UCL Medicine Applicants 2012

Original post by zhang599

x

Just to let you know (if you remember), my Chemistry ISA wasn't a disaster after all - I ended up getting 49/50 on it :tongue:

I could hardly believe it when I first heard my score, but now I'm so relieved :biggrin:

It's nice when things have a happy ending :biggrin:

Reply 1705

Squshy_Olorin

13

Original post by SaintSoldier

Just to let you know (if you remember), my Chemistry ISA wasn't a disaster after all - I ended up getting 49/50 on it :tongue:

I could hardly believe it when I first heard my score, but now I'm so relieved :biggrin:

It's nice when things have a happy ending :biggrin:

Ah Congrats! Good things happen :biggrin:

Good luck for Exams! xD

Reply 1706

Original post by bleble360

did anyone here get in with GCSE's around 5A*'s, 5A's and aaab (or lower than the b) at as level :\? If you did please let me know, I really want to go to UCL but im afraid my gcse's and potential b in as level will harm my chances drastically

Your GCSEs are more than adequate. So long as the B isn't in AS chemistry/biology you stand a good chance. Not that a B in AS bio/chem will disadvantage you, it just means you have less of a priority ranking.

I was speaking to one of the interviewers who said the medical school has carried out research into cohorts of its medical students and it found those who resat A-level units or didn't perform consistently at A-level (Chemistry in particular) tended not to perform as strongly in the course, and in some cases were more likely not to succeed overall. Hence their emphasis on avoiding resits and wanting consistent results. In addition to the fact of our notorious exam resit policy in the medical school :colone:

Reply 1707

Original post by zhang599

Ah Congrats! Good things happen :biggrin:

Good luck for Exams! xD

Thank youuu :smile:

And good luck for yours as well :biggrin:

Reply 1708

Original post by purplefrog

I was speaking to one of the interviewers who said the medical school has carried out research into cohorts of its medical students and it found those who resat A-level units or didn't perform consistently at A-level (Chemistry in particular) tended not to perform as strongly in the course, and in some cases were more likely not to succeed overall. Hence their emphasis on avoiding resits and wanting consistent results. In addition to the fact of our notorious exam resit policy in the medical school :colone:

Supposing you fail one of your exams, and then fail one of your resits, what happens to you?

Do you get kicked out or do you just have to redo that year of the course?

Reply 1709

Original post by SaintSoldier

Supposing you fail one of your exams, and then fail one of your resits, what happens to you?

Do you get kicked out or do you just have to redo that year of the course?

Depends on your circumstances and justifications for failing. You're put up in front of an exam committee and have to explain yourself and put up your argument. Chances are if you fail first year resits, you are likely to be allowed to resit first year all again. But after that, I believe they're less forgiving unless you have a really good set of extenuating circumstances.

Reply 1710

Original post by bleble360

Firstly thanks! The b is most likely going to be in Maths, and the only resit I am planning to do is the maths module I sat in January if everything goes according to plan. I know UCL say they slightly favour students with a differing arts subject would Economics come under this ?

The preference must be incredibly slight, almost negligible - as there are heaps of students with Bio/chem/maths, bio/chem/phys in my year. And as economics is not a pure science, it would fall under the non-science category making you eligible for this "slight preference".

Even if you get a B in something, try to make sure you're predicted AAA.

What else do they put heavy emphasis on in an application, obviously the personal statement and bmat as well as the grades but anyhthing in particular?

Surely you've just mentioned all the aspects of the application there, besides the reference? :tongue:

Overall they're looking for people who show academic aptitude (they judge this with the BMAT and academics along side bits of the reference), enthusiasm and a realistic outlook to study and practice medicine (determined by PS initially and interview later on should you get one) and just a general personal suitability and individual style that shows there's more to you than academics (interview judges this).

Reply 1711

Original post by purplefrog

x

How do UCL know that you've resat an exam during your AS year?

I'm not doing any resits but I'm just curious. I emailed them about how they get your UMS scores and they said that they will contact your school if you haven't already included them in your reference, so would this be the same for resits?

I was actually (perhaps stupidly) considering doing a resit to go up about 3-5 UMS points, but I decided against it. Mainly because I thought it would be too much effort, but also because I didn't want to damage my chances of getting into UCL due to their resit policy.

Reply 1712

laross

Original post by purplefrog

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Hello, I am an international student. I have completed my A-Levels last year(exams are in Oct/Nov). The school policy was such that I could not take biology as one of my three AS and A2 levels. So I took, Chemistry, Physics and Maths A2 and French at AS. I got satisfactory results: A*A*A*a. I applied to UCL anyway and I got an offer for this year. The offer conditions are AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Problem: I haven't done any biology since my GCSE. Therefore I had from January-May 2012 to prepare for A2 Biology exams on my own(I have finished school). As it is normally a two-year program, I am quite unsure about whether I can obtain an A (I did work hard though). I firmed UCL anyway, I took a risk. Now my question is if you don't mind:
Do you think UCL will take all that into consideration?
Do you think that the fact that I've already got A*A*A* in science subjects will prove them that I have no problem with work load as such.(I've also done a french exam called DALF C1 in the same period, and I also had no option to do Bio).
Will they find it normal that because of the time constraint(a couple of months) I might end up with a B or C in biology?
Do you think that if prior to results, I write to them and explain my problem, they might change the conditions?

I hope you can help me on that, I am really worried. Thanks

Reply 1713

Sereni

14

Original post by Jemine1

Hello!

After speaking with UCL admissions, they say that resits may not disadvantage an application, but they may affect how one lasts if accepted on the course. Just to ask, do you know of anybody who has gotten in, even after resits? I plan to apply with achieved grades, so do you think this will give them more faith in my application? Sorry to field you with all these questions

I did several resits and im just finishing my first year, I know your year is slightly different but i dont really think it matters that much as much as you overall application

Reply 1714

chrisy:)

Original post by Toppy

The odd B shouldn't be too much of a problem. Some places it might be though so make sure you read university requirement pages properly. Liverpool are an example. They award 2 'points' for an A/A*, but 1 point for a B. This may not seem so bad but with so many applicants getting purely A/A*s it can be. You can get an A in language though! :smile:

hahaha lol will try my best to get an A in language and thanks for reply. hope ur application is going well even though it's a bit late now and best of lucks if you got in to whatever you wanted to do :smile:

Reply 1715

Original post by laross

Hello, I am an international student. I have completed my A-Levels last year(exams are in Oct/Nov). The school policy was such that I could not take biology as one of my three AS and A2 levels. So I took, Chemistry, Physics and Maths A2 and French at AS. I got satisfactory results: A*A*A*a. I applied to UCL anyway and I got an offer for this year. The offer conditions are AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Problem: I haven't done any biology since my GCSE. Therefore I had from January-May 2012 to prepare for A2 Biology exams on my own(I have finished school). As it is normally a two-year program, I am quite unsure about whether I can obtain an A (I did work hard though). I firmed UCL anyway, I took a risk. Now my question is if you don't mind:
Do you think UCL will take all that into consideration?
Do you think that the fact that I've already got A*A*A* in science subjects will prove them that I have no problem with work load as such.(I've also done a french exam called DALF C1 in the same period, and I also had no option to do Bio).
Will they find it normal that because of the time constraint(a couple of months) I might end up with a B or C in biology?
Do you think that if prior to results, I write to them and explain my problem, they might change the conditions?

I hope you can help me on that, I am really worried. Thanks

Sorry for the delayed reply - had my exams this week so had to prioritise.

Your case is clearly a unique one so I can't honestly say. For situations like this you are advised to contact medical admissions sooner rather than later and express your concerns. They will respond appropriately or add the special circumstances to your file to take into account when they receive your results (a week before results day for you) so they can decide whether to let you in or not should you miss your offer.

Best of luck.

Reply 1716

laross

Original post by purplefrog

Sorry for the delayed reply - had my exams this week so had to prioritise.

Your case is clearly a unique one so I can't honestly say. For situations like this you are advised to contact medical admissions sooner rather than later and express your concerns. They will respond appropriately or add the special circumstances to your file to take into account when they receive your results (a week before results day for you) so they can decide whether to let you in or not should you miss your offer.

Best of luck.

Thank you very much for your response. I will do so, but I hope that I'll meet the conditions to avoid complications. As I really can't ask this question to medical admissions, do you know any cases of students in a situation similar to mine who got in despite of not meeting their offer? Also, if you don't mind, do you think my case is significant enough so that they put special circumstance to my file? I hope your exams have gone well. Cheers

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1717

Original post by laross

Thank you very much for your response. I will do so, but I hope that I'll meet the conditions to avoid complications. As I really can't ask this question to medical admissions, do you know any cases of students in a situation similar to mine who got in despite of not meeting their offer? Also, if you don't mind, do you think my case is significant enough so that they put special circumstance to my file? I hope your exams have gone well. Cheers

What's stopping you from informing medical admissions? The sooner you tell them about your concerns, the better it reflects upon you - especially as you do have (what I see to be) a possibly genuine case for consideration. The later you leave it to inform them, the more it looks like you are scraping the barrel for excuses. You're the first person I've heard of in your situation, sounds like an incredibly rare one if I'm honest with you. But I do personally know people who have got into medical school (UCL, my year and years above, as well as several others) despite missing their offer - however most of them have no idea why as on results day their UCAS offer turned unconditional (this happens when you've met your offer and the uni admits you) however when they checked their results they'd missed their grades - our best speculation is that UCL liked their application and interview enough to let them in all the same. Though obviously don't bank on this happening, as I one of my closest friends missed their offer by a handful of UMS and the university wouldn't reconsider despite several emails and phone-calls post-results-day.

and whoever negged me... just why? :rolleyes:

Reply 1718

kingcoltzan

9

Original post by purplefrog

What's stopping you from informing medical admissions? The sooner you tell them about your concerns, the better it reflects upon you - especially as you do have (what I see to be) a possibly genuine case for consideration. The later you leave it to inform them, the more it looks like you are scraping the barrel for excuses. You're the first person I've heard of in your situation, sounds like an incredibly rare one if I'm honest with you. But I do personally know people who have got into medical school (UCL, my year and years above, as well as several others) despite missing their offer - however most of them have no idea why as on results day their UCAS offer turned unconditional (this happens when you've met your offer and the uni admits you) however when they checked their results they'd missed their grades - our best speculation is that UCL liked their application and interview enough to let them in all the same. Though obviously don't bank on this happening, as I one of my closest friends missed their offer by a handful of UMS and the university wouldn't reconsider despite several emails and phone-calls post-results-day.

and whoever negged me... just why? :rolleyes:

Yeah I was going to ask you about this...how likely UCL are to admit people who miss their grades.

Would there be any advantage to doing IB (apart from the fact we are finished :P ) in that we get our grades earlier so can get remarks/ phone universities before the mass carnage in August?

Reply 1719