University of Birmingham A101 2021 Entry

for graduate entry, would a midwifery degree be considered as this could be considered a life science? or is my best bet to email? thanks

Hi, I’m applying for grad med 2021 entry and I’m interested in applying somewhere near my home (so Warwick or Birmingham). I just wondered if anyone else was a little confused by the Birmingham entry requirements or they could clear it up for?

I’m in the final year of my degree and am predicted a first. However, Birmingham seem to prefer you to have finished your degree since they give you more points for a completed degree and post grad experience.

This means I can only get around 8 marks for the interview selection part (with my ucat score 2.667 points a levels 4 and degree 2points) as I can’t earn any from post grad experience and a max of 2 points since I haven’t graduated, but it seems the threshold for grad med is 15 marks/20 (for last years entry I think)

Has anyone else applied to Birmingham I wondered in the same position as me? Thank you 😃

I think it might be very risky with those pre-interview scores as like you said, they do prefer achieved grades. The missing 6 points (from being predicted as opposed to an achieved first class) really hurts your chances I believe. Unfortunately, this also means a person who obtained a 2.1 will score 2 points higher than you even if you are on track to getting a first. Aside from UCAT, A-levels, degree and full-time employment, I don't know if they will consider other factors before invitations to interviews.

I am also looking to apply here but I am still debating despite having 15.5 points at the moment. My main worry is if this year's UCAT cohort scores really high, I will earn less than 15.5 due to decile changes. Also, I am sitting very close to the threshold for last year which isn't guaranteed to be 15.11 again for this year. With last year being their first to use this score for A101, it makes it extremely difficult to predict for this year. However, I am grateful at how transparent Birmingham is with their criteria so it sets a realistic expectation without "wasting" a precious UCAS slot. It really helps not having to do too much guesswork.

Are there other unis which you can apply to which better suits your stats? Warwick should be great if you meet their strict requirements on work experience (I am unable to meet them this year). Overall, I think Birmingham heavily favours students who have already graduated and even more if they worked for a few years. This choice would be much safer if you are applying for 2022 entry instead of 2021 so you can sweep those extra points (assuming they don't change their selection methods); but of course, I do hope you get to study for 2021 entry!

Good luck!!

Thanks for your reply! It would be interesting to know if any final year students had been accepted onto the course otherwise it seems pretty pointless offering the course to them in the first place!

I was interested in Warwick but unfortunately I only got 540 in verbal reasoning and I think that will be under the average. Which is a shame since Warwick is my favourite !

i would be interested in Sheffield and Southampton but I don’t think I would be able to afford living away from home since there’s no real loan.

good luck to you too 😊

I would imagine it would be fine for final year students provided they have done full-time work for at least a year prior to starting the degree such as a gap year or two as they can pick up points from there. However, I'm not sure since I haven't found data on that.

Have you thought about Sheffield's and Southampton's A101? Provided you meet their widening participation criteria for the former, you could also apply there as the UCAT cutoff seems to be around 2560 last year. Also you would need to check if your degree is accepted as they want life science degrees with enough physiology and anatomy (I am currently awaiting their reply on my degree). I haven't properly researched Southampton's A101 but it looked like the lowest invited (and got accepted) had a UCAT of 2660 last year (but you might need higher since that student was from Southampton, which is given extra considerations). For me, I still think Southampton's UCAT seems a bit high (average 2888 last year) so it hasn't been on my radar.

Or did you mean even the GEM courses would be difficult financially for you? I believe they give both tuition and maintenance loans. I am also like you based around those locations but I do have the luxury of also applying for London A100s as I may be able to secure a place to stay during studying years. For that reason, I am thinking of 3 London A100s and 1 GEM (but may change depending if Sheffield approves my degree - but it might not be likely).

I think it might be very risky with those pre-interview scores as like you said, they do prefer achieved grades. The missing 6 points (from being predicted as opposed to an achieved first class) really hurts your chances I believe. Unfortunately, this also means a person who obtained a 2.1 will score 2 points higher than you even if you are on track to getting a first. Aside from UCAT, A-levels, degree and full-time employment, I don't know if they will consider other factors before invitations to interviews.

I am also looking to apply here but I am still debating despite having 15.5 points at the moment. My main worry is if this year's UCAT cohort scores really high, I will earn less than 15.5 due to decile changes. Also, I am sitting very close to the threshold for last year which isn't guaranteed to be 15.11 again for this year. With last year being their first to use this score for A101, it makes it extremely difficult to predict for this year. However, I am grateful at how transparent Birmingham is with their criteria so it sets a realistic expectation without "wasting" a precious UCAS slot. It really helps not having to do too much guesswork.

Are there other unis which you can apply to which better suits your stats? Warwick should be great if you meet their strict requirements on work experience (I am unable to meet them this year). Overall, I think Birmingham heavily favours students who have already graduated and even more if they worked for a few years. This choice would be much safer if you are applying for 2022 entry instead of 2021 so you can sweep those extra points (assuming they don't change their selection methods); but of course, I do hope you get to study for 2021 entry!

Good luck!!

Completely agree that Birmingham's transparency is greatly greatly appreciated.

Where else are you applying?

I will most likely be applying for Barts, SGUL and KCL (all A100).

How about yourself?

This is a probably a dumb question. But if I've achieved a 1st, Been working for 3 years, and have 3+ As at A level, does that pretty much guarantee me an interview at birmingham? I've yet to sit my UCAT (don't even get me started), and so I'm worrying about having to make last minute choices.

Thats 16 total, and the cut off last year was 15.11. Is it that straight forward? Am i missing something?

Obviously the cohort could be way better this year, and nothings guaranteed, but I've yet to add my UCAT, so I have at least 16 points min.

Really hard to judge how they'll choose/act as theyve only done this format once. I've got poor A Levels but went to a contextual school so get a point at least. ive got decent PG exp as i worked, then studied again as a PA then worked as a PA for 18 months, and i have a first class, and my UCAT is above average but nothing outstanding. i make my score 16. something.
fingers crossed. wonder when we would start to hear

Hi, I want to apply for Birmingham but am not sure if it's worth it. I read somewhere I would need an A in GCSE English or something. I did my GCSEs 10 years ago and got a B in English. This is from a school that was so bad that doesn't exist anymore. Since then, I've managed to achieve good A-levels (AAB) and a degree in pharmacy (2.1) and a good UCAT score (2780). Even though it was 10 years ago, would it still be a waste to apply for Birmingham because of a B in English?

Any ideas when we're going to hear about interviews?

Last year people started to hear around 25th November.
UCAT results are sent early November so certainly not til after then