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What are the main reasons for why people get rejected for medicine?

I understand that its different for everyone. I am just curious `and want to know what the common mistakes are that people make that leads to them being rejected. Or if you have personally experiences rejection, what was the reason for it?

thanks.

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Original post by polerat
I understand that its different for everyone. I am just curious `and want to know what the common mistakes are that people make that leads to them being rejected. Or if you have personally experiences rejection, what was the reason for it?
thanks.

It's almost always about academic qualification (or rather lack thereof)
Reply 2
poor interview performance is likely to be a factor given your communication skills are just as important as your academic ability with regard to being a doctor
UKCAT, BMAT or GAMSAT score not meeting the threshold for interview would be the deciding factor for the majority of applicants that get a rejection.
If you get to the interview stage -you need to be confident. If you're too shy you will be marked down. Many people fall down here. You need to be knowledgable yes, but you also need to be a strong communicator.

Not that I 100% reccomend this but a friend who attended UCL medical school was asked a question in her interview and she replied "I dont think thats relevant", the rest of the panel agreed with her. She got in. Obviously you cannot be rude, but do not be too shy.
Reply 5
its also sometimes due to lack of extracurricular activities or allrounder qualities. Lets say we have 5 students who have applied for medicine all with A*s at a level, they can only pick 2, they will pick the ones with the best communication skills and those who have extracurricular skills like sport or music. its also that some students may know thier subject well but are unable to apply it to a situation, like you may know that rock is harder than paper but would you be able to apply it when buiding something?
hope this helps a little
Original post by Kendrik Lamar
It's almost always about academic qualification (or rather lack thereof)


I would argue the opposite. It is unlikely to be solely due to academic qualification if you meet the minimum requirements as stated in the prospectus.

This is because most people read the Entry Requirements and do a couple of hours further reading when applying for medicine and know which universities are GCSE heavy (and therefore you should/should not apply there). A fair proportion of medical schools disregard the academic requirements once you achieve the minimum requirement and then you are actually rejected for any other part of your application, which include:

A) UKCAT/ BMAT
B) Personal Statement (Of course this incorporates work experience)
C) Interview Performance

It can of course be a combination of the above.
(edited 7 years ago)
Not sure about some of these answers.

With almost 65% of applicants getting 0/4 offers, it safe to say its for a wide variety of reasons. Supposedly the number of applicants who don't meet the basic academic requirements is surprisingly high. Others have additional tough academic requirements. The UKCAT and BMAT are tests that are designed to separate out students who pretty universally have AAA+, so many fall down there. Interviews are used with varying applicant success rates, some very stringent. Others have very tough work experience and personal statement criteria.

So a wide variety depending on the med school.
All the reasons I can think of: GCSEs, UKCAT or BMAT, their personal statement( not enough work experience, extra curriculars, plagiarism, don't come across as passionate for medicine), A level predictions, AS levels, not performing well at interview( don't seem passions or just seem incompetent), DBS check. IB, Scottish highers

Although you could do well in all of these and it could just be that all the other candidates were simply better.
Reply 9
So if someone is not even getting an interview it means that they have a poor UKCAT score, poor ps and/or inadequate work experience?
If you meet all these criteria, technically, you should get an interview? But there is almost always someone who is better than you
Many unis don't look at AS levels and only look to see if your predicted at least AAA at A2. Someone predicted A*A*A* has no advantage over someone predicted AAA at many unis.

Therefore, what it mainly comes down to is UKCAT* and GCSEs. These get you the interview usually, and then a good performance at interview = offer. As most get rejected pre-interview, the UKCAT and GCSEs are probs the biggest reasons for rejection.

* or the BMAT for unis like Oxbridge, UCL etc.
Original post by polerat
So if someone is not even getting an interview it means that they have a poor UKCAT score, poor ps and/or inadequate work experience?
If you meet all these criteria, technically, you should get an interview? But there is almost always someone who is better than you


To apply and have your application considered you need to meet all the entry criteria. Just meeting them doesn't guarantee an interview. There are a limited number of interviews so even people who clearly exceed the criteria can be rejected pre interview if there are lots of people with higher grades, higher test score, better PS.
Reply 12
Original post by Quilverine
To apply and have your application considered you need to meet all the entry criteria. Just meeting them doesn't guarantee an interview. There are a limited number of interviews so even people who clearly exceed the criteria can be rejected pre interview if there are lots of people with higher grades, higher test score, better PS.


So when it comes to ps, it can be said, to a certain extent, those who have doctors/nurses/other health care professionals in their family have a better chance of getting an interview because they will have more w.e opportunities?
Original post by polerat
So when it comes to ps, it can be said, to a certain extent, those who have doctors/nurses/other health care professionals in their family have a better chance of getting an interview because they will have more w.e opportunities?


Hi polerat

With regards to your original question, I would say that is a very difficult one to answer as it really can come down to many different factors or combinations depending on the medical school.

I don't think that what you have said above is true though. Universities are very aware that not everyone has access to the same opportunities which is why they consider what you have gained from the experience more important than what the experience was itself. This is why it is important to be able to reflect maturely on the experiences that you have had, which is a good thing to bear in mind if this was worrying you at all.

Hope that is of some use!

UniAdmissions
Original post by polerat
..more w.e opportunities?


I dont have any healthcare pro relatives but made use of contacts through work and networking proactively. Ask around, you should know at least a couple of people who have contacts even if you have none of your own. Once you have a foot in the door somewhere it's easy to get the ball rolling by being friendly and useful and pleasant to be around. Write nice emails to every care home/GP surgery/hospital or clinic in your area explaining who you are, what you're looking for and any useful skills you might have, tailor each one to the specific place, get help from teachers too. If you can commit to volunteering that would be excellent.

Get a reference/confirmation of hours and activities as soon as you finish a placement and start a portfolio, add a reflection to each one as you go. Google "reflective practice in healthcare" for guidance on how to think and talk about your experience for added chance of success.

Good luck and enjoy the process.
Well it depends. If they were rejected before interview, then mainly because of not meeting the basic academic requirements or not meeting the cut-off in the relevant admissions test. If it's after interview, it's obviously mainly due to interview performance or in a few cases it could also be due to not getting the required grades. Work experience will mainly be tested at interview so a lack of this (or inadequate reflection of things learned from it) could contribute negatively to the interview performance.
(edited 7 years ago)
It is mostly grades but you do need to get average or just slightly below on the BMAT/UKCAT to be in with a chance.

I know a girl who got ACCC last year and got an offer from Manchester through MAP for medicine. She managed to win a competition for work experience in the Christie cancer hospital (it was awful - a day of terminal diagnoses, but she found it useful), and also did work experience in a care home.

It's also important to stand out, but in a good way. Languages are REALLY useful for medicine applicants, because it's something different.

Ignore people saying it's all about being a people person. Any interview for any top uni is to check you're not a total nutjob. For medicine you just need to smile and not be a weirdo for half an hour and you'll be absolutely fine. Grades are your priority, and finding quality work experience that you can talk about.
One big hurdle that some people fall down on is simply not making the wisest choices about which medical school to apply to. Some universities are vague and/or subjective about their admissions criteria, but others are fairly explicit. If you're applying to Cambridge with predicted BBB, or Southampton with a UKCAT of 580, you're gonna have a bad time.
Reply 18
Original post by prospectivemed56
One big hurdle that some people fall down on is simply not making the wisest choices about which medical school to apply to. Some universities are vague and/or subjective about their admissions criteria, but others are fairly explicit. If you're applying to Cambridge with predicted BBB, or Southampton with a UKCAT of 580, you're gonna have a bad time.


This is so true. I had a friend last year who got 740 in UKCAT and no offers. Because of where she applied.
To answer OPs question things like BMAT\UKCAT, personal statements and interviews. Lack of relevant work experience or volunteering.
It doesn't mean an applicant is bad. Sometimes universities rank and score people. Leaving some applicants really close to the cutoff.
Original post by polerat
I understand that its different for everyone. I am just curious `and want to know what the common mistakes are that people make that leads to them being rejected. Or if you have personally experiences rejection, what was the reason for it?

thanks.


A guy in my maths class was rejected pre interview from cardiff because he "only" got 5A*'s at GCSE.

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