Application help- disappointing UKCAT

Hi I have recently done my ukcat(one of the last test dates) and I am really disappointed in it. I got a total of 1830
Vr 520
Qr 640
Ar 670
So an average of 610. That means my options of unis are very limited. My dream is Newcastle but obviously that's out of the question unless I reapply next year after a gap year or do biomed science and try transfer which I know is virtually impossible. My next choices are Birmingham, Keele and Nottingham and because I was origionally so focused on Newcastle I only vaguely know what these unis look for so I wasn't wondering whether anyone hasn't any advice for applying to these and also if you know of how realistic a transfer at Newcastle would be. My GCSE grades are decent 4A*s 8As but not good enough for Edinburgh (ukcat not as significant) and my As grades were 4As and predicted A2 A*AA.

I'm really quite disheartened by my UKCAT but medicine is the only career I can imagine myself in so I guess there's no point dwelling on it now as I cant change it.

I will appreciate any advice x

Reply 1

HopelessMedic

19

Id say apply to Keele but Nottingham and Bham may be risky. You can check your score for Bham online, the cut off was around 6/10 last year.

You might want to think about taking the BMAT tho

Reply 2

GANFYD

18

Original post by barbaras99

Hi I have recently done my ukcat(one of the last test dates) and I am really disappointed in it. I got a total of 1830
Vr 520
Qr 640
Ar 670
So an average of 610. That means my options of unis are very limited. My dream is Newcastle but obviously that's out of the question unless I reapply next year after a gap year or do biomed science and try transfer which I know is virtually impossible. My next choices are Birmingham, Keele and Nottingham and because I was origionally so focused on Newcastle I only vaguely know what these unis look for so I wasn't wondering whether anyone hasn't any advice for applying to these and also if you know of how realistic a transfer at Newcastle would be. My GCSE grades are decent 4A*s 8As but not good enough for Edinburgh (ukcat not as significant) and my As grades were 4As and predicted A2 A*AA.

I'm really quite disheartened by my UKCAT but medicine is the only career I can imagine myself in so I guess there's no point dwelling on it now as I cant change it.

I will appreciate any advice x

Newcastle's cut off has historically been around 685-690, so you are right that you are unlikely to make the cut here.
Birmingham and Nottingham use GCSEs and UKCAT to score applicants and both have a scoring system on their website you can use to calculate your score and see whether you are likely to be competitive-depends a lot on what your A* subjects are. Cut off last year for Birmingham was 6.17 but may be higher this year, and reckoned to be around 39 this year for Nottingham, but again, that is only an educated guess.
Keele shortlist using their Roles and Responsibilities form, which is similar to your PS and involves you detailing your volunteering etc and I think you need to have done in the region of 200 hours of volunteering to qualify, but details will be on the website and threads on here.
UEA is another Med School that may be a possibility. It uses academics and UKCAT, but seems to have a lower UKCAT cut off than some of the other Med Schools, so l would look into this.
Unfortunately, although your academics are good, you have no stand out strengths to your application to make it easy to know where to advise you to apply, as you do not have enough A* GCSEs for the GCSE heavy Unis, nor the A* A2 predictions for the likes of Exeter or Aberdeen, so you are left with those that use PS, which are Keele and Bristol, or looking at sitting the BMAT, which opens up another group of Med Schools.
Transfer to a Medical course is hugely competitive, and you need to score very highly on all your exams to even be considered, so you would probably be better considering a gap year, as many people do better on the UKCAT the second time they sit it.

Reply 3

username2835818

9

Original post by barbaras99

Hi I have recently done my ukcat(one of the last test dates) and I am really disappointed in it. I got a total of 1830
Vr 520
Qr 640
Ar 670
So an average of 610. That means my options of unis are very limited. My dream is Newcastle but obviously that's out of the question unless I reapply next year after a gap year or do biomed science and try transfer which I know is virtually impossible. My next choices are Birmingham, Keele and Nottingham and because I was origionally so focused on Newcastle I only vaguely know what these unis look for so I wasn't wondering whether anyone hasn't any advice for applying to these and also if you know of how realistic a transfer at Newcastle would be. My GCSE grades are decent 4A*s 8As but not good enough for Edinburgh (ukcat not as significant) and my As grades were 4As and predicted A2 A*AA.

I'm really quite disheartened by my UKCAT but medicine is the only career I can imagine myself in so I guess there's no point dwelling on it now as I cant change it.

I will appreciate any advice x

You may have a shot at Keele, Liverpool, UEA, Bristol, maybe HYMS

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Reply 4

ib_hopeful

2

Original post by HopelessMedic

Id say apply to Keele but Nottingham and Bham may be risky. You can check your score for Bham online, the cut off was around 6/10 last year.

You might want to think about taking the BMAT tho