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Ugh..lost and confused- please help

I have just finished school and I have received four medical school rejections. These rejections were not based on academic merit; 1 was on my PS, the other 3 were post-interview.

I had a very good UKCAT and grades, but having retaken the UKCAT this year, I got a much lower score (715).

Also, the score wasn't very evenly distributed; I got around 650 in 3 sections, and 890 in 1 section.

I'm also not very confident about the grades I'll obtain this year.


So- I have a few choices. If I get AAA+, is it worth taking a gap year, or should I do biomed. etc and transfer after the first year?

If I don't get the grades, I may just completely change course and do something Maths- related.

What do you guys think?
Reply 1
715 is a perfectly acceptable score. Just do your research on which universities have which cutoffs. If you're really worried, you could do the BMAT and apply to unis which take it.
I would go for a gap year and work on improving your interview skills.
Reply 3
If you get AAA go for the gap year. Work on your PS and interview skills, and don't apply to the places which are super-keen on UKCAT. Applying for biomed and trying to transfer is a very risky strategy.

Did you get any feedback on what went wrong in interview last year? Or do you have any ideas yourself?
Original post by Helenia
If you get AAA go for the gap year. Work on your PS and interview skills, and don't apply to the places which are super-keen on UKCAT. Applying for biomed and trying to transfer is a very risky strategy.

Did you get any feedback on what went wrong in interview last year? Or do you have any ideas yourself?


I have a few ideas myself; the feedback from one of the unis was very vague- just said I didn't get a high enough score at interview.

Cambridge said I wasn't academic enough post-interview.

Imperial said I lacked empathy :/.

I think I know where to improve. Why would you say biomed is risky?

Also, do you know if any unis look at each individual section of the ukcat?
Reply 5
Original post by locomotive99
I have a few ideas myself; the feedback from one of the unis was very vague- just said I didn't get a high enough score at interview.

Cambridge said I wasn't academic enough post-interview.

Imperial said I lacked empathy :/.

I think I know where to improve. Why would you say biomed is risky?

Also, do you know if any unis look at each individual section of the ukcat?


Applying to biomed with the aim of transferring to medicine is risky because only a handful of universities allow it, and then only to a handful of students each year, and you can bet that most of the students on that course will be going for those transfer places. It's not as easy as many A-level students think to get a First or be in the top x% of the year, so there's a high chance you wouldn't make the grade and would then be stuck in a degree you don't really want to be doing for another two years. And then after that, doing medicine as a graduate can be v expensive.

Much safer to take a gap year and apply to normal undergrad courses with your grades in hand.

Think back to your interviews - what questions were you asked and what answers did you give that might have made them think you lack empathy? Is there something in your body language or manner of speaking that might give that impression? How might you present yourself better next time?

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