Medicine 2026 part 2

[mumsneedwine]

Thought I'd start another one.

@MyGreyBiscuit clearly above the cut-off based on UCAT alone! I guess there's a lot of admin to it all. It seems they've published the cut off so that applicants know before Christmas even if they don't get official news. Sheffield has done the same I guess. DD still waiting there, although for a rejection in her case.

if they've not rejected her then might it be the case that they'll contact her after the first round of rejects post interviews???? that could still happen (not trying to raise hopes but having seen posts from last year saying things like 4 rejects then suddenly in May getting an offer sort of thing...)? fingers tightly crossed

and yes, based on UCAT he's above the cut-off. His school mate has also not heard and I think they are maybe 50 points below his UCAT or something. but another friend had been offered an interview and they were below both of them. so WHO KNOWS!!!!! argh.

Really sorry that you and others didn’t get an invite for Liverpool. Their scoring doesn’t seem rational at all. I hope that your YP gets other invites and then offers. It’s such a competitive year in an already competitive process, so they’ve all done brilliantly so far.

@rockstuckhardplace Dundee is an absolutely brilliant place to do medicine, it’s one of the top ranked for life science with amazing research facilities. Their anatomy facility is world leading with Thiel embalming.

Also Dundee is a relatively cheap place to live as a student, plenty accommodation , easy to get around , lots for students with two big unis and beautiful countryside right on the doorstep.

So I hope your DD gets an offer from there ( despite the strange new interview format ) and forgets about Liverpool!

BTW My Ds had the UCAT scores and the grades to apply for imperial and Cambridge but didn’t do so as he prefers the course and facilities ( and the fees!! ) at Dundee and Glasgow.

Finally - heard from QM. Interview. I think DS was starting to wonder if somehow his application went missing or something (at least I was). February though, which is fine. and online. thanks all for helping to keep me sane here and allowing me to vent.

Also Dundee is a relatively cheap place to live as a student, plenty accommodation , easy to get around , lots for students with two big unis and beautiful countryside right on the doorstep.

Three universities! Accommodation is expensive and limited in St Andrews so some students from there live in Dundee too.

Congrats to those who got offers and interview invites, and commiserations to those with rejections!

We're still at 2/4 but we really hope to get an invite from Southampton after the Christmas break. DD plans to relax next week as we're away, but will start revising for A-levels and do some interview prep the week after.

UCL is slowly dripping email invitations, and there seems to be some order to it, but not entirely. It appears there are 3 or 4 home applicant interview dates still to be filled out of 17 total, if social media is to be believed. The lowest score invited thus far seems to be 2210, so we're still hopeful, as DD is close to that.

DD is participating in an MMI research study run by Sheffield and a few other universities. As part of it, she’s been given free access to an AI-based MMI prep tool. I’m in two minds about it; it feels like it might offer an unfair advantage, though I’m not even sure if it’s any good yet as she hasn’t tried it yet. Is anyone else's YP taking part? There are several other unis involved, including ARU, NCL, and Southampton.

@mumsneedwine Any thoughts on UCL? Do you think the home noncontextual cut off could still drop a bit in January, given where we are in the process? I believe last year they sent last interview invitations in February for the two March dates. The wait is really long on this one.

We know from this page that some people have been able to access MMI prep sessions or pay for online support and feedback. So if it works then it is already unfair. If Sheffield’s prep tool is a free resource that everyone can access then that might in future make it fairer - if they can’t find a way to select candidates that doesn’t make MMI prep services advantageous.

@2025parent You're right, although the London unis MMI prep sessions were organised by student unions, not by the universities themselves. DD actually had acess to one free full MMI mock organised by Plymouth Uni - that was also part of a research study. Her state nonselective 6th form is not offering any support with interview prep to med school applicants, unless they've also applied to Oxbridge.

I believe the idea with this AI tool is not only to help students prep, but also to use it in the future to assist unis with conducting the actual MMIs. They've split the participants into two groups: one with an AI tool and one with a video-based tool. I haven't actually read the full details, but will ask DD. She'll give it a try when we're back after Christmas.

@inae my guess, and it is a big fat guess, is that it will come down a bit more as they interview (& reject). But Bristol is still so ridiculously high nothing is certain !
Until it's a no you are still in the game. And occasionally even if it is a no you can end up with a yes.

Enjoy Christmas. Probably nothing going to happen for a few weeks after today. My own Juvenile Delinquent will be home Xmas eve for 2 lovely days

Thanks @inae and I hope you do have some time off over Christmas and not have to wait too long. DS vaguely (and I do seriously mean vaguely) mentioned the AI thing but his schoolmate who interviewed at Newcastle had access to it first and said it was rubbish and hasn’t used it. I don’t think DS has even touched his (or is he using the friend’s one?!)… no idea. I didn’t understand and will have to get him to show me the details. He’s out now - last day of school and all that.

We'd qualify for quite a big bursary so that would help..Thanks for highlighting that. Just seen their ucat cut of this year is 2320..they seem so high this year. Interview on 20th January still waiting for Bristol and Southampton

@everydirection - Imperial's UCAT cut off has always been very high... somewhere in the top 3-5% at the very least I think.

@MyGreyBiscuit It appears to be an AI-powered virtual interviewer. You can ask it to simulate an MMI circuit and choose questions from various topics. You can even input the specific unis you’ve applied to. Once you start recording your answers, the bot provides feedback. It sounds interesting to me, but I’m not sure how effective it is since DD hasn’t used yet. She’s taking a break and doesn't want to hear a word about interviews or revision until we fly home after Boxing Day. 😍

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! 🎄

hope everyone is managing to enjoy the Christmas break. Does anyone know if QMUL recorded the recent webinar on the interview process? Have emailed them but no reply.

thank you

https://events.ringcentral.com/events/j2he-preparing-for-medicine-and-dentistry-interviews

Is this it?

(Sorry, not involved with applications for Medicine personally, just a terminally curious peruser of HE and other 'E' threads).

we didn't know about it and from the grapevine, I don't know how useful the link is. Having said that, thanks @MarchingFrogs for locating it!

Happy Christmas/festive season everyone, and I hope you all get some festivity and much needed rest. I've just literally recovered from this dastard cold/flu whatever thing. This morning, woke up for the first time with no aches.

Thank you very much @MarchingFrogs . DS’s interview not until 23/01/26 so have a bit of a breathing space now. Hope all can relax over Christmas

Hello, I’ve been lurking and very grateful for @mumsneedwine spreadsheet earlier this year. DD applied more strategically as a result of discussing the spreadsheet and has just had an offer from Plymouth after an interview a week ago. She is over the moon as they said February to hear. She has Liverpool booked and waiting on Southampton but would be absolutely thrilled to go to Plymouth as the open day was brilliant.

Congrats!

@Fairyfeet40 huge congratulations. Derriford is a great hospital and Plymouth a v beautiful place to live. What a lovely Christmas present !

Congratulations to your DD, @Fairyfeet40!

Congratulations on the Plymouth offer @Fairyfeet40 , an excellent way to end the year for your DD.

Hi all

Hope you have all had a restful Christmas so far. We have had a nice quiet break (I've worked odd days) DD is now interview prepping as she has Leeds a week today so is focusing on that alongside mock revision, as they start next week too! We then have a 3 week break before Lancaster (the only online one) then Liverpool a week after. I think most of DDs non medic friends have offers now so she will have to be patient for a good while longer.

Hope everyone else and their YP are well and rested ahead of a what I am sure will be a busy month for all of them one way or another.