Bristol Medicine Applicants 2013

This is really bad news...do they only consider people with predicted A* grades? Stupid question i know as they are obviously going to favour A * if the AAA prediction is not just used as a cut off ...When it says 80 % personal statement and 20% acad whilst referring to top 8 GCSE s I thought it was just GCSE s they look at. My Chem and Hist teacher both said I could get A* if I was willing to resit 1 exam in both subjects but i chose not to thinking id rather concentrate on getting 3 good A s. Gutted as Bristol has been my favourite so far.

Thats what I though too, but according to kidneyj. this is not the case. However, I am right by saying that selections are heavily based on your personal statement (80%). Your academics (GCSE's and A2 predictions) will not be the end all or be all as they are only worth 20%.

However, you would still have a better chance if you're predicted AAA and if you have 8A*/A at GCSE and an amazing personal statement over someone who's predicted A*A*A*A* with 8A*/A but a less reflective PS.

Reply 81

Kidneyjean

7

Original post by Fish On A Stick

This is really bad news...do they only consider people with predicted A* grades? Stupid question i know as they are obviously going to favour A * if the AAA prediction is not just used as a cut off ...When it says 80 % personal statement and 20% acad whilst referring to top 8 GCSE s I thought it was just GCSE s they look at. My Chem and Hist teacher both said I could get A* if I was willing to resit 1 exam in both subjects but i chose not to thinking id rather concentrate on getting 3 good A s. Gutted as Bristol has been my favourite so far.

Oh no, don't be put off completely! They'd definitely consider you with straight-A predictions, and if you let them know of your situation, they'd be understanding; if your statement is fantastic, then you'd have a good chance :smile:

They don't use predicted grades as a be-all-and-end-all; they know the statistics surrounding their inaccuracy, and of situations like yours. Bristol's brilliant (totally not biased :colondollar:

), and if you really like it, and your statement is strong, then go for it!

Original post by frogs r everywhere

What were your predicted grades if you don't mind me asking? :smile:

I was predicted 3A*s. Missed two of them by 0.5% UMS each! Grr.

Reply 82

MedMed12

21

does bristol do any PBL?

Reply 83

iceland33

I have 6 A* and 3 A at GCSE and predicted 3 AAAb. PS is pretty good. Do I still have a chance? Following this thread, I am getting worried that I am wasting a choice!!

Reply 84

DELETED ACCOUNT

15

Original post by MedMed12

does bristol do any PBL?

No it's traditional with loads of lectures and practicals in your first two years.
According to their website:
"There is no formal problem based learning at Bristol. The course is traditional with the first teaching in years one and two being a series of lectures, tutorials and practicals. It is arguable that all clinical based teaching around a patient is effectively a PBL exercise."
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/medical-school/prospective/application/faqs/#PBL

Reply 85

MedMed12

21

Original post by frogs r everywhere

No it's traditional with loads of lectures and practicals in your first two years.
According to their website:
"There is no formal problem based learning at Bristol. The course is traditional with the first teaching in years one and two being a series of lectures, tutorials and practicals. It is arguable that all clinical based teaching around a patient is effectively a PBL exercise."
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/medical-school/prospective/application/faqs/#PBL

thank you!
I attended a med summer school where we had attempts at PBL. I just mention that pbl and clinical skill sessions enabled me to work on my own and in a tema
would you say thats risky? or not really as it doesnt convey I like PBL
??
thanks again for your response

Reply 86

alice24

Original post by Fish On A Stick

Frogs and Kidney,

Thanks for your replies..I DO love the idea of going to Bristol...I loved the place on open day. Just been reading the admissions criteria for Bristol on Ucas..it says this...

Two members of staff assess your UCAS form, which is evaluated according to a standard scoring system. Points are awarded for the number of GCSEs at A/A* up to a maximum of 8; predicted or achieved A2 Level grades; work experience; educational context; and exceptional circumstances. Your personal statement is rated for evidence of the following criteria: evidence of a realistic interest in Medicine; knowledge of a career in Medicine; demonstration of a commitment to helping others; demonstration of a wide range of interests; demonstration of a contribution to school/ college activities; a range of personal achievements (excluding examinations)

So they definitely do score it as you said K, I suppose the crucial question is ...how much weighting /points etc do they give A as opposed to A* ? If you lose a lot of points then it s not really worth even applying as I m trying to apply smart...Kidney ,you must be so happy that you re about to start in Bristol..that s such a fantastic achievement!! Frogs if it is true that PS is definitely 80% of the scoring then maybe I should still think about applying here.
So far I d decided on Bristol Cardiff and Southampton...did my UKCAT this morning(HATE THAT TEST!!!) and got VR 650 (lower than i scored in all the mocks) QR 740! (Higher-in the mocks I hated this section) AR 640 (much lower than the mocks) and DA 680 (again much lower than the mocks) so have an average of 677.5. Happy I didn't completely bomb it but so relieved to get it out of the way..but now I m not sure which unis to apply to as I want to make sure I don't get caught out by Soton having a high scoring year and having a high cut off point so it looks like im looking potentially for 3 new unis :eek:

You're in exactly the same situation as me!!!! i love Bristol but it's so competitive. Getting fourth rejections after 2 interviews (one rejection, one waiting list everyone got the grades :frown:

) last yr put things into perspective. Soton have increased ukcat to 2500 massive leap compared to last year 2310.
With Bristol how many interview slots are there???
And if anyone is wondering...
GCSE-7.5 A* 1A 2Bs
AS- A
A2-A*AA (General studies B)
x2 open university modules
Now working as a HCA :smile:

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL

Reply 87

alice24

Original post by Fish On A Stick

wow well done on your A levels!! Must be great to have them.
is it absolutely definite that Soton are looking for 2500 this year??

unless you have a good school guiding you its almost impossible to make this a smooth process...should have taken UKCAT very early then done my PS early then gone and visited Uni s i can actually apply for at open day!
I left PS writing and UKCAT til the end and have gone and visited unis I may never apply for...never mind ..if I m meant to get in I will ..if not then like you I will aim for a productive year and apply again.Good luck with your application Alice :smile:

Ha ha yes it is a relief! Yep it's on their website no application will be considered if less than 2500. They all have post offer days but if you got an offer from Bristol you would be stupid to turn it down.
YES!!! Seriously to all yr 12's i literally had the roughest ride last year with my application getting onto the waiting list then not hearing till August. But working as a HCA now on a ward and in theatre is SO interesting I love it, I've taken out surgical drains, phenplons, i talk to patients everyday, take obs every four hours yes I've washed feet as well ha ha. I'm going trekking in Borneo for 6 weeks next July, still doing my volunteering, and using my money to visit my friends at unis (i just don't have to do their work + exams) a gap year really isn't the end of the world!!!!!

Reply 88

DELETED ACCOUNT

15

Original post by Fish On A Stick

Frogs and Kidney,

Thanks for your replies..I DO love the idea of going to Bristol...I loved the place on open day. Just been reading the admissions criteria for Bristol on Ucas..it says this...

Two members of staff assess your UCAS form, which is evaluated according to a standard scoring system. Points are awarded for the number of GCSEs at A/A* up to a maximum of 8; predicted or achieved A2 Level grades; work experience; educational context; and exceptional circumstances. Your personal statement is rated for evidence of the following criteria: evidence of a realistic interest in Medicine; knowledge of a career in Medicine; demonstration of a commitment to helping others; demonstration of a wide range of interests; demonstration of a contribution to school/ college activities; a range of personal achievements (excluding examinations)

So they definitely do score it as you said K, I suppose the crucial question is ...how much weighting /points etc do they give A as opposed to A* ? If you lose a lot of points then it s not really worth even applying as I m trying to apply smart...Kidney ,you must be so happy that you re about to start in Bristol..that s such a fantastic achievement!! Frogs if it is true that PS is definitely 80% of the scoring then maybe I should still think about applying here.
So far I d decided on Bristol Cardiff and Southampton...did my UKCAT this morning(HATE THAT TEST!!!) and got VR 650 (lower than i scored in all the mocks) QR 740! (Higher-in the mocks I hated this section) AR 640 (much lower than the mocks) and DA 680 (again much lower than the mocks) so have an average of 677.5. Happy I didn't completely bomb it but so relieved to get it out of the way..but now I m not sure which unis to apply to as I want to make sure I don't get caught out by Soton having a high scoring year and having a high cut off point so it looks like im looking potentially for 3 new unis :eek:

It is true that the PS/referance is 80% of the scoring. It was also mentioned in the undergraduate admissions statement for medicine.

All applications are allocated scores on the academic record and the personal statement/reference. The weighting is as follow:
Personal Statement/ Reference score: 80%
Academic score: 20%

I'm not too sure how many points an A* would give you as opposed to an A, but predicted grades would only take about (rough guess) 10% of the total score, the other 10% being GCSE's. If you really like bristol, it would be silly not to apply because of such a small percentage.

Reply 89

DELETED ACCOUNT

15

Original post by MedMed12

thank you!
I attended a med summer school where we had attempts at PBL. I just mention that pbl and clinical skill sessions enabled me to work on my own and in a tema
would you say thats risky? or not really as it doesnt convey I like PBL
??
thanks again for your response

I don't think mentioning PBL is risky. If it shows your teamwork skills and ability to work well with others, what harm can it do? To be honest, medicine is all about PBL, where you learn from a given case and apply different areas of medicine into it/ working with other health professionals for more complex cases. :smile:

Reply 90

:-) :-)

I am unsure whether to apply to Bristol, please could anyone help me to decide?
GCSEs: 9A*s 1A
AS: AAAAA
Predicted: ***A
UKCAT: 715 (I know Bristol does not accept UKCAT, but I thought I would say in case it best for me to apply to a university that accepts UKCAT!)

My personal statement seems pretty reasonable. I'm doing one week of wex at a cardiothoracic department in October and have done healthcare related volunteer work for many months, as well as things to do with the community.

Do you think I could get an interview at Bristol? Many thanks in advance! :-) :-)

Reply 91

peterwadish

Original post by iceland33

I have 6 A* and 3 A at GCSE and predicted 3 AAAb. PS is pretty good. Do I still have a chance? Following this thread, I am getting worried that I am wasting a choice!!

Bumped this as you sound like me(poor you)! ha but I am applying as I liked the open day etc etc. Why not. Go for it. It may be wasted but how will we know.
(by the way I got 4A* 6 As and should have resat some modules as I didnt realise how much A* at GCSE would make , you know I just missed * by ie single marks and thought A levels were the thing for medicine) However AS got ABBB predicted A2 AAA(dropped physics AS B). UkCAT 697.5(I know they dont wanna know this)

Good luck may see you there? or not. I know someone that had top marks for GCSE A2s etc and never got a medicine place. Others with less that did.

Reply 92

MedMed12

21

is it worth applying seeing as I have no A* predictions just As?

Reply 93

Tan Theta

1

Original post by MedMed12

is it worth applying seeing as I have no A* predictions just As?

It's 80% PS and probably around 10% based on predictions, I've only achieved AAAa at a-level and I'm applying.

Reply 94

MedMed12

21

Original post by :-) :-)

I am unsure whether to apply to Bristol, please could anyone help me to decide?
GCSEs: 9A*s 1A
AS: AAAAA
Predicted: ***A
UKCAT: 715 (I know Bristol does not accept UKCAT, but I thought I would say in case it best for me to apply to a university that accepts UKCAT!)

My personal statement seems pretty reasonable. I'm doing one week of wex at a cardiothoracic department in October and have done healthcare related volunteer work for many months, as well as things to do with the community.

Do you think I could get an interview at Bristol? Many thanks in advance! :-) :-)

id recommend you go for a ukcat uni :smile:

as you have a strong chance, esp if you feel your PS is reasonsable. Also at a summer school I was at they said you dont get credited if you mention anything you WILL be doing in the future, as it shows no reflection, but get your referee to mention in the reference you obtained some in oct (this will help you keep your characters to write something more valuable)

Reply 95

iceland33

Original post by peterwadish

Bumped this as you sound like me(poor you)! ha but I am applying as I liked the open day etc etc. Why not. Go for it. It may be wasted but how will we know.
(by the way I got 4A* 6 As and should have resat some modules as I didnt realise how much A* at GCSE would make , you know I just missed * by ie single marks and thought A levels were the thing for medicine) However AS got ABBB predicted A2 AAA(dropped physics AS B). UkCAT 697.5(I know they dont wanna know this)

Good luck may see you there? or not. I know someone that had top marks for GCSE A2s etc and never got a medicine place. Others with less that did.

I got ABBB too but predicted AAA. your UKCAT is amazing, I only got 640. Can I ask where else you applying to? Liverpool and Aberdeen for me.

Reply 96

yahyazhar

4

any of you folks know the number of seats for overseas students?

frankly speaking though, 80% ps is taking it a lil too far :/
u spend 4ish years on academics, and 2 weeks worth of work on the ps. ehm.

Reply 97

oli_G

12

Is anyone else applying here, despite having quite a high ukcat? I was going to put cardiff, but decided last minute to switch for bristol (as I preferred it on the open day). Hope this doesn't come back to bite me :no:

Reply 98

aspiring_medic

Original post by oli_G

Is anyone else applying here, despite having quite a high ukcat? I was going to put cardiff, but decided last minute to switch for bristol (as I preferred it on the open day). Hope this doesn't come back to bite me :no: