Re-applicant improvements?

I'm doing A2 levels now and was just told that l have gotten 4 rejections for medicine! :frown:

lm trying to plan for the future and was wondering if anyone who has reapplied could give me any advice for reapplying? How did you improve the second year? Do grades have a high impact? Am I less likely to get in if I reapply? ls it worth reapplying at the end of the day? please tell me your stories!

Reply 1

em.d_4

Original post by CarysE

I'm doing A2 levels now and was just told that l have gotten 4 rejections for medicine! :frown:

I am in the same position so planning to reapply next cycle :smile:

I wad told at lots of unis, Newcastle strongly made the point that replicants tend to be more successful, they went so far as to say in some of the years 1/3 are reapplicants who got a place! Some unis also openly favour reapplicants as the commitment shown and grades achieved are easier to make offers to and the experience shown is more impressive.
I found out 2 weeks ago that I have to take a gap year and have already got a job as a carer to begin in august/September :biggrin:

you just have to be proactive

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Reply 2

itsmagic

Original post by CarysE

I'm doing A2 levels now and was just told that l have gotten 4 rejections for medicine! :frown:

Reapplying is most definitely worth it!
It's not a guarantee of a place but so many people get in the second time round. I had 4 rejections last year and this year I have 2 offers so far. And no, reapplying will not reduce chances of a place.
The most important thing from my POV is to get AAA (or higher) at a2. Just focus really hard on getting those grades- they're vital.
UKCAT- when your a Levels are out of the way, have a break and then get into UKCAT prep. You shouldn't need to do too much - I would recommend the Kaplan book and the Kaplan 2 day course in London.
Try and find a healthcare related job (but it's not the be-all and end-all)- any kind of job would probably give you valuable skills.
The thing I did this year was apply really strategically. Luckily, I also got to apply to places I wanted to go to. So, if you've got lots of A* at GCSE, apply to places that love that. If your UKCAT is really high, apply to the UKCAT-loving medschools :smile:

Hope this is helpful :biggrin:

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Reply 3

suedonim

It's worth reapplying if medicine is still what you must do but it's a tough course and a hard life so this gives you a chance to really think about if you have to do it or not. There are many careers with a better work/life balance.

A couple of people I know have places this year after reapplying. They worked hard to get their 3 As but one got A*ABB and is resitting. If they get an A they are in, the other got good grades and has a place confirmed.

Working in health care is good as it shows you can deal with the public and perhaps with mess and gore :smile:

Search for jobs here https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ and if you can't get a permanent job get a bank job. Those jobs can sometimes be for several weeks at a time anyway.

Reply 4

blissfully

To the reapplicants, did you all just do work experience and take a gap year instead of going to your 5th choice and then dropping out that year?
Also what did you do in terms of your reference and do you have to mention what you did in your gap year for your personal statement?

Reply 5

itsmagic

Original post by blissfully

Yep I turned down my 5th choice and decided to take a gap year :smile:

My sixth form did my reference again and yes, I included a paragraph about my plans for the gap year (work, volunteering and travelling).

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Reply 6

blissfully

Original post by itsmagic

Yep I turned down my 5th choice and decided to take a gap year :smile:

My sixth form did my reference again and yes, I included a paragraph about my plans for the gap year (work, volunteering and travelling).

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ah i see, thank you. also is it hard finding a job through the nhs being so unexperienced?

Reply 7

itsmagic

Original post by blissfully

ah i see, thank you. also is it hard finding a job through the nhs being so unexperienced?

I wouldn't know - sorry! I'm a HCA in a nursing home owned by a private company and I didn't apply for any NHS jobs. A lot of people on gap years work in NHS hospitals as HCAs though so I wouldn't have thought it would be a huge problem, as long as the job is a low band/level..

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Reply 8

em.d_4

Original post by blissfully

ah i see, thank you. also is it hard finding a job through the nhs being so unexperienced?

A friend of mine was a carer and did community phlebotomy in his gap year along side some volunteering etc

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Reply 9

CarysE

All this advice is fab , thank you so much! I was just wondering if reapplicants had to do A LOT of improving their personal statement or if the grades counted a lot?

Reply 10

em.d_4

Original post by CarysE

All this advice is fab , thank you so much! I was just wondering if reapplicants had to do A LOT of improving their personal statement or if the grades counted a lot?

I think it depends on the current state of your ps and what unis you apply to

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Reply 11

tightheadprop1

I have re-applied twice (so 3 application cycles), however got 4 interviews and 3 offers this year (applying for undergraduate courses, during 1st year Biochemistry). Thing I changed: worked harder/went to a course for UKCAT and got a significantly higher average (plays a big part on whether you get invited to interview), changed the type of course and university from all integrated and big cities, to, mostly PBL and smaller cities, finally I massively reviewed my PS and interview technique (lots of practice talking to people- instead of just reading).