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.

Experience Medicine with LifeLab - Southampton University
3rd June – 8th July 2026
https://public-gbr.mkt.dynamics.com/api/orgs/c2267701-ce81-4d8f-ad2e-467e22f34949/r/RwvyDYO6g0GhIXpIup0DAAEAAAA?msdynmkt_target=%7B%22TargetUrl%22%3A%22https%253A%252F%252Flifelabonline.org%252Fcourse%252Findex.php%253Fcategoryid%253D61%22%2C%22RedirectOptions%22%3A%7B%225%22%3Anull%2C%221%22%3Anull%7D%7D&msdynmkt_digest=Bl%2Fd61q1BeJtUA2Vr%2FQYTpebztBos2Ameem6ey7LBEU%3D&msdynmkt_secretVersion=a175536a73764d0380b10b26ce0aed92

This is a paid for course. £150.

Experience Medicine with LifeLab online is a live 6 session course for students in Year 10 and Year 12 who are interested in studying medicine.

One-hour sessions delivered weekly, students will experience sessions covering medical ethics, clinical skills, admissions, communication and meet clinical staff and medicine students. As well as weekly live sessions, resources will be provided weekly to complete in your own time which will be discussed the following week.

Admissions teams are still dealing with 2026 applicants - not all offers/rejections have happened yet. Usually 2027 stuff will be finalised by June/July.

@Zokaluse73could you please give more details on BSMS? Why did you rule it out? We have booked an open day there in June. We also booked Leicester open day.

I know your question is not directly to me, but DD and I visited on a very rainy November day which was not an open day or meet and greet. We did a self tour around the Sussex uni campus and she was put off by the uninteresting looking buildings. We didn't go in the med school building or speak to anyone.

I sort of wish I hadn't taken her that day as there was no opportunity for her to see any of the positives and is now adamant she is not interested in it, yet I think it is a fantastic place. We had visited Brighton on a previous occasion (with a view to visiting the Sussex campus on the same day but ran out of time) and she wasn't impressed with Brighton either, which seems mad to me as it is such a great place with the beach and pier and lovely shops and restaurants, what's not to like! She is very conventional so maybe found it a bit too bohemian for her taste.

I'd be interested to hear why @Zokaluse73 DD didn't like it too.

We live near Brighton and I was so keen for my son to go there. He went for a medicine open day with his sixth form and he hated it too. I agree with you and the campus is lovely in the summer He's just about to firm Imperial with Bristol as a back up..Bristol was absolutely lovely when we went to the offer holders day and they seem so nurturing for anyone considering for next year. They also have contextual offers for certain schools so offer can be ABB (annoyed that my son's school has just come off the list!)

We checked the schools list for Bristol but DDs school is not on there, which isn't really a surprise as it has well above average results. My DS's school is well below (and high on FSM and pupils from less affluent postcodes) but that wasn't on either! So I emailed them to ask why and raised it with his school. His school were going to get in touch with them to investigate too. We have two other lower performing schools in the area, both of which were on the list, and DS's school sort of sits in the middle of them in terms of stats for FSM and results, so no obvious reason as to why it wasn't on. I will be checking the updated list to see if it made it.

Not sure if DS will apply to uni, he is AuDHD and very bright, but not keen on doing school work outside school. But it could be good for other students in his school.

@SuperSue77and @everydirection thanks for the feedback. My DD is also very conventional and might not like the city. @everydirectionCongratulations on the offers. We haven't booked Bristol yet. It requires a very high UCAT if I remember well. Could you please share your DS's statistics? Thanks

Yes @SuperSue77 I thought our DD’s sound similar too! 😊

Fantastic on the volunteering finally coming through! We have St Peter’s, Royal Surrey & Frimley all nearby. Frimley we met a surgeon at a networking event 2 years ago & he gave her his email saying she could shadow him, when it came down to it they said no he can’t do that & she has to go through the official programme. By the time that department got back to her the roles had been filled. She has to wait & reapply when it next opens up..daily checking of the website for that one!
St. Peters I’m at frequently & have popped to the volunteer office as has my daughter, along with emailing & having a telephone interview & yet still not heard - that started in 2024!
Royal Surrey is volunteering & work experience, she had her interview earlier this year & now we’re waiting to hear.

Exactly what my DD plans to do if she has to take a gap year, is also willing to go abroad, though I’ve seen 1 uni (think it was Keele) that doesn’t accept volunteering or WE from abroad.

She is also very conscientious & self motivated, her grades, are so far, on track. Her mocks are the first week of June.

Positive that you think her send volunteering is favourable - she may chill a bit more on her worry of volunteering letting her down.

She’s just done her driving theory test today & passed, she is delighted to remove a revision schedule from study buddy 😂

I went on to get this 16hrs after the time the email was delivered & it was already fully booked! I was so annoyed with myself as the one day I didn’t check emails regularly due to a terrible headache & I miss that for my DD!

My DD is also doing little bits to get used to the questions. She’s hoping for mid August UCAT. We’re not getting a summer holiday this year 😫 due to her UCAT revision schedule & exam, then she wants time with her friends & is going to Reading festival!

After @mumsneedwine reply I’ve re-looked into Plymouth and then decided it was worth a visit but my DD also isn’t keen. I’ve told her to look into the area a bit more as we haven’t been there since she was about 10.

My DD has Exeter & UEA as top choices before even visiting. Her reasons are that Exeter isn’t too far from home & they came to her school & did a talk. UEA she has her favourite uncles nearby & it’s not too far from home.

Oh no! They do have some free events too, my DD did one last October over half term. They say they prioritise WP but DD managed to get a place anyway. I can DM you the email address of the woman we were in contact with, maybe you could email her and ask if there is a wait list? Or for details of when the next events are.

Congratulations to your DD on passing the theory test! My DD isn't 17 until July but has booked her theory test for 3 days after her birthday! I suggested she sit it before the UCAT so that she has experience of sitting a test at the test centre before the dreaded UCAT. She is doing it at the Guildford test centre, and hoping we'll be able to book the UCAT for there too but we have a very specific date in mind on account of being away for the last 2 weeks in August!

@SuperSue77 they really did.

That’s why we all need to look at so many unis & then have a list so when the predicted grades & UCAT is done they can pick the ones they’re going for with least risk.

Yes I’m getting impatient too but shouldn’t be much longer as I believe once all offers are made they will update the requirements. I think this month is the latest for offers.

@Peachy80 She wasn’t a fan of the campus or area & decided half way through that it wasn’t her for based on that & the students we interacted with.

Great news for your son’s offers, congratulations to him.

Bristol is on our list too. UCL & Imperial were on her list originally but as we’re covering her living costs to include accommodation the accommodation is quite expensive plus living costs higher then add in how the City is not as safe as it used to be she ruled them out.

My DD has no contextual criteria.
At an independent school, not the first to to go uni etc. She is doing an EPQ & if she gets an A* that gives her AAA/AAB options at 2 or 3 unis on her list but she’s hoping she doesn’t need it.

@SuperSue77 An email address would be fantastic - thank you.

My DD did hers at Guildford this morning, she also sussed it out for UCAT day.

My DD the same, except she's at a non-selective state school. That doesn't give her any contextual points though as it is a high performing one in an affluent area. We're really lucky she is there as they have a high progress 8 score as well as attainment. But they're not so hot on medical applications, and they have few applying or being successful each year.

My DD is lucky that they have a dedicated medicine support staff member for help with the application process & advise along the way.
Their medicine support programme & knowing the staff is what made her stay on at 6th form rather than move to college. They have a few who apply to medicine each year & so far all have received offers. There are a few more than usual looking at applying this year.

He got 2420 in the UCAT. It really changed things as he was not straight 9s at GCSE. I think the key to his Success was being very calm during the exam. He did around 6 weeks preparation using Medify but not much beyond that and his Cafe job proved more useful than any medicine related experience at interview!

Thanks. What a fantastic UCAT score. Congratulations!

Hi all,

I typed up this list of 13 University requirements for my DD. (She wants me to remove Plymouth already so that will help reduce her selection).
Some are 2027 requirements & some are 2026 that I will update to 2027 as they appear.

I’ll also be doing another sheet with other requirements such as what they require for volunteering/WEX, info they share on interviews etc.

I’ll also be creating one on the area each uni is in, based on my DD’s likes/dislikes. She wants a pretty area that’s safe, with great things to do, including partying, great restaurants that are halal free & have not withdrawn from the higher welfare chicken programme and a decent amount of shops she likes.
if anybody is looking at the same Uni’s & has the same area requirements as my DD please DM me & I’ll be happy to send them over.

Hi. I’m looking for some advice. My son is Yr 13 and wanting to do dentistry. He had a disappointing UCAT score of 1860 but this was in line with what he was scoring at home in the mocks. He got 1 interview at Liverpool but got rejected. He should get A*AA so he’ll take a year out and reapply. My question- how can he significantly improve his UCAT as he actually worked hard for it last time around. Is it worth paying a fortune for one of the online tutors? The quantitative section was his worst. Any words of wisdom? Thanks and good luck to everyone. It’s pretty tough out there!

@Nateismine For UCAT Quantitative Reasoning he needs alot of mental arithmetic , brushing on quick div/multi in his head .
For mine done 8 weeks of practice UCAT, it was intense as he used medify, medentry and official UCAT mocks (these were done twice at the beginning and at last two weeks.
reflecting is very important and using the timed small mocks .
he used to take a day off every week and every time he felt he was dropping his grades( this to stop him burnout).

I think that him taking Math A level helped with QR as he was finding it easier than VR, everyone will find one part harder than others the important thing is practice .

There are some fantastic videos on YouTube that go through each section. And also the 1200 question book is great at explaining the rational for each type of question.

Quantative is about speed and tricks. So for example, if adding up lots of v long numbers just add the last ones and see if there is an answer matching this last number. Estimating helpful too.

Following and glad to have this support as also have a DC intending to apply for Medicine for 2027.