Medicine 2017 entry

Hi, what did you get on the UKCAT and what tips would you have for those who are just about to start revising for it with no prior experience of what the questions are like ?

Almost 740. I do, however, think it is going to be slightly easier this year, because they're replacing one of the sections of the exam, Decision Analysis, with a new section called Decision Making.

Though we will have to do the Decision Making section, its scores won't be revealed, sent to universities, or be counted in your overall UKCAT score/average. So basically, the exam is a section shorter this year. (Also, Decision Analysis was a real pain.)

As for tips, I don't have many, but I will say that it is kinda early to start practicing. The amount of useful resources you have are very limited, and if you start too early you'll find yourself without much to do in the days leading up to the exam.

I myself used the 600Q book, though it was outdated and thus useless. I also used another practice book, I can't remember what it's called at the moment, and then medify in the two weeks before the exam.

Reply 281

Edwardyo

Hey guys, I'm an international student from Indonesia. I got 3A* (chem, math, eng) and 2A (bio, physics) in IGCSE. My school only allowed me to take 5. Also, I think I have a high chance of getting AAA in As level. Havent taken A level, next year summer. I'm also going to take the UKCAT. What are ur stats and target universities? And with my current stats, do I have a good chance to enter Manchester and Bristol? Thankyou

Reply 282

C.L-A

You would need a letter from your school explaining your situation in relation to your GCSEs but other wise if you get a good enough score on the ukcat and a levels, work experience etc. Then you should be ok

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Reply 283

Edwardyo

Original post by C.L-A

You would need a letter from your school explaining your situation in relation to your GCSEs but other wise if you get a good enough score on the ukcat and a levels, work experience etc. Then you should be ok

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hey, thankyou for replying! Are u a medical student as well? What's ur stats and uni? Yes, I have gotten a formal letter from my school and emailed it to the contact person of university. For the ukcat, any advice how to score high?

Reply 284

Funky_Giraffe

10

Original post by The_Dragon_

Hi, what did you get on the UKCAT and what tips would you have for those who are just about to start revising for it with no prior experience of what the questions are like ?

Definitely too early to start thinking about UKCAT. Are you a gap-year student? If not, it's much more important that you focus on your upcoming exams.

Reply 285

Namita Gurung

16

Hey everyone :smile:

GCSEs - 9 A*s, 4 As

AS - Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Psychology, General Studies
I did AS french as well with my GCSEs and got a B - not going to resit

Hoping to do Biology, Chemistry and Maths in year 13

Work Experience - 5 days shadowing various different consultants in my local hospital, 1 year of volunteering in Mencap, 2 summers of volunteering at my local care home, 2 days at my local gp

Potential unis - only going to decide after getting my AS grades - cambridge might be too ambitious considering how I'm doing so far in year 12.

Further reading - Subscribed to chemistry magazines but haven't really done any book reading :colondollar:

Extra-curricular - brown belt karate, used to do piano but stopped since year 10

Reply 286

Epic Me

Lets make this thread official so applicants applying medicine this coming year can talk all in one place. Can be anything at all i.e. UKCAT, personal statement, BMAT, medical school selection, advices/tips, interview...

I'll also update you guys the materials i.e. courses, books, online practices... I'll be using and let you guys know if they are useful or not.

So who's applying? :smile:

comment below :P

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 287

MedCrashCourse

11

I'm currently a 1st year medical student in Newcastle, feel free to PM me any questions about the application process :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 288

The_Dragon_

13

Original post by Epic Me

Lets make this thread official so applicants applying medicine this coming year can talk all in one place. Can be anything at all i.e. UKCAT, personal statement, BMAT, medical school selection, advices/tips, interview...

I'll also update you guys the materials i.e. courses, books, online practices... I'll be using and let you guys know if they are useful or not.

So who's applying? :smile:

comment below :P

Sounds good :smile:

where are you thinking of applying to ?

Reply 289

OneAfrica

2

Original post by Epic Me

Lets make this thread official so applicants applying medicine this coming year can talk all in one place. Can be anything at all i.e. UKCAT, personal statement, BMAT, medical school selection, advices/tips, interview...

I'll also update you guys the materials i.e. courses, books, online practices... I'll be using and let you guys know if they are useful or not.

So who's applying? :smile:

comment below :P

Yeah im applying this year, I'm a Scottish applicant.

Reply 290

atomicjellyfish

8

Hi,
I'm currently studying maths, further maths, biology, chemistry and physics at a level
I got 12 A*s at GCSE
Hoping to get into Oxford or UCL or Imperial or Edinburgh
Got my UKCAT booked for the 8th of September (very scary to have a date for it now!) and the BMAT's on my birthday ;-;

I did two weeks in Acute Medicine at The Royal London Hospital (I even got to see the air ambulance base!) and I have another week in Anaesthetics in July at Epsom Hospital. I've also been volunteering weekly at a carehome since september and I'm a St John's Ambulance Cadet

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 291

Edwardyo

Whoa, we actually have similar stats! I also play for my footbschools's football team and is an active member of the school student council. I'm currently a year 11 student taking As (it's going good i hope). I got 3A* and 2A in IGCSE, is that enough? I was only able to take 5 due to school policy. I am sorry to hear that u got rejected..could u tell me your IGCSE stats? And where did u apply when u got rejected? @Dohaeris

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 292

katrusse

1

GCSEs - 8 A*s, 2As 1B (English Lang... i know...)

AS Levels - Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Maths and EPQ, all of which I'm predicted an A for. I think i will drop Physics next year as i hate the new spec.

Work experience / Voluntary - 2 hours a week for a year at a Day Centre for Mentally Disabled Adults, 2 hours a week for a year volunteering at a Nursery. GP shadowing. A week in the Renal Dialysis unit. 3 Debate Chamber Medicine weekends. MedLink conference. Introduction to Medicine course.

Extra Curricular- Gold Dofe, Academic Challenge (kindof like University Challange), Debating, Choir, 1st Team Netball. Medical/Biology Society.

Hobbies- Swimming (Great North Swim) , Cooking

Potential universities providing I achieve what I wish to achieve:
Edinburgh, Newcastle, Birmingham (?) and St Andrews/Exeter

I am an academic scholar at a very sporty school and compared to others in my year my results are very good.. do universities look at your results compared to your school?

Reply 293

Nikita Verma

15

Original post by Dohaeris

I also did quite well on the UKCAT last year, so if anyone has any questions on that, I'm happy to help.

Hey, any advice for Abstract reasoning? :smile:

Reply 294

FatimaHere

9

Original post by Eeelan

sorry heres the link

looks so good i cry though no where near london

Reply 295

Dohaeris

3

Original post by Edwardyo

Whoa, we actually have similar stats! I also play for my footbschools's football team and is an active member of the school student council. I'm currently a year 11 student taking As (it's going good i hope). I got 3A* and 2A in IGCSE, is that enough? I was only able to take 5 due to school policy. I am sorry to hear that u got rejected..could u tell me your IGCSE stats? And where did u apply when u got rejected? @Dohaeris

It's not enough for many universities, I'm afraid. For Manchester, though, 5 will suffice, assuming you get good A-levels and all. For most of the universities I'm applying to, I'm relying on my A-levels on helping me through, they're much less harsh on your IGCSEs if you've got completed A-levels. I also got A*s and As on the IGCSEs.

Original post by Nikita Verma

Hey, any advice for Abstract reasoning? :smile:

AR, like pretty much all of the sections, only becomes easier with practice. Do everything you can get your hands on, I believe there are also acronyms online to help search for patterns in each question (I don't remember them right now.) But with time and plenty of practice, you should become better at it.

Reply 296

username2238097

9

What department in a hospital is best to do work experience at? I'm filling in an application form for work experience at a hospital and it asks which department I want to do it in. Which one is the most useful? Which will give me more to talk about in my ps? I want to be a gp so there isn't really one particular specialty in a hospital that I'm interested in.

Reply 297

Funky_Giraffe

10

Original post by doculmc7171

What department in a hospital is best to do work experience at? I'm filling in an application form for work experience at a hospital and it asks which department I want to do it in. Which one is the most useful? Which will give me more to talk about in my ps? I want to be a gp so there isn't really one particular specialty in a hospital that I'm interested in.

Paediatrics, dermatology, respiratory medicine, geriatrics I would say are most useful, since they really link in with your A-Level studies, so you'll have some understanding of what's going on, and therefore you will be able to talk about your experiences with a bit of a scientific background.

However, any work experience is useful work experience, so there is by no means an exhaustive list, however, those are my recommendations thinking ahead to interviews.

Reply 298

username2238097

9

Original post by Funky_Giraffe

Paediatrics, dermatology, respiratory medicine, geriatrics I would say are most useful, since they really link in with your A-Level studies, so you'll have some understanding of what's going on, and therefore you will be able to talk about your experiences with a bit of a scientific background.

However, any work experience is useful work experience, so there is by no means an exhaustive list, however, those are my recommendations thinking ahead to interviews.