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Medicine 2012...(hopeful entrants) !!
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Original post by asif123
Thank you...much appreciated
No problem.
One thing you have to realize is that most applicants get rejected. It is very difficult to get in and you should be ready if it turns out that you are unsuccessful. Then you would have a choice; Stick with medicine or choose another path completely.
The former would mean either taking a gap year and reapplying after more work experience and hopefully improved BMAT/UKCAT or doing a degree and applying to medicine in 3 years time as a graduate.
The latter would mean that you have a long hard think about what you want and hopefully find something that challenges you and that you really enjoy.
Medicine isn't everything
Im wanting to apply for medicine this year, but some subjects this year have been disasters so far. 
our sixth form is relatively new and small, and not many people have high aspirations here.
Our biology teacher left at christmas, and we got one who sits and reads out of a book. our whole class had to teach themselves the subject. Maths has been the worst. we had 2 teachers, and one went on long-term sick leave in early feb, and the other got suspended in april after teaching a quarter of c2. our school only managed to get a replacement maths teacher two weeks before the exam. i failed maths miserably i know that already. (would uni understand if they were told??)
at gcse i got 5As and 4A*s, so i want to do well with ukcat and bmat.
im still hoping to do medicine, so im just keeping my chin up and fingers crossed.
our sixth form is relatively new and small, and not many people have high aspirations here. Our biology teacher left at christmas, and we got one who sits and reads out of a book. our whole class had to teach themselves the subject. Maths has been the worst. we had 2 teachers, and one went on long-term sick leave in early feb, and the other got suspended in april after teaching a quarter of c2. our school only managed to get a replacement maths teacher two weeks before the exam. i failed maths miserably i know that already. (would uni understand if they were told??)
at gcse i got 5As and 4A*s, so i want to do well with ukcat and bmat.
im still hoping to do medicine, so im just keeping my chin up and fingers crossed.
Original post by Ally312
Im wanting to apply for medicine this year, but some subjects this year have been disasters so far. our sixth form is relatively new and small, and not many people have high aspirations here.
Our biology teacher left at christmas, and we got one who sits and reads out of a book. our whole class had to teach themselves the subject. Maths has been the worst. we had 2 teachers, and one went on long-term sick leave in early feb, and the other got suspended in april after teaching a quarter of c2. our school only managed to get a replacement maths teacher two weeks before the exam. i failed maths miserably i know that already. (would uni understand if they were told??)
at gcse i got 5As and 4A*s, so i want to do well with ukcat and bmat.
im still hoping to do medicine, so im just keeping my chin up and fingers crossed.
our sixth form is relatively new and small, and not many people have high aspirations here. Our biology teacher left at christmas, and we got one who sits and reads out of a book. our whole class had to teach themselves the subject. Maths has been the worst. we had 2 teachers, and one went on long-term sick leave in early feb, and the other got suspended in april after teaching a quarter of c2. our school only managed to get a replacement maths teacher two weeks before the exam. i failed maths miserably i know that already. (would uni understand if they were told??)
at gcse i got 5As and 4A*s, so i want to do well with ukcat and bmat.
im still hoping to do medicine, so im just keeping my chin up and fingers crossed.
You can resit modules and still be considered by medical schools
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_A_Level_Requirements
It is unfortunate that a number of factors have ended up hindering you, but it is how you overcome those that will determine your fate.
Original post by Laylora
Helloooo!
Just popped in here as i'm ready to start my application. Just finished my degree in public relations (I know!), been revising hard for my UKCATS, and of course getting all the work experience i can. Looking at this forum is rather intimidating but i'm raring to go and looking forward to the journey!
Just popped in here as i'm ready to start my application. Just finished my degree in public relations (I know!), been revising hard for my UKCATS, and of course getting all the work experience i can. Looking at this forum is rather intimidating but i'm raring to go and looking forward to the journey!
Good for you, you seem enthusiastic. Where are you applying?
hello people! completely unrelated to an extent, but i thought i'd give it a shot. just finishing up my GCSE's now, and ive opted for Biology Chemistry Physics and Math for AS. Good choice? i have done a lot of research, and they seem to be appropriate, but feedback from enlightened 2012 applicants would be invaluable. Many thanks 
Original post by Dominic1994
hello people! completely unrelated to an extent, but i thought i'd give it a shot. just finishing up my GCSE's now, and ive opted for Biology Chemistry Physics and Math for AS. Good choice? i have done a lot of research, and they seem to be appropriate, but feedback from enlightened 2012 applicants would be invaluable. Many thanks
Seem like a pretty good spread. Make sure you've got work experience sorted and you will be fine at this stage
Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope
Seem like a pretty good spread. Make sure you've got work experience sorted and you will be fine at this stage
im hoping to get 8A/A*'s, 3B's and a C for GCSE... not the best but that hopefully what ill get. Ive also got a week booked in november (have to be 17 -___-) shadowing a consultant and observing etc. any advice on what i can do during the summer to boost my app/get relevant experience? thankyou!
Original post by Dominic1994
im hoping to get 8A/A*'s, 3B's and a C for GCSE... not the best but that hopefully what ill get. Ive also got a week booked in november (have to be 17 -___-) shadowing a consultant and observing etc. any advice on what i can do during the summer to boost my app/get relevant experience? thankyou!
GP shadowing, care home, hospice, community support groups etc
Sport, music whatever
I am hoping to do medicine, but not sure what and how to get extra-curricular activities, work experience and volunteering, I am planning to do as follows:
1 Week work shadow with Cardiothoracic surgeon
2 Week at a hospital, shadowing a doctor in palliative care
Gonna start volunteering at local hospice
Just need to know what more I can do to add more extra-curricular activities. And do all unis ask for extra-curricular activities
Thanks
1 Week work shadow with Cardiothoracic surgeon
2 Week at a hospital, shadowing a doctor in palliative care
Gonna start volunteering at local hospice
Just need to know what more I can do to add more extra-curricular activities. And do all unis ask for extra-curricular activities
Thanks
Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope
GP shadowing, care home, hospice, community support groups etc
Sport, music whatever
Sport, music whatever
ahh right, so does stuff like been playing rugby for 4 years and playing guitar count? :L
Original post by Dominic1994
ahh right, so does stuff like been playing rugby for 4 years and playing guitar count? :L
Yes
Original post by abu125
I am hoping to do medicine, but not sure what and how to get extra-curricular activities, work experience and volunteering, I am planning to do as follows:
1 Week work shadow with Cardiothoracic surgeon
2 Week at a hospital, shadowing a doctor in palliative care
Gonna start volunteering at local hospice
Just need to know what more I can do to add more extra-curricular activities. And do all unis ask for extra-curricular activities
Thanks
1 Week work shadow with Cardiothoracic surgeon
2 Week at a hospital, shadowing a doctor in palliative care
Gonna start volunteering at local hospice
Just need to know what more I can do to add more extra-curricular activities. And do all unis ask for extra-curricular activities
Thanks
You seem to already have a lot of work experience arranged already. Joining things such as Scouts (I enjoy banging on about them...) mean that you can do a number of activities without joining lots of clubs.
Original post by Dominic1994
hello people! completely unrelated to an extent, but i thought i'd give it a shot. just finishing up my GCSE's now, and ive opted for Biology Chemistry Physics and Math for AS. Good choice? i have done a lot of research, and they seem to be appropriate, but feedback from enlightened 2012 applicants would be invaluable. Many thanks
biol and chem definitely-the other 2 only if you really enjoy them. possibly oxf/camb still want 3 sciences but most other unis don't. I took psychology and that was looked on favourably but if you check, most unis are happy with lots of subjects for the third subject (within reason-use your common sense). If you like phys and maths and can get As then go for it!
Original post by Nator
Hey guys, just finished my AS exams and I was wondering what kind of scores people who apply to Cambridge should have reasonably? My subjects are Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics, and was thinking if I have around 270/300 for each subject, is it enough to fit Cambridge's standards? Or are they really looking for those with say 290+/300? Thanks! My GCSE's are 8A*'s and 2A's if it helps
My GCSE's are 8A*'s and 2A's if it helpsI'd look in the camb thread from this year and last year and see what they say. also look on the thread which shows what successful applicants had this year. I' think A* equivalent would be more than enough but doublecheck to put your mind at rest.
Original post by asif123
Hey Guys, I was wondering...I got 2 A Stars and 6 A's at GCSE level and realsitically am aiming for AAbb minimum this summer at AS level.....would this be enough to get me an offer from a uni for medicine? Both my elder sister and brother are qualified docs from Birmingham Uni...and what do I do if I get no offers? Any feedback would be appreciated...thanks
go on the work exp/volunteering threads for good ideas and use your family connections to get some great shadowing experiences. just avoid applying to gcse heavy unis like Birm, Cardiff etc. Leeds and some other places have good guidance on the sort of things that make a good med pers statement and there are egs on here and other websites/ plus up to date books to help you too. since around 60% of applicants don't get offers you can either choose afifth option and do that or reapply after getting great gap year exp but you have plenty of time to decide.
Also practise for ukcat-a high ukcat will help you too. good luck
Original post by Ally312
Im wanting to apply for medicine this year, but some subjects this year have been disasters so far. our sixth form is relatively new and small, and not many people have high aspirations here.
Our biology teacher left at christmas, and we got one who sits and reads out of a book. our whole class had to teach themselves the subject. Maths has been the worst. we had 2 teachers, and one went on long-term sick leave in early feb, and the other got suspended in april after teaching a quarter of c2. our school only managed to get a replacement maths teacher two weeks before the exam. i failed maths miserably i know that already. (would uni understand if they were told??)
at gcse i got 5As and 4A*s, so i want to do well with ukcat and bmat.
im still hoping to do medicine, so im just keeping my chin up and fingers crossed.
our sixth form is relatively new and small, and not many people have high aspirations here. Our biology teacher left at christmas, and we got one who sits and reads out of a book. our whole class had to teach themselves the subject. Maths has been the worst. we had 2 teachers, and one went on long-term sick leave in early feb, and the other got suspended in april after teaching a quarter of c2. our school only managed to get a replacement maths teacher two weeks before the exam. i failed maths miserably i know that already. (would uni understand if they were told??)
at gcse i got 5As and 4A*s, so i want to do well with ukcat and bmat.
im still hoping to do medicine, so im just keeping my chin up and fingers crossed.
there are widening participation schemes you could look into. where is your local uni? some are just for local kids but Leeds and some others can give lower offers if there have been educational problems in your school/ if you match certain criteria. pm me and I can help you see if you are eligible for them
Original post by Dominic1994
ahh right, so does stuff like been playing rugby for 4 years and playing guitar count? :L
rugby shows teamwork, playing guitar can be used either to show how you relax or that you can self-teach or are committed to hard work if you have passed exams. look at some examples of pers statements for more ideas.
me, I do St johns, volunteeed in a care home, a refugee centre and a hospice (and was asked about the care home and hospice in every interview), help at beaver scouts and local school and church(was trying to show I can communicate with all ages). also I attended the lectures my local uni had about medical stuff and read some med books that I was actually interested in-it shoes you have a genuine interest.
I had very little shadowing exp but I was told the long-term volunteering made up for it
Original post by conorcd
rugby shows teamwork, playing guitar can be used either to show how you relax or that you can self-teach or are committed to hard work if you have passed exams. look at some examples of pers statements for more ideas.
me, I do St johns, volunteeed in a care home, a refugee centre and a hospice (and was asked about the care home and hospice in every interview), help at beaver scouts and local school and church(was trying to show I can communicate with all ages). also I attended the lectures my local uni had about medical stuff and read some med books that I was actually interested in-it shoes you have a genuine interest.
I had very little shadowing exp but I was told the long-term volunteering made up for it
me, I do St johns, volunteeed in a care home, a refugee centre and a hospice (and was asked about the care home and hospice in every interview), help at beaver scouts and local school and church(was trying to show I can communicate with all ages). also I attended the lectures my local uni had about medical stuff and read some med books that I was actually interested in-it shoes you have a genuine interest.
I had very little shadowing exp but I was told the long-term volunteering made up for it
ahh i see... This summer after my GCSE's im looking to do long term volunteering in a care home/hospital/GP, what uni's did you apply to/get offers from? and what were your GCSE/A-levels if you dont mind me asking?
xHey guys, quick question about UKCAT revision books.
Up until recently i've been looking at 600 questions, which had me really worried about the maths. However i got the practise tests, questions and answers book by Hutton and Hutton and the maths section is a zillion times easier (I got 2 questions wrong out of an entire test under exam conditions, which quite frankly seems far to good to be true.)
So my question is which one is a more realistic view of the test, because if its 600 questions then i have alot of work to do fitting everything into 30 seconds!
Up until recently i've been looking at 600 questions, which had me really worried about the maths. However i got the practise tests, questions and answers book by Hutton and Hutton and the maths section is a zillion times easier (I got 2 questions wrong out of an entire test under exam conditions, which quite frankly seems far to good to be true.)
So my question is which one is a more realistic view of the test, because if its 600 questions then i have alot of work to do fitting everything into 30 seconds!
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Laylora
Hey guys, quick question about UKCAT revision books.
Up until recently i've been looking at 600 questions, which had me really worried about the maths. However i got the practise tests, questions and answers book but Hutton and Hutton and the maths section is a zillion times easier (I got 2 questions wrong out of an entire test under exam conditions, which quite frankly seems far to good to be true.)
So my question is which one is a more realistic view of the test, because if its 600 questions then i have alot of work to do fitting everything into 30 seconds!
Up until recently i've been looking at 600 questions, which had me really worried about the maths. However i got the practise tests, questions and answers book but Hutton and Hutton and the maths section is a zillion times easier (I got 2 questions wrong out of an entire test under exam conditions, which quite frankly seems far to good to be true.)
So my question is which one is a more realistic view of the test, because if its 600 questions then i have alot of work to do fitting everything into 30 seconds!
I don't know about the other book. but the ICS 600q one does contain questions that are more difficult than the actual UKCAT, especially on the QR section. Also bear in mind you do get a calculator in the exam, albeit an on-screen one.
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