Medicine 2026 Part 3

[MyGreyBiscuit]

Hi everyone, here's the new thread!

Hi @bluefineliner, am delurking too to say I also found your video, and my dd has been following yours on tiktok and has shown me a few of her posts before, and also showed me the video of her opening her results yesterday. She finds her very relatable (unlike certain other study tiktokers!) and likes her style so seemed quite invested 😂

Huge congratulations anyway, and to everyone else who had good news yesterday. And commiserations to those who didn't get what they wanted - I hope things will work out even if it takes an unexpected route. We are a year behind in process (hence following this thread) and not feeling too optimistic about UCAT so impressed with everyone making it through such an arduous period!

I told DD about the video this morning and she had also seen it as a follower of the account and showed me the A level results one too! DD has followed her medicine journey - will she continue the account as a med student?

@bluefineliner saw the video and made he smile. UCAS being as annoyingly slow as ever 😂. So lovely to see how happy she is !!

What no one sees in her tears is the hard work and stress that applying for medicine entails. Hopefully she'll carry on her videos - they can make good money if become popular I believe (do not really understand how 😂).

Off to check scripts this morning. Quite a few near grade boundaries and didn't get through them all yesterday. But we have sent a lot back already as marking a bit shoddy. Mmmmmmm

so sorry to hear this - haven't read the whole thread but are the Bs close to As and reviews could tell you more?

I think if she's always enjoyed, perhaps take a closer look and see if she'd really get on with both the subject and the city. I know it might sound easy for us to say, but I think having another subject that she really enjoys is helpful in terms of finding the 'new plan'. Similar thing happened to a friend's child and they are now happily nearing the end of their new degree, having had internships during holidays and gaining top grades. As an outsider, we see that this is where their passion lies and also their skill set - the parent however still seems to hanker about medicine!

@crispy2019 first get papers reviewed by her teachers and if they think it's worth a remark then do it as priority. Let her firm uni know asap.

Lots of Unis accept resits. Take some time to regroup, book UCAT and look at options locally to resit (not everywhere makes it easy so research might be needed).

Unintended gap years can be so beneficial. Time to get some money, experience, travel and look at new Uni options. If can help please let me know.

I'm so sorry!! I find that quite strange given that Exeter has knowingly reduced grades in the past (or even for this year - we didn't apply there so I didn't keep any tabs - perhaps others might know better). Was one of the As close to an A*???

It all comes down to numbers - if they have met their targets by people achieving grades then they won’t drop them. If not then they may drop a grade rather than go to clearing. So even if they have dropped grades previous years you can never guarantee they will again.

Lovely video @bluefineliner !

@Peanuts79 so sorry about that. If teachers do not advise remark, does your DD plan to resit for an A star and re-apply to Exeter, or apply to a different set of schools? (I believe Exeter uplifts the points for achieved grades, but don't quote me on that).

My DD got AAAA (bio, chem, maths, and physics). She is 2 marks off an A star in Chemistry and 4 marks off in Maths. We aren't going to pay for remarks as it's too costly, and her grades were good for Sheffield.

DD's school friend who was on the waitlist at NCL and Liverpool didn't get an offer; they were told yesterday no places left. She also applied to Birmingham in clearing (unsuccessfully). She also got 4 As and decent UCAT (>2000). And there is another boy at school who applied to med school with similar UCAT as hers, and just got 4 A stars... and no med school place for him either. They are both going through UCAT/interviews again... so tough for them.

Wait lists have been a bit of a game changer with dropped grades. Unis now have a list of students who they can take instead with no effort (Exeter has a long list !). It's sometimes not v fair.

Personally, I'd not bother resitting if AAA. Redo UCAT and apply grades in hand - most only need AAA so lots of options. Plan a gap year working a bit, go to interviews and then head off and travel for 6 months.

Applying grades in hand is easier. And some Unis give more weighting (Exeter !) to actual results.

Good luck.

Good luck to your DD today, UCAT is awful but necessary unfortunately, let us know how she did.

I love that she follows my DD's Tiktok, yes she is going to do 'med student' tiktok too now along with advice on A levels that she did.

@Mafaldaweasley it is lovely your DD follows my DD's tiktok and that she feels she is relevant. Although a high achiever she works extremely hard and is very hard on herself (too hard) so is relatable to med applicants.

@mumsneedwine thank you, those tears were a build up of months of stress and my DD is nothing if not a huge drama llama! 😂.

@Peanuts79 I am so sorry your DD missed out by such a tiny amount and 3 As is fantastic and what most med courses want. If she resits UCAT and applies grades in hand she will have a great choice still.

@FruAashild congrats to your DD on Sunderland!

@Curlyshabtree well done to your DD on Newcastle, maybe she'll come across my DD there. She is just sorting paying for accommodation this morning. All very real now!!

@crispy2019 Sorry to hear about your DD, I think taking a bit of time to process is the best thing for now. It has been such a stressful time for them they all need to recover a bit.

@MyGreyBiscuit congrats to your DS, I feel like I've followed his progress every step of the way with you so I am so glad he got in. Now is the countdown to them moving out 😬.

Thank you!! And me too (it was nice to see ‘a face’ to all this!!)… turns out moving in date is a month from now - I’m not ready. We went to Ikea yesterday and got the £50 “uni story” box with most things already included. Given that he’s not a cook (I think he has a month to learn), this will be sufficient for now. I won’t be surprised if his most used equipment will be the Tupperware boxes which will store his leftover pizzas and takeaways given that he’ll be in London SURROUNDED by these stores…! OMDs.

Funny - when we went to open day, the students recommended some local chicken shop and when we went there, we saw plenty of hopeful applicants eating there as well! It was not a bad recommendation but not sure he can do that every day!

If reapplying in October use the time to upgrade the PS by doing the care home, TA, volunteering stuff. Will also give material to talk about in interview.
Three A grades at A level should be enough academically hopefully - the course isn't difficult (have taught in med schools) just a huge volume of material. But there is that need for stamina and thinking outside the box plus being able to add 1 and 1 and not just get the answer of 2.
I have worked with many doctors and some can't manage to walk and talk at the same time.

I'd not bother with more volunteering - you'll have enough hopefully as already got offers. Get a paid job (until interviews are over), save and travel. Enjoy the gap year and post all those photos on instagram of you living your best life.

Many students are grateful in the end for having to do this, although I know it doesn't feel like it now

Thanks - she didn’t do as well as she hoped :-( She was hoping to break the 2000 barrier but actually got 1890. Was also hoping for band 1 on SJT but got band 2.

She should be okay to apply to Keele still, which is her favourite, but we will need to think carefully about the other 3.

I’m proud of how she is taking it though, as in the past she has got really stressed about exams but she is being philosophical about it and grateful that all is not lost.

@SuperSue77 she can get 4 interviews ! Look carefully at the spreadsheet and see which ones count academics first more than UCAT. I promise it can be done - lowest this year I've had was 1810. They are happily off to Queens in Belfast.

Sorry to hear it wasn't as high as hoped @SuperSue77 it's such a tough test. I'm glad that she has options, including Keele which is a favourite!

@MyGreyBiscuit what's the uni box you are talking about? DD has made a long list of things. Her move in is on the 20th of Sep so there's plenty of time. Not sure if I'll ever be read emotionally but that's another story 😀

You really are so kind with your knowledge and worts, thank you.
thanks to everyone for your support and well done to those that got the results…exciting times ahead

it's this box!! Offers - Discounts - IKEA UK

Ikea seems very popular but we found large supermarkets were often better and cheaper for student stuff. Also a risk in everyone getting Ikea is identifying your things in a shared kitchen. Other places recommended include your home (you probably have spares of lots of stuff already so don’t need to buy more) and charity shops. But the main thing is not to over-buy. And don’t buy anything that will be used in the share kitchen that you will be upset to lose.

In terms of insurance on laptops etc. we found by far the cheapest way was by adding as part of student contents insurance rather than standalone insurance.

@SuperSue77 it is good that your DD is being pragmatic about the UCAT, her score does not exclude her at all, but as others have said just hunt out the unis where other things are weighted more.

When we didn't know what DD's score would be she looked at Queens Belfast as they value GCSEs and they were her strong point. If I remember rightly your DD has a strong GCSE profile?

Thanks for the suggestion - I must say we hadn't looked at QMB at all as DD was keen to stay within a few hours drive/train journey from home, but given her UCAT score I think she'll need to expand her horizons. (If she was having to get flights to and from uni I think that would be a positive in her opinion!) Assuming their scoring for 2027 is similar to 2026 she should score 31/36 for GCSEs, and most likely 4/9 for UCAT, giving her a score of 35 which would have been enough for 2025, but not sure what the lowest was for 2026. I think we'll take a closer look at QMB, thanks for the heads up!

I mean QUB not QMB!