Medicine 2015 Entry Offer Holders

Odd that you would be prepared to sacrifice them to pursue your application for either optometry or pharmacy this year but then, hey ho, whatever floats your boat...


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Odd that you would be prepared to sacrifice them to pursue your application for either optometry or pharmacy this year but then, hey ho, whatever floats your boat...


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Thank you very much.

I would just like to say - and I hope to not come across as being biased - that I don't think my predicted grades would be as good as I would get. I am more relaxed in school but work my ass off at home. Do you see where I'm coming from?

I am also predicted 6a*'s so yeah you're right, I don't think I need to worry about.

I'm sure you have an A* predicted in Modesty aswell

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Hi Jboyn247

It's great that your GCSE sciences and maths are good because unis like that!

UCL and Imperial are well-respected and competitive universities therefore candidates who have excellent grades may choose to apply there. This means that they will offer interviews to the best candidates using their requirements. It is done in a rank order and so some candidates with very good grades may miss out on interviews. This may mean that the chance of getting into a top uni isn't the same as a lower graded uni simply because different candidates with different levels of grades may apply to each (obviously there are exceptions).

Also, you have to remember that BMAT scores also apply and there may be cases where a very high BMAT score may compensate for slightly lower grades (GCSEs) as with the case for Oxford. So if you really want to go to the top unis, make sure you really work to get great AS and A2 results and work hard on your BMAT. Practice as soon as your exams are over (or before if you can manage) to get ahead of the competition.

Hope this helps!

Will doing Medicine at a university with a "brand" ie Kings be of benefit to me when it comes to applying to FY1 jobs?
My parents have the idea that because they recognise the King's name it must be good and therefore will provide the best options for me. I on the other hand am inclined to Lancaster. Although its not as well known, its a course that gets the job done! plus its out of London which is what i want.

Also can anybody give their opinions on the style of Learning.
Kings is very traditional, utilising Lectures and seminars etc etc
Lancaster is PBL based, which i'm a bit apprehensive about as it doesn't seem as well guided, if you know what i mean.

The other issue is also funding, my kings offer is 6 years (EMDP) whereas Lancaster is 5 years (standard). Will I have to fund the extra year myself because i thought Government loans cover just 4-5 years?

So yh if anyone can chime in with suggestions/opinions of where to go would be greatly appreciated. I'm actually so stuck :/

Will doing Medicine at a university with a "brand" ie Kings be of benefit to me when it comes to applying to FY1 jobs?
My parents have the idea that because they recognise the King's name it must be good and therefore will provide the best options for me. I on the other hand am inclined to Lancaster. Although its not as well known, its a course that gets the job done! plus its out of London which is what i want.

Also can anybody give their opinions on the style of Learning.
Kings is very traditional, utilising Lectures and seminars etc etc
Lancaster is PBL based, which i'm a bit apprehensive about as it doesn't seem as well guided, if you know what i mean.

The other issue is also funding, my kings offer is 6 years (EMDP) whereas Lancaster is 5 years (standard). Will I have to fund the extra year myself because i thought Government loans cover just 4-5 years?

So yh if anyone can chime in with suggestions/opinions of where to go would be greatly appreciated. I'm actually so stuck :/

Will doing Medicine at a university with a "brand" ie Kings be of benefit to me when it comes to applying to FY1 jobs?
My parents have the idea that because they recognise the King's name it must be good and therefore will provide the best options for me. I on the other hand am inclined to Lancaster. Although its not as well known, its a course that gets the job done! plus its out of London which is what i want.

Also can anybody give their opinions on the style of Learning.
Kings is very traditional, utilising Lectures and seminars etc etc
Lancaster is PBL based, which i'm a bit apprehensive about as it doesn't seem as well guided, if you know what i mean.

The other issue is also funding, my kings offer is 6 years (EMDP) whereas Lancaster is 5 years (standard). Will I have to fund the extra year myself because i thought Government loans cover just 4-5 years?

So yh if anyone can chime in with suggestions/opinions of where to go would be greatly appreciated. I'm actually so stuck :/

This helped a lot thank you so much for taking the time to write this informative text. It makes a lot of sense and may I ask roughly what is seen as a "strong BMAT score" ?

Prestige/reputation does not mean a thing when it comes to medicine. Applications for FY are blind to where you trained and you are currently ranked on your decile within the school and your SJT score.

If you liked Lancaster best, go there. You want to pick somewhere where you're going to be happy for the next 5/6 years of your life.

Funding shouldn't be a problem. Plenty of students do 6 years because of intercalation.

I might be wrong but I think the NHS will pay for every year of study from 5th year onwards (the £9000 tuition fee).


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I agree with Forest Cat

Your FY1 job choices/ranking will depend on how you rank compared with your peers and also on extras (like research, other degrees, intercalation etc.).

Don't be afraid of PBL. Group work of this kind is sociable, helps you get to know your peers and can be nurturing. It leads to high attendance rates and ensures that unis know when a student is struggling. It encourages teamwork, develops leadership and re-enforces self-directed learning all of which set you up very well for the skills you'll need as a doctor. Seeing the relevance of vast topics of learning to real cases can really help students to focus and learn. Tutors are usually very experienced and should keep a close eye on the group to ensure that all the learning objectives for each topic are met. That said Lancaster is an incredibly small year group so the odds are you'd know everyone by the end of the first week!

You should go where you think you'd be happiest. I think you'll have a wonderful time whichever you choose!

No, everyone who does a medical degree gets ranked on performance because we do standardised tests (oskeys) apparently. How well you do determines where you get a job and stuff when you apply in f1. Pick the medical course most suited to you, I'm 100% problem based learning, I find it more interesting and sets me personally up better for independent learning and realistic situations - it's completely down to what you want though!

So glad to finally be joining this thread! I'm stuck between Barts and Kings, but leaning towards firming Kings I think. Anyone else with the same problem?

Exactly the same problem here, but leaning towards Barts! I'm going to wait until after the offer holder open days to decide though (For me they're on the 13th and 15th.)