Leeds (where I'm at now)

So if thinking any of those ask any questions

need help with universities - any guidance appreciated- daughter’s details as below

GCSE
9998888876
3 9s - bio , Latin, English lang

5 8s - chem, maths, eng literature, physics, business

Alevels
A*AA ( bio/chem/maths)

UCAT
2650, B2
vr - 630
dm - 750
qr-650
ar-620

non contextual
not from wales
not for Scotland
we are based in south west England

Considering the following and open for other options

Leicester
Aston
Plymouth
Liverpool
Keele (?)

does this look ok ?

also any recommendation on mock interview classes ( medichunt, ucat people ?)

thanks for helping

Lots of options with the A-levels and predictions - my only advice would be to check the UCAT thresholds carefully of each school in turn as may be borderline for some.
good luck ! HYMS worth a look

Are a levels achieved or predicted?

looks like your DD has 53.5 points for Leicester and cut off last year was 52.5 I think. My dd has similar and is applying to Leicester too. Let’s hope the cut off is similar this year!

It’s predicted, sorry - should have been more specific.

may I ask, which other universities you are considering?

🙏🏽 thanks for responding

Good luck to everyone finalising their choices - really know what you mean, @CopingHagen, about getting to the stage where you can't see the wood for the trees! And I think it's especially hard this year as so many places are going over to UCAT for the first time - much more unpredictable. I think/hope most people love wherever they end up and see the benefits in that particular place/style of teaching etc.

DD has handed her UCAS form over to college for final checks by them and sending off. She's put down Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford (and eventually put down a 5th option after saying she wouldn't all along). Now the wait (and the hard academic work of Y13) begins...

Thanks , I agree- few are on borderline. But what options do we have . Appreciate any help on this

thanks

@PSHE Have you/your DD posted on the student room 'which medical school should I apply to?' thread? There are lots of people on there who really know their stuff and give very good advice.
My only thoughts - those are good GCSEs (especially for places which score the top 8, as most don't distinguish between 8s and 9s), might KMMS or QUB be worth looking at? (KMMS I think it matters how good the GSCEs are relative to the rest of the cohort at the school.)