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UCL Medical School 2015 Entry

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Reply 80
Original post by Joshi213
Exactly how I feel, they might as well just go all out to make us pass exams rather than doing this halfway house sort of approach
I'm sure it will be, at least it's what we're really interested in:smile:
I agree, I'm sure they did, we got the same on DA though I think! Hahaha, my QR and AR really pulled my whole score up though. It was annoying though, just doing as well in the actual exam in DA and VR as I'd done before would have improved my score by so much! Oh well, can't go back now

So profound haha :wink:
Yeah it is, luckily they're not gonna affect my predicteds cause they can't be changed now, so I'll take Bs without revision right now haha ������
Ah yeah it seems it'll be crazy around that time, exams, controlled assessments, and maybe interviews if they're later
Just wanna hear back from my UKCAT unis already!


Same for me, QR and AR really helped my score... though the average for this year has fallen considerably from last year so that helps :tongue:

Exactly, I've warned my teachers and parents that my grades aren't going to be great this term, and so hopefully they understand :colondollar:
I feel like I'm getting far too excited for uni, I should probably wait to see if I get in first :rolleyes:

It's unfair that we hear back so late, people in my school are getting offers all over the place... I want one :frown:
Do you know when unis receive our UKCAT results? I think I've heard its 5th November but I may just be getting confused because my head's a big jumble of misplaced facts and rumors now :s-smilie:
Reply 81
Original post by jalwxx
Me too - I just ramble on and on and shove down every thought that pops into my head! Planning is going to be essential!Ah nice - I spoke to sheffield admissions on the day of the deadline and they told me they had only had 1600 applicants ...... said they expected a few hundred more before the time cut off but compared to 2500 or so - hopefully less competition!!

Yeah, sometimes even when I do plan I get random thoughts in the middle and try to fit them into my essay somewhere... I need to stop doing that :redface:

Ooh that's good news! Quite a few people from my school are applying there so I assumed there would be loads but apparently not :biggrin:

*sigh* ...waiting to hear back from unis is painful :rolleyes:
Reply 82
What type of BMAT scores are you guys getting? I'm really dreading it :frown:
Reply 83
Original post by Joshi213
It definitely wouldn't hinder your application, they don't reject people because they've taken 4 sciences. The only thing is that they like it if an applicant has done a contrasting subject and it would give those applicants slight advantages. I don't know in reality how much weighting it has, but I personally don't think it is THAT much.

Have you applied this year or are you in year 12 at the moment? (It's only because you've said you want to and you will)


I'm in year 12 at the moment - just looking ahead to the (not too distant) future.
I can't actually find the statement on the UCL website where they say they prefer applicants with a contrasting subject (I could a few months ago though!) :smile:
Reply 84
Original post by misstac
I'm in year 12 at the moment - just looking ahead to the (not too distant) future.
I can't actually find the statement on the UCL website where they say they prefer applicants with a contrasting subject (I could a few months ago though!) :smile:


http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medicalschool/undergraduate/mbbs-admissions/entry-requirements/entry2015.pdf
Reply 85
Original post by Joshi213
Ah if your teachers are understanding I envy haha, some of mine are but one of my chemistry teachers definitely wouldn't be. Probably 3 of my 6 wouldn't really care... I've already had some tests and just winged them, somehow I've been getting Bs without doing much which is surprising but I doubt it'll be like that for chemistry... never is

I've been getting excited for university since I finished GCSEs! School is boring and repetitive now :/ I just keep on making sure I know I need to get an interview before there's any chance of getting in, then there's passing those and getting the grades!

Yeah I got my biomed offer from King's after about a week (for which I got probably a bit too excited, at least I know I should be at uni next year!) but I'm just sitting here getting excited every time I see a gmail notification on my phone even though I know it won't be yet haha!

They haven't given a specific date about it, they just say at the start of November they'll be giving the scores to the unis, so it'd be at least halfway through November before there's any chance of hearing from unis probably. The 5th Novemeber is the BMAT :wink: (and Guy Fawkes Night :wink: hahaha)


I guess I am quite lucky because 3 of my teachers are really nice and the other 3 don't really care which suits me :biggrin: To be honest Bs is pretty damn good considering how much time and effort you can afford to put into revision. I've got a chemistry exam the day before the bmat... I'd be lucky to pass that one :redface:

Yeah, I want to learn things that will be of actual relevance to what I want to study =/ I know there's biology but it's mixed in with the all the stupid plant stuff which seems a bit pointless...

Oh wow well done on the offer!! So you'll be in London with your first and fifth option (and UCL of course :wink:) I haven't applied for a fifth option yet... And god I'm exactly the same, I check my email twice a day knowing full well there will be nothing...

Haha yes I did realise, but I swear I heard someone say 5th... Oh dear, my mind is probably making that up haha. Ah yes, remember remember the 5th of November and all that :wink:
Reply 86


Thanks to you both - it's good to see it in writing, even if it's what I didn't want to read :biggrin:
Reply 87
Original post by Joshi213
Ah lucky you! It's sort of the same, they're mostly good teachers (one biology is terrible, we know nothing at all so far, not good :/) but some will not care about the BMAT, some will actually be nice about it haha

Don't even get me started on plants, I hate them now, ignoring how we'd all die without them of course :wink:

Haha it's just a mock I'm guessing? Yeah I think a uni entrance exam is a little bit more important than a test :wink:

Thank you! Fingers crossed I'll be in London, Southampton would still be great as would Leicester but I unfortunately didn't get to see it, apparently it's really nice though

I got an email the other from King's saying they'd updated/sent me a message regarding my MBBS application - I checked as quickly as I could and it was just to say they were going to start assessing applications! It was like a day after the biomed offer so I thought maybe hahaha, I wasn't thinking straight though clearly ������

Could have been the 5th to be fair, you never know eh, the sooner the better
Yeah let's hope we can celebrate doing well on the BMAT instead of that :wink: hahaha


Same for us, some teachers argue with us and say it's "just GCSE knowledge, you shouldn't have to revise" which, just, no. Just no.

Haha yeah it's a just a mock, and I did try telling him that, but you know, paraphrased slightly :wink: Hopefully it worked haha. And agreed, plants, however essential, are still stupid.

I didn't go to any uni open days (which is probably really bad, oops) so I'm just assuming that they'll be nice when I go there :s-smilie: I'll probably be so grateful that I'm in that I'll force myself to like it either way haha.

I really don't blame you, straight after one offer you'd be waiting for another. Apparently my brain thinks every email will be an interview invite, never has been :rolleyes: Though as much as I want an interview, interview prep has really not happened much :redface: I'll have to start once bmat is over... one week to go!! How exciting :tongue:
Reply 88
Original post by Joshi213
Yeah that look you have to give people when they say that hahaha
Hopefully it worked, honestly I know my grades at school are gonna slip at least until Christmas when I might be able to finally go over stuff I've 'just listened' about in class rather than learnt if you get me. I've gotta do my EPQ then too though :frown:

I would love biology if it were just about humans, but the ecology stuff drives me as mad as the plants haha������

Yeah definitely, I don't think anyone would moan about getting into medicine, wherever they go :wink:

Exactly! I think I've been able to train my brain a little to realise it's not gonna be an interview offer just yet haha
Neither have I, we've had no time to be fair. I had a couple of mock interviews at school though which actually went well

I think exciting isn't quite the right word :wink:

This time exactly next week we'll be finishing off section 1 :O


(I know I should probably know this and it does sound like a silly question, but how do they make us go onto the next section? Do they just take in the section one paper and give out the section two?)


Yeah, I haven't revised anything, just vaguely familiar with the topics from what we've done in class. But as long as you get it up to scratch for the real exams then it doesn't really matter... plus you don't have to worry about teachers hating you because you'll be gone next year :wink:

What exam board are you on for EPQ? We're AQA and had to submit our essay in June (the week after exams finished... wrote the whole thing during that one week). Maybe our school weird with timings... What did you do yours on? Mine was to do with ethics which is good to talk about in interviews because I've basically researched it for the past 'year' :biggrin:

Are you telling me you aren't buzzing with excitement for this bmat?? :wink: I'm excited for it to be over at least haha. It'll be done this time next week :eek:

Not really, I'm quite not sure... In previous exams where there was more than one paper they've put the other paper on the floor next to us so that when we finish one they tell us to pick it up and then we begin? Or maybe they'll just hand out one after the other?
Reply 89
Original post by Joshi213
No worries :smile:
Are you set on doing the 4 A2s? They also mention that they do like the EPQ especially if you are doing all 'traditional' subjects. If your school offers it I'd recommend doing it, I'm gonna be cramming mine all in during the Christmas holidays (had no time, even during summer, and won't have much still) and it's easily doable withing a few days of solid work. Plus it shows that contrast you don't have with your 4 A levels - you have ages to think about it though, just some advice though, start prepping for your UKCAT and BMAT now :wink:


At the moment, yes I'm set on doing 4A2s - I love physics too much to give it up, and realistically it's the one I should drop if I have to drop one.
I will definitely do the EPQ - it's just deciding on a topic that's the difficult part!
I emailed the UCL admissions and they said:
We give a slight preference to candidates who have studied a non-science subject at either AS or A level. If you have studied all science subjects you will not receive this slight preference. We do not have a preference as to which non-science subject is studied or if it is studied to AS or A level. We consider the EPQ as a contrasting subject even if the essay is science based. We do not have a preference if a candidate studies the EPQ, a non-science AS or A level. We do not require either Maths, Further Maths or Physics at AS or A level, nor do we give a preference to candidates who have studied these subjects.
However, I think I may not apply to UCL - maths and physics are very important to me and I want to go to a place where they're actually considered important! But we'll see - i'll go to the open day etc :colone:
Good advice about the UKCAT/BMAT! How did you go about revising for it in year 12??
Reply 90
Original post by Joshi213
Yeah that's true, I wanted to start my revision in December so I can definitely get the grades, bit optimistic ������
Exactly haha, not really fussed what they think of me now, as long as I get into uni :wink:
Yeah AQA too, I think our school wanted us to have it done for the end of this term just gone so we could submit for the early entry but barely anyone had finished. Not too sure about deadlines but I'm guessing it'd be March/April time to make sure they can mark them etc in time. That's genuinely unfair to have it due the week after exams!
I'm doing mine on MS, it's so interesting like whenever I've actually sat down to do some research I've enjoyed it, but I've not started writing anything yet ������ hahaha

Oh of course I can't wait for a 2 hour long really important exam :wink:. It'll be great when it's over cause the end of exams for a little while... Not including interviews hahaha

Not even getting fifa this year to make sure I focus on my work haha!

Ah okay I thought it might have been a silly question haha. I'm guessing it could be either of those, depending on how lazy the invigilators are


Nah, I wouldn't say it's optimistic, it's only really around 4 months worth of revision crammed together, not thaaat bad right? :redface:

Ah, our school is just super pedantic then, they kept threatening us saying that if we didn't do it by a certain deadline we would fail... not sure how truthful they were being! Ooh I'm not surprised, that's a good topic. Yeah I kept getting carried away with reading all sorts of stuff which I knew I wouldn't end up using but just found interesting haha.

Can't wait for this to be over... it feel like my life is just a series of tests now haha. It's weird that it's got to the stage where being able to concentrate on school work is kind of like a breather :rolleyes:

Haha, now that's a sacrifice right there, you should bring that up in interviews as proof of your dedication to medicine :wink:
Reply 91
Original post by Joshi213
When you put it like that I feel bad that I've done minimal school work this year hahaha!

Yeah they must be, it doesn't even make sense that they'd want to have the essays pretty much a year before you'd get the results and before you've even started the year you're supposed to do it in haha.
Have you done your presentations yet?

It's honestly fascinating, not gonna lie haha. What was your EPQ specifically about, the importance of ethics or something like that? It's really interesting how important it is to act ethically when sometimes it doesn't completely make sense to act in that way (if that makes sense)

I've been thinking that, that I can't wait for what to be over though haha, once these are finished it's interview prep, then actual exams then we have a long summer which is gonna be quality. So pretty much, I can't wait until July next year haha :wink:
Feel like that too, to be honest. Doing homework seems so much easier than having to do all this other stuff :laugh:

I bring that up, boom instant offer hahahaha :wink:


Oh god no, don't feel bad, I'm fairly certain that's what most/all people taking the bmat are doing, definitely including me. You really really aren't alone on that one :wink:

Aah see we did most of the work last year which I hated back then but it's pretty nice having more time this year.Yeah, our presentations were second week back to school, that was fun haha. When are you doing yours?

My EPQ was more about the ethical issues related to consent and what can be done if patients can't consent, like patients with dementia. It does make sense, like how we are bound by ethics and some things which may seem illogical are actually necessary, kind of red tape. I genuinely loved researching it, even though the paperwork is such a drag... It gets so repetitive after a while, every question seems the same...

Literally can't wait for summer, I don't care that it's months away haha. It's the first time in so long when we can just do nothing and not feel guilty for it :u:
Reply 92
Original post by Joshi213
In all honesty I don't really :wink: I think the teachers understood when their erm, 'pets', didn't do ALL the homework haha. I'd be a little worried if peole prioritised school work at right now over the BMAT if they're taking it.
That's reassuring then:smile:

Ah that's not bad at all then, but I still think it's ridiculous you had to give them in so soon after your exams. At least that's one weight lifted to be fair
Must have been fun! Someone's already done theirs in my class, but we don't have any specific deadline (or we do and I haven't really been listening haha) so I'll probably be doing it in January, if possible.

Exactly! There are things that would seem to be common sense to do in maybe day to day life that you'd have to think twice about before doing as a doctor, or any healthcare professional. Surely it helped you in the UKCAT? I guess you must have been pretty damn annoyed when they said the SJ was nullified though haha, I was chuffed with band 1, but so was pretty much everyone else haha :wink:

Tell me about it, even the paperwork we've had to do so far (and I've not done much of it haha) has been like that, all of the questions are basically the same and just want a slightly different answer.

You know! Haven't had a proper summer since the year 10 one, it's gonna be so chill :biggrin:


I know what you mean haha, and don't worry, we'll all be revising through Christmas holidays together *hurrah*

It's really weird, we're getting out results in January but that's when you have to give yours in? And it did seem ridiculous at the time (apparently the school got a lot of angry emails from parents which doesn't surprise me at all) and really they could have given us the summer holidays... our school is strange...

Ugh, the paperwork is so incredibly pointless. You literally have to use exact phrases from the marking criteria... I pity the person who has to moderate these things, I get bored reading my own, never mind having to read loads on end haha

It really did! It kind of helps with bmat essays too :wink: And I am very annoyed they made us sit through an extra section for no reason... extra stress that we really could've done without haha. And now you mention it I don't really know anyone who didn't get a band 1 :redface:

Never in my life have I been so excited to do nothing! Only 8ish months to go!! :biggrin: Though a lot does happen within those 8 months...
Reply 93
Original post by Joshi213
Let's hope we all are anyway :wink:
Definitely gone in for the early entry then, it's kinda bad cause some people are still changing what they're doing for it!
I'm really not surprised you're school got a lot of angry parents complaining haha

Oh really? I'm not looking forward to that then :frown:. The paperwork is more important than the essay too, isn't it?

For sure, I'd have rather had that extra half hour off, or even could have used it for the rest of the sections :wink: then again I'd have probably changed some of my answers hahaha
Yeah I don't think anyone got lower than band 1, and if you did, you can't have done well aha

I can't wait to have a proper lie in :biggrin:
Yeah probably the busiest 8 months of our lives so far


Woah, I'm surprised you're allowed to change topics this far in! Though I guess if they haven't done any research yet then it wouldn't matter haha

It's not that hard to do, it's just a lot of writing absolute rubbish, but it is really important because it basically ties your entire project together... It's kind of like your chance to prove that you've been doing the work you've done (or, you know, your chance at lying as many people have done :K: )

To be honest I don't really like the UKCAT much because it's so based on luck and technique, I feel like the bmat is a much better judge of ability... it's harder in my opinion but it still seems better. But that might just be me haha

Just picture the last day of exams... The joy!! The freedom!! The ability to do anything and nothing!! :biggrin:
Reply 94
Original post by Joshi213
They're not allowing people, people have just done it without telling them hahaha
I'm guessing this is the type of thing people bs on a lot :wink: look at the marking criteria and just make sure they've made up something for each bit hahaha

I get what you mean to be honest. The BMAT does seem more appropriate but surely there's a reason why the UKCAT is used by most. I think the UKCAT is slightly better at showing innate intelligence as the whole thing is aptitude, whereas for the BMAT you can revise, even if it is for only one section. But then again for the UKCAT you could very well (although it'd be extremely difficult) do well by guessing most questions. But then this is multiple choice too. I guess they just need ANOTHER way to differentiate between applicants because everyone is expected to get the grades. Man if this were like 20 years ago it'd be so much easier hahaha

That day cannot come soon enough! I just know the work I'm gonna have to do before then haha

A quick physics question - in the assumed knowledge revision guide it says momentum = mv. Surely it should = mv-mu? This was what it is in mechanics and this would give a different answer...


Haha, fair enough, that makes much more sense :rolleyes:

To be honest, I don't see why they need to know about innate intelligence? If you've managed to get the A*s whilst staying on top of everything else then surely that should be enough? How hard you worked for those grades shouldn't even be relevant because if you're working for them now chances are you'll continue working for them at uni... though I guess it helps if you can do well with less time and effort... Meh I guess you're right about differentiating... I'm just bitter about having to revise for these tests haha :tongue:

And yeah its p=mv when there isn't a change in velocity, the mv-mu is change in momentum for when there has been a change in velocity :smile:
Reply 95
Original post by Joshi213
Yeah I agree to an extent definitely, compared to something like theoretical physics this isn't THAT much of an academic course. I think innate intelligence was probably the wrong choice of wording though, I mean more to do with how you naturally think and attack problems. I think for medicine you need to be a really well rounded person, ie clever, willing to work hard, dedicated, good social skills, the whole works. I guess these exams are just one way to obtain some information on that aspect of an applicant. Yeah there's only so far they can go with grades nowadays haha
Trust me, I've enjoyed prepping for these exams just as little as you have :wink: I'd worry for anyone that enjoyed it haha

Maybe it's just coincidence, but just from the people in my school I've seen a difference between people's scores and their personalities and strengths

Ah that makes sense, thank you!:smile:


That's true, I suppose it's to do with how you think and perceive things.... and that's a big part of the whole package. I should really just trust them more, I know there is proper research being done on both the bmat and ukcat so they must be at least a little valid haha.

It's just that if these tests are so good then you'd expect all universities to use them in the same way and give them the same importance... I mean the idea of what makes a good doctor can't vary that much between unis can it? Shouldn't really be complaining because it's done now but still. Sometimes it feels like they're just laying out as many obstacles as they can get away with just because they can, only the best can survive haha :rolleyes:

I haven't really seen that myself but it's probably true. And yeah, academic strengths don't necessarily make you a good doctor.

Okay sorry, rant over :colondollar: It's all this bmat revision I swear, it's making me question everything in life :redface:

And no problem :smile:
Reply 96
Original post by Joshi213
In my opinion they should only be used as part of the application as a whole, so in theory the way Southampton do it doesn't make much sense because surely someone's ability to do a particular career for their whole life shouldn't depend on a 2 hour exam but instead on performance over time. Then again I'm not gonna complain too much as I have applied to Southampton and the way they only use the UKCAT is beneficial for me haha
Yeah exactly there must be a reason why they're used by most, even if it's not that clear to us aha

Completely agree with that obstacles bit, hahaha!

Hahaha don't worry about it, feeling like that right now! :frown: Just can't be bothered with this now :/


Yes exactly!! Those 2 hours on a day when you might be grumpy because the weather is miserable and your train was late and you've had to skip breakfast should not dictate your entire future career!! Haha, same for me with Nottingham, though they aren't quite as ukcat heavy as Southampton, the scoring does work out quite well for me :smile:

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe it allows them to delve into the inner workings of our brains in some way I just don't understand 0.o

Oh dear, maybe we should be positively reinforcing each other.... Umm... keep going! Don't lose hope now! It'll be worth it in the end! Bmat stuff is fun really!! Really.. Really fun :redface:
Reply 97
Original post by Joshi213
I've had discussions with mates and although I've not come up with any better ideas, I just don't think exams are even the best way to decide who should get onto a course. Problem is, there's no real alternative... If only they could just magically look into our brains and our personalities hahaha. Is that happening any time soon?:wink:
For sure, it just doesn't seem fair. Everyone messes up at some point, we're only human - a lifetime's career choice surely can't spend on one letter? We're getting really profound right here haha

I think we must be missing some really important information hahaha:wink:

Oh my days it really worked! I now want to spend every waking hour doing BMAT stuff - I can't wait until next Wednesday!:wink:
Seriously though haha, at least we can relax a tiny bit after the exam!


Yeah I guess that's the problem... Maybe many exams over a period time might be better than just one huge exam which everything depends on... maybe. I don't know, it would just be nice to know that you have a few chances to prove yourself, and that everything ever doesn't depend on that one exam... though I suppose it's not practical to have like 20 tests per student... having hundreds of exams would be harder for students :redface: I don't know. They really need to hurry up with this magical brain-exploring contraption :tongue:

Haha so deep :cool: There's some proper bmat essay stuff going on here :wink:

I knew it would, you just needed to be reminded of the wonders of the world of bmat :wink: Just think, after Wednesday may we never. EVER. have. another. aptitude. test. again. :eek:
(at least for the foreseeable future... let's just pretend haha)
Reply 98
Original post by Joshi213
Exactly, if we only ever had one chance we wouldn't have anything we have nowadays - one chance to get computers perfect? Wouldn't have gone too well haha. Yeah of course there's issues with practicality of having loads of tests but to be honest, medicine is the hardest course to get into. Few others are as rigorous or depend on doing well in EVERYTHING whilst having next to 0 slip ups...

Hmm maybe if we could spend time coming up with that instead of BMAT revision we would create it sooner rather than later :wink:

Could you mark this essay for me please :wink: hahaha

You know me so well :P
I'm liking the use of full stops right there for emphasis :wink: yeah for a while, hopefully we won't have to do one for more than just a year hahaha (ie get in this year haha)


Yeah, it's so rigid, like one slip up when you're 17 affecting your entire career is as ridiculous as saying, here try finding a cure, oh, didn't work? Well you've had your chance, you'll have to wait an entire year and then reapply... Why??

Haha if I somehow manage to get through the whole admissions process I'm going to dedicate my life to ensuring future medicine applicants don't have to suffer the same fate we did :tongue:

I'd give your essay a solid 5A, some brilliant arguments you have there haha. The use of smiley faces is a particularly effective technique :wink:

No, no, nope absolutely not, no way, not thinking about not getting in, nope. Literally the worst part of having to reapply would be doing the ukcat again haha.
Reply 99
Original post by Joshi213
Haha I love that example, use that in your essay and instant 5A :wink:
It does seem stupid, but there are only so many places for people to study medicine and it's not an easy career path. I think people think it's so much more glamorous than it really is - doctors, for what they do and the amount of study they have to do, they really don't get paid enough. To be fair that's healthcare professionals in general though.

That would be a life well spent then hahaha!

I appreciate that:smile: If I could get a 5A in my essay I would be over the moon! Could you, erm, just have a little talk with the BMAT essay markers, put in a good word for me :wink:

I know I don't think I could put up with having to do this whole application process again - doing the personal statement, these exams again, a year of being in like purgatory doesn't appeal to me. Then again I don't really wanna do any other course other than medicine... life is hard hahahaha


Aah why thank you haha. Yeah that's true, a lot of people want to go into medicine either because they think it's fun or because they have the grades for it... and I guess this whole stupid process separates out those who really want it and those who don't. And yeah, medicine is different from a lot of other fields in that it's a huge commitment, like it's pretty much a lifestyle, if you get what I mean :redface:

If I knew any BMAT essay markers I'd be having more than just a little talk, trust me haha

It's so hard, like I've applied for biomed as my fifth choice now but do I really want it as a career? It's a really interesting area to study and I''ll probably enjoy those 3 years but in terms of choosing a career my mind is pretty stuck on medicine... But I'm not sure I want a gap year... Decisions :rolleyes:

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