Too early for a Medicine 2027 thread?

[SuperSue77]

Just wondered if there was any interest in a medicine 2027 thread for those of us with YP going into year 12 who plan to apply for medicine? I've seen one or two lurking previously and will try to tag if I can find their user names. Just conscious that I am always posting on the 2026 thread, yet DD is a year behind them and so my comments aren't so relevant.

Please come and join me here if you are interested.

The other one if they can swim well is to train as a lifeguard for first aid training/ experience.

Yes a friend recommended that to my son but he is also a stubborn 16yo and doesnt want to work at a pool… He has also heard this is quite stressful and people having nightmares from it…
i will float the idea of St Johns hospital, this seems more in line with his personality- thanks a lot!

Hi,
My son has good academics (GCSE: 99998888 including both English; 3A* predicted in chemistry, biology, Maths) but his UCAT mocks are not that high (he will pass the UCAT on 14/08 and is around 1900-1950 at the moment. He also did a week in hospital in France as shadowing and will do another week in a London hospital in August.
What's the best strategy re: medical schools if his UCAT is around the same as his mocks?
Thanks

@MedecineStudDad he's going to have to be very strategic if UCAT is below 2000. Although the caveat to this is we don't know what this years deciles look like until mid Sept when interims are published. But anything less than 2,100 will limit options. However wait to see what he does get and ask them - I can send my spreadsheet over if dm me an email

Are the UCAT mocks really accurate? I imagine the actual real thing has an impact as it’s so time constrained it’s hard to do that in mocks.

It probably depends on the personality type.

@Satisfiedwithanapple they should be doing timed mocks to see how they improve and work out where they need to practice more. Time management is vital

It is, but your concentration will be up a notch in the actual one. Or at least mine would be, we’re all different though.

The point I’m making is that you don’t know what you’re going to get until you take it.

Lots of people get their best result on the day, so 🤞🤞

My DD did her timed mocks at the time of day her actual UCAT was - helped her to focus. At the beginning she didn’t do so well however after the 6 weeks she was doing much better and ended up with top 8% and SJT 1 - it was a few years ago so before the change to the exam. She’s just started 3rd year at Sheffield!

Joining this thread as DS applying for 27 entry, I need somewhere to be amongst others who are also supporting a YP going through this difficult process!

Welcome.

Hello! How is the UCAT prep going? It has been quite standard here from what I have gathered reading these threads over the years - tears, frustration, panic, self-doubt. I really think our young people must be sure medicine/dentistry is what they really want to do to go through this.

Hi @MedecineStudDad my DD is doing her UCAT same day as your son! Has similar GCSEs too, but scored a 6 in English language which is a bit limiting for those med schools scoring GCSEs, but has got the 3 A star predictions for A levels so that helps her application. She is struggling with her scores on mocks though - but we've agreed that she won't move her test back as we are away for 2 weeks afterwards, and then it's pretty well straight back to school, plus personal statement and UCAS application, so sticking with the 14th and what will be will be.

I hope everyone else is bearing up.

All going as she thought for my daughter. She did the UCAT day at imperial on Sunday & said it was easy & came out with 800 each category saying there’s no way the real thing will be that easy.
She is currently at the medic mentor summer school in London (anyone else’s child there?) she’s having a great time, absolutely loving it & got a shout out on linked in by one of the leaders for an activity she took part it.

She has just moved her UCAT date from the 14th to the 19th as she feels that will be better with missing practice whilst she’s at summer school.

Good luck to all those taking it soon.

Ucat done here! he had to move it forward by a week as we are going on holiday and he had it booked for a day we weren’t in the country. Ucat prep was absolutely horrific, he had lots of stuff going on at school for the end of term (state school so only just broken up) so was squeezing in prep at weekends and on the bus coming home from school. His mocks were all over the place, really non linear in terms of improvement. The relief now it’s over is palpable. He’s on to drafting his personal statement which should have happened end of term but didn’t due to too many spinning plates!

Hi All. DD is in the middle of her UCAT prep as her test is booked towards the end of August. Watching my DD prepare for the UCAT has given me a whole new appreciation for how demanding the journey to medical school really is. Between keeping up with A-levels, extracurricular commitments, and hours of practising for a highly competitive exam, it's a huge amount of pressure for young people. Wishing all your YPs the very best with the preparation and the test. We have booked our summer holiday for the last week of August so it will be a well deserved trip for my DD.

i agree! @Peachy80 Has to be one of the most brutal tests I’ve seen DS prep for. My other DS (twins) is starting looking at the ESAT and this is far easier as it’s just hard questions so you can score well just by being able to answer them. The UCAT seems to be fairly straightforward maths and a series of what can only be described as riddles? Under such intense time pressure. It’s the timing that’s the biggest issue. DS started prepping mid June just after his mocks finished and then had a final week off school for the summer holidays to do some more. But he quickly realised that week before was all about preserving his mental health so he didn’t psych himself out of burn out on exam day. I think there’s a very real danger you can burn out prepping for it. DS definitely saw that reflected in mock ucat tests (he used medify) Mental exhaustion meant his scores dropped dramatically.

Current med student (year 3) if anyone has questions be it UCAT, personal statment, A levels etc lemme know

Hi MedicalStudent2024. Where do you study medicine at? Could you please share your statistics (GCSEs and UCAT score)? Also what were your medical school choices? If you had multiple offers then what helped you to make your firm and insurance choices? Thanks

Hi,

If anyone has questions just make sure to 'quote' my comment so I am notified

I study at Leeds, going into 3rd year this september

UCAT was 3000, SJT Band 1 - this was of course before the UCAT dropped AR, it is now out of 2700

GCSEs: Grade 9 in, maths, further maths, biology, chemistry, physics, english literature, RS (religious studies), history and business. Grade 8 in English Language and Grade 7 in art

A levels was 3A star in biology, chemistry and maths. This was also my predicted which honestly matters more. It is preferable to have 3A star predicted and achieve 3As if that is the offer than vice versa

Sorry for the bold, the asterisk symbol messed up formatting

My choices were Leeds, Sheffield, HYMS (Hull-York medical school) and Birmingham
I did have offers from all of these and chose Leeds due to proximity mainly, but I am super happy with my choice and can highly recommend it.

If I had to choose again I would pick Leeds for sure.

More than happy to answer Leeds specific questions, or any other questions that anyone may have

Good luck to everyone waiting on A level results :)

Thanks a lot for your detailed response. You had great statistics and well done for securing 4 offers back then. We visited all your uni choices but HYMS and we liked them all. My DD will sit her UCAT at the end of August and then depending on her score we decide about the unis. Thanks again

More than welcome.

Initially I was thinking Sheffield actually it has a nice vibe but I wanted to commute to uni and it would have been the harder option so I ended up swapping to Leeds

Plus I can say the workload at Leeds for year 1 and 2 is good and they stream all lectures and provide the lecture materials often in advance.

Birmingham uni seemed nice but I've heard its not the best for medicine in terms of student experience and having family in Birmingham can say the city is not the nicest 😅the area around the uni is nice but a short trip out and you are in some not very nice parts haha

Feel free to message me later once UCAT is done if you need anything else - my brother should be starting Leeds med in September contingent on his A level results so I really do reccomend it if possible

@SuperSue77 I don't want to be a dampener on this thread, nor will I get into an argument with @mumsneedwine who will violently disagree with me, but all medical schools are not the same. They were in the past when entrance requirements were equally high at them all, but now not so much.
True all graduates will pass their final exams and will be called dr. And they will all get hospital jobs with no competition for 2 years. After that it becomes fiercely competitive.

The fact is that final university exams are set by the individual institutions, and although overseen by the GMC are not all at the same standard. The career structure is very pyramidal, with far more doctors needed at the lower grades than at the top. Recruiters obviously will choose the very best candidates to progress. The sobering statistic is that there are 9500 new graduates every year, and only 2500 positions for consultants and GP 's every year. Wes Streeting made it very clear that there would be no extra consultants employed on his watch. I am cynical enough to believe that is unlikely to change. So from every graduating cohort 7500 young doctors with large student debts will not get the consultant jobs they probably think they will.This situation will only be worse when medical graduate numbers are increased to 15000 by 2031. A fantastic earner for universities.

There is new research which shows that graduates from the newer medical schools are less likely to pass Royal College exams, which are essential to progress to the top of the profession. Unsurprising, as the strongest predictor of outcome is prior attainment. In fact the 2500 who do make it to the top of the profession are probably the same ones who always would have before numbers were massively expanded.

Medicine used to be seen as a straight path to employment, but now it is more akin to law, where there are 19000 graduates every year and only 6000 training contracts.

You're right, totally disagree. As does the GMC, the Medical Schools Council and the government. Each Uni does things their own way, some focus more on clinical skills, some on academia. But you end up being a doctor whichever one you choose. Unfortunately Uni snobbery is a massive thing for some people, never sure why.

And because we won the argument for UKG priority the jobs situation, up until CCT, is pretty much sorted for now. Great isn't it 😊

PS was at Plymouth last week and lots of alumni there to speak - all of whom had passed the most recent round of post grad exams. Actually speaking to people makes it so much easier to research the truth.

Right on cue. You do end up being called dr., But may not keep being able to work as one. Two thirds of graduates will not. This isn't snobbery, it's easily verifiable fact.

All prospective medical students should be very cautious.