Closed - The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread [Part 1 of 3]

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Reply 80

RoadWarrior

I wonder who negged me for my post? I think you are the "retarded" one...and btw you have no rep power anyway.

Reply 81

phen

Jonty99

You don't actually need to get 96% of questions right to score 96%. Raw marks are converted to a uniform mark scale, which often ends up sort of "adding marks on".

Errr.. what are raw marks usually like? And how does the UMS work? Could you elaborate on that?
Mostly out of curiousity. I appreciate the answers given.

RoadWarrior

Its 96% UMS - for example, in Chemistry, you could get 71/80 and get 100% UMS.

Makes me all the more curious as to how the UMS thing works!

Reply 82

RoadWarrior

LiamSwainy

Thank you!

Yup, sorry forgot Lancaster, but basically, I'd advice you to avoid all UKCAT uni's.

Reply 83

LiamSwainy

RoadWarrior

Yup, sorry forgot Lancaster, but basically, I'd advice you to avoid all UKCAT uni's.

Will do!

Also, would there be a realistic chance of me doing well in the BMAT if I did so poorly in the UKCAT?

Reply 84

RoadWarrior

phen

Errr.. what are raw marks usually like? And how does the UMS work? Could you elaborate on that?
Mostly out of curiousity. I appreciate the answers given.

Makes me all the more curious as to how the UMS thing works!

They scale raw marks to a uniform marking scale so 80% = A, 70% = B etc. For example, if it was a very hard exam, and most people did poorly, perhaps on 60% of raw marks will equal 80% in UMS and therefore an A. In an easy exam, you may need 85% raw marks to get an A. There's probably a lot of info on TSR if you search for it :smile:

Reply 85

wer343lit

phen

It's to ensure that a similar amount of people get an A, B, C etc every year, I believe. They always set the A boundary at 80% UMS, then convert the raw marks so that the correct percentage of people score about 80% UMS.

Reply 86

RoadWarrior

LiamSwainy

Will do!

Also, would there be a realistic chance of me doing well in the BMAT if I did so poorly in the UKCAT?

How much practice did you put in for the UKCAT? Like all tests, the more practice you do for the, the better you'll do. Your grades are good, and you do all the sciences, so you'll have a good basic knowledge, so if you do enough practice, you could do very well :smile:

Reply 87

Onychophagia

LiamSwainy

Will do!

Also, would there be a realistic chance of me doing well in the BMAT if I did so poorly in the UKCAT?

No reason why not. It can be prepared for to a greater extent than the UKCAT. Have a look at some of the questions on the website if you want. :smile:

Reply 88

phen

RoadWarrior

Jonty99

Thanks for your answers! I thought people scored 96% of raw marks!
I only scored 9.5 or higher on average on chemistry and mathematics, so I was surprised to read you need at least 96% to stand a realistic chance of success in some courses.
The way 9.5 is calculated is 1+ (9*raw score)/(total score), so 10 is max and 1 is minimum. This is almost always used, except in cases where the average tends to be incredibly lower than usually. Averages usually lie around 6~7 out of 10. o_o

No idea why I'm telling you this but if you're interested for some reason, there you go!

Reply 89

Chunkeymonkey62

Ha! I thought you were asking us where to apply! :p:

Still undecided on 2 of mine! Guess I'll look about more after my UKCAT tomorrow!

Reply 90

RoadWarrior

phen

haha 96% raw marks would be harsh - even 96% UMS marks is very tough :p:

Where is that used? I don't think anyone sees their raw scores unless they ask for them anyway :confused:

Reply 91

randdom

Degausser

138 students :proud:

. I don't know how big tutorials are though.

Sorry :colondollar:

How big are tutorials if you don't mind me asking? :p:

If you mean how many in the tutorials, about 10 maybe slightly fewer :smile:

Reply 92

ShinyShiny

LiamSwainy

Will do!

Also, would there be a realistic chance of me doing well in the BMAT if I did so poorly in the UKCAT?

Many people excel in one and balls up the other, I did. Dont worry.

Reply 93

LiamSwainy

RoadWarrior

Err a fair bit ... I messed up on the verbal reasoning, got a mental block ... and got progressively better. I will feel more at ease sitting the BMAT at school I think.

Reply 94

phen

RoadWarrior

haha 96% raw marks would be harsh - even 96% UMS marks is very tough :p:

Where is that used? I don't think anyone sees their raw scores unless they ask for them anyway :confused:

My grades are all raw. That is, they are pushed through the formula I gave in my previous post: 1+ (9*raw score)/(raw score). This is only done to get a marking scale from 1 to 10. Except in the case of an unexpectedly hard test (in which case some compensation can be made, but this situation usually makes for lower scores than a better, 'fairer' test.
My chemistry teacher is really harsh on this. Usual averages for chemistry tests are slightly above 'fail' (or as they call it, 'insufficient', which is 5.4 or lower), at around 5.7~6.3. This is because he makes long tests which are only doable if you know how to fluently do all the calculations: if you need some time to think about the calculations, you're usually taking too long already. :frown:

It's not rare that I'm the only one to finish the test. In fact, it's quite odd if a lot of other people do finish the test.)

When I apply to Oxbridge this will also be in raw marks. They (Cambridge) say you need to belong to the top 1-2 per cent to make a realistic chance of success when applying (as an International student). I think I belong to this category so I think I stand a fair chance!

Reply 95

Sunny1171

ZakBrannigan

Hi
But u mentioning these two particular medicals schools are ur fav ones to apply?
let me know

Yeh well i'm applying to:

UCL (First choice)
Barts/Kings
Keele
Glasgow :smile:

Reply 96

Degausser

randdom

If you mean how many in the tutorials, about 10 maybe slightly fewer :smile:

Thanks

Reply 97

Formula 1

Do not apply to oxford unless your gonna get 30+ on your BMAT coz they take your percentage A* at gcse and bmat then shortlist, so your not gonna get into Oxford. Cambridge on the otherhand interview most of the applicants and so if you've got close to 90's in your top three AS-levels then give cambridge a chance!

you need a 4th AS...

LiamSwainy

Err a fair bit ... I messed up on the verbal reasoning, got a mental block ... and got progressively better. I will feel more at ease sitting the BMAT at school I think.