*MEGATHREAD* - The Ultimate &#x27;Am I Good Enough For Medicine?&#x27; Angst Thread MK III

Original post by spanish_sahara

Hoping to apply this year, not sure if this is the correct thread so sorry in advance if it's not! I have a few questions:
Is it a mistake to apply to two BMAT unis?
Also, if I wanted to apply to another course at a uni I have applied to medicine to as a back up eg natural sciences at UCL or biomedical sciences/biochemistry at another uni, would it affect either my alternate course or my medicine application and if so in what way?
Thanks in advance for any replies x

Because you have to apply to uni's before sitting the BMAT exam, any BMAT application carries a risk, i.e., you may underperform on the day, and seriously damage your chances at the outset. Applying to 2 BMAT uni's obviously increases that risk.

On your other question, I made a conscious decision to apply for a bioscience course at one the uni's where I also applied to study Medicine - i.e., two applications to one Faculty. I figured that this would demonstrate my interest in studying in their faculty/university/city, and that this could increase my chances of getting an interview or even an offer. I did get my offer, but whether or not my strategy was a factor is impossible to say - but it can't have been a downside.

Reply 1982

xxKiaraxx

14

Original post by spanish_sahara

Hoping to apply this year, not sure if this is the correct thread so sorry in advance if it's not! I have a few questions:
Is it a mistake to apply to two BMAT unis?
Also, if I wanted to apply to another course at a uni I have applied to medicine to as a back up eg natural sciences at UCL or biomedical sciences/biochemistry at another uni, would it affect either my alternate course or my medicine application and if so in what way?
Thanks in advance for any replies x

Posted from TSR Mobile

That's fine, I applied to KCL for both medicine and biomed. I received an offer for the latter and an interview for medicine so it can't have done any harm.

According to my careers advisor, for your fifth choice it's best to apply to one of the universities you're already applying to for medicine, or to an university that doesn't offer medicine at all. Apparently some universities will more than likely reject your application if they see that you haven't applied to them for medicine as well.

Regarding the BMAT, it depends on how confident you are in your ability. If you're absolutely sure that you'll do well, then go for it. But I wouldn't advise choosing more than two BMAT universities as you never know what could happen on the day.

Reply 1983

jadpan

10

i just didnt applyfor a 5th, i looked onto courses but there was nothing that in my mind could compare so decided to apply again if i didnt get offers, but i did from cardiff and sheffield. if you dont mind doing another year and you really want to read medicine i dont think its a bad approach. it was good for me regarding motivation questions at interview

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Reply 1984

Sapien

9

Original post by dantheman7

A and A* in English but the thread title is:

Is my GCSE good enough for med school?

Are my GCSE's good enough for med school?

Whoops!

Top marks for effort though

Reply 1985

NoManIsAnIsland

I went through the application process this year, and there are so many things that I would have found useful if I had known them a year ago. Therefore i thought I'd pass on my 'wisdom', just in case it helps :P
1. GCSEs are important... however they are not everything. If your GCSEs aren't where you want them to be, try and get AAAA at AS level. Even if that is not impossible that doesn't mean you can't apply, just don't apply to universities that are strong on academics (such as Oxbridge or Lecister etc.).
2. Work experience is VERY important, it shows your commitment. However the universities understand that getting work experience in a medical setting is hard. Therefore it's not so important how long it is, but what you learnt from it. Keep a diary - it will help your PS and in interviews :smile:

3. Volunteering is where you can show long term commitment, it doesn't have to be in a medical setting, but try to get something long term in say a charity shop etc.
4. UKCAT - you will need to take this - like with GCSEs it makes life easier if you can do very well (say 650 and above) but if it is low it's not the end of the world - there are still BMAT universities, universities that don't use an admission test, and quite a few UKCAT universities that don't actually look at it too strongly (such as Sheffield - I think!).
5. BMAT - everyone I speak to say this is very hard. You take it after you apply so you have to be really certain - it may not be wise to apply to more that one BMAT university as it might be a bit like putting all your eggs in one basket!
6. PS - you get 4000 characters (including spaces) to write about yourself. Sell yourself as much as possible, say why you want to do it, what you have learnt from your work experience and volunteering. Talk about your extra-curricular but don't waffle. it sounds hard and it is! if writing isn't your strong point try to avoid universities that are heavy on PS (Southampton, Leeds).
7. Some universities like to see you have a lot of extra curricular and like to see awards, if you haven't got that, DON'T WORRY, just avoid those universities, there are only a couple and I think only Edinburgh comes to mind right now!
8. You may qualify for an access course, so do have a look at them there are a few about!
9. You just have to persevere, there will be times when you want to give up. You may break a couple of lamps by throwing them across your room in a fit of frustration, you may have the occasional psychotic episode, but in the end, I promise you it will be worth it!!!
And so I leave you with the wise old words of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy... DON'T PANIC!!!!! :biggrin:

Reply 1986

A successful applicant from 2 years ago very kindly just gave me her personal statement. She had offers from Kings, Imperial and even an interview at Cambridge. It's a stunning personal statement, incredibly good. Do you guys think I should use it to structure my own, especially as I'm interested in Kings and Imperial? Obviously I won't be stupid enough to copy it, but do you think it'd be beneficial if I use it to give me ideas about my own? Thanks.

Reply 1987

lala12

5

Original post by GCSE-help

A successful applicant from 2 years ago very kindly just gave me her personal statement. She had offers from Kings, Imperial and even an interview at Cambridge. It's a stunning personal statement, incredibly good. Do you guys think I should use it to structure my own, especially as I'm interested in Kings and Imperial? Obviously I won't be stupid enough to copy it, but do you think it'd be beneficial if I use it to give me ideas about my own? Thanks.

It's very risky. However using the structure may be good because it tells you where to put everything and much of what to include. But remember, a personal statement is personal and so you need to write it tailored to yourself, no matter how brilliant u think a personal statement may be, if it is not personal it is no good. As far as your universities go, I applied to, and got an offer from Imperial and Barts this year. He PS at Imperial plays a big part in shortlisting for interview, but at the actual interview, there were no questions about PS.

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Reply 1988

yorkshire.lad

11

just use your own brain... nothing good will come of using someone elses, if anything you will be tempted to copy it.

Reply 1989

Original post by GCSE-help

A successful applicant from 2 years ago very kindly just gave me her personal statement. She had offers from Kings, Imperial and even an interview at Cambridge. It's a stunning personal statement, incredibly good. Do you guys think I should use it to structure my own, especially as I'm interested in Kings and Imperial? Obviously I won't be stupid enough to copy it, but do you think it'd be beneficial if I use it to give me ideas about my own? Thanks.

I agree with yorkshire.lad's reply.

You should follow the structure and guidelines for Personal Statements which are referenced from the Medicine wiki... http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine
Ignore what others have done, particularly if they did something different.

Reply 1990

Original post by lala12

It's very risky. However using the structure may be good because it tells you where to put everything and much of what to include. But remember, a personal statement is personal and so you need to write it tailored to yourself, no matter how brilliant u think a personal statement may be, if it is not personal it is no good. As far as your universities go, I applied to, and got an offer from Imperial and Barts this year. He PS at Imperial plays a big part in shortlisting for interview, but at the actual interview, there were no questions about PS.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks

Yeah I'll just use it to check if I've included everything or talked about relevant qualities. This personal statement relates EVERYTHING to medicine so it's a good for showing me how to link stuff.

Original post by Pastaferian

I agree with yorkshire.lad's reply.

You should follow the structure and guidelines for Personal Statements which are referenced from the Medicine wiki... http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine
Ignore what others have done, particularly if they did something different.

Yeah I'll have a look at that page too. But what do you mean by ignoring what others have done? Obviously I'll have to produce my own statement but if some successful applicants have shared their Ps's, then isn't it a good idea to at least have a read?

Also guys, I have a question about modular grades. Do you have to put them down on your ucas? Is it any sort of disadvantage if you don't? I know Oxbridge, Nottingham and Sheffield like to see them but no other unis seem to care as long as you get the grades....

Reply 1991

Original post by GCSE-help

Yeah I'll have a look at that page too. But what do you mean by ignoring what others have done? Obviously I'll have to produce my own statement but if some successful applicants have shared their Ps's, then isn't it a good idea to at least have a read?

Read what I said in context. By all means investigate what others have done, including looking at the TSR library of medic PS's. But if the TSR advice is "do X" and someone else advises "do Y", I think you should follow the TSR advice.

Also guys, I have a question about modular grades. Do you have to put them down on your ucas? Is it any sort of disadvantage if you don't? I know Oxbridge, Nottingham and Sheffield like to see them but no other unis seem to care as long as you get the grades....

Regarding modular grades and the UCAS form... yes, you have to enter them all. When you're invited to interview, you'll be asked to bring your certificates with you, and they'll be checked against the UCAS form. My school checked everyone's UCAS forms before they were submitted, and I'm sure yours will do the same, so this isn't something you need to fret about. Nottingham asks for extra info after receiving your UCAS form (see previous replies to your posts), Sheffield doesn't, and I don't know about Oxbridge.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1992

jadpan

10

Original post by yorkshire.lad

just use your own brain... nothing good will come of using someone elses, if anything you will be tempted to copy it.

key word personal if and when it comes to interview you will have nothing worthwhile to explain. my interviews centred heavily around the expansion of my ps. look at structure eg first para intro etc but there is no point copying ideas yes it is hard and the first draft should be a load of crap but it does fall onto place and make sure someone can read it and their interpretation matches what you are trying to say. what makes sense in your head may not be what you have written. i submitted dadt 19 or so and was sucessful i didnt try to mimic the style of other sucessful apllicants at tge end of the day somone wrote the first medical ps they could not copy.

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Reply 1993

Original post by Pastaferian

Read what I said in context. By all means investigate what others have done, including looking at the TSR library of medic PS's. But if the TSR advice is "do X" and someone else advises "do Y", I think you should follow the TSR advice.

Regarding modular grades and the UCAS form... yes, you have to enter them all. When you're invited to interview, you'll be asked to bring your certificates with you, and they'll be checked against the UCAS form. My school checked everyone's UCAS forms before they were submitted, and I'm sure yours will do the same, so this isn't something you need to fret about. Nottingham asks for extra info after receiving your UCAS form (see previous replies to your posts), Sheffield doesn't, and I don't know about Oxbridge.

Does this include any modules that have been re-taken? For example, I got AAAD in my first four AS exams this January, obviously I'm going to re-sit the D and hope to get it all the way up to an A, but do I still have to include the D on the ucas form?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you re-sit a module and improve it BEFORE the applications have to be sent off, do you have to include the score for the first attempt at the module? Or do you just put down your final module score?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1994

xxKiaraxx

14

Original post by GCSE-help

Does this include any modules that have been re-taken? For example, I got AAAD in my first four AS exams this January, obviously I'm going to re-sit the D and hope to get it all the way up to an A, but do I still have to include the D on the ucas form?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you re-sit a module and improve it BEFORE the applications have to be sent off, do you have to include the score for the first attempt at the module? Or do you just put down your final module score?

The Nottingham questionnaire asks for the grade that you got in your first sitting, so in theory you'd have to put down your January result. But I think for universities that just ask for UMS (e.g. Cambridge), you can use the summer result/the better of the two as that's the one being cashed in.

Reply 1995

Original post by xxKiaraxx

The Nottingham questionnaire asks for the grade that you got in your first sitting, so in theory you'd have to put down your January result. But I think for universities that just ask for UMS (e.g. Cambridge), you can use the summer result/the better of the two as that's the one being cashed in.

Yeah I knew Nottingham were some sort of exception. Thank you so much for confirming that, massive relief for me. I really don't want to mention my D at all when it comes to my application. I hope I improve it and then put in my cashed in modular score on my UCAS.

Thankyou! :smile:

Reply 1996

Original post by GCSE-help

Does this include any modules that have been re-taken? For example, I got AAAD in my first four AS exams this January, obviously I'm going to re-sit the D and hope to get it all the way up to an A, but do I still have to include the D on the ucas form?
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you re-sit a module and improve it BEFORE the applications have to be sent off, do you have to include the score for the first attempt at the module? Or do you just put down your final module score?

On the UCAS form, you only put down your final grade, i.e., the grade that will appear on your certificate. If you resit a module, you put down your best score, so if you improve your D to (say) a B, you'd put down the B and no one will ever know about the D unless they ask additional questions after receiving the UCAS form (and Nottingham is the only place we've identified that will ask for this extra info).

Reply 1997