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Access to medicine 2015/16, The Manchester College
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Original post by doctorsingh?
I hope it went well today!
Thanks!! I got a 2660, and I was very disappointed, my mocks predicted much higher. My best mate is a Head of Year in a private 6th form, and reckons that score is solid, but not exceptional, and should get me an interview most places
Well done all. Mostly good news I see, and for anyone not too happy With their score I believe Liverpool don't take into account UKCAT? Might need some research, I'm not quoting!
Hi guys,
I got 2630 this afternoon - average of 657.5 and Band 1.
I'm over the moon because I was expecting 2400 - that was was what my mock exams were telling me!
I am definitely doing the access course now - can't wait to meet you all
I got 2630 this afternoon - average of 657.5 and Band 1.
I'm over the moon because I was expecting 2400 - that was was what my mock exams were telling me!
I am definitely doing the access course now - can't wait to meet you all
Original post by PETE3546
Well done mate 😊
Thanks Pete
Personally I think its largely to do with exam technique especially checking that the number lock is on! I didn't - what a muppet... dropped a few questions as was doing calcs by hand
Just had another less than satisfactory brush with ManCat admin. I want to get started on UCAS, as it's such a short window and I have some free time now, recovering from minor surgery. I called up to ask about the UCAS buzzword, was passed round no less than 5 departments until I reached a very irascible lady who spoke about me to the rest of the office, not realising I could hear her. I really hope the admin is not a reflection of the standard of teaching.
I finally spoke to one of the tutors called Ross (Russ? Lovely Scottish burr) who was very understanding and explained they don't have them yet, as they don't get them from UCAS until beginning of September. Why Angry Lady couldn't have told me this I don't know...
Anyway..., the advice for the super-keen is... the majority is form filling which takes very little time, we should work on our draft personal statements, preferably to have them ready for a UCAS event at which admissions tutors will come in to college to tell us what they're looking for.
I've already been working on my PS, because I know it's important, but I'll go back and fiddle some more.
Hope that info helps someone
PGxx
I finally spoke to one of the tutors called Ross (Russ? Lovely Scottish burr) who was very understanding and explained they don't have them yet, as they don't get them from UCAS until beginning of September. Why Angry Lady couldn't have told me this I don't know...
Anyway..., the advice for the super-keen is... the majority is form filling which takes very little time, we should work on our draft personal statements, preferably to have them ready for a UCAS event at which admissions tutors will come in to college to tell us what they're looking for.
I've already been working on my PS, because I know it's important, but I'll go back and fiddle some more.
Hope that info helps someone
PGxx
Hi
I'm going in tomorrow to enrol. Hopefully, they will provide a timetable - if so, I will try and post it here.
I'm going in tomorrow to enrol. Hopefully, they will provide a timetable - if so, I will try and post it here.
Original post by Paulie'sGirl
Just had another less than satisfactory brush with ManCat admin. I want to get started on UCAS, as it's such a short window and I have some free time now, recovering from minor surgery. I called up to ask about the UCAS buzzword, was passed round no less than 5 departments until I reached a very irascible lady who spoke about me to the rest of the office, not realising I could hear her. I really hope the admin is not a reflection of the standard of teaching.
I finally spoke to one of the tutors called Ross (Russ? Lovely Scottish burr) who was very understanding and explained they don't have them yet, as they don't get them from UCAS until beginning of September. Why Angry Lady couldn't have told me this I don't know...
Anyway..., the advice for the super-keen is... the majority is form filling which takes very little time, we should work on our draft personal statements, preferably to have them ready for a UCAS event at which admissions tutors will come in to college to tell us what they're looking for.
I've already been working on my PS, because I know it's important, but I'll go back and fiddle some more.
Hope that info helps someone
PGxx
I finally spoke to one of the tutors called Ross (Russ? Lovely Scottish burr) who was very understanding and explained they don't have them yet, as they don't get them from UCAS until beginning of September. Why Angry Lady couldn't have told me this I don't know...
Anyway..., the advice for the super-keen is... the majority is form filling which takes very little time, we should work on our draft personal statements, preferably to have them ready for a UCAS event at which admissions tutors will come in to college to tell us what they're looking for.
I've already been working on my PS, because I know it's important, but I'll go back and fiddle some more.
Hope that info helps someone
PGxx
Manchester Uni open day provided some useful tips on what they look for in a personal statement. I will try and dig out my notes...
If anybody else wants to share what other Uni's have said, please feel free to do so
Original post by doctorsingh?
Manchester Uni open day provided some useful tips on what they look for in a personal statement. I will try and dig out my notes...
If anybody else wants to share what other Uni's have said, please feel free to do so
If anybody else wants to share what other Uni's have said, please feel free to do so
Here goes:
1. Look at GMC's Tomorrow's Doctors document
2. Care experience - description and most important reflection on it
3. Temperament - what are your stress busters (non academic interests)
4. Interest in medicine - how it developed
5. Non academic - evidence of team working skills
Hiya,
Enrolled just now - took 1 hour 45 minutes. But that was due to questions surrounding which GCSE sciences you need.
Met a few of the tutors who were very nice and helpful.
Induction is on Wednesday 9 Sept.
UCAS briefing is on Tuesday 8 September.
No timetables available yet - even tutors haven't been given any.
Enrolled just now - took 1 hour 45 minutes. But that was due to questions surrounding which GCSE sciences you need.
Met a few of the tutors who were very nice and helpful.
Induction is on Wednesday 9 Sept.
UCAS briefing is on Tuesday 8 September.
No timetables available yet - even tutors haven't been given any.
Hey are you enrolling the the Manchester Access course, I'm going to the open day at the university on the 3rd, there's a medicine talk for students at 10.30am but you have to book
Original post by Ah10
Hi, does anyone have the full address for citylabs?
It's Nelson Street, M13 9NQ
Original post by Sam00
Does anyone know if there is any cheap car parking near citylabs? I paid £5 today just to park over 3 hours
Hey man, I'm in citylabs as well. What group are you in?
Original post by Sam00
Does anyone know if there is any cheap car parking near citylabs? I paid £5 today just to park over 3 hours
Hi, if you haven't found somewhere already, there is a manned car park halfway down acomb street...it's a max of £4 all day. I'm in group 4 and a handful of us park in there!
Hi, I am a final year Classics student at Cambridge wanting to apply for medicine after I have graduated. Will probably apply for a mixture of graduate-entry and standard 5 year courses. Unfortunately I really narrowed myself into a corner when doing A levels - did all languages. Have been ringing up various colleges asking whether they offer fast-track science A levels but no luck. So have applied for Access to Medicine course at the Manchester college.
Would be really grateful if I could see a timetable. Info I have been able to gather so far is very vague, and earlier in this thread I see some rather negative comments about the Access course. Could you tell me whether there have been any successful graduate-entry medical students who have done this course, whether there are many people who have already studied a degree on the course, and what the subject content is like in relation to A levels? Many thanks.
Would be really grateful if I could see a timetable. Info I have been able to gather so far is very vague, and earlier in this thread I see some rather negative comments about the Access course. Could you tell me whether there have been any successful graduate-entry medical students who have done this course, whether there are many people who have already studied a degree on the course, and what the subject content is like in relation to A levels? Many thanks.
Hi njbr2,
I have to say it's not currently a positive experience, to the extent that we're compiling a list of complaints.
My timetable is two consecutive days. Morning classes run 9.15 - 12.15 with a short break at a convenient point. Afternoon classes run 1 - 4, again with a break. Tutorials (such as they are, never more than 10 minutes, and never anything useful or applicable) are supposed to be an hour tagged on after the end of one afternoon session. The medicine programme is one session each of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths per week. Not all the groups have timetables which run like this, and I was given the option at induction.
I would NOT advise anyone to take this course, based on their current performance. The move to City Labs has been frankly shambolic. When we arrived they didn't even have fire extinguishers in the building for the first 3 weeks. The library is some shelves in a corridor, as is the "study space". Eating and drinking anything other than water is forbidden, and there's no canteen facilities as at other campuses.This means in addition to higher parking and transport costs, we have to pay to get food locally, as there's nowhere to eat food prepared at home. The attitude of the programme leader is appalling, without being too personal, she's clearly an administrator promoted beyond her ability and gone a little power crazed (ok, that does sound quite personal, but it's my honest opinion). Instead of treating us like the mature students we are (most of us have families, work responsibilities etc) we're told we're not allowed to use certain doors, can't drink inside, and have to wear IDs at all times. Our current tutorial module (compulsory, waste of valuable time) is on how to be safe on social media. They (the organisation, not necessarily the individual tutors) treat us like kids. I've heard staff speaking to each other in reception, mocking students who asked for help and extensions (in the physics assignment the college cocked up), and the same member of staff bullying a special needs student on a different programme.
The quality of teaching is variable, and dependant on which tutors you get. I'm lucky to have an excellent Maths teacher - Nigel is the jewel in their tawdry crown. There have been serious cock-ups with graded assignments already; the wording of a physics assignment was so poor that many students didn't meet the assessment criteria, and there were spelling mistakes in both biology assessments to-date. The grading for chemistry is so complicated we don't actually know how it works. All the Biology assessment grading is subjective, based on their view of how you perform. The content is 5 units in each of the 4 subjects, cherry-picked from the A level syllabus. If you want a full list let me know and I'll type it up or scan it. I'd suggest you need A level revision guides or similar if you do this. The assessments aren't particularly difficult in terms of academic rigour, the issue is length, clarity, and understanding what they want from you to achieve the distinctions necessary for medical school admission.
There's very little support, tutorial and tutor interest (certainly in my group) doesn't exist. My group started with 18 students and there are only 11 of us left.
This is not a cheap course, and they certainly aren't giving us our money's worth at the moment. If I had my time again I'd choose a different provider, even if it meant having to move.
There's a student in my group who's a graduate and applied for a graduate programme and had an interview. They're not forthcoming with their success statistics, and not everyone on the course is applying for medicine, only 4 of my group are, which skews it further.
PGxx
I have to say it's not currently a positive experience, to the extent that we're compiling a list of complaints.
My timetable is two consecutive days. Morning classes run 9.15 - 12.15 with a short break at a convenient point. Afternoon classes run 1 - 4, again with a break. Tutorials (such as they are, never more than 10 minutes, and never anything useful or applicable) are supposed to be an hour tagged on after the end of one afternoon session. The medicine programme is one session each of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths per week. Not all the groups have timetables which run like this, and I was given the option at induction.
I would NOT advise anyone to take this course, based on their current performance. The move to City Labs has been frankly shambolic. When we arrived they didn't even have fire extinguishers in the building for the first 3 weeks. The library is some shelves in a corridor, as is the "study space". Eating and drinking anything other than water is forbidden, and there's no canteen facilities as at other campuses.This means in addition to higher parking and transport costs, we have to pay to get food locally, as there's nowhere to eat food prepared at home. The attitude of the programme leader is appalling, without being too personal, she's clearly an administrator promoted beyond her ability and gone a little power crazed (ok, that does sound quite personal, but it's my honest opinion). Instead of treating us like the mature students we are (most of us have families, work responsibilities etc) we're told we're not allowed to use certain doors, can't drink inside, and have to wear IDs at all times. Our current tutorial module (compulsory, waste of valuable time) is on how to be safe on social media. They (the organisation, not necessarily the individual tutors) treat us like kids. I've heard staff speaking to each other in reception, mocking students who asked for help and extensions (in the physics assignment the college cocked up), and the same member of staff bullying a special needs student on a different programme.
The quality of teaching is variable, and dependant on which tutors you get. I'm lucky to have an excellent Maths teacher - Nigel is the jewel in their tawdry crown. There have been serious cock-ups with graded assignments already; the wording of a physics assignment was so poor that many students didn't meet the assessment criteria, and there were spelling mistakes in both biology assessments to-date. The grading for chemistry is so complicated we don't actually know how it works. All the Biology assessment grading is subjective, based on their view of how you perform. The content is 5 units in each of the 4 subjects, cherry-picked from the A level syllabus. If you want a full list let me know and I'll type it up or scan it. I'd suggest you need A level revision guides or similar if you do this. The assessments aren't particularly difficult in terms of academic rigour, the issue is length, clarity, and understanding what they want from you to achieve the distinctions necessary for medical school admission.
There's very little support, tutorial and tutor interest (certainly in my group) doesn't exist. My group started with 18 students and there are only 11 of us left.
This is not a cheap course, and they certainly aren't giving us our money's worth at the moment. If I had my time again I'd choose a different provider, even if it meant having to move.
There's a student in my group who's a graduate and applied for a graduate programme and had an interview. They're not forthcoming with their success statistics, and not everyone on the course is applying for medicine, only 4 of my group are, which skews it further.
PGxx
Related discussions
- Access to HE/Medicine
- Anyone got an offer for medicine with an access to HE course?
- Access to Medicine success?
- How do I do a level chemistry privately from year 12?
- Did anyone get into Medicine with an Access to HE Science/ or Medicine Diploma?
- chemistry with/and maths degree with an access to he diploma?
- Access to HE - Medicine
- Applying to UK schools
- Year 12 outreach programmes
- access to he or a-levels?
- Access to HE Science for Medicine
- Is it worth doing foundation courses for engineering
- GCSEs
- Are there any colleges which offer intensive a-levels without high tuition fees?
- night life in Manchester at the age of 17
- Where to study A-Level Maths and Further Maths as a mature student
- I achieved 45 Distinctions in an Access course with the DistanceLearningCentre. AMA!
- Access Course or A-levels? What do i do?
- Studyding medicine abroad with a BTEC background?
- Why does the foundation course start earlier?
