Help me reduce my choices? :(

Hi guys, so after making tables and calculating my chances and freaking out I selected med schools which can actually take me (I made sure I double checked everything since I'm reapplying and need to maximise my chances).

The unis I selected are:
Keele
QUB
Barts
Birmingham
Bristol
Aberdeen
Cardiff
Imperial (not so sure).

Which 4 of them should I go for, or you would go for if you were me and why? They all seem cool, I'm struggling to select. All I know is that I would enjoy dissection rather than prosection, an elective abroad would be nice (but I guess thats possible in every one of them (?)), traditional course but I don't mind PBL, and I'm also considering doing an intercalation in psychology (but I guess it doesnt necessarily has to be offered at the uni I'm going to as I can transfer- from what I heard)
Which ones are considered the friendliest and has a good rep of good teaching?

To those who know a bit about Barts, this is also a big struggle for me as the school seems to be good and prestigious - considered as good as imperial or kings- (correct me if i'm wrong), but the area scares me

Spoiler

Reply 1

username1155480

13

Your stats would be helpful...

Reply 2

em.d_4

17

If you put up your ucas tarrif, gcse's and a levels results plus your ukcat then we can try narrow it down

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Reply 3

magdalisious

OP

Original post by em.d_4

If you put up your ucas tarrif, gcse's and a levels results plus your ukcat then we can try narrow it down

Posted from TSR Mobile

Original post by Jaska

Your stats would be helpful...

I knew I was missing something! haha

UKCAT: 635
GCSEs: 10A*, 2A from Math and English Language
IB: 40
Tariff: 721

Reply 4

Okorange

17

Original post by magdalisious

Hi guys, so after making tables and calculating my chances and freaking out I selected med schools which can actually take me (I made sure I double checked everything since I'm reapplying and need to maximise my chances).

The unis I selected are:
Keele
QUB
Barts
Birmingham
Bristol
Aberdeen
Cardiff
Imperial (not so sure).

Which 4 of them should I go for, or you would go for if you were me and why? They all seem cool, I'm struggling to select. All I know is that I would enjoy dissection rather than prosection, an elective abroad would be nice (but I guess thats possible in every one of them (?)), traditional course but I don't mind PBL, and I'm also considering doing an intercalation in psychology (but I guess it doesnt necessarily has to be offered at the uni I'm going to as I can transfer- from what I heard)
Which ones are considered the friendliest and has a good rep of good teaching?

To those who know a bit about Barts, this is also a big struggle for me as the school seems to be good and prestigious - considered as good as imperial or kings- (correct me if i'm wrong), but the area scares me

Spoiler

Don't be scared of dangerous places. Some of the best hospitals in the world are located in the most dangerous parts of their cities, like Johns Hopkins Hospital for example. Besides, its almost never as dangerous as people think it is. The crimes that do happen are usually between residents of those neighbourhoods, rarely do they target innocent bystanders.

Reply 5

em.d_4

17

Original post by magdalisious

I knew I was missing something! haha

UKCAT: 635
GCSEs: 10A*, 2A from Math and English Language
IB: 40
Tariff: 721

Sounds like youre fine for all of those. Guarunteed interview ar QUB, Aberdeen is a good choice too!

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Reply 6

toffeecrisp_

Original post by magdalisious

Hi guys, so after making tables and calculating my chances and freaking out I selected med schools which can actually take me (I made sure I double checked everything since I'm reapplying and need to maximise my chances).

The unis I selected are:
Keele
QUB
Barts
Birmingham
Bristol
Aberdeen
Cardiff
Imperial (not so sure).

Which 4 of them should I go for, or you would go for if you were me and why? They all seem cool, I'm struggling to select. All I know is that I would enjoy dissection rather than prosection, an elective abroad would be nice (but I guess thats possible in every one of them (?)), traditional course but I don't mind PBL, and I'm also considering doing an intercalation in psychology (but I guess it doesnt necessarily has to be offered at the uni I'm going to as I can transfer- from what I heard)
Which ones are considered the friendliest and has a good rep of good teaching?

To those who know a bit about Barts, this is also a big struggle for me as the school seems to be good and prestigious - considered as good as imperial or kings- (correct me if i'm wrong), but the area scares me

Spoiler

I'm at Birmingham, and I can tell you that we do prosection instead of dissection (although there is an SSC involving dissection for a small number of students), we do electives and most people go abroad, and we have an intercalation in psychological medicine which you can do after third or fourth year! We have a mainly traditional course, with elements of PBL, and start GP placements from the first year.

I love Birmingham and would definitely recommend anyone to apply here :smile:

our clinical placements (yr 3, 4 and 5) are all commutable except one (Hereford - they provide accommodation and only v few students go there). I know that at a lot of other unis, many of their placements are really far from the university, so you could end up staying in random places!

Hope this is helpful :smile:

message me if you have any more questions about Birmingham!

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Reply 7

2018

4

If I was in your position I'd go for QUB Aberdeen Imperial (BMAT) and Cardiff! I think you'd stand the bet chance at those :smile:

Reply 8

magdalisious

OP

Original post by 2018

If I was in your position I'd go for QUB Aberdeen Imperial (BMAT) and Cardiff! I think you'd stand the bet chance at those :smile:

Why these? :smile:

))

Reply 9

2018

4

QUB-You already have achieved IB which can boost your score, Imperial-your tariff is excellent as long as you can ace the BMAT you stand an excellent chance, Cardiff would like your GCSE's and don't rely too heavily on UKCAT-same for Aberdeen where high academics can compensate for a low UKCAT-Good Luck!

Reply 10

HCubed

13

BIrmingham is a good bet only if they accept your A in GCSE maths and eng - not sure what they say about it this year, and Bristol if your PS is really good. Good luck.

Reply 11

magdalisious

OP

Guys, what about facilities and stuff? Which of these has hospitals nearby, work hard/play hard attitude and so on? I researched all of them and they all seem alike :/ I really can't choose.

Reply 12

magdalisious

OP

Rejected from last year :wink:

Not risking. Not bothered. :tongue:

Reply 13

Angury

18

Original post by magdalisious

Cardiff

Regarding Cardiff:

•

Your GCSEs would give you 27/27 points so depending on your PS you would be in a good position to receive an interview.

•

If you're interested in studying abroad, Cardiff offers an Erasmus scheme for fourth year medical students where you can do either your Child Health or Women's Health placement in countries such as France, Spain, Italy or Germany.

•

You can intercalate in Psychology (or Neuroscience) after your third year.

•

Dissection is part of the curriculum in first year.

•

The learning in Cardiff, at least in the first year is through CBL (Case-Based Learning) which is mainly through small groups along with a tutor to help guide you. You also receive a lecture at the end of each case to ensure you have covered all of the learning outcomes.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any further questions. There is also a lot of information, including a copy of a first year timetable here:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2760269

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 14

magdalisious

OP

Original post by Angury

Regarding Cardiff:

•

Your GCSEs would give you 27/27 points so depending on your PS you would be in a good position to receive an interview.

•

If you're interested in studying abroad, Cardiff offers an Erasmus scheme for fourth year medical students where you can do either your Child Health or Women's Health placement in countries such as France, Spain, Italy or Germany.

•

You can intercalate in Psychology (or Neuroscience) after your third year.

•

Dissection is part of the curriculum in first year.

•

The learning in Cardiff, at least in the first year is through CBL (Case-Based Learning) which is mainly through small groups along with a tutor to help guide you. You also receive a lecture at the end of each case to ensure you have covered all of the learning outcomes.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any further questions. There is also a lot of information, including a copy of a first year timetable here:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2760269

Yes Cardiff seemed to be my first choice but I was a bit shocked to see how low it is in rankings and how bad the feedback seems to be! Do you feel like you get enough support from the teachers regarding your clinical stuff and other works?

Reply 15

douglas2013

I think you are guaranteed an interview at keele with your GCSEs and IB score. It is pbl but there are so many supplementary lectures so it shouldnt cause you any problems. we also do dissection every week.

Reply 16

Elwyn

17

Original post by magdalisious

Yes Cardiff seemed to be my first choice but I was a bit shocked to see how low it is in rankings and how bad the feedback seems to be! Do you feel like you get enough support from the teachers regarding your clinical stuff and other works?

We do receive lots of feedback and there are regular feedback sessions on placements. However the admin side of things has been lacking in recent years. For example last year our exam results were delayed by a week (we were told if we had passed/failed but there was a delay with the actual marks) and there has been quite a few instances where feedback on written work or other exams has been delayed. I know they are trying their hardest to rectify this issue as they have been climbing up the university rankings with all the hard work they've been doing recently and they are keen to address these issues to ensure they climb even higher.

Reply 17

magdalisious

OP

Hi guys! So, now my choices are down a bit:

I'm definately applying to Queen Mary (with 721 tariff i got a chance, rightttt?) and Cardiff (fabulous). The other two I really am struggling to select from:

Keele
Queen's University, Belfast
Bristol
Aberdeen

As we've all said, I would have the greatest chance of obtaining interviews at Queen's Univ. and Cardiff because of my GCSEs. Cardiff is super cool, and probably my first choice now. However, I'm not too sure about Queen's- what's it rep like, did you guys hear its a good uni... ireland is unknown to me, all I've been told is that they don't have a lot of societies and it gets pretty boring on weekends when everyone goes home. Would you put that as a choice, or should I go for Bristol/Keele/Aberdeen instead?
Bristol looks only at the personal statement, and I’m worried whether mine is good enough to risk it, since they have 16 applicants per place. I heard its a pretty good med school- is that the case? Their website is complicated :/
Keele seems awesome too but i'm terrified that it really is in the middle of nowhere, and i'm sure if it's that good.
Aberdeen seems a huge mystery. I got a bit discouraged after I talked to some medics from imperial and they laughed asking me 'does aberdeen even have a medical school?'
Overall, I still don’t know if I should keep in mind the rankings and reputations of the universities while selecting my four choices. For instance, I know Queen Mary is considered the best one out of all these (please correct me if I'm wrong) and its very tempting not to risk applying there, if it means that I will have a better chance of obtaining better placements after I graduate. However, I'm still not sure because it's london and london scares me a bit.

Thank youuu all <3

Help me reduce my choices? :(

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