Edinburgh's Preferences.

applemilk1992

What does Edinburgh 'like'/place emphasis on in an applicant? Is it gcse's, as levels, ukcat, PS etc.

I'm wondering since they don't interview candidates, and there isn't a lot of information on the website about what they prefer.

Can anyone give any advice on this?

Reply 1

akj08

Lots of emphasis on extra curriculars - lots of people seem to get in their feedback that they don't have enough. Obviously PS is very important as they don't interview, and something like 85% have straight As (don't know if that includes GCSEs or what).

At first glance of the admissions procedure it looks like the UKCAT doesn't count for much, but if you read further it does state that it is sometimes used to make final decisions on applicants:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/medicine-vet-medicine/undergraduate/medicine/applying/requirements/ukcat

Good Luck :smile:

Reply 2

username43584

I got excellent in academics and very good in non-academic things and still got rejected so it's very competitive. They didn't tell me what would have made the difference (presumably work experience)

It seems to be that if you're non-Scottish you must be a perfect candidate: high % A*s, AAAa predictions, good work experience (probably some sort of long-term medical-related thing would have got me an offer), good extra-curriculars (according to my school they're into achievement and responsibility, ie. sports captain, leader of orchestra, prefect etc.) good UKCAT and so on.

Reply 3

TheRabbit

becca2389

\Its not anti-english its just that it is statistically easier (according to dundee admissions staff) to get AAA at A level than 5As at higher - they will look at exactly the same things otherwise

Reply 4

elle17

applemilk1992

Hey. From what I know edinburgh mark your application, awarding separate marks for academics, extra-curricular and "investigation in to medicine" ie work experience. Each are given equal weighting. Your academics have to be very good and is you don't have an A in chemistry you loose more marks than if you didn't have an A in, say, history.
This marking possess is done by 2 separate people and a final, overall mark is awarded. Then applicants are then ranked in score order from best to worst. A small number of offers are then given out to the top scorers. Then the UKCAT scores are taken into account and help make decisions on who else to give offers to (apparently it counts for about 8% of your application).
All this information is just from what I have been told by various people, and read. Hope this helps a little. :smile:

Reply 5

scaryhair

Here is my experience (2009 entry) for your consideration:

I think academics are extremely important to Edinburgh. I got a "reasonably good" academic score, and at the time of applying I had 9A*s, A and B at GCSE, 690 average on UKCAT and AAAA at AS level. My UKCAT score fell in the top cohort, so they either my A levels or my GCSEs must have let me down.
I was awarded a "good" non-academic score too.
This placed me in the top 500 out of 2450, but not in the top 300 to get an offer.

Hope that helps :smile: