Medicine 2025 entry -part 3

[HGC2]

Will try to add old threads, maybe good for us to give an update of where our DCs are at

@ipredictariot5 hope she gets some good news soon.

Thia process is brutal, hope everybody gets some news soon. Focusing on A level grades is so hard but so crucial as with the right grades and no offers you can still get in through clearing. Also the waitlists move a lot but unfortunately often not until June and then again on results day.

My only wish is that all the medical schools have one day when all results are out. Everybody for Leeds heard on the 31st Jan 3 weeks after the interview. It would be great if other medical schools followed this process.

The offer is at Exeter. I think there is someone up thread who has given some good advice. In all honesty, I think Exeter will be a good fit for him, he's just disappointed to have missed out on his preferred choices.

He definitely is lucky to have an offer, so focusing on that now. Hope good news comes your way soon.

@ipredictariot5 I’m echoing what has been said before, congratulations to your DS, he has done really well to get Exeter. If that’s what is meant for him, he’ll have an amazing time there.
All the best!

Congratulations @ItsYourMoneyRalf ds!
Exeter is a great one to have in the bag (you really do only need one) although sorry to hear that it’s not his top choice.
My DD had an offer from Exeter last year and as she had done an EPQ they gave her an offer of AAB if she achieved an A in EPQ, so it was the perfect insurance choice. So if your son has an EPQ under his belt, it is definitely worth having as Firm as it will ease the pressure a little for grades. 😊

Still sending lots of luck for those still waiting, esp @ipredictariot as I remember you from last year’s thread. 🤞🤞🤞

No offers here yet either. QUB definitely slow this year- think first offers were out 19/2 last year. Also waiting on Liverpool which is typically end March I think.
So well done to those with offers. Would be amazing to get some good news but not too optimistic any more.

@Groundhogday2021 He did do an EPQ. Offer is "one grade lower than AAA" which I took to mean AAA? Or could it be AAB? No idea. But pressure off slightly.

Not sure what happened there - offer one grade lower than A star A A

mumsnet uses stars to bold text.

Okay, so the offer one grade lower than A star A A, which I assume means A A A. Or could it mean A star, A B?

Actually you could be right… I think Exeter require A star A A now so it could be AAA. 🤦🏻‍♀️

But if they explicitly say their offer is “one grade lower than A star A A” then presumably they couldn’t turn you away if you got A star A B as you have met their criteria? If they meant A A A then they should stipulate that? I am not suggesting relying on this but certainly worth arguing if you got A star A B.

Hopefully we don't need to ask 🤞

You could be right… I have no idea!
What I do know is that some unis are able to be more flexible than you think, as at the offer holder day of one of the med schools last year my dd was told by an admission’s tutor that they would consider her even if she got AAB on results day, as long as she achieved an A in Chemistry. She didn’t need it in the end but it did make her feel less anxious about her results and meant her firm
and insurance were effectively the same offer! Albeit unofficially from her firm choice! The problem is, each year the goal posts change and no one is ever certain of what is being offered so always best to just verify it with the admissions team. 👍

I was also going to say to @ItsYourMoneyRalf that unexpecteddrivinginstructor has a dc at Exeter in year 2 and was a wonderful help to me last year, on another thread, when deciding about Exeter. Hopefully they would be able to fill you in on the details of that course and hopefully inspire your ds about that medical school. 😊

Best of luck to your DS @ItsYourMoneyRalf , it’s a very tough process indeed but hopefully if he can attend an offer holder day, it may help him feel more enthusiastic about it.
I’m not sure if it helps, but I remember being at a parents talk at an open day at Oxford and one of the parents asked the med student who was there why she chose that medical school. She was so lovely and answered honestly that it was her only offer and explained how tough and humbling the whole process was, and that med schools do the choosing, not the other way round! But that she was very happy with it once she got there, even if it wasn’t her first choice at the start of the process. I hope your DS is the same 🤞

and even more 🤞🤞 for your DD @ipredictariot5 - I remember her from last year too and really hope she gets good news soon

@ItsYourMoneyRalf congratulations to your ds. Interestingly Exeter do seem to offer to quite a few people who don't get offers elsewhere so they obviously look for something slightly different. There is a new Dean so things might change a little. Generally it has a fairly relaxed approach, they work hard but play hard. You don't need to be sporty but there are some top sportspeople and there is support for them to complete. They often go to Exmouth which is not far on the train. There are surfing opportunities. Bit quiet on the clubbing front but they often go out in large medic groups so I don't think that bothers them too much. They are slightly separate from other non healthcare courses at St Lukes but this hasn't bothered my dd.

The assessments seem to be throughout the year so they have a good idea by the summer as to whether they have passed or not. Although it is possible to need to repeat a year they do seem to do what they can to support and progress the students. The first two years are mainly focused on academics and developing clinical skills but there are some placements. Final three years are mainly on placement.

They spend some time in Cornwall, I think going forward this is going to be mainly in the later years but the placements there have all been really good plus the medics all really bond in their time down there.

Although Christmas and Easter are short they have a long summer holiday throughout. Maybe plan to go down and get a holiday cottage at half term.

Although it always seems like a huge decision/commitment I think they end up being happy where they are. The opportunity is what they make of it and it does go really quickly.

Spot on @Unexpecteddrivinginstructor

Another Exeter parent here. DD only got one offer (despite UCAT of 3190 and 4 A stars predicted and achieved). I do wonder what the other Med Schools were looking for! (She didn't even get interviewed by Edinburgh as she was SJT band 2).

Exeter is a great place to be a med student. DD, now in her 3rd year, has spent a lot of time on the beach. She's got a road bike down there now so enjoys exploring the quiet hilly local roads.

She works as a Health Care Assistant in the local hospital too - doing one shift a week can rake in £300 (ie 12 hours at £25/hour if a night shift).

Truro is a fab town too. Most will spend 2 years there. She's off there in September and has already sorted a HCA role so she can spend her holidays on the pistes/beach.

We're Londoners but DD says she'd happily stay down in the South West after qualifying as all the doctors she meets down there are really "chilled".

@MidLifeCrisis007 more than she'll earn as a doctor 😂. There is a lot to be said for the S West. V chilled, lots of outdoors life and fantastic training. Never met anyone who went to Exeter or Plymouth who regretted it. And lots stay for foundation !

@mumsneedwine @MidLifeCrisis007 @Unexpecteddrivinginstructor

Thank you all - sounds very promising.

@MidLifeCrisis007 my DS has similar stats to your DD, slightly lower UCAT but in the 3ks and STJ1. Not a natural interviewer though. Who knows what they're looking for, but very pleased to have a place nonetheless, and a great place it seems from the above.

Hello everyone, haven’t posted in a while as there wasn’t much optimism from anyone following when I reported that my DD had suffered an Abstract Reasoning disaster in her UCAT and got a score of 2450 last summer.

I just wanted to update that we strategically applied for one medical school based upon by DD’s good SJT result and high Verbal Reasoning score and I’m thrilled to report that she got an interview and then an offer to study Medicine with a foundation year at Nottingham University.

Can I please send my thanks to @Thefatbutteredpig who private messaged me after my post about the UCAT and provided me with so much helpful information and encouragement. Private messages are currently disabled so I just wanted to thank you on here!

Good luck to those still waiting on an outcome :-)

Brilliant news and great to see some more offers coming in, hopefully the wait is over soon for those still not heard

@ElaineC77 that is fantastic news - well done to your DD. Great attitude and dedication!

Awesome, that is such good news. Well done to your DD and wishing her the very best with her A levels