Medical School Admissions 09 - Is becoming a Joke!

Medical admissions were sillier last year... I got four pre-interview rejections, applied again with the same reference, same UKCAT score, same AS grades repeated at A2 (AAAB) but a different personal statement and so far I have got 3 out of 4 interviews.
Weird.

So, you suggest they interview a thousand more applicants?

i think instead of introducing another way of differentiating applicants (i.e the ukcat), they should stick with the original academic criteria (gcses, A2 predictions) and increase the requirements of those.
this, i feel, will act as a more reliable measure of applicant elimination and prevents Pearson Vue from minting money.

i think instead of introducing another way of differentiating applicants (i.e the ukcat), they should stick with the original academic criteria (gcses, A2 predictions) and increase the requirements of those.
this, i feel, will act as a more reliable measure of applicant elimination and prevents Pearson Vue from minting money.

i think instead of introducing another way of differentiating applicants (i.e the ukcat), they should stick with the original academic criteria (gcses, A2 predictions) and increase the requirements of those.
this, i feel, will act as a more reliable measure of applicant elimination and prevents Pearson Vue from minting money.

But then you would get less rounded applicants, and more of the studious type. Which was fine 100 years ago, but now we need socially-able Doctors.

By raising academic requirements to mad levels like 3A*s or whatever, med schools would eliminate thousands of people who would cope no problem on a medical degree, and likely have better interpersonal skills than those who performed better.

Better grades dont equal better applicants. Rediculously booksmart doctors with no communication skills are no good to anyone.

better ukcat doesn't equal better applicants either.

i'm essentially just suggesting the system that we have right now, but without the ukcat. instead i think the focus should be more on the grades, PS/reference. i didn't mean that only grades should be used to select for interview...

It would help if all medical schools, not just UCL, said that "a contrasting subject" is preferred at A level.

That would help to get more well-rounded doctors.

True. But then all those who go through the checklist will just choose a contrasting subject instead. I think they're on the right track with the aptitude tests, they just need a fairer, more consistent test that actually examines the right qualities, which they're far off from achieving at the moment.

Yea, but they have to do well in the contrasting subject - and that requires a different set of skills than doing well in sciences; often skills involving the structuring of a coherent line of argument (history) or general communication on paper (english) etc...

it wouldn't make a difference. if you have a ukcat cut off, there will be people who are more well rounded being rejected because they didn't meet the cut off. similarly, if the requirements were raised, there will again be well rounded applicants being rejected. it's just the same thing.
applicants can demonstrate their well roundedness in their PS anyway.
the key difference is that it will eliminate those who score highly on the ukcat without actually putting in any effort (i.e. by guessing). at least through higher requirements, those who do get interviews would have worked hard for something.

It would help if all medical schools, not just UCL, said that "a contrasting subject" is preferred at A level.

That would help to get more well-rounded doctors.

Id wonder what kind of difference that would make though. I took Psychology at AS, thinking it would be seen a contrasting subject, and i hated it. I really struggled. But then i just learnt one generic essay structure that applies to all essays and I got an A. A levels can worked around.

Maybe that's just psychology - I dunno. After all, psychology is an applied "science".

I do history A-level (great subject), and the essays are very adaptable.

For me, it makes a massive difference though... being able to be more individual and to argue a case coherently and fluently backed up with evidence. Analysing historiography etc...

Even though they don't say it, all of them think it. Both of the interviews I have attended have commented on the fact I'm doing Advanced Higher Music and not Maths like everybody else.


...The fact I have dropped it is besides the point.

Lol same here...except i'm doing AH english..and I haven't dropped it O_o

Lol same here...except i'm doing AH english..and I haven't dropped it O_o