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To know precisely how Oxford plan to select this year I would have recommended going to the Open Day or going to the upcoming Information Day (September 19th) & hearing it directly/being able to ask clarifying questions...
The information about specific GCSE-BMAT scores to make the shortlist is historical as they make quite clear.
How to assess your chances: some statistical information
Pre-clinical study: Admissions Statistics 2007 (2008 entry)
...
Below is a table giving an approximate indication of the combination of GCSE and BMAT performance that were required in 2007 to make the initial automatic short-list.
So there's no guarantee:
- That they'll be doing it exactly the same way this year - although they say they'll be aiming to shortlist before interview and interview 2-3 students per place to interview at two different colleges & the FAQs do suggest it'll be fairly similar.
- If they do that this year's crop of applicants will do exactly the same - the scores could shift either way!
Also worth noting it wasn't solely about raw GCSE-BMAT scores & other info can be quite important:
Lots of 'emphasis mine'.
To the OP:
Your raw GCSEs are about average... as people have said - it'll depend on your BMAT & then interviews if you're shortlisted. Of course you stand a chance!
I'd think about your subjects carefully though for medical schools in general though - starting 4 including Further Maths doesn't give you much choice for dropping something after AS level or offering an extra (for places that wouldn't accept F.Maths) subject at AS or a contrasting one.
The information about specific GCSE-BMAT scores to make the shortlist is historical as they make quite clear.
How to assess your chances: some statistical information
Pre-clinical study: Admissions Statistics 2007 (2008 entry)
...
Below is a table giving an approximate indication of the combination of GCSE and BMAT performance that were required in 2007 to make the initial automatic short-list.
So there's no guarantee:
- That they'll be doing it exactly the same way this year - although they say they'll be aiming to shortlist before interview and interview 2-3 students per place to interview at two different colleges & the FAQs do suggest it'll be fairly similar.
- If they do that this year's crop of applicants will do exactly the same - the scores could shift either way!
Also worth noting it wasn't solely about raw GCSE-BMAT scores & other info can be quite important:
2008 Statistical Info from Entry
Short-listing for interview is based largely on performance at GCSE and at BMAT (both quantitative and objective measures). In 2007, BMAT score carried approximately twice the weight as GCSE performance. If candidates have not taken GCSEs (or exams in which performance could be converted to GCSE equivalents), we give more weight to the BMAT result. We do not ascribe equal weighting to all sections of BMAT. We also attempt to gather contextual information for GCSE grades; we do this by looking at UK school GCSE performance data, and by relating the strength of an applicant's individual GCSE performance to the school or college attended to GCSE level.
All candidates not making the initial automatic short-list are carefully reviewed in detail (taking into account any individual circumstances which might indicate that your GCSE and BMAT performance may be likely to underestimate your potential) and those at the margins are further scrutinised by a cross-college panel. As a result of this process approximately 10% (40 candidates) are added to the short-list of those called to interview each year.
Short-listing for interview is based largely on performance at GCSE and at BMAT (both quantitative and objective measures). In 2007, BMAT score carried approximately twice the weight as GCSE performance. If candidates have not taken GCSEs (or exams in which performance could be converted to GCSE equivalents), we give more weight to the BMAT result. We do not ascribe equal weighting to all sections of BMAT. We also attempt to gather contextual information for GCSE grades; we do this by looking at UK school GCSE performance data, and by relating the strength of an applicant's individual GCSE performance to the school or college attended to GCSE level.
All candidates not making the initial automatic short-list are carefully reviewed in detail (taking into account any individual circumstances which might indicate that your GCSE and BMAT performance may be likely to underestimate your potential) and those at the margins are further scrutinised by a cross-college panel. As a result of this process approximately 10% (40 candidates) are added to the short-list of those called to interview each year.
Lots of 'emphasis mine'.
To the OP:
Your raw GCSEs are about average... as people have said - it'll depend on your BMAT & then interviews if you're shortlisted. Of course you stand a chance!
I'd think about your subjects carefully though for medical schools in general though - starting 4 including Further Maths doesn't give you much choice for dropping something after AS level or offering an extra (for places that wouldn't accept F.Maths) subject at AS or a contrasting one.
i just looked at that website and it works out to be roughly 422 male applicants competing for 33 places in that year (before shortlisting). Which is almost 12 people competing for 1 place. After shortlisting this drops to ~185 competing for 33 i.e. ~6:1 ratio. This is an absolute joke, even after jumping the BMAT hurdle, there is still a ridiculously competitive ratio after shortlisting - and these are the best candidates out of the original 422. would it be wise to assume that cambridge (because they interview everyone who passes their min. requirements) is less competitive? because the ratio there is generally 4/5:1 and so it will be a mix of "the best" and "the rest" so to speak...with oxford the ratio is higher and it will consist of only "the best". i hope i'm making sense here.
33 places?! The years are ~150 as standard.
2008 Entry:
Number of valid applications (people who sat BMAT) = 950
Candidates shortlisted for Interview = 44.7%
Offers made (including quota, deferred & open) = 161
= Valid applications made per offer = 6 (1dp)
= Shortlisted candidates per offer = 2.6 (1 dp) = pretty close to the 'between 2 and 3' they aimed for
As a 3 year average the university prospectus states for Medicine: "Percentage of successful applicants over last 3 years: 14.3%". So slightly higher there, 7 applicants per place.
As numbers for medical schools go 6-7 applicants per place are pretty good odds!
2008 Entry:
Number of valid applications (people who sat BMAT) = 950
Candidates shortlisted for Interview = 44.7%
Offers made (including quota, deferred & open) = 161
= Valid applications made per offer = 6 (1dp)
= Shortlisted candidates per offer = 2.6 (1 dp) = pretty close to the 'between 2 and 3' they aimed for
As a 3 year average the university prospectus states for Medicine: "Percentage of successful applicants over last 3 years: 14.3%". So slightly higher there, 7 applicants per place.
As numbers for medical schools go 6-7 applicants per place are pretty good odds!
Elles
33 places?! The years are ~150 as standard.
2008 Entry:
Number of valid applications (people who sat BMAT) = 950
Candidates shortlisted for Interview = 44.7%
Offers made (including quota, deferred & open) = 161
= Valid applications made per offer = 6 (1dp)
= Shortlisted candidates per offer = 2.6 (1 dp) = pretty close to the 'between 2 and 3' they aimed for
As a 3 year average the university prospectus states for Medicine: "Percentage of successful applicants over last 3 years: 14.3%". So slightly higher there, 7 applicants per place.
As numbers for medical schools go 6-7 applicants per place are pretty good odds!
2008 Entry:
Number of valid applications (people who sat BMAT) = 950
Candidates shortlisted for Interview = 44.7%
Offers made (including quota, deferred & open) = 161
= Valid applications made per offer = 6 (1dp)
= Shortlisted candidates per offer = 2.6 (1 dp) = pretty close to the 'between 2 and 3' they aimed for
As a 3 year average the university prospectus states for Medicine: "Percentage of successful applicants over last 3 years: 14.3%". So slightly higher there, 7 applicants per place.
As numbers for medical schools go 6-7 applicants per place are pretty good odds!
yeh, i said male applicants not male and female. 44.4% of 950 applicants are male = ~422 male applicants. 43.9% of these male applicants were shortlisted = ~185 males shortlisted. offers made to 17.6% of male applicants = ~ 74 offers...now i realise where i made the mistake...i took the 17.6% from the 185 instead of the original 422. so 442 males compete for 74 offers= ~ 6:1 as predicted before.
originalname
Apparently, if you make it to the Oxford interview stage they want you, and they interview 2 people for every place; Also, I heard a rumour that BMAT, personal statement and GCSE grades aren't taken into consideration at this stage, just performance at interview, although I doubt that's true.
The BMAT is definitely taken into account at Trinity and Univ at least. I gave an average interview, but was nearly awarded a place on account of my BMAT, according to feedback. So these things do help.
Elles
To know precisely how Oxford plan to select this year I would have recommended going to the Open Day or going to the upcoming Information Day (September 19th) & hearing it directly/being able to ask clarifying questions...
September .. so I assume it's for people applying for the following October, so for 2010 entry? Am I reading this correctly?
No. It's in September so it's before the October deadline of this year: "The Information Day is particularly intended to provide a further opportunity for students and parents/teachers who may be preparing an application for entry to Oxford the following year..."
The ideal if you knew more in advance that you were considering it would be the 'proper' Open Day held in the summer (usually late June) = bigger scale (over 2 days) & all the colleges hold their Open Days on the same days, so easier to look around & pick a college...
The Information Day is a relatively recent addition to the general open day programme - in my experience attended by people who did surprisingly well at AS & started considering Oxford, were disorganized/hadn't thought too much about applications yet in June, couldn't make it in the summer, or were super keen!
The ideal if you knew more in advance that you were considering it would be the 'proper' Open Day held in the summer (usually late June) = bigger scale (over 2 days) & all the colleges hold their Open Days on the same days, so easier to look around & pick a college...
The Information Day is a relatively recent addition to the general open day programme - in my experience attended by people who did surprisingly well at AS & started considering Oxford, were disorganized/hadn't thought too much about applications yet in June, couldn't make it in the summer, or were super keen!
Elles
No. It's in September so it's before the October deadline of that year: "The Information Day is particularly intended to provide a further opportunity for students and parents/teachers who may be preparing an application for entry to Oxford the following year..."
The ideal if you knew more in advance that you were considering it would be the 'proper' Open Day held in the summer (usually late June) = bigger scale (over 2 days) & all the colleges hold their Open Days on the same days, so easier to look around & pick a college..
The ideal if you knew more in advance that you were considering it would be the 'proper' Open Day held in the summer (usually late June) = bigger scale (over 2 days) & all the colleges hold their Open Days on the same days, so easier to look around & pick a college..
Doh. Of course.
Do you not recommend going to this information day for 2010 entry, then?
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