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Original post by manlike99
Barts is a much more prestigious and respected medical school than the others. It is ranked 3rd(or 2nd, depending on which league table you look at) in the UK. I love it here.


Why do 'prestige' and the ranking in league tables matter?
Original post by RockGirl19
Sorry I fell like an idiot (My explanation isn't going to help with this at all):

I had no idea that Barts and Queen Mary's were the same thing (I didn't bother looking at them because I'm Scottish and can't afford fees, and I've never been to London).

Because I'd never seen Barts near the top, I just assumed it was near the bottom.

Again, sorry for being a complete idiot😂


hahaha no worries :smile: I for one want Barts and QM to split.... QM always dragging our rep down :wink:
Original post by khookie
Why do 'prestige' and the ranking in league tables matter?


prestige doesn't matter at all. but there are reasons why Oxbridge, Barts are always at the top of rankings. but as I said just aim to get into medicine, that's the main thing. also something important is student satisfaction.
Original post by studyious
Applied 11.10

SGUL: Acknowledgment 13.10
Exeter: Acknowledgment 13.10
UEA: Acknowledgment 13.10
Plymouth: Nothing... (Bit worried about that, has anoyne else applied to plymouth and not received anything yet?)


Did you manage to find anything out? Because I still haven't received anything from them, even though I got interview and acknowledgement from others. Bit worrying.
Original post by BasimMajid
Did you manage to find anything out? Because I still haven't received anything from them, even though I got interview and acknowledgement from others. Bit worrying.


Did you try emailing/calling them?
Original post by manlike99
yeh and thats nothing to do with prestige tho lmao. It is well known how respected Barts is and there must be a reason for it to be in the top 3 year in, year out. Anyway ngl I would have been over the moon with just 1 offer because it doesn't matter where you study medicine, doctor is doctor. but to say it's not one of the more respected and prestigious, is not true. As if we're digging into these things, GMC did say that Barts makes the best junior doctors albeit in like 2007 lol but if you want to be pedantic and nitpicky....


Well known by whom? I didn't say Barts wasn't respected or prestigious. It depends what criteria you wish to use to judge that. Most in the profession would consider the league tables you quote (in which Barts ranges from 8th to 2nd over the last 4 years) to be entirely useless.
The GMC survey junior doctors every year and have done since at least 2012, and also rank performance in postgrad exams against med school a Dr attended, and Barts have tended to perform universally poorly.
You must use these stats as you see best.
I am personally very much against judging one med school as more or less prestigious or respected than another. After you have graduated, your job offers will be made blind, with no knowledge of what uni you attended, and from there on in, it is down to you to work hard, impress your bosses and do the "extra-curricular" stuff that gains you points on your CV when it comes to applying for specialist rotations. Nobody is interested in the medical school you attended by the time you get to apply for specialist jobs, they are interested in your experience and how you perform at interview.
I feel the only bits with any real relevance when applying to medical school are student satisfaction and preparedness for your F1 job (as that is SCARY). The rest of it, in terms of working for postgrad exams, etc, can be compensated for on an individual basis by hard work and preparation. And how well you do in exams does not necessarily equate to how good you are as a doctor, especially not in the eyes of the people who matter: your patients!
Original post by taeht
does anyone know UKCAT cut off scores for Edinburgh and St Andrews??


Edinburgh do not have a UKCAT cut off score. They put the UKCAT scores of their applicants in to octiles and award points based on what octile your score falls in.

"How we use your UKCAT score

The Selection Committee uses your UKCAT score to make a more informed decision about your application.
Once all the scores are received we rank them, divide the groups into octiles and allocate a score. The points are then added to your total score to contribute towards your final ranking.
The Situational Judgement section of the test is assessed as part of our non-academic requirements and not alongside your overall UKCAT score.
We will consider all scores and no applicant will be excluded from selection based on the score achieved in their UKCAT test (although applicants will be excluded if they have failed to take the test and not gained an exemption).
The score an applicant achieved may be looked at again when final decisions are being made and there is a number of applicants with the same ranked score and limited places left to offer."

This shows what the octiles have been in previous years:

https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/disclosure_of_information_-_sept_2016.pdf

St Andrews tend not to release their UKCAT cut off, and certainly will not do so during an admission cycle, but it varies depending on your fee status, as they have set number of places available for each type of applicant
Original post by GANFYD
Well known by whom? I didn't say Barts wasn't respected or prestigious. It depends what criteria you wish to use to judge that. Most in the profession would consider the league tables you quote (in which Barts ranges from 8th to 2nd over the last 4 years) to be entirely useless.
The GMC survey junior doctors every year and have done since at least 2012, and also rank performance in postgrad exams against med school a Dr attended, and Barts have tended to perform universally poorly.
You must use these stats as you see best.
I am personally very much against judging one med school as more or less prestigious or respected than another. After you have graduated, your job offers will be made blind, with no knowledge of what uni you attended, and from there on in, it is down to you to work hard, impress your bosses and do the "extra-curricular" stuff that gains you points on your CV when it comes to applying for specialist rotations. Nobody is interested in the medical school you attended by the time you get to apply for specialist jobs, they are interested in your experience and how you perform at interview.
I feel the only bits with any real relevance when applying to medical school are student satisfaction and preparedness for your F1 job (as that is SCARY). The rest of it, in terms of working for postgrad exams, etc, can be compensated for on an individual basis by hard work and preparation. And how well you do in exams does not necessarily equate to how good you are as a doctor, especially not in the eyes of the people who matter: your patients!


yeah fair enough agreed and I especially agree with bit in bold. relax tho bro... are you a current doctor then?
Original post by manlike99
yeah fair enough agreed and I especially agree with bit in bold. relax tho bro... are you a current doctor then?


Indeed I am
Original post by GANFYD
Indeed I am


what speciality out of curiosity
Original post by manlike99
what speciality out of curiosity


I am currently a GP, but have had what might be termed a portfolio career on my route to getting here :biggrin:
Original post by GANFYD
I am currently a GP, but have had what might be termed a portfolio career on my route to getting here :biggrin:


can I pm you about some stuff regarding a different speciality pls
Original post by manlike99
can I pm you about some stuff regarding a different speciality pls


Feel free, but don't know that I'll be able to help!
Reply 153
Original post by GANFYD
Well known by whom? I didn't say Barts wasn't respected or prestigious. It depends what criteria you wish to use to judge that. Most in the profession would consider the league tables you quote (in which Barts ranges from 8th to 2nd over the last 4 years) to be entirely useless.
The GMC survey junior doctors every year and have done since at least 2012, and also rank performance in postgrad exams against med school a Dr attended, and Barts have tended to perform universally poorly.
You must use these stats as you see best.
I am personally very much against judging one med school as more or less prestigious or respected than another. After you have graduated, your job offers will be made blind, with no knowledge of what uni you attended, and from there on in, it is down to you to work hard, impress your bosses and do the "extra-curricular" stuff that gains you points on your CV when it comes to applying for specialist rotations. Nobody is interested in the medical school you attended by the time you get to apply for specialist jobs, they are interested in your experience and how you perform at interview.
I feel the only bits with any real relevance when applying to medical school are student satisfaction and preparedness for your F1 job (as that is SCARY). The rest of it, in terms of working for postgrad exams, etc, can be compensated for on an individual basis by hard work and preparation. And how well you do in exams does not necessarily equate to how good you are as a doctor, especially not in the eyes of the people who matter: your patients!


Hi,

Any views on SGUL? They seem to be always the lowest scored. They also had places available in clearing over the past 2 years.
However seeing they are linked with St George's Hospital, I would have thought plenty learning opportunities are given: A&E, paediatrics, etc. Are they really the worst of the bunch? Would it be the lack of a student life, quality of teaching/learning opportunities or opportunities once you graduate?
Original post by lulal
Hi,

Any views on SGUL? They seem to be always the lowest scored. They also had places available in clearing over the past 2 years.
However seeing they are linked with St George's Hospital, I would have thought plenty learning opportunities are given: A&E, paediatrics, etc. Are they really the worst of the bunch? Would it be the lack of a student life, quality of teaching/learning opportunities or opportunities once you graduate?


The clearing places aren’t due to lack of applications they purposely save spaces for clearing etc.
Reply 155
Original post by Hdheimdnbf
The clearing places aren’t due to lack of applications they purposely save spaces for clearing etc.


Thank you, I gathered that and I thought they are either really inundated by lesser quality applications or they are really clever in exploiting the flaws within the application process with reliance on predictions which are known to be unreliable.
Original post by lulal
Thank you, I gathered that and I thought they are either really inundated by lesser quality applications or they are really clever in exploiting the flaws within the application process with reliance on predictions which are known to be unreliable.


I think it’s the latter (:
Reply 157
5 offers as of 27/02/18... shook!!!! No clue how I’ve managed that unless some kind soul is bribing the unis on my behalf 😂🎉🎉🎉

My application was sent off on October 6th 2017 for A100 Medicine at Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham and Cardiff. I am a UK school leaver.

My Stats
GCSEs: 8A* 2A 1B
AS Level: AAAD
A2 Predicted: A*A*A at time of application
UKCAT: 3050 SJT band 1
BMAT: 6.4, 4.7, 4A

University of Leeds 2018 entry
Academic Scoring: 35/35, ?/5 for BMAT, ?PS
Acknowledged: 10/10/2017
Update: 24/10/2017 "we have started reading all the applications in order to decide who to invite for interview."
Invite to Interview: 13/12/2017
Interview: 15/01/2018
UPDATE Offer: email from uni 27/02/2018 😁

University of Birmingham 2018 entry
Offer calculator score: 10/10
Acknowledged: 11/10/2017
Update: 25/10/2017 "We're still reviewing your application"
Invite to interview: 10/11/2017
Interview: 06/12/2017
Offer: email 29/01/2018, UCAS updated 21/02/2018 (A*AA)

University of Nottingham 2018 entry
Academic Scoring: 53/56 + ?PS/16
Acknowledged: 10/10/2017
Update: 26/10/2017 "We are still actively considering your application"
Invite to Interview: 30/11/2017
Interview: 05/01/2018
Offer: 5/02/2018 through UCAS (AAA)

Cardiff University 2019 (deferred) entry
GCSE score: 26
Acknowledged: 08/10/2017
Invite to Interview: 13/11/2017
Interview: 18/01/2018
Offer: 20/02/2018 through UCAS (AAA)

CC74 Biochemistry with Genetics at Birmingham 2019 entry
Acknowledgement: None
Offer: AAB received 08/12/2017
Withdrawn Feb 2018
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by LRxS
Hi!
I applied on October 6th for A100 Medicine at Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham and Cardiff.

University of Leeds 2018 entry
Acknowledged: 10th Oct '17
Update: 24th Oct '17 "we have started reading all the applications in order to decide who to invite for interview."
Invite to Interview: Will update if/when I get one

University of Birmingham 2018 entry
Acknowledged: 11th Oct '17
Update: 25th Oct '17 "We're still reviewing your application"
Invite to interview: received 10th Nov '17

University of Nottingham 2018 entry
Acknowledged: 10th Oct '17
Update: 26th Oct '17 "We are still actively considering your application"
Invite to Interview: will update

Cardiff University 2019 (deferred) entry
Acknowledged: 8th Oct '17
Invite to Interview: received 13th Nov '17


If you don't mind me asking, what time did you receive your Cardiff interview? And also do you know when they'll inform the international students, at all?
Reply 159
Original post by TheMasterofLife
If you don't mind me asking, what time did you receive your Cardiff interview? And also do you know when they'll inform the international students, at all?


I got the Cardiff one at 1pm today, in an email from the uni. It hasn't showed up in UCAS Track. Apparently I'll get a second email in the next 3 days to book it, but that hasn't arrived yet. I'm afraid I don't know about International students at Cardiff but I do know Birmingham start sending international invites towards the end of December. Also I was deferred entry to Cardiff so I don't know if that makes a difference?
(edited 6 years ago)

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