Medicine rejections 2018

I've received 2 rejections so far, trying to keep positive and praying for the other 2!

Which unis’?

Anyone rejected from 2018/19 Application cycle!
Your plans for the next year, inorder to help those who can’t see the way forward.
I am still waiting for my replies but I feel they will be rejections. However, I have had friends who were rejected from all 4 and are struggling to see the way forward.

Just refound my old student room account from when I was applying to medicine so thought I'd see what things were like nowadays, so sorry to hear about these rejections I have been there where you are now and let me tell you it is not the end for you! I just thought I'd share my story cus maybe it would bring some hope when you feel like everything has gone to ****. I remember how crap I felt so I hope this helps.

I got 2 pre interview and 2 post interview rejections the first time I applied and was DEVASTATED! didn't know where to go from there at all, whether to do a biomed course somewhere or gap year or what. The most important thing is that you focus on your A- levels and GET THOSE GRADES. Getting the grades first time round gives you all the options as unis I seem to remember did not like resit grades (I had a friend that resat and reapplied and they would reject on the basis of that)

In the end I got the grades needed for medicine and decided to have a gap year instead of taking my offer that I had of medical sciences at birmingham. one of the BEST decisions I made! never planned to have a gap year and didn't want one just felt totally overwhelmed by the whole thing really, but got planning and took ownership of it and in hindsight I think my failure to get into medicine first time was one of the best things that has actually happened to me so would fully recommend this option over doing a whole other 3 year course just so you can get to uni (if that's your reason)! ALso transfer pathways in biomed are notoriously popular and competitive, it is obviously a good sounding option but it is just so hard and if it doesn't work out your stuck on a course your potentially dont want to do so if it were me I wouldn't be so keen for this, but it was an option for me at the time that I did consider so I understand (but glad now I didn't take it)

Through NHS jobs and online volunteering agencies I found alot of stuff to do on my gap year: Part time job as HCA in outpatients, volunteered in a youth club for autistic teenagers, a care home, a foodbank, hospital ward, did day trips with children with learning difficulties, and also got a second job just doing data admin in a school. I did all this until interview period was over then I flew off travelling. Having a gap year enables you to get so much experience that you can talk about in your interviews that people who are still in school would have difficulty having the time to do! I certainly found that in interviews I had a lot more to talk about and loads of examples to share, and working in a hospital really helps you understand what working in the nhs is like. Not to mention all this is just really good life experience. Gap year also gives you loads of time to prepare for interviews (get a practice interview question book and practice answering all the questions)

Had 4 interviews in the end and then went off travelling to costa rica and nicaragua, as well as a fam holiday and then went interrailing with friends in summer. I had a flexible zero hours job that I could work in between going away so I could earn money. Going travelling on my gap year was one of the best times of my life, I still look back on it wishing I was there, and I'm over halfway though medical school!

Basically in the end got 4 offers cus I worked my ass off preparing and had loads of experience which I could have only got with the time I had on my gap year. Also *perks* cus gap year students already have their grades they often get first pick of accomodation so wahey.

Hope this has helped, feel free to message if have any questions, best of luck xxxx

Thanks so much for your lengthy response and well done for getting four offers; I look up so much to anyone who has an offer, because despite my hard efforts, I was rejected from 3 post interview and am waiting on one.

Just wondering, how did you apply to be HCA? How much do they pay? What kind of stuff do you do?

x

That's almost harder when you get the interviews but it doesn't quite work out sorry to hear it's gone that way. There's a website called NHS jobs where essentially I put 'assistant' into the search box(there are other good jobs you can get that are similar to HCA or like radiography assistant or something) and then you choose how far away you're willing to look from your location. I applied for all the jobs near enough to me that I could find so full time and part time. It is fairly competitive to get jobs but being young and with good alevels and saying you 'want to work in healthcare' seemed to work for me . The job adverts can come and go really quickly on the website aswell so its good to check at least once a day. In the end I think I applied to like 6-8 and then had two interviews and got 1 which was a part time job in outpatients (so doing all the clinics at hospital). In hindsight part time was fab cus I got to do loads of other stuff on the other days I had free but full time is V good experience aswell and obvs you earn more money. Working in outpatients was good because I got to meet a lot of doctors and sat in on alot of clinics and you can say you learnt alot about teamwork and communication like especially difficult communication with like angry patients cus their appointment is late or stressed doctors. I know people that worked on wards and they got a lot of good experience aswell. You can also get jobs in care homes and stuff.
Pay was like 8 pounds an hour ish for me.
Sorry this was probably longer than it needed to be I ramble a lot😂

Hello!

My heart goes out to all of you who have received rejections. This need not be the end of your Medicine dream:

My daughter received 1 pre-interview and 3 post-interview rejections and went-on to obtain AAB in her A-levels.

She scooped herself up off the carpet; went back to school to re-sit Chemistry and (to optimise her chances) take an additional A-level (Fine Art). Second time around she received 4 interview invites and 3 offers. She went on to get an A* in both subjects and is now a happy and successful 3rd year Medical Student.

Her journey was immensely stressful and had an incredibly negative effect on her emotional well-being however her experience is that many of her peers/friends at Med School took a second attempt to get their place so, if that's what it takes for you, you are in good company!

The biomedical transfer and graduate entry routes are phenomenally competitive so, if appropriate for you, the re-application pathway definitely makes the most sense at the moment. Of course, none of these options come with a guarantee and I have no idea what a second disastrous application cycle might have done to her demoralised self esteem if things hadn't worked out.

Whilst the re-sit-friendly Medical Schools are the most forward-thinking and lovely Med Schools in the country it would still have made her life and options oodles easier/wider if she had got her grades first time round so my advice is to get your heads down, don't let the rejections get you down (you're in extremely good company) and nail those A levels so that you can focus on re-applying and then have a great 6-month gap year sitting on an unconditional offer...

Best of luck to you all!

Thanks so much for your lengthy response and well done for getting four offers; I look up so much to anyone who has an offer, because despite my hard efforts, I was rejected from 3 post interview and am waiting on one.

Just wondering, how did you apply to be HCA? How much do they pay? What kind of stuff do you do?

x

I'm in a similar situation btw, 3 post interview rejections and waiting on one

it sucks doesn't it? do u think your fourth will say yes? im just acting now as if i got four rejections because having hope is kinda bad in these situations aaaa

good luck to you, whatever happens, it'll work out

I'm in a similar situation btw, 3 post interview rejections and waiting on one

Same here three pre-interview rejections and waiting to hear from one after the interview.