2022 applicant here,
I applied to kings with a ‘lower’ ucat of 2680 A*AA predicted and 99999988887
as the school ticked all my boxes and surprisingly I got an invite to interview.
After my interview, I received no communication from Kings. I kept waiting and watched my favourite accommodation at a different med school become fully booked.
Like many I asked when to expect a response through the portal only to be told they had until the deadline and that I should just wait.
Kings admin did not know what was going on and told different applicants different things about responses and invites to interview, on call they were rude and would just hang up on you. Having someone mess around with my future acting like my ambitions and dreams were nothing stressed me out especially while I’m sitting my alevels.
The best thing I have to compare to my experience with kings is my experience with Cardiff med school. Cardiff were clear from the beginning on how they rank applicants, what you’ll need for an invite to interview, resources to help you prepare for interview, support and acknowledgment emails during the wait from interview to decision as well as exam support post offer with advice on how to study, relax and the biggest flash cards I’ve ever seen.
If you’re looking for somewhere in London there are more honest unis who provide research opportunities community projects and that are ranked higher in league tables (if you care able rankings). QMUL and SGUL are amazing (I applied to QMUL as my non med offer as I knew I’d be happy there if things went differently for me)
Personally I want to spend the next 5-6 years of my life at an institution that values me and actually wants me to succeed and cares for mental health and can stick to a simple deadline.
Hopefully my experience sheds some light on the 2022 application process and helps you make informed decisions. Do take a look at the 2022 thread from like page 300 onwards!