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Closed The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread [part 2 of 5]

Tysm that really helps, they also have a programme in which you attend a summer school and they lower the grade boundaries to ABB, do they pick anyone for that or is it based on predictions and UCAT?

Original post by GANFYD

Yes, absolutely. There are no specific GCSE requirements. In terms of academics, they require you to be predicted AAA in almost any A level subjects and meet the Eng Lang requirements and that is it. Then they rank applicants on their UCAT for interview and offer places based on interview performance.

It is also possible to get into Glasgow (B in English), ARU (5 Cs or above), Bristol (A in Maths, C in English), Imperial (B in English), UCL (B in maths and Eng and C in modern lang), Plymouth ( 7 Cs or above) and Exeter (Eng and Maths at C or above) with less than stellar GCSEs

Reply 901

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by coolwizard203

hey,
just did my UCAT today and thought i'd put something on this thread to see what everyone thinks.
i want to apply to Nottingham, King's and Bristol as my UCAT unis.
i'm predicted A*AA at A level with 9A*s and 1B at GCSE.
in my UCAT i got an average of 692.5 which is like decent i think but i got Band 3 in my SJT (not sure how bc i was working at a band 1 throughout the time of my prep)
how likely do u guys think it is that i'll get an interview from these unis and where else should i consider applying to?
thanks so much xx

You need to work out your score for Nottingham, as they use SJT in scoring. Typical scores for interview have been around 44-45
Kings should be fine as your GCSE A*s and UCAT are both good though they have previously said they will "look closely" at Band 3 SJT, though not specified what this means
Bristol had a cut off of around 690 this year, but it was the first year of them using UCAT to shortlist so hard to say whether it would go up or down, may be borderline, check UCAT interim scores to see where you sit in comparison to last year.

Otherwise you have many choices - Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle (although their cut off has also exceeded 692.5 in previous years), Liverpool, Sheffield, UEA, Leicester, Brmingham, ARU, Aston, Cardiff (depending on what your B was in), Lincoln, SGUL, Plymouth, St Andrews and QUB so depends a bit what you fancy.

Sheffield, UEA, St Andrews do use SJT as a virtual interview station so you would lose points here.
Aberdeen say they may use SJT to distinguish between similar candidates when making an offer, so do QUB.
Birmingham use it post offer if you are within 5% of the cut off
Kings say they will "look closely" at Band 3 but do not say what this means, they state "The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is also taken into account when shortlisting"

Reply 902

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by Anonymous_000

Tysm that really helps, they also have a programme in which you attend a summer school and they lower the grade boundaries to ABB, do they pick anyone for that or is it based on predictions and UCAT?

The PARTNERS scheme is a widening access scheme and you have to fulfill the requirements and then apply - if you meet them, you will be accepted
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/schools/partners/

If you meet other WA or contextual requirements then GCSE grades, UCAT cut off and A level grades may be reduced without being on a specific scheme.

Reply 903

Laycity

13

Original post by coolwizard203

hey,
just did my UCAT today and thought i'd put something on this thread to see what everyone thinks.
i want to apply to Nottingham, King's and Bristol as my UCAT unis.
i'm predicted A*AA at A level with 9A*s and 1B at GCSE.
in my UCAT i got an average of 692.5 which is like decent i think but i got Band 3 in my SJT (not sure how bc i was working at a band 1 throughout the time of my prep)
how likely do u guys think it is that i'll get an interview from these unis and where else should i consider applying to?
thanks so much xx

You look ok for Kings and slightly risky for Bristol as last years cut off was similar to your score. You need to split out your ucat by sections to advise on Notts. What's your B in at GCSE?

Reply 904

Anonymous_000

9

What is WA? Btw I meet the eligibility criteria, but I’m not sure how it works. I’m most likely going to get predicted an ABB by my school, so if I apply to this, do they accept me based on the fact that I am eligible or do they have a look at anything else? I haven’t sat the UCAT yet but hope to do good in that. The website says that you need a minimum of ABB to get accepted so if I I get predicted ABB would they give me an interview straight away? This about Newcastle University.

Original post by GANFYD

The PARTNERS scheme is a widening access scheme and you have to fulfill the requirements and then apply - if you meet them, you will be accepted
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/schools/partners/

If you meet other WA or contextual requirements then GCSE grades, UCAT cut off and A level grades may be reduced without being on a specific scheme.

Reply 905

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by Anonymous_000

What is WA? Btw I meet the eligibility criteria, but I’m not sure how it works. I’m most likely going to get predicted an ABB by my school, so if I apply to this, do they accept me based on the fact that I am eligible or do they have a look at anything else? I haven’t sat the UCAT yet but hope to do good in that. The website says that you need a minimum of ABB to get accepted so if I I get predicted ABB would they give me an interview straight away? This about Newcastle University.

WA is widening access, similar to the criteria for Partners, all med schools have them

You apply for Partners and I have never known anybody who meets the requirement be declined. It gives you a lower offer and usually has a lower UCAT cut off (though this is not guaranteed). Oddly, though, the interview score needed for an offer has not infrequently been higher than that for a non-Partners applicant!

Reply 906

Anonymous_000

9

I mean the scoring ect is ok but my main concern is receiving the interview in the first place. So if I have ABB requirements for a level and a band1/band2 UKCAT, would I defiantly receive an interview? Can you tell me Moreno about the WA scheme as I haven’t heard of that for Newcastle University. Iv heard of RO but that’s not about it.

Original post by GANFYD

WA is widening access, similar to the criteria for Partners, all med schools have them

You apply for Partners and I have never known anybody who meets the requirement be declined. It gives you a lower offer and usually has a lower UCAT cut off (though this is not guaranteed). Oddly, though, the interview score needed for an offer has not infrequently been higher than that for a non-Partners applicant!

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 907

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by Anonymous_000

I mean the scoring ect is ok but my main concern is receiving the interview in the first place. So if I have ABB requirements for a level and a band1/band2 UKCAT, would I defiantly receive an interview? Can you tell me Moreno about the WA scheme as I haven’t heard of that for Newcastle University.

No, there will be a UCAT cut off for PARTNERS applicants, which has tended to hover around the 650 mark. They do not look at SJT.
PARTNERS is Newcastle's widening access scheme, though they also use contextual data for people who do not meet PARTNERS criteria, or who are on Realising Opportunites (a Nationwide WA scheme). Other unis have schemes with other names or just ask you to inform them if you have WA criteria

Reply 908

Anonymous_000

9

I am eligible for the partners scheme. So does that mean I will receive an interview if I have a good UCAT score with a prediction of ABB? And also, if I send my application of for ucas and partners, will Newcastle look whether Iv applied for partners as the requirement is AAA but il have ABB with the partners scheme?

Original post by GANFYD

No, there will be a UCAT cut off for PARTNERS applicants, which has tended to hover around the 650 mark. They do not look at SJT.
PARTNERS is Newcastle's widening access scheme, though they also use contextual data for people who do not meet PARTNERS criteria, or who are on Realising Opportunites (a Nationwide WA scheme). Other unis have schemes with other names or just ask you to inform them if you have WA criteria

Reply 909

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by Anonymous_000

I am eligible for the partners scheme. So does that mean I will receive an interview if I have a good UCAT score with a prediction of ABB? And also, if I send my application of for ucas and partners, will Newcastle look whether Iv applied for partners as the requirement is AAA but il have ABB with the partners scheme?

This is on their website?
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/schools/partners/apply/
Yes, Partners need ABB predicted and to be above whatever the UCAT cut off is for interview

Reply 910

Bobbyfloater

6

I was looking at the 2019 entry for Leeds after they dropped scoring the PS. It has in many ways made it more unpredictable.
The cut off for an interview for standard applicants was 37/40 on their scoring system. Which meant that anyone with less than 32/35 on academics had no chance regardless of BMAT result (worth 1-5). A very large number of people applied with a lot less than this, and it really is a waste of time unless they change it again.
32 is AAA at A level plus 6xA* and 3xA at GCSE (A* is grade 8/9). If you don’t get a top BMAT you need more than this. This year it thus was possible to not get an interview with 9xA*, and some didn’t......
Doing the BMAT in Aug/Sept would seem good advice for those applying to Leeds if possible. You can be pretty sure you have got 3/5 if you score something like 4.5. Over 5.0 is probably max points.

Reply 911

TCL

18

Does anybody know how Edinburgh is calculating the academic bit of the score this year?

They have said that offers will be based on a score calculated by:
Academic 25%
UCAT (by decile) 17.5%
SJT (by band) 7.5%
Interview 50%

but they have not published how they will calculate the academic score, so it is not clear what will make a strong application.

Reply 912

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by TCL

Does anybody know how Edinburgh is calculating the academic bit of the score this year?

They have said that offers will be based on a score calculated by:
Academic 25%
UCAT (by decile) 17.5%
SJT (by band) 7.5%
Interview 50%

but they have not published how they will calculate the academic score, so it is not clear what will make a strong application.

If they follow the pattern of previous years, the Selectors Handbook will come out in August.
I would guess it will be the same way they have scored it for the last multiple years, as before interview, Academics were worth 50% (now 25%), SJT 15% (now 7.5%) and UKCAT + PS 35% (UCAT now 17.5%), so comparatively the UCAT is going to be a bigger factor but to make the maths easy, they have weighted the interview at 50%, removed PS and added its previous percentage to UCAT then halved them all.
I hasten to add this is guesswork, but Admissions Depts tend to like to stick to methods they are used to as it saves reinventing the wheel!

Reply 913

coolwizard203

8

Original post by GANFYD

You need to work out your score for Nottingham, as they use SJT in scoring. Typical scores for interview have been around 44-45
Kings should be fine as your GCSE A*s and UCAT are both good though they have previously said they will "look closely" at Band 3 SJT, though not specified what this means
Bristol had a cut off of around 690 this year, but it was the first year of them using UCAT to shortlist so hard to say whether it would go up or down, may be borderline, check UCAT interim scores to see where you sit in comparison to last year.

Otherwise you have many choices - Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle (although their cut off has also exceeded 692.5 in previous years), Liverpool, Sheffield, UEA, Leicester, Brmingham, ARU, Aston, Cardiff (depending on what your B was in), Lincoln, SGUL, Plymouth, St Andrews and QUB so depends a bit what you fancy.

Sheffield, UEA, St Andrews do use SJT as a virtual interview station so you would lose points here.
Aberdeen say they may use SJT to distinguish between similar candidates when making an offer, so do QUB.
Birmingham use it post offer if you are within 5% of the cut off
Kings say they will "look closely" at Band 3 but do not say what this means, they state "The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is also taken into account when shortlisting"

Kings have said that those who achieve a Band 1 and 2 will have a higher weighting than those who have a Band 3 so do you think it would be a bit too risky to apply there?

Reply 914

coolwizard203

8

Original post by Laycity

You look ok for Kings and slightly risky for Bristol as last years cut off was similar to your score. You need to split out your ucat by sections to advise on Notts. What's your B in at GCSE?

the B was in English Literature, I've been told that universities don't really care about that. As for my points for Notts, it's coming to a total of 48 so that should be fine

Reply 915

TCL

18

Original post by Polkadot2018

I don’t think they are expecting to get significant increase in numbers as Newcastle is the only university who accepting completely non science subjects. So for late deciders with art subjects etc, this is the only place they could apply for medicine and their personal statement would have to reflect this so makes it difficult for their remaining 4 choices.

Except that Newcastle do not read the PS. People applying to gateway to medicine for people with non-science A levels could apply to Newcastle.

Reply 916

Polkadot2018

10

Any advice please regarding how important it is to get SJT 1 on the UCAT? If I get less than this, will it out me at much of a disadvantage, even if I get an ok score otherwise? Some universities I know score SJT as an MMI station, such as Sheffield. Which others do?

Reply 917

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by Polkadot2018

Any advice please regarding how important it is to get SJT 1 on the UCAT? If I get less than this, will it out me at much of a disadvantage, even if I get an ok score otherwise? Some universities I know score SJT as an MMI station, such as Sheffield. Which others do?

Liverpool exclude Band 4 (unless you are International). As do ARU, Leicester, Keele, Manchester, Nottingham and HYMS
 Nottingham and HYMS use it as part of their selection process.
Aberdeen say they may use SJT to distinguish between similar candidates when making an offer, so do QUB.
Birmingham use it as a virtual MMI station
UEA say "The SJT component score is included within the interview score"
Edinburgh use it fairly heavily (7.5% of score)
Kings say they will "look closely" at Band 3 but do not say what this means, they state "The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is also taken into account when shortlisting"
St Andrews state "The SJT will be used as an element in the interview process, with the score being incorporated into the interview score."
Sheffield use it as a virtual MMI station.
Dundee state "We do not use the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) to select for interview; however, Band 4 may affect the decision on whether or not to make an offer."
Barts say: “Once candidates have reached the interview stage, the scores achieved at interview were primarily used to influence potential offers being made. This year, interview scores were combined with candidates SJT (Situational Judgement component of the UKCAT) scores and ranked based on the combined score. The other 4 components of the UKCAT, and candidates Tariff scores were no longer used for consideration at this stage.
Interviews are scored independently by 2 trained panel members out of a total of 50 points. Successful School Leaver candidates were offered places when their combined interview and SJT score was in excess of 39 points. Graduate candidates were offered places when their combined interview and SJT score was in excess of 39 points.
Of the candidates who were offered places based on their combined scores, the lowest successful interview score (excluding the SJT) for School Leaver candidates was 37, and 38 for Graduate candidates.”
Glasgow, Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth and St. Georges don't consider SJT, nor does Newcastle, and I think Cardiff and Exeter.

Reply 918

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by Polkadot2018

I don’t think they are expecting to get significant increase in numbers as Newcastle is the only university who accepting completely non science subjects. So for late deciders with art subjects etc, this is the only place they could apply for medicine and their personal statement would have to reflect this so makes it difficult for their remaining 4 choices.

Original post by TCL

Except that Newcastle do not read the PS. People applying to gateway to medicine for people with non-science A levels could apply to Newcastle.

Newcastle's new criteria may well appeal to post school-leaver applicants who have non-science A levels at AAA but have now decided they wish to study medicine. Their options up until now have been a Gateway Course, Access to Medicine Course or re-do A levels in chem +/- Biology. These type of applicants will not be looking to apply to non-medicine subjects, so they can now add Newcastle to their list which is an easier and less competitive route and does not rely on new A levels. I suspect these are the type of applicants Newcastle are hoping to attract, rather than those who did non-science A levels and decided in Yr 12 or 13 that they wanted to do medicine instead, but would still apply for non-medicine places

Reply 919

GANFYD

OP

18

Original post by coolwizard203

Kings have said that those who achieve a Band 1 and 2 will have a higher weighting than those who have a Band 3 so do you think it would be a bit too risky to apply there?