Rejected 2yrs: what to do now? HELP!

I have been rejected two years running now for medicine; my school are of no use at all writing personal statement etc... I have AAAb in maths, chemistry, biology and physics (respectively). I don't want to apply again as I feel I have done as much as I can; in my gap year I and working and have got lots of long term volunteering and lots of work experience. I have no medical contacts so for all of this off my own back. I don't know what to do as I want to do medicine but don't want to go in via graduate entry as don't have the money to do that many yrs of study :frown:

anyone in/been in same position or have any advice?!?

Thanks in advance! :biggrin:

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Reply 1

Elwyn

Have you asked universities why you were rejected?

Reply 2

.eXe

Yes, do request feedback as Elqyn said. 7/8 have rejected you without interview which can be a result of 2 possibilities: 1) your grades/test scores/PS/ref aren't good enough or b) you havent applied wisely and to your strengths. Looking at your profile your ukcat scores seems fine, they are much much better than me. Your academics, although not the strongest, are definitely not bad.

This leads me to believe that the culprit is either your PS or you picked the wrong schools.

I'll ignore last year for now. This year with a 680 ukcat, and your academics should have been good to go ~~for an interview~~ for an offer with Southampton. But here's the kicker...Southampton bases offers 100% on PS and reference. They only use academics + scores to see if you meet cutoffs. The fact that Soton did not give you an offer both years leads me to believe that your PS is a major issue.

Newcastle is really hard school to get into but the fact that you managed an interview means that your application is certainly strong and they dont playce 100% emphasis on PS like Soton, so you managed an interview. But you were rejected after which can be two possibilities: bad performance or too much competition. At this point, I think your rejection was a mix of both...Newcastle is definitely a hard school to get into, and perhaps your interview might not have been the greatest.

With all this in mind, if you do decide to apply next year, please work harder on your PS. Get another reference (preferably better). Research all schools once again and apply only to those that cater to your strengths. Hope you are successful at some point, I wouldn't suggest giving up after 2 tries...

Good luck

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3

myyrh

Original post by funkymunkey123

anyone in/been in same position or have any advice?!?

Thanks in advance! :biggrin:

Have you tried looking in to applying whilst at university? heres the Student room link http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_for_Medicine_Whilst_on_a_Different_Course

Reply 4

Andy16

Yo, how much weight does the BMAT have?

Reply 5

myyrh

Original post by .eXe

Yes, do request feedback as Elqyn said. 7/8 have rejected you without interview which can be a result of 2 possibilities: 1) your grades/test scores/PS/ref aren't good enough or b) you havent applied wisely and to your strengths. Looking at your profile your ukcat scores seems fine, they are much much better than me. Your academics, although not the strongest, are definitely not bad.

This leads me to believe that the culprit is either your PS or you picked the wrong schools.

I'll ignore last year for now. This year with a 680 ukcat, and your academics should have been good to go for an interview with Southampton. But here's the kicker...Southampton bases interview offers 100% on PS and reference. They only use academics + scores to see if you meet cutoffs. The fact that Soton did not interview you both years leads me to believe that your PS is a major issue.

Newcastle is really hard school to get into but the fact that you managed an interview means that your application is certainly strong and they dont playce 100% emphasis on PS like Soton, so you managed an interview. But you were rejected after which can be two possibilities: bad performance or too much competition. At this point, I think your rejection was a mix of both...Newcastle is definitely a hard school to get into, and perhaps your interview might not have been the greatest.

With all this in mind, if you do decide to apply next year, please work harder on your PS. Get another reference (preferably better). Research all schools once again and apply only to those that cater to your strengths. Hope you are successful at some point, I wouldn't suggest giving up after 2 tries...

Good luck

If I'm not mistaken, I think this is a home applicant and as such would be facing a straight offer or rejection from Southampton :smile:

But yeah even so, that would be based entirely on PS and reference. Edinburgh also don't interview which is why applicants would have to be top notch on paper.

Reply 6

KCosmo

Are you sure you applied strategically? From your signature it looks like you got an one interview, but had you swapped Edinburgh for glasgow you would have definitely have had an interview there (they only use grades and UKCAT to decide on interviews, and both of yours are high enough)

This is just one example that came to my head, but there are lots of universities where you can nearly guarantee that you'll get an interview with the right UKCAT.

Reply 7

.eXe

Original post by myyrh

If I'm not mistaken, I think this is a home applicant and as such would be facing a straight offer or rejection from Southampton :smile:

But yeah even so, that would be based entirely on PS and reference. Edinburgh also don't interview which is why applicants would have to be top notch on paper.

Oh yes, true I totally missed that part. But yeah, offers are 100% on PS and reference regardless. I shall edit that in.

Reply 8

George89

i got an offer this year after my 3rd attempt so dont give up (but i am a graduate), but i would suggest to apply to places more strategically, for example u would have been guaranteed an interview at glasgow this year, n quite possibly aberdeen with ur academic record, so apply to places that u r most likely to get into. keep positive, its a horrible drawn out process but if its deffo what u wanna do, stick at it :smile:

Reply 9

Going_To_California

I think it depends a lot on how you feel about your options. If there's really nothing else you could see yourself doing, and you say that graduate entry is definitely not an option, this might be your only opportunity to study medicine. Are there any other career paths that interest you?
First cycle you applied to Cambridge which is incredibly difficult to get into, and as a BMAT uni it's impossible to know whether you should apply based on your score until after the deadline has passed, so I wouldn't worry about being rejected from there - many fantastic applicants do, and it's not really an indication that your application isn't good.
Edinburgh is very competitive, and like a high UKCAT. They also want lots of extra curricular activities, if I remember correctly.
Soton is purely PS based, so other factors aren't as important for them. You've got to look amazing on paper.
Newcastle use the UKCAT quite heavily, but you got a really good score, and hence an interview, but as it was your first interview, is it possible you were quite nervous and a bit unsure what to expect, and that might have come across?
Did you ask for feedback from the unis?
I really understand you wanting to go to uni now, but don't feel pressured into doing a course that your heart isn't in, just for the sake of starting uni.
Best of luck, I hope it works out for you :smile:

Reply 10

anoldbaby

Pretty much most people have said it already... I dont think it is a good idea to apply to southampton and edinbrugh twice if you have doubt about your PS as they make nearly all of their offers based on what you have got on paper... are you aware of this before you made your application?

Have you try to get some help from the PS Helpers in here? This maybe something that you can consider if you reapply; they are brilliant :smile:

Reply 11

KCosmo

Original post by anoldbaby

Have you try to get some help from the PS Helpers in here? This maybe something that you can consider if you reapply; they are brilliant :smile:

This is a good point, the PS helpers are amazing. I spent ages on mine and thought it was really good, before they totally ripped it apart (in a good way) and helped me make mine much better than before

Reply 12

Wenger

Original post by funkymunkey123

anyone in/been in same position or have any advice?!?

Thanks in advance! :biggrin:

What about the rest of Europe? International student? They do teach medicine outside the UK you know. Common sense is a rarity these days...

Biomedical science?

Original post by funkymunkey123

anyone in/been in same position or have any advice?!?

Thanks in advance! :biggrin:

Hey, have you asked for feedback as to why you were rejected? You've got to be really careful with where you apply to, play to your strengths!

Also, I know how disheartening it is when things like this happen, but if medicine is really want you want don't give up. My best friend has just been rejected for the 3rd time now (once before her degree, 2 years running after the degree) and she's still reapplying! You really need to find out what the universities have found weak in your application because then you can tailor your choices to what you've got.

Also, I really wouldn't recommend going for grad entry as it's way more competitive and expensive. Seeing as you've got your grades undergrad is your best shot.

If you need any help get in touch, I got in on my 4th application and it was a complete nightmare! :smile:

Stop applying

If this is really what you want to do, then you'll get in eventually. I understand it's easy to be disheartened but you've just got to pick yourself up and make yourself even better than you are now.

You say you've got lots of work exp and volunteering. Have you considered working as a HCA? You get paid + lots of exp working with the MDT.

Also have you considered other unis? Your heart seems set on unis which have very high entry requirements. Or in the case of Soton, has a very questionable selection method.

Good luck. If you're passionate, you'll succeed.

Reply 17

dugdugdug

Unfortunately there's more to getting into medical school than grades.

Even if you have the grades and shown interest by taking other medically related activities, it could still be a case of too many candidates chasing too few places.

One option would be to try to apply (for medicine) abroad, apply for something else in the UK or abandon the idea of going to uni altogether (at least for the next few years), pick up some job experience and then reapply as a mature student.

Reply 18

Iz08

Original post by funkymunkey123

anyone in/been in same position or have any advice?!?

Thanks in advance! :biggrin:

Don't give up. You can do it.
As others said already, get better PS and apply strategically.

Reply 19

AdamJG

If this is really what you want to do, never give up on it and definitely apply again. You have good results so your already pretty close, you just need to show yourself above other people with your PS.