[ob.is.a.bit.good]

(Original post by jen001)
Anyone know what the GEP cutoff was last year?

702.5 - i got 707.5 so im probably not applying for the gep! a100 on the other hand is a definite firm

[EveR]

I have a UKCAT score of 673, think Newcastle is too risky? Thanks

[Swind]

I got 677.5, really want to go to newcastle but it will probably have to reconsider

[chats4england]

I got 690 average.

Think I'm going to go for it as I loved the place.

[JessBess]

(Original post by chats4england)
I got 690 average.

Think I'm going to go for it as I loved the place.

Got 695 me too

[Marky]

I would consider anything below 690 - 700 is risky.. Apparently Newcastle's gone up in the rankings this year so might get more applicants - plus the cut off has gone up and up each year :/ Such a shame we only get four options!!

[Beska]

(Original post by Marky)
Apparently Newcastle's gone up in the rankings this year

[Normandy114]

(Original post by Beska)

Not quite that high in the rankings, yet anyway

Have you moved there yet?

[Beska]

(Original post by Normandy114)
Not quite that high in the rankings, yet anyway

Have you moved there yet?

Rankings are tosh anyway, but it's nice to tease.

Nope, a week left to go!

[Normandy114]

(Original post by Beska)
Rankings are tosh anyway, but it's nice to tease.

Nope, a week left to go!

Ah not long to go then! At least you have freshers ahead of you, I've got all the fun of year 13 to go

[Beska]

(Original post by Normandy114)
Ah not long to go then! At least you have freshers ahead of you, I've got all the fun of year 13 to go

You'll be in my position soon!

[Normandy114]

(Original post by Beska)
You'll be in my position soon!

If everything goes extremely well! So glad my UKCAT went well, love the look of the Newcastle course although it is a bit far away.

[Beska]

(Original post by Normandy114)
If everything goes extremely well! So glad my UKCAT went well, love the look of the Newcastle course although it is a bit far away.

You still have a bit of time to think about all the pros/cons and whatever.

[JessBess]

(Original post by Marky)
I would consider anything below 690 - 700 is risky.. Apparently Newcastle's gone up in the rankings this year so might get more applicants - plus the cut off has gone up and up each year :/ Such a shame we only get four options!!

So do you think it's a risk applying with 695 ?

[spoinkytheduck]

Just wondering if not taking EPQ would give any (even slight!) disadvantage here??

[Marky]

(Original post by JessBess)
So do you think it's a risk applying with 695 ?

I think you've got to make that call yourself I'm afraid lol If you feel you have more of a chance of getting an offer from another uni you'd be just as happy at, that would probably be a safer option! It's difficult I know - still haven't fully made up my own mind - but if you apply to Newcastle and get rejected straight away you only have three left! Good luck!

[Marky]

(Original post by spoinkytheduck)
Just wondering if not taking EPQ would give any (even slight!) disadvantage here??

It wouldn't decrease your chances of getting an offer for interview as that's down to your UKCAT, but EPQ's look impressive in your personal statement and interview.. But you can certainly make up for it in other areas of your application though, plenty of people don't do them!

[JessBess]

(Original post by Marky)
I think you've got to make that call yourself I'm afraid lol If you feel you have more of a chance of getting an offer from another uni you'd be just as happy at, that would probably be a safer option! It's difficult I know - still haven't fully made up my own mind - but if you apply to Newcastle and get rejected straight away you only have three left! Good luck!

Thanks you too I think I am going to apply.

[RO'Gara]

Was just wondering is Newcastle PBL, lecture based or a mixture of both? Had a look on their website but it doesn't seem to say.

Also does anyone know how anatomy is taught?

[Limesasquatch]

(Original post by RO'Gara)
Was just wondering is Newcastle PBL, lecture based or a mixture of both? Had a look on their website but it doesn't seem to say.

Also does anyone know how anatomy is taught?

I know, the website sucks tbh. There isn't even that much on wikipedia lol

I have some good info somewhere that someone posted once, I've found it for you - that's already giving me more credit than I deserve. It was posted by "Hoonosewot". It's great help.

"It basically means lecture based, but not overtly "sciencey". In the first year your modules are:
Life Cycle (interesting)
Nutrition, Metabolism and Endocrinology (difficult)
Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Renal Medicine (interesting)
Clinical Sciences and Investigative Medicine (interesting except pharma)
Medicine in the Community (you'll stop turning up to these after 3 weeks)
Personal and Professional Development (ditto)

Second year:
Thoughts, Senses and Movement (most peoples favourite module)
Life Cycle
Clinical Sciences and Investigative Medicine
Medicine in the Community
Personal and Professional Development

It's mostly lecture based, with a lot of supporting seminars where you work in a group of about 15-20 going over stuff you've covered in lectures. These can range from simple talks about various systems to ethical debates, from sociological and philosophical discussions to just having a chat.

You also have Clinical Skills frequently where you learn CPR, Chest exams (Resp and Cardio), Abdo exams, Neuro exams of the limbs, Cranial nerve exams, history taking, Otoscopy, Fundoscopy, Venesection and other skills you'll need when you start in hospital.

There are also frequent dissection sessions where you learn the anatomy that's already been covered in lectures. It's seriously worth learning it when you're looking at a cadaver, diagrams are useless for learning anatomy in my experience, you get given cadaver photos to label in the exams, so learn from them.

On top of lectures, seminars, clin skills and dissections, you have a couple of GP and Hospital visits where you practice history taking and generally get an idea of patient interaction. You'll also be visiting a pregnant mother in your first year, and a chronically ill person in your second year when you do your Family and Patient studies respectively. You'll probably see them quite a few times and it's a nice change of scenery getting to sit in someones living room chatting to them.

There are 4 pieces of coursework in first year, and 2 in the second year. The Family Study's the tricky one in first year because it takes a lot of time and investment to write up, and both the second year assignments are the same.

One of them is an student selected component (SSC), where you can write a review on a topic of your choosing basically. For example mine this year was on "The use of Arsenic Trioxide in the treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia". It takes a lot of time to read the literature but if you pick a topic that interests you then it's a really enjoyable piece of work to do.

There are 3 exams in the first year. You sit an exam in September, one in January and one in June, all multiple choice (but not easy MCQs, trust me). You also have an OSCE, which is an exam testing your Clinical Skills, but it takes real incompetence to fail that."