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St. Andrews Medical Applicants 2014

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Original post by newbeee
for all those who are worried about ukcat- i received an unconditional offer a few days ago and i only have 685! so don't panic too much! :smile:


I feel much more relieved! However my interview didnt go so well either, and I had a ukcat of 692.5

Original post by TattyBoJangles
Congratulations to all those with offers! I take it we'll be seeing a few of you next year?

To those that haven't heard, all you can really do is be patient. Interviews haven't finished yet so I'd wager the majority of offers are yet to come.
It can be a long wait - I got my offer in early April last year, after almost withdrawing because I was fed up with the wait - but it's definitely worth it if it pays off!


Wow early april, that is very late indeed! The wait must have been very painful


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Original post by Dinosaurus_Rex
I feel much more relieved! However my interview didnt go so well either, and I had a ukcat of 692.5



Wow early april, that is very late indeed! The wait must have been very painful


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To be honest, it wasn't so much painful as annoying. I was lucky enough to have another offer but wanted St Andrews to send their decision before I went travelling so I could have it all sorted before I left. They ended up replying a few days before I left!

I think my offer came later than most because they were finalising the route I was on - but yes, just hold on in there and they'll reply eventually :tongue:
Original post by TattyBoJangles
To be honest, it wasn't so much painful as annoying. I was lucky enough to have another offer but wanted St Andrews to send their decision before I went travelling so I could have it all sorted before I left. They ended up replying a few days before I left!

I think my offer came later than most because they were finalising the route I was on - but yes, just hold on in there and they'll reply eventually :tongue:


Will do! Hopefully Ill see you in September! How are you finding st andrews anyways? Hows the workload compared to A levels? (Or your scottish grade system if youre scottish)

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Original post by Dinosaurus_Rex
Will do! Hopefully Ill see you in September! How are you finding st andrews anyways? Hows the workload compared to A levels? (Or your scottish grade system if youre scottish)

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It's great, ta! All the staff are lovely and helpful, facilities are top notch etc.
It's been sunny the past few days and we're coming up to our spring break so I'm currently procrastinating (if you couldn't tell)..

The workload isn't really comparable to A-Levels. I happily swanned through them with no trouble; the workload has increased pretty much exponentially since then.

That's not to say it's particularly difficult. The concepts aren't hard to grasp - there's just a lot of it.
It's still perfectly manageable if you find a technique that's good for you, though.
Any RUK applicants got offers yet??
Reply 705
Hey guys! just wondering, have any of you also applied to Glasgow?:biggrin: And if you have, where would you go if both unis gave you offers?:smile:
Got an offer! International student :smile:

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My friend (international too) loves both of them, but I think she's picking glasgow since she isn't a fan of the manchester route

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Reply 708
Original post by ocim95
Hey guys! just wondering, have any of you also applied to Glasgow?:biggrin: And if you have, where would you go if both unis gave you offers?:smile:


I would go to St. Andrews. For a few reasons.

-1. I'm guaranteed an extra degree at St. Andrews( + extra knowledge). At Glasgow only 30-40% of the top achievers go on to do the intercalated degree.

-2. St. Andrews has more focus on lectures based teaching. Glasgow has started to focus more on lecture than they use to but the fact that they still focus on teamwork/independent approach is not ideal right from the start of the degree for me. I would prefer to go to Glasgow after spending three years at St. Andrews because I would have strong knowledge about the human body, how to take history Etc and then start on CBL/PBL etc.

3- St. Andrews is a place where I have stayed before during a summer school. I enjoyed my time there very much and I am sure that I would be more than happy to spend the next three years there. The biggest difference is that St. Andrews is a close-knit community; whereas, Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland. So it depend what you prefer. I prefer St. Andrews.




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Original post by MOHSINM31
I would go to St. Andrews. For a few reasons.

-1. I'm guaranteed an extra degree at St. Andrews( + extra knowledge). At Glasgow only 30-40% of the top achievers go on to do the intercalated degree.

-2. St. Andrews has more focus on lectures based teaching. Glasgow has started to focus more on lecture than they use to but the fact that they still focus on teamwork/independent approach is not ideal right from the start of the degree for me. I would prefer to go to Glasgow after spending three years at St. Andrews because I would have strong knowledge about the human body, how to take history Etc and then start on CBL/PBL etc.

3- St. Andrews is a place where I have stayed before during a summer school. I enjoyed my time there very much and I am sure that I would be more than happy to spend the next three years there. The biggest difference is that St. Andrews is a close-knit community; whereas, Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland. So it depend what you prefer. I prefer St. Andrews.




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Ah I believe the General Medical Council did a study though (in relation to your second point), unis teaching with PBL produced doctors in general that performed better as a whole

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Reply 710
Original post by Blobblecats
Ah I believe the General Medical Council did a study though (in relation to your second point), unis teaching with PBL produced doctors in general that performed better as a whole

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I'm not surprise to hear that tbh but on the other hand, St. Andrews is a better school in terms of teaching the course in general. This is backed up by the league tables. St. Andrews is always in the top 2/3.

I'm not saying Glasgow is rubbish. I like Glasgow's way of teaching especially the new approach where it's a mix of lectures and PBL/CBL but prefer St. Andrews because of all other factors.


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Reply 711
Original post by ocim95
Hey guys! just wondering, have any of you also applied to Glasgow?:biggrin: And if you have, where would you go if both unis gave you offers?:smile:


I've applied to Glasgow and I have an offer (I think you do too?).
Well depends if you like the teaching format, I don't think pbl is a bad idea, and the fact that there's lectures too is a bonus!
It's a big city, great night life and lots of things to do and st Andrew's is close knit, everyone will know each other and.I'm sure its a great place to stay as a student.
Too totally different universities and cities though, both with a lot of history!
Original post by MOHSINM31
I'm not surprise to hear that tbh but on the other hand, St. Andrews is a better school in terms of teaching the course in general. This is backed up by the league tables. St. Andrews is always in the top 2/3.

I'm not saying Glasgow is rubbish. I like Glasgow's way of teaching especially the new approach where it's a mix of lectures and PBL/CBL but prefer St. Andrews because of all other factors.


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And I guess I can't really comment since I didn't apply to Glasgow (hence no understanding of it), just regurgitating what my friend said :smile:

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Reply 713
Do St Andrews have any kind of offer holders visiting day? I'd really like to see the uni again before making a decision!


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Anybody wanting to choose to go to edinburgh for clinical years?

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Yessss
Reply 716
Me too if I get in :smile:
Original post by RadioheadHermie
Yessss


Theyre both amazing places! But I think only the very best actually go to edinburgh
Reply 718
Original post by Dinosaurus_Rex
Theyre both amazing places! But I think only the very best actually go to edinburgh


It all depends on the preference of the rest of the Scottish cohort. This year I think it's about 17 students going to Edinburgh, 5 or 6 each to Dundee and Aberdeen and about 25 to Glasgow. So not necessarily the very best going to Edinburgh, it just depends on where the highest grade students want to go to!


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Yeah you're pretty much guaranteed to go to Glasgow or Edinburgh if you wanted to, those who go to Dundee or Aberdeen have usually put them as their first choice for whatever reason (location/course) so for those worried, you'll be fine. Also to help answer a past question about St Andrews vs Glasgow I personally would go for St Andrews (obviously :tongue: ) because you're getting the unique student experience and teaching only available at St Andrews and then go on to Glasgow for 3 years of student city life so you are getting the best of both worlds and probably the best overall student experience of any other medical or non-medical student!


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