Should I apply to Imperial or Oxford for Medicine 2018 entry

Hi guys...
So I’m doing the BMAT in November and I’m only picking one bmat university because i know it’s really risky if I don’t do well enough, which would mean 2 out of 4 choices could be gone.

I’m not sure whether to apply to Oxford or Imperial! I love both universities but I’ve been a bit sceptical about Oxford because it is so competitive, especially because their interview format and shortlisting technique is so different to Imperial and UCL, although equally difficult. Do I stand a chance and which university would be better?

I got 10A* and 2As at GCSE
I’m taking Bio, Chem, English Lit and EPQ. I dropped Physics at AS, and i got a B in that.

I like Both the universities course structures equally but I don’t know which is a wiser choice. Also, I’m aware that IMPERIAL have a cutoff every year so... what kind of BMAT scores should I be aiming for both universities?

Reply 1

DvsAmjed

13

Original post by clockwork30

Hi guys...
So I’m doing the BMAT in November and I’m only picking one bmat university because i know it’s really risky if I don’t do well enough, which would mean 2 out of 4 choices could be gone.

I’m not sure whether to apply to Oxford or Imperial! I love both universities but I’ve been a bit sceptical about Oxford because it is so competitive, especially because their interview format and shortlisting technique is so different to Imperial and UCL, although equally difficult. Do I stand a chance and which university would be better?

I got 10A* and 2As at GCSE
I’m taking Bio, Chem, English Lit and EPQ. I dropped Physics at AS, and i got a B in that.

I like Both the universities course structures equally but I don’t know which is a wiser choice. Also, I’m aware that IMPERIAL have a cutoff every year so... what kind of BMAT scores should I be aiming for both universities?

I have the same GCSE grades as you and I'm considering Oxford and UCL. You can check what %5A*-C your school had for Oxford, to see how contextualised your GCSE score will be using this link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/01/19/gcse-school-league-tables-2016-compare-schools-performance/

Mine had 51% 5A*-C, what was yours?
Imperial mainly uses the BMAT when shortlisting so its up to you...

Reply 2

pixiefuller

12

If you think you can do well at the BMAT, it's not too risky to apply for 2 BMAT unis - that is what I'm doing!
Applying to more than 2 BMAT unis is most likely risky, though.

For Imperial, you can look at last year's cut-off score as a guide (it was 4.5 for sections 1 and 2). Oxford would probably expect higher with an average score of 5.5-6.0 for sections 1 and 2.

Hope that helps, it is ultimately your decision :smile:

Reply 3

Attempt2

13

Original post by DvsAmjed

I have the same GCSE grades as you and I'm considering Oxford and UCL. You can check what %5A*-C your school had for Oxford, to see how contextualised your GCSE score will be using this link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/01/19/gcse-school-league-tables-2016-compare-schools-performance/

Mine had 51% 5A*-C, what was yours?
Imperial mainly uses the BMAT when shortlisting so its up to you...

What do you mean, to see *how* contextualized, then just posting a link to the league tables?

GCSEs are irrelevant

Original post by Attempt2

What do you mean, to see *how* contextualized, then just posting a link to the league tables?

Well you can see how far away your school's percentage 5A*-C was from the national average to get a rough estimate of how high your GCSE contextual score will be (i.e how good your GCSEs were in comparison to your school). Using the orange calculator using the link, you can find this out. If your school performed below the national average, you will get a boost to your GCSE score and vice verca. But this is for Oxford, I'm not sure how much Imperial use contextualised data - its mainly just the BMAT for Imperial

Reply 6

Wolfram Alpha

20

Original post by WillPhillips

GCSEs are irrelevant

GCSEs are absolutely irrelevant when considering Oxford. Irrelevant for Imperial though, yes.

Reply 7

nexttime

22

Original post by clockwork30

Hi guys...
So I’m doing the BMAT in November and I’m only picking one bmat university because i know it’s really risky if I don’t do well enough, which would mean 2 out of 4 choices could be gone.

I’m not sure whether to apply to Oxford or Imperial! I love both universities but I’ve been a bit sceptical about Oxford because it is so competitive, especially because their interview format and shortlisting technique is so different to Imperial and UCL, although equally difficult. Do I stand a chance and which university would be better?

I got 10A* and 2As at GCSE
I’m taking Bio, Chem, English Lit and EPQ. I dropped Physics at AS, and i got a B in that.

I like Both the universities course structures equally but I don’t know which is a wiser choice. Also, I’m aware that IMPERIAL have a cutoff every year so... what kind of BMAT scores should I be aiming for both universities?

You can apply to both. Oxford has a very low applicant to offer ratio so its always going to be hard, but your GCSEs will stand you in reasonable stead as per the above link.

Do you want to be in London or not? That's a pretty huge difference to consider.

Original post by WillPhillips

GCSEs are irrelevant

For Oxford medicine?! They are extremely relevant.

Reply 8

DvsAmjed

13

Original post by nexttime

For Oxford medicine?! They are extremely relevant.

Hi nexttime, how does one choose which to apply to between Oxford and Cambridge? With the new reforms they are likely to both take account GCSEs quite heavily. They also both use the BMAT heavily although one before the interview and one after. So fundamentally what strengths/ weaknesses would a candidate have in their application to choose between the 2 if they like them both equally? I have 9/10A* 2A at gcse and AAAA at AS and I really like the idea of studying at Oxbridge but I am torn between the two!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 9

username3118454

19

If you're happy at your 2nd choice med school if you don't get an Oxford offer - apply Oxford.

Otherwise, imperial since it's easier to get in.

Reply 10

Dornishman'sWife

9

Original post by clockwork30

Hi guys...
So I’m doing the BMAT in November and I’m only picking one bmat university because i know it’s really risky if I don’t do well enough, which would mean 2 out of 4 choices could be gone.

I’m not sure whether to apply to Oxford or Imperial! I love both universities but I’ve been a bit sceptical about Oxford because it is so competitive, especially because their interview format and shortlisting technique is so different to Imperial and UCL, although equally difficult. Do I stand a chance and which university would be better?

I got 10A* and 2As at GCSE
I’m taking Bio, Chem, English Lit and EPQ. I dropped Physics at AS, and i got a B in that.

I like Both the universities course structures equally but I don’t know which is a wiser choice. Also, I’m aware that IMPERIAL have a cutoff every year so... what kind of BMAT scores should I be aiming for both universities?

Imperial, as most people have 100% A* for oxford at GCSE and take 3 sciences and maths.

Reply 11

nexttime

22

Original post by DvsAmjed

Hi nexttime, how does one choose which to apply to between Oxford and Cambridge?

Well there are differences, mainly:

- Cities - I'd suggest visiting both. Oxford's a more active city.
- Accommodation - more available at Cambridge - though most students at both can get accommodation for the first 3 years at least.
- Size - Oxford med school is half the size. There is only 4-8 medics per year at each college (whereas at cambridge it can be up to 25 or so)
- Transfers - at Oxford some students can go to London after 3 years (essentially any university you choose) although equally, some who may have wanted to stay at Oxford may have to go to London. At Cambridge you're there for all 6.
- 3rd year options are more limited at Oxford - theoretically at Cambridge you don't even have to do something medicine related, though this is becoming rarer.
- Cambridge has more focus on anatomy, including dissection rather than prosection. Oxford focuses on other aspects of medicine instead.
- Oxford gets much higher student satisfaction

With the new reforms they are likely to both take account GCSEs quite heavily.

Cambridge has said they won't be putting much more weight on GCSEs. It will, presumably, mainly come down to BMAT pre-interview.

They also both use the BMAT heavily although one before the interview and one after.

As above.

So fundamentally what strengths/ weaknesses would a candidate have in their application to choose between the 2 if they like them both equally? I have 9/10A* 2A at gcse and AAAA at AS and I really like the idea of studying at Oxbridge but I am torn between the two!

You need better GCSEs to stand a chance at Oxford. Fundamentally, Oxford has a much higher applicant to offer ratio so its probably harder to get into.

Original post by Dornishman'sWife

Imperial, as most people have 100% A* for oxford at GCSE and take 3 sciences and maths.

'Today i'm just going to make up some statistics' :dunce:

The first one actually isn't too far off - about 50% of those accepted have 100%A*s. But obviously that means that about 50% don't so.

Just 20% have 3 sciences and maths.

https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics

Should I apply to Imperial or Oxford for Medicine 2018 entry

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