Differed entry and applying again

[Aloneonprecipice]

Hi,

I think this is going to be a long post as I don't want to drip feed

My son in A levels wants to do medicine. He applied to Cambridge and King's College along with Manchester University. He got rejections from Cambridge and Kings but got a conditional offer from Manchester University.

He has applied for a deferred start, that is start university in 2025.

Now, he really wants to reapply for Cambridge and Kings College and given if he gets the required grades in A levels, he reckons he can resit Ucat exams and give these two universities a go next year.

I don't want him to lose the offer he has got for Manchester university.

My question is, if he accepts the Manchester Uni offer for 2025 start and then gets AAA grades in A levels, can he reject the Manchester Uni offer and reapply for Kings and Cambridge (obviously after resit Ucat).

Lots of ifs but I am a bit confused if he can have the cushion of a offer and still reapply for Kings and Cambridge? Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

1. No - he'd need to reject Manchester in order to apply again.
2. Your post would be better in 'Higher Education' rather than 'Secondary'.
3. I agree with you - he'd be an idiot to reject a rare medicine offer!

My advice fwiw, just take up the Manchester place. Surely medicine takes up enough time without adding an extra year?

He can't hold onto the deferred offer and reapply. If he thinks it is worthwhile come results day he can cancel the Manchester place and resubmit an application when ucas opens for 2025 entry. Perhaps best to consider more than the three.

@titchy absolutely right about it being is higher education.

Thanks for replying. It's just young people sometimes have a very positive view of future.

Another questions. If he rejects Manchester Uni for can he reapply a UCAS application the same academic year?

Yes he just lists them again,

@LIZS cross posted 👍

IIRC Cambridge and Manchester have very different styles of learning.

@WarningOfGails I agree. Personally I like Manchester Uni style. But my son is leaning towards Cambridge for the name and popularity.

If he got an interview for Cambridge then sure reapply but if he didn't get that far and has been rejected by Kings then I'm afraid he's overreaching

Plus he did badly in the Ucat so hes just going to waste a year

a couple of girls in DD's year have been offered med at Cambridge and I'm reasonably sure that they have to get at least one A* and 2 As so potentially even AAA won't be enough - however, it's different for everyone.

Honestly if he really wants to do medicine I'd advise he hangs on to the offer he's got. It's so tough - extremely relieved DD wants biochemistry instead

Take the Manchester place. Do masters elsewhere. You’re not locked in. And they have an offer.

@InAMillion he got both kings and Cambridge rejections after interviews.

His predicted grade that his teachers gave him are 2A*A.

@theeyeofdoe that is good advice 👍

He can reject Manchester and take his chances for next year but that would be risky imo.
I’d def encourage him to take Manchester. Great uni in a great city.

His motivation for Cambridge is a bit suspect. You say 'for the name and popularity' - perhaps they picked that up at interview. All medicine degrees wherever you take them, lead to dc becoming doctors. Isn't Cambridge's course more theoretical as well? No early patient work.

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

Thanks all for replies. I am also encouraging him for Manchester. As PP said, it is a great university.

My oldest is in a similar situation having applied to Cambridge for deferred entry and been pooled but rejected. She isn't keen on the other offers she has (and still waiting for two).
She will accept one of the others and then, if her results are good, give up that offer and reapply.
The key difference though is that she is applying for an arts course and not medicine. Medicine places are hard to get; I know (from a friend who trains medics) that not getting in the first time you apply is really quite common. And in all honesty Cambridge is not any better than other medical schools and not going there will make zero difference to your son's career.

What is UCAT? Edinburgh and St Andrew's are good for medicine. It is a tough course and 5 years long. Does he realise this (sure he does) but you need to be very dedicated. If he got another interview for Cambridge he might benefit asking someone who has got into Cambridge or qualified from there for some advice about questions and answering if the interviews were what stopped him.

What would he do for the year?

Unnecessarily adding a year to a medicine degree seems like madness.

@GladysHeeler We are not originally from here and he would like to spend some time in his home country and then maybe get some work experience.

But we are quite open to not going for the gap year as well.

Doctor here. I went to Manchester. In medicine no one gives a shit where you went to uni. He’d be mad to give up a place and also, Manchester is brilliant. Tell him to give his head a wobble.

Another medic here. In the UK if you’re a doctor it literally makes ZERO difference which uni you graduated from - job applications are university blind. So just take the offer, graduate asap and get on with your life.

@justabigdisco @ohmysense perfect!
Thanks for the such to the point posts. Just keeping our fingers crossed that he does good in A levels.

Cambridge is a 6 yr course whereas Manchester is 5 years - so he’s looking at an extra year to get to the same position and as others have said, no one cares where drs studied once they’re qualified, so it’s a bit of a waste to hold out for Cambridge unless he is desperate for a very academic course.

UCAT is an additional test you have to take when applying for medicine.

Why randomly introduce two new unis? Edinburgh is 6 years and St Andrews you can only do 3 years preclinical then you have to move - most go to Manchester.