Exeter medical school applicants 2015!

Are people being put on reserve before being offered an interview?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 1186

whymedicine

When did exeter say they'd hand out offers, for people they interviewed November/December time?

Reply 1187

Matriix

8

Original post by whymedicine

When did exeter say they'd hand out offers, for people they interviewed November/December time?

The end of January :smile:

Reply 1188

whymedicine

Original post by Clubba

The end of January :smile:

Oh ok thank you!!

Reply 1189

waterrdrinkerr

Just got my interview for Feb 4th!! Any other internationals heard back?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1190

abdelrahman777

Original post by waterrdrinkerr

Just got my interview for Feb 4th!! Any other internationals heard back?

I did

congratz

Its so stressful having only 1 month notice ... I need time to get the visa done

Reply 1191

Dr Gin

12

Original post by diana99

I have applied to lots of grammar school and one IB school. At first I didn't think that it was necessary to do an Ib. But after going to the open evening I found it interesting.

what are the pros and cons of an IB and a levels ?

Would it be pointless studying extra subjects?

Which one is more beneficial for my career choice and why?

I don't want to make a big mistake.

Thank you

Posted from TSR Mobile

Posted from TSR Mobile

From the point of view of a Medical School application, as far as I know, they all accept IB or A levels so it shouldn't make a significant difference (best to check with some of the IB students to see that they didn't encounter problems but I've seen nothing reported).

Some med schools like students to have achieved more than the traditional 3 A-levels from an academic perspective - some of them are starting to really sit up and notice extra subjects or the EPQ for instance. Others don't want to discriminate against kids who go to schools that don't offer those extras so they only assess GCSEs plus 4 AS subjects and 3 A2 subject grades.

With the changes to the A level structure over the next 3 years there is likely to be a shift away from AS results and more students will complete 4 A level subjects so this may become more important in the future.

It is worth comparing harsh achievement stats for your subjects in each school as you need to be very confident of A or A* grades in all your subjects (at least 2 predicted A* grades for Exeter) and some schools have a 'weak' subject/department where the teaching could end up letting you down.

Some schools offer great extra-curricular stuff (opportunities to volunteer within school hours, sign language courses, first aid courses etc) so it is also worth assessing these before you make your decision as the greater the depth and breadth of your personal statement the more likely you are to get interviews in most med schools (not all as some, like Exeter, don't even read it).

Hope this helps.

Reply 1192

EuroMed

Original post by diana99

I have applied to lots of grammar school and one IB school. At first I didn't think that it was necessary to do an Ib. But after going to the open evening I found it interesting.

what are the pros and cons of an IB and a levels ?

Would it be pointless studying extra subjects?

Which one is more beneficial for my career choice and why?

I don't want to make a big mistake.

Thank you

Posted from TSR Mobile

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hey, Im an IB student and have never done A-levels or GCSE's so I cant really compare them but can tell you a bit about my view of the IB.

Firstly in terms of medical universities all of the ones I have seen accept IB so there is no issue with that at all.

In terms of the course, personally, I have really liked it. It can be hard work but i'm sure A-levels are as well. Doing six subjects can be difficult especially as it means you need to revise for all 6 in the exam week instead of just the 3 or 4 at A-levels, however i'm glad I did this as I feel that the 6 subjects has led to me having a broader knowledge due to continuing with subjects i'm sure I would have dropped if I did A-levels (like spanish). If you are interested in doing a PBL course at medicine then the IB will certainly help as it has quite a focus on self learning similar to these courses.

However an issue that some of my friends that did GCSE's have had is that the style of marking and the criterion are quite different to those used in GCSE's and A-levels as so for the first year some of them found it difficult to adapt to the different way of learning and being marked. However by now most of them are used to it, it just took a little extra work and attention.

As I said, I have enjoyed the IB and have never done anything different so I may be a bit biased (you should ask people about A-levels to get their opinion as well). But overall I think that it benefits people who are inquisitive about a bread range of subjects other than only the 3/4 they would pursue in A-levels. However if you do have those 3/4 subjects that you really enjoy and just are not interested in other subjects then A-levels may be better for you.

If there are any other questions you would like to ask me then feel free to reply to this or send me a message so as not to spam this thread :smile:

Reply 1193

Original post by EuroMed

Hey, Im an IB student and have never done A-levels or GCSE's so I cant really compare them but can tell you a bit about my view of the IB.

Firstly in terms of medical universities all of the ones I have seen accept IB so there is no issue with that at all.

In terms of the course, personally, I have really liked it. It can be hard work but i'm sure A-levels are as well. Doing six subjects can be difficult especially as it means you need to revise for all 6 in the exam week instead of just the 3 or 4 at A-levels, however i'm glad I did this as I feel that the 6 subjects has led to me having a broader knowledge due to continuing with subjects i'm sure I would have dropped if I did A-levels (like spanish). If you are interested in doing a PBL course at medicine then the IB will certainly help as it has quite a focus on self learning similar to these courses.

However an issue that some of my friends that did GCSE's have had is that the style of marking and the criterion are quite different to those used in GCSE's and A-levels as so for the first year some of them found it difficult to adapt to the different way of learning and being marked. However by now most of them are used to it, it just took a little extra work and attention.

As I said, I have enjoyed the IB and have never done anything different so I may be a bit biased (you should ask people about A-levels to get their opinion as well). But overall I think that it benefits people who are inquisitive about a bread range of subjects other than only the 3/4 they would pursue in A-levels. However if you do have those 3/4 subjects that you really enjoy and just are not interested in other subjects then A-levels may be better for you.

If there are any other questions you would like to ask me then feel free to reply to this or send me a message so as not to spam this thread :smile:

Thanks and I was also wondering if the Ib would be a good idea specifically if I want study medicine at university. I'm not sure on whether I should stick to science and maths or study a broad range of subjects. Some day that I should stick to a levels because I know exactly what I want to do. However some say that the job shouldn't be a problem :mmm:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 1194

*some say that the Ib shouldn't be a problem

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 1195

EuroMed

Original post by diana99

Thanks and I was also wondering if the Ib would be a good idea specifically if I want study medicine at university. I'm not sure on whether I should stick to science and maths or study a broad range of subjects. Some day that I should stick to a levels because I know exactly what I want to do. However some say that the job shouldn't be a problem :mmm:

Posted from TSR Mobile

To be honest I don't think your choice about if you do or don't choose to do IB should be based around if you want to do 3 or 6 subjects as I think the more prominent and important difference is the teaching style. The IB teaches through a more PBL like style in that you learn more through conversations and investigating learning questions and outcomes. This basically leads to not as much note copying in class, instead the responsibility is places on you to retain what you learn in class and write notes yourself. If you think that this is a style of learning (more investigative) you would prefer to what you currently do then you should perhaps seriously consider the IB, but if you are happy with what you are doing at the moment then you may want to stick with it as it is something you know and are used to.

In relation to the IB being better or worse than A-levels for medicine, well, Universities don't value one over the other, so that shouldn't affect your decision. However I would agree that the A-levels provide a more directed learning as you only do 3 subjects but I feel that my other 3 subjects that I wouldn't have taken if I had done A-levels have both helped me now (my literature classes helped my personal statement immensely) and i'm sure that these skills will become useful in later life as well, but as I said previously only take the IB if you think you would find these subjects interesting.

So all-in-all if you like the sound of the teaching style and there are 3 other subjects that you would be interested in learning at standard level (similar to AS) as well as your 3 higher subjects (similar to A-level standard) then I think that the IB is something that you would enjoy and possibly benefit from.

PS: If you are interested I take:
Higher Level: Chemistry, Biology, Literature
Standard Level: Spanish, Math (standard), Geography

Reply 1196

Original post by EuroMed

To be honest I don't think your choice about if you do or don't choose to do IB should be based around if you want to do 3 or 6 subjects as I think the more prominent and important difference is the teaching style. The IB teaches through a more PBL like style in that you learn more through conversations and investigating learning questions and outcomes. This basically leads to not as much note copying in class, instead the responsibility is places on you to retain what you learn in class and write notes yourself. If you think that this is a style of learning (more investigative) you would prefer to what you currently do then you should perhaps seriously consider the IB, but if you are happy with what you are doing at the moment then you may want to stick with it as it is something you know and are used to.

In relation to the IB being better or worse than A-levels for medicine, well, Universities don't value one over the other, so that shouldn't affect your decision. However I would agree that the A-levels provide a more directed learning as you only do 3 subjects but I feel that my other 3 subjects that I wouldn't have taken if I had done A-levels have both helped me now (my literature classes helped my personal statement immensely) and i'm sure that these skills will become useful in later life as well, but as I said previously only take the IB if you think you would find these subjects interesting.

So all-in-all if you like the sound of the teaching style and there are 3 other subjects that you would be interested in learning at standard level (similar to AS) as well as your 3 higher subjects (similar to A-level standard) then I think that the IB is something that you would enjoy and possibly benefit from.

PS: If you are interested I take:
Higher Level: Chemistry, Biology, Literature
Standard Level: Spanish, Math (standard), Geography

If I was to do the ib I would like to take.
Higher level:Chemistry, Biology, Geography
Standard level: Japanese ab initio, maths(standard) , English literature.
Is this a good idea/combination?

I'm really confused to why I don't have to maths at higher level because with a level it is something that you carry on to A2 (second year).

Is the ib like doing 3 as levels and 3 A2 levels?

Are you more likely to get a uni offer with ib? I heard u are from Oxbridge (this might not be true though).

Reply 1197

EuroMed

Original post by diana99

If I was to do the ib I would like to take.
Higher level:Chemistry, Biology, Geography
Standard level: Japanese ab initio, maths(standard) , English literature.
Is this a good idea/combination?

I'm really confused to why I don't have to maths at higher level because with a level it is something that you carry on to A2 (second year).

Is the ib like doing 3 as levels and 3 A2 levels?

Are you more likely to get a uni offer with ib? I heard u are from Oxbridge (this might not be true though).

I don't think any uni's prefer IB or at least they don't publicly admit it, however I have no idea about oxbridge as I never looked at applying there. For medicine those choices look fine as the main requirements are simply 2 sciences including chem at higher level.

The reason higher math is not necessary is because IB higher math is like A2 extended math and standard math in IB is like normal A2 math so for medicine they don't need you to do it.

Yeah, I always describe it as being like doing 3AS and 3 A2 levels and many uni's will treat it the same so if they require A* A A at A-levels they will require 7,6,6 in IB higher subjects and the other subjects only need to be a pass and add up to the minimum score (for medicine about 36-39), however a few uni's will also require a minimum of say a 4 in all standard level subjects, but to be honest if you are looking at doing medicine you should be achieving that anyway.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 1198