What are the main reasons for why people get rejected for medicine?

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So when it comes to ps, it can be said, to a certain extent, those who have doctors/nurses/other health care professionals in their family have a better chance of getting an interview because they will have more w.e opportunities?

Unquestionably true yes.

Reply 21

That Bearded Man

There are so many similar candidates there must be an element of chance.

Reply 22

polerat

Is the situation the same or different for graduate entry? I mean most medical schools who offer the 4 year course such as warwick don't specify any A levels or GCSE requirements and say that Alevel and GCSE results don't have a direct bearing on the decision. Is this true? What happens in cases where lets say two applicant are of the same standard? Good ukat and ps and good interview etc?

Reply 23

prospectivemed56

Original post by polerat

Most grad courses have minimum requirements for degree, A level, and occasionally GCSE grades/subjects (most will require you to have passed maths/English at GCSE, have at least a B in A-level chemistry, and at least a 2.1 in a life science degree). But as to how they decide which of the candidates who meet these requirements they will interview, it varies. Some will simply rank by UKCAT result (Southampton), others will rank based on combined UKCAT and academic results (Barts), and others will make a more 'holistic' assessment based on academics, personal statement and references along with the other information (Cambridge, Birmingham). In some ways, it's a bit easier to judge where your application might get a good audience than for school leavers, because there are fewer medical schools to apply to and more variables that you can differentiate yourself on (got fantastic A levels and a first? Try Cambridge. Got 800+ on the UKCAT? Go for Southampton. Worked for years as a nurse/health-care assistant? Try Warwick; and so on). Most unsuccessful applications at this stage probably fail because the applicant has not managed to identify the medical schools where they will be in the top 10-20% of applications based on the ranking criteria.

After interview, things become more complex, but for two candidates with similar grades/qualities on paper it is likely to come down to who the interviewers feel would succeed the best at being a medical student and doctor. If your application fails at this stage it is likely due to a interview performance - either not knowing to show, or not being able to show, the required qualities (commitment to medicine and self-awareness) compared with other candidates.

Reply 24

mliela

Original post by lucabrasi98

A guy in my maths class was rejected pre interview from cardiff because he "only" got 5A*'s at GCSE.

That's an example of not applying smartly. Cardiff has a very high GCSE cutoff usually around 7/8A*s. That's the extra research people need to have done. As long as the rest of his stats were good he would have been fine at most other places.

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Reply 25

lyra1987

Post interview there is always an element of chance based on the sheer numbers who apply and interview for medicine. You can have a good interview and show all the qualities needed but if there are only 13 places and 60 people interview. Even if you assume that 20 of those interviewed had a terrible interview, there are still more applicants than places. So it comes down to who the interviewers liked the most based on first impressions, ranking of answers, judging interview against the academic and PS criteria to tell candidates apart. Medicine is horribly oversubscribed so you really have to be on the top of your game for interviews, smile, dress smartly and cross your fingers.

Reply 26

mliela

Original post by lyra1987

Of course. Every year some amazing candidates miss out on a place just because there are so many people. That's why a lot of people reapply and get in the following year.

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Reply 27

polerat

Original post by 1010marina

It is mostly grades but you do need to get average or just slightly below on the BMAT/UKCAT to be in with a chance.

I know a girl who got ACCC last year and got an offer from Manchester through MAP for medicine. She managed to win a competition for work experience in the Christie cancer hospital (it was awful - a day of terminal diagnoses, but she found it useful), and also did work experience in a care home.

It's also important to stand out, but in a good way. Languages are REALLY useful for medicine applicants, because it's something different.

Ignore people saying it's all about being a people person. Any interview for any top uni is to check you're not a total nutjob. For medicine you just need to smile and not be a weirdo for half an hour and you'll be absolutely fine. Grades are your priority, and finding quality work experience that you can talk about.

Thanks for your reply. What kind of things related to languages can you do?

Reply 28

Cap.Henry Avery

Not Asian enough. Lol.

Reply 29

1010marina

Original post by polerat

Thanks for your reply. What kind of things related to languages can you do?

An A level is useful, if not try going to classes or self teaching etc. It's just something extra to talk about - obviously a lot of people are going to be spouting the same 'i like saving people' spiel, with something like a language you can go at it from a different angle, 'i like talking to people and have an interest in other cultures and other people etc'. Ofc languages aren't the only way to be 'different' but it's the one I'm most familiar with.

The key is finding the balance between getting the grades and actually being interested in medicine and standing out from the crowd. You don't want to be a total snowflake, because you've got to be interested in medicine like everyone else, but if it comes down between you and another person you'll want them to have remembered something about you...

But like I said in my original reply, if you've got the grades and you're not a loon, you'll be fine.

Reply 30

Mutmit287

Original post by polerat

I understand that its different for everyone. I am just curious `and want to know what the common mistakes are that people make that leads to them being rejected. Or if you have personally experiences rejection, what was the reason for it?

thanks.

There are so so many reasons why people generally get rejected for medicine.

Most of the time people get rejected because they dont apply to their strengths:
1) they dont realise that they dont meet the minimum academic requirements as they didnt do enough research before applying.
2) they dont meet the UKCAT or BMAT cut off score during that application cycle.
3) their personal statement was not as strong as other peoples in that application cycle due to lack of voluntary work and experience.
4) they apply to schools just because they like the look of the place, or like the prestige when they are unlikely to score highly enough for an interview (this is very very common).

obviously there are many more and that is before interview, but post interview people also get rejected for many reason:
1) panicking on the interview day and being to nervous to give an accurate representation of themselves,
2) lying on their personal statement and this is quickly weeded out during an interview if the applicant cannot back it up (its also suprising how common this is)
3) lack of interview preparation.

65% of all medicine applicants leave the admissions cycle with no offers, so rejection isnt common, and competition is so high it means that many who deserve offers will leave empty handed for the silliest of reasons.

Reply 31

VARRRDAQ

Original post by mliela

This is so true. I had a friend last year who got 740 in UKCAT and no offers. Because of where she applied.
To answer OPs question things like BMAT\UKCAT, personal statements and interviews. Lack of relevant work experience or volunteering.
It doesn't mean an applicant is bad. Sometimes universities rank and score people. Leaving some applicants really close to the cutoff.

Where did your friend apply to that she got rejected with 740 ?!

Reply 32

2000rules

Original post by ireti

its also sometimes due to lack of extracurricular activities or allrounder qualities. Lets say we have 5 students who have applied for medicine all with A*s at a level, they can only pick 2, they will pick the ones with the best communication skills and those who have extracurricular skills like sport or music. its also that some students may know thier subject well but are unable to apply it to a situation, like you may know that rock is harder than paper but would you be able to apply it when buiding something?
hope this helps a little

hey!
i just sat my gcses this may/june. The exams just didn't go as expected at all.
I was predicted an A* in all my subjects (by my teachers). but i am guessing i'm gonna end up with the following results on the results day:

FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH : A/B
ECONOMICS : A/B
PHYSICS : A/B
CHEMISTRY : A/B
BIOLOGY : A*/A
PSYCHOLOGY : A*/A
MATHEMATICS : A*/A
ENGLISH LITERATURE : A (already have).

will these grades be sufficient to get me into cambridge for medicine?

the following is the gcse requirements on the cambridge website itself:

Students wanting to study Medicine must have achieved:

grade C or above in GCSE (or equivalent) Double Award Science and Mathematics
two single awards in GCSE Biology and Physics may be substituted for Double Award Science'

thank you for your support.

Reply 33

Orlanda

Original post by 2000rules

thank you for your support.

Hiya!

I would strongly recommend you wait to make any decision about your application to any medical school until you get your results.
At the moment, you have no actual grades with which you can use to see if you'd be a good medicine/Cambridge candidate.
The only thing I would say is that English Language is a very important GCSE that you would probably need an A in to get into Cambridge.
This year and in the years to follow, universities are supposedly looking at GCSE results more due to the lack of AS Levels. I'm sure Cambridge will specify on their website around May/June next year the exact GCSE grades they want for 2018 entry.

If you want any more information, I suggest you start a new thread as this is taking the original thread on a tangent

Reply 34

polerat

Original post by Natalierm2707

Thanks for the detailed reply. Ill be applying for medicine this time next year - currently in uni doing boomed. Ill be sure to take all of this into consideration when applying.

Reply 35

polerat

Original post by 1010marina

Great thank you. I have an A level in German and I am relatively fluent in it. Ill see if I can get some volunteering done with that.

Reply 36

mliela

Original post by VARRRDAQ

Where did your friend apply to that she got rejected with 740 ?!

Two BMAT universities. And she didn't do too well in BMAT. Then the others were post interview Rejections. St Andrews and Cardiff. Even those two only gave her an interview is very late.

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Reply 37

Yammy

Just to add some unis also like to weigh in SJT band scores specifically (Edinburgh), so that can become a factor in your overall application.

Reply 38

Mutmit287

Original post by mliela

the only UKCAT uni she picked was St Andrews... with 740 that was not a good idea, places like newcastle, southampton, glasgow etc. would have snapped her up for an interview with that score...

this is a prime example of not applying to your strengths for medicine.