[asiyaz]

Hey guys,
first of all i want to explain to you my situation:

I have just finished IB and got my results that were in my opinion very good (Bio HL -7, Chem HL-7, Math SL- 7, Econ HL-7, French SL- 7, Eng A1 SL- 6). Last year I applied to King's college, UCL, BSMS, QMUL for medicine and unfortunately I got rejected from UCL and King's College, but got an offer from BSMS and QMUL. (I chose BSMS as my firm choice, but I reeeally wanted to get into UCL medicine)

Because I am in the process of obtaining my ILR visa, BSMS has offered me to defer for one year and get this visa so that I will pay home fees (because if I start the course as an international student i will not be able to change my fee status during the course).

The point is that I now have the opportunity to reapply to other universities in london, but the problem is that I will have to reject my BSMS offer, which puts me in a very risky position

So could anyone give me some advise on whether I should reapply or just keep the offers that I already have? The only thing that i can say for sure is that I will be much more confident and happy if I were to go to UCL or King's....

Thank you in advance guys (I will be grateful for any advise)

[Pride]

of course you shouldn't reject both offers and try to apply to UCL, don't be silly... This is medicine!

well done on your offers, if you want, defer and go to BSMS, but certainly don't reject and reapply next cycle...

[ViceVersa]

Definitely do not reject the offer.

[TheDannyManCan]

I'd agree with other posters. One offer is amazing and to reject it may be a really big mistake, especially if you reapplied next year and got all 4 rejections which, sadly, does happen scarily often to people with great profiles.

[asiyaz]

Thank you for your replies guys
I realise that it is a very big risk, but given that I have to take a year off (to get my ILR visa), I will have time to prepare for BMAT and UKCAT very well: I will take individual Kaplan lessons on both tests and buy new UKCAT and BMAT prep books and study everyday really hard (the IB has taught well on that)

do you think it will be still worthless in reapplying?

and also i forgot to say that I chose BSMS as a firm choice (cause this course fits me better than the course offered in QMUL) and King's College biomedical sciences as my insurance

[squeakysquirrel]

(Original post by asiyaz)
Thank you for your replies guys
I realise that it is a very big risk, but given that I have to take a year off (to get my ILR visa), I will have time to prepare for BMAT and UKCAT very well: I will take individual Kaplan lessons on both tests and buy new UKCAT and BMAT prep books and study everyday really hard (the IB has taught well on that)

do you think it will be still worthless in reapplying?

and also i forgot to say that I chose BSMS as a firm choice (cause this course fits me better than the course offered in QMUL) and King's College biomedical sciences as my insurance

Yes reject the offers and give someone else a chance to take your place who will appreciate it more.

[TheDannyManCan]

(Original post by asiyaz)
Thank you for your replies guys
I realise that it is a very big risk, but given that I have to take a year off (to get my ILR visa), I will have time to prepare for BMAT and UKCAT very well: I will take individual Kaplan lessons on both tests and buy new UKCAT and BMAT prep books and study everyday really hard (the IB has taught well on that)

do you think it will be still worthless in reapplying?

and also i forgot to say that I chose BSMS as a firm choice (cause this course fits me better than the course offered in QMUL) and King's College biomedical sciences as my insurance

I don't think it's worthless, just gambling a lot, as you say, when you already have what so many yearn for right in front of you. A friend of mine got rejected from 3 of her choices but got 1 offer from a place she really didn't want to go to, but she went and has never looked back, and really enjoys it - she's a 3rd year medic now. I would go to BSMS - the chance may not present itself again.

[asiyaz]

(Original post by TheDannyManCan)
I don't think it's worthless, just gambling a lot, as you say, when you already have what so many yearn for right in front of you. A friend of mine got rejected from 3 of her choices but got 1 offer from a place she really didn't want to go to, but she went and has never looked back, and really enjoys it - she's a 3rd year medic now. I would go to BSMS - the chance may not present itself again.

Thank you very much,
you sound like a very smart and experienced person.. I understand what you say and i will strongly consider your advise I think that now I will actually keep my offer, take a gap year and go to my course in 2013 Its just i think that all of the hard work that I did to get those grades was done just for UCL and for some reason (and dont get me wrong, I love BSMS, otherwise i would not apply there) I feel that these grades will be somewhat "wasted"


I really dont want to appear as a snobby and unhappy applicant, as I might have appeared to some of the posters. So I am sorry if someone was in any way offended or may be hurt by my thread But thanks A LOT for your opinions; they really helped me

[POWCATTY]

BSMS is a good med school, i know some of the lecturers and staff and they have nothing but praise for the course etc.
DO NOT REJECT the offer. even if you did work on you application throughout the year there is absolutely no garuntee that youll get a place (you didnt this year, after all). and then if you get an interview you could be in a sticky situation if they find out you rejected an offer from another place - it could show that you arent as comitted to the course, only the uni, which obviously isnt very good.
but yeah, BSMS is great, its a great area with a vibrant nightlife and music scene among other things!

oh and i didnt get the uni i wanted either, but after going to the open day it turns out its probably the best one out of the bunch!! i was pleasantly surprised although im still not a fan of the city lol

[TheDannyManCan]

(Original post by asiyaz)
Thank you very much,
you sound like a very smart and experienced person.. I understand what you say and i will strongly consider your advise I think that now I will actually keep my offer, take a gap year and go to my course in 2013 Its just i think that all of the hard work that I did to get those grades was done just for UCL and for some reason (and dont get me wrong, I love BSMS, otherwise i would not apply there) I feel that these grades will be somewhat "wasted"


I really dont want to appear as a snobby and unhappy applicant, as I might have appeared to some of the posters. So I am sorry if someone was in any way offended or may be hurt by my thread But thanks A LOT for your opinions; they really helped me

No, don't worry, it's understandable. Sometimes during my application I was battling the feeling that Cambridge was all that matters, and that's something that's been bothering me for a long time. When I didn't get in, I was pretty disappointed, but I reminded myself that I applied to get into medical school, not to get into university x or y, and am now very happy with where I'm going.

At the end of the day, it's still your choice, but the whole application process is just such a struggle, and I don't think I could face having four rejections after holding 2 offers and turning them down. It may seem like less stress without the added strain of having to be in college, but personally I'd stick with it, because hey, you're going to be a doctor in 5 years!

[fairy spangles]

So why are london universities better?

[Picture~Perfect]

Medicine is basically the same wherever you study it, to have an offer is amazing, it would be stupid to reject your offers and reapply next cycle, what if you don't get an offer next time round? If you find you are really unhappy at your university once you are there, maybe you could look into transferring to a different university, I believe that is sometimes possible.

[Penguinsaysquack]

(Original post by asiyaz)
Hey guys,
first of all i want to explain to you my situation:

I have just finished IB and got my results that were in my opinion very good (Bio HL -7, Chem HL-7, Math SL- 7, Econ HL-7, French SL- 7, Eng A1 SL- 6). Last year I applied to King's college, UCL, BSMS, QMUL for medicine and unfortunately I got rejected from UCL and King's College, but got an offer from BSMS and QMUL. (I chose BSMS as my firm choice, but I reeeally wanted to get into UCL medicine)

Because I am in the process of obtaining my ILR visa, BSMS has offered me to defer for one year and get this visa so that I will pay home fees (because if I start the course as an international student i will not be able to change my fee status during the course).

The point is that I now have the opportunity to reapply to other universities in london, but the problem is that I will have to reject my BSMS offer, which puts me in a very risky position

So could anyone give me some advise on whether I should reapply or just keep the offers that I already have? The only thing that i can say for sure is that I will be much more confident and happy if I were to go to UCL or King's....

Thank you in advance guys (I will be grateful for any advise)

You're lucky to have two offers, I think you'd be a fool to decline your deferred offer from BSMS to try again, BSMS is a good medical school, just like all the other medical schools.. to give up that place to try and get into UCL is just ridiculous in my opinion.

Oh and it's Barts and the London.. not QMUL

(Original post by Pride)
of course you shouldn't reject both offers and try to apply to UCL, don't be silly... This is medicine!

well done on your offers, if you want, defer and go to barts, but certainly don't reject and reapply next cycle...

She can't come to Barts next year, if she's firmed BSMS then that's the decision made. She can either accept that and go there in a year, or withdraw from that UCAS cycle complete and reapply with a fresh start (and risk zero offers next year)

[Pride]

(Original post by Penguinsaysquack)
You're lucky to have two offers, I think you'd be a fool to decline your deferred offer from BSMS to try again, BSMS is a good medical school, just like all the other medical schools.. to give up that place to try and get into UCL is just ridiculous in my opinion.

Oh and it's Barts and the London.. not QMUL


She can't come to Barts next year, if she's firmed BSMS then that's the decision made. She can either accept that and go there in a year, or withdraw from that UCAS cycle complete and reapply with a fresh start (and risk zero offers next year)

my mistake, i meant BSMS

[Pride]

(Original post by asiyaz)
Thank you for your replies guys
I realise that it is a very big risk, but given that I have to take a year off (to get my ILR visa), I will have time to prepare for BMAT and UKCAT very well: I will take individual Kaplan lessons on both tests and buy new UKCAT and BMAT prep books and study everyday really hard (the IB has taught well on that)

do you think it will be still worthless in reapplying?

and also i forgot to say that I chose BSMS as a firm choice (cause this course fits me better than the course offered in QMUL) and King's College biomedical sciences as my insurance

I don't think you realise that that is a very silly idea

[oz40]

You've got an offer for medicine.

Don't take it for granted. To get a place in even one medical school is hard enough.

My advice: GO FOR IT.

[TheHansa]

No, you've got great offers and the course is standardised throughout each uni.

[killingposition]

Were you interviewed by UCL, or rejected without an interview? What were your results in the BMAT?

You should accept the offer you already have, regardless, anyone incapable of spelling the word "advice" should consider themselves lucky to have an offer.

[Kinkerz]

(Original post by TheHansa)
No, you've got great offers and the course is standardised throughout each uni.

No. No, it's not. The GMC comes to an opinion that every medical school providing students with the degree, MBChB (or variant), offers an acceptable level of training*. Courses vary massively in delivery, content, atmosphere and opportunity.

*If that's what you meant by standardised, fair enough, but your post left me feeling that you didn't quite appreciate the vast differences between courses.

(Original post by Picture~Perfect)
Medicine is basically the same wherever you study it, to have an offer is amazing, it would be stupid to reject your offers and reapply next cycle, what if you don't get an offer next time round?

I wish people would stop spouting this. It's utter nonsense.

[asiyaz]

(Original post by killingposition)
Were you interviewed by UCL, or rejected without an interview? What were your results in the BMAT?

You should accept the offer you already have, regardless, anyone incapable of spelling the word "advice" should consider themselves lucky to have an offer.

wow, sorry but I really did not expect that... I have learned English only 3 years ago, so I think a small mistake in a word like that is nothing...

But thanks guys for all your advices