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Cardiff University A100 2022 Entry

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Reply 60
Original post by Zahra_300
Hi, does anyone have any idea about how places are there for international students for this course?

I am not 100 % sure off the top of my head I think it is 30-40 but I would encourage to email [email protected]
Reply 61
In essence please do take the information on here with a pinch of salt unless it has come from people from Cardiff uni such as myself I am a 4th year medical student and would hate to think that inaccurate messages on here put you off from applying! Cardiff is a fantastic course if I don't say so myself please do go to the upcoming open day as well!
Reply 62
Can I ask what if means by ‘evidence of personal responsibility’ on the PS guidance
Can you give me some examples please!
Thanks!
Reply 63
Original post by ENR123
Hi everyone I'm sorry for my absence I've been settling into 4th year on placement but I am back! I would like to clarify some inaccurate information which has been shared:
= firstly please note previous years scores have ZERO impact on the score for the next cycle. There is no way of telling what this cycles score will be until the medical school have received and scored all of the applications


Really? You are saying they have ZERO impact on the score likely to be needed this year? What are you basing that on?
And why do many other med schools openly publish their past cut offs for everyone to see, stating they can be a guide to scores needed?
I wouldn't disagree that nobody knows for sure what cut off will be needed anywhere, but it is hugely misleading and total misinformation to say that past requirements are likely to have no predictive value for future performance.

= yes there has been instances where students with full 27 points have been rejected in competitive situations however this does not mean if you don't have 27 points you should not apply


So you think it is fine to apply with 18 points? Or 21? What do you think might be a competitive number this year?
Cardiff have rejected many non-contextual applicants with full academic score in recent years, but you are reassuring them it is safe to apply?
Would you advice somebody with a 2300 UCAT to apply to Bristol or Newcastle? Or with 3 A*s, 2 As and 4 Bs to apply to Oxford?

= UCAT is not weighed heavily and usually used in tiebreaker situations


Yet in recent years, everybody non-contextual shortlisted has needed a "tiebreaker", so I would say that makes the UCAT pretty heavily weighted, as it is the thing the decision regarding an interview will be based on?
You are right, score less than 27 and it is highly unlikely that UCAT will be remotely relevant, as they are very likely to be rejected before even getting to tiebreaker stage.

although this forum is a good platform to discuss I would always encourage you to get official responses from the medical school too they have a fantastic admissions team happy to help


This is almost the funniest bit of all. Cardiff decline to give out any specific information and even illegally refuse to answer FOIs

In essence please do take the information on here with a pinch of salt unless it has come from people from Cardiff uni such as myself I am a 4th year medical student and would hate to think that inaccurate messages on here put you off from applying! Cardiff is a fantastic course if I don't say so myself please do go to the upcoming open day as well!


Please state what inaccurate information has been posted?

You have certainly agreed with all the factual elements I personally have stated
1) Cardiff has needed full academic points for a non-contextual applicant to be shortlisted in recent years
2) PS and then UCAT are used as a tiebreaker


There were almost twice as many A* equivalent GCSEs awarded in 2020 compared to 2019. On what planet do you think that is going to lead to lower admissions scores for places that use GCSEs to shortlist??

There are still going to be plenty of applicants to Cardiff if the available facts about their admission process are publicly posted. All that is going to be reduced is the number of people who are wasting one of their 4 valuable choices

Every year, somebody from Cardiff comes on the thread and tells prospective applicants that they should ignore the doomsayers who say full marks are likely to be needed even to be considered (unless contextual) and they should not be put off applying. And every year, you all disappear when the multiple disappointed applicants who listened to you, and applied, come on and say how mislead they feel as they are rejected with a score of 26/27.

It is really useful to have somebody who is in the know about Cardiff admissions on here. Perhaps you could tell everyone what GCSE score was needed for a standard applicant, and more importantly, what UCAT score was needed to get through the tiebreak situation for the last couple of admission cycles? This would be useful information and if Cardiff are so helpful and open, perhaps you could get it for people and post it as an official source? Or if you know Cardiff have changed their shortlisting process, or plan to interview more people to lower cut off, let the threads know, as this could lower cut offs.

It is great that you enjoy, promote and are proud of your med school. That reflects well on Cardiff. But you do nobody any favours encouraging people with little to no chance of an interview to apply and waste a valuable slot on their UCAS form, when they have safer options.

I would encourage people who are unsure to read the last couple of years' Cardiff threads on TSR, where you will see the same discussion, with Cardiff students accusing me of trying to put people off and even stating that it would be ridiculous if it got to the stage that full marks were needed, as then it is just a minimum requirement, so if this ever happened, Cardiff would have to look at their shortlisting process. Yet here we are, with people rejected with full academic score and the same process is still being used and students at Cardiff are still saying we are being "inaccurate" for putting these facts out there so people are aware
Reply 64
Original post by hallam1
Can I ask what if means by ‘evidence of personal responsibility’ on the PS guidance
Can you give me some examples please!
Thanks!

Hi there! I would say this would be an opportunity to talk about any leadership roles or positions in which you had a. Responsibility for e.g could be prefect, coaching, part of a team!
Reply 65
Original post by GANFYD
Please state what inaccurate information has been posted?

You have certainly agreed with all the factual elements I personally have stated
1) Cardiff has needed full academic points for a non-contextual applicant to be shortlisted in recent years
2) PS and then UCAT are used as a tiebreaker


There were almost twice as many A* equivalent GCSEs awarded in 2020 compared to 2019. On what planet do you think that is going to lead to lower admissions scores for places that use GCSEs to shortlist??

There are still going to be plenty of applicants to Cardiff if the available facts about their admission process are publicly posted. All that is going to be reduced is the number of people who are wasting one of their 4 valuable choices

Every year, somebody from Cardiff comes on the thread and tells prospective applicants that they should ignore the doomsayers who say full marks are likely to be needed even to be considered (unless contextual) and they should not be put off applying. And every year, you all disappear when the multiple disappointed applicants who listened to you, and applied, come on and say how mislead they feel as they are rejected with a score of 26/27.

It is really useful to have somebody who is in the know about Cardiff admissions on here. Perhaps you could tell everyone what GCSE score was needed for a standard applicant, and more importantly, what UCAT score was needed to get through the tiebreak situation for the last couple of admission cycles? This would be useful information and if Cardiff are so helpful and open, perhaps you could get it for people and post it as an official source? Or if you know Cardiff have changed their shortlisting process, or plan to interview more people to lower cut off, let the threads know, as this could lower cut offs.

It is great that you enjoy, promote and are proud of your med school. That reflects well on Cardiff. But you do nobody any favours encouraging people with little to no chance of an interview to apply and waste a valuable slot on their UCAS form, when they have safer options.

I would encourage people who are unsure to read the last couple of years' Cardiff threads on TSR, where you will see the same discussion, with Cardiff students accusing me of trying to put people off and even stating that it would be ridiculous if it got to the stage that full marks were needed, as then it is just a minimum requirement, so if this ever happened, Cardiff would have to look at their shortlisting process. Yet here we are, with people rejected with full academic score and the same process is still being used and students at Cardiff are still saying we are being "inaccurate" for putting these facts out there so people are aware

I'm sorry that you feel so strongly that you return every year to not apply,, may I ask have you personally experienced the admissions process at Cardiff? I acknowledge that there have been experiences of rejections with high scores but as a medical student I know of students I am studying with to this day who did not have 27!

Like you say "it is useful to have somebody who is in the know about Cardiff admissions here" unfortunately it is misleading to other applicants that they think you have this experience with the medical school. For transparency, I think it would be useful to hear your position.

I understand that some of the information can be vague and yes there may have been some adjustments with this but the medical school do fantastic work for widening participation and to anyone who is in doubt please don't hesitate to message me I would love to chat through your options
Reply 66
Original post by ENR123
I'm sorry that you feel so strongly that you return every year to not apply,, may I ask have you personally experienced the admissions process at Cardiff? I acknowledge that there have been experiences of rejections with high scores but as a medical student I know of students I am studying with to this day who did not have 27!

Like you say "it is useful to have somebody who is in the know about Cardiff admissions here" unfortunately it is misleading to other applicants that they think you have this experience with the medical school. For transparency, I think it would be useful to hear your position.

I understand that some of the information can be vague and yes there may have been some adjustments with this but the medical school do fantastic work for widening participation and to anyone who is in doubt please don't hesitate to message me I would love to chat through your options

I have been offering advice about med school admission for coming up 8 years now.
I am a GP, Associate Lecturer and involved in med school admissions.

I personally wouldn't apply to Cardiff if you paid me, and have my medical degree, but have had personal experience with MANY people who have :smile:
I was meaning you as the person who knows about Cardiff admissions, based on your statement "please do take the information on here with a pinch of salt unless it has come from people from Cardiff uni such as myself".
I have never claimed any links to Cardiff, or any other med school.

Lots of people will be interviewed with <27, but in recent years, they will have had contextual flags. As I have said on multiple threads, most Welsh state schools are considered contextual, I believe. It is disingenuous to suggest that all applicants are likely to be considered with <27.

I just want to see accurate, up to date information shared so people can make informed choices. Cardiff senior admissions teams used to talk to me, but have decided they don't want to give info to anybody, any more. You have claimed your information is somehow more accurate than mine and others, as you are at Cardiff, so please share the information you have, so people can objectively assess it, rather than offering meaningless advice that nobody should be "put off applying".

But you haven't answered my questions?
1) What inaccurate information has been posted?
2) You are saying past cut offs have ZERO impact on the score likely to be needed this year? What are you basing that on?
3) So you think it is fine to apply with 18 points? Or 21? What do you think might be a competitive number this year?
4) There were almost twice as many A* equivalent GCSEs awarded in 2020 compared to 2019. On what planet do you think that is going to lead to lower admissions scores for places that use GCSEs to shortlist??
5) Is the information given "vague" or do you stand by "I would always encourage you to get official responses from the medical school too they have a fantastic admissions team happy to help".

As I say, it is great that you are enjoying Cardiff med school and want others to be able to experience what they offer, but encouraging people to waste a choice at a place they have no chance of being shortlisted is not in their best interests. If you have insider Cardiff info, share it for everybody to evaluate.
If I have said something factually incorrect, please point me to the relevant info, as I am happy to learn, and want to be able to offer people the best advice to increase their chances of a place at med school.
Reply 67
Original post by GANFYD
I have been offering advice about med school admission for coming up 8 years now.
I am a GP, Associate Lecturer and involved in med school admissions.

I personally wouldn't apply to Cardiff if you paid me, and have my medical degree, but have had personal experience with MANY people who have :smile:
I was meaning you as the person who knows about Cardiff admissions, based on your statement "please do take the information on here with a pinch of salt unless it has come from people from Cardiff uni such as myself".
I have never claimed any links to Cardiff, or any other med school.

Lots of people will be interviewed with <27, but in recent years, they will have had contextual flags. As I have said on multiple threads, most Welsh state schools are considered contextual, I believe. It is disingenuous to suggest that all applicants are likely to be considered with <27.

I just want to see accurate, up to date information shared so people can make informed choices. Cardiff senior admissions teams used to talk to me, but have decided they don't want to give info to anybody, any more. You have claimed your information is somehow more accurate than mine and others, as you are at Cardiff, so please share the information you have, so people can objectively assess it, rather than offering meaningless advice that nobody should be "put off applying".

But you haven't answered my questions?
1) What inaccurate information has been posted?
2) You are saying past cut offs have ZERO impact on the score likely to be needed this year? What are you basing that on?
3) So you think it is fine to apply with 18 points? Or 21? What do you think might be a competitive number this year?
4) There were almost twice as many A* equivalent GCSEs awarded in 2020 compared to 2019. On what planet do you think that is going to lead to lower admissions scores for places that use GCSEs to shortlist??
5) Is the information given "vague" or do you stand by "I would always encourage you to get official responses from the medical school too they have a fantastic admissions team happy to help".

As I say, it is great that you are enjoying Cardiff med school and want others to be able to experience what they offer, but encouraging people to waste a choice at a place they have no chance of being shortlisted is not in their best interests. If you have insider Cardiff info, share it for everybody to evaluate.
If I have said something factually incorrect, please point me to the relevant info, as I am happy to learn, and want to be able to offer people the best advice to increase their chances of a place at med school.


Hi GANFYD,
Thank you for your transparency and it is admirable to see that you've put aside time in your busy schedule as a gp and lecturing to support students applying for medicine in the past few years!

I understand you have frustrations about the process but i am glad to hear the transparency that you yourself have not actually been through the process yourself with Cardiff/been part of their team to give out accredited admission advice.

I do have a relationship with the admissions team, but any information that is shared with me is held in confidentiality plus I do not have the authority to do so as I'm sure as a healthcare professional you would understand the importance of professionalism.

I do not have any further information with regards to how the process will be accommodated with the higher number of GCSE grades and any pertinent information will be shared publicly at Cardiff's discretion.

I will not be engaging in any further conversation on this matter with yourself as my statement stands, to all applicants applying please do email [email protected] if you have any queries you are unsure of. They are a fantastic team who want to encourage to apply. I'm in my 4th year of the C21 course and loved it I'm so glad I put it as my firm choice. Feel free to post questions about life at Cardiff and I'd be happy to help as well!
Reply 68
Original post by ENR123
Hi GANFYD,
Thank you for your transparency and it is admirable to see that you've put aside time in your busy schedule as a gp and lecturing to support students applying for medicine in the past few years!

I understand you have frustrations about the process but i am glad to hear the transparency that you yourself have not actually been through the process yourself with Cardiff/been part of their team to give out accredited admission advice.

I do have a relationship with the admissions team, but any information that is shared with me is held in confidentiality plus I do not have the authority to do so as I'm sure as a healthcare professional you would understand the importance of professionalism.

I do not have any further information with regards to how the process will be accommodated with the higher number of GCSE grades and any pertinent information will be shared publicly at Cardiff's discretion.

I will not be engaging in any further conversation on this matter with yourself as my statement stands, to all applicants applying please do email [email protected] if you have any queries you are unsure of. They are a fantastic team who want to encourage to apply. I'm in my 4th year of the C21 course and loved it I'm so glad I put it as my firm choice. Feel free to post questions about life at Cardiff and I'd be happy to help as well!

As I say, I have had lots of interaction with Cardiff Admissions, over the years, and supported numerous applicant when applying. Even knowing the right questions to ask does not elicit any information these days, sadly!

So I will summarise your points for people reading this, as you have a direct relationship with the Admissions Team, as they may consider your information carries more weight, given your knowledge of Cardiff Admissions

1) Cardiff has rejected people with full academic score in recent years
2) UCAT is used as a tiebreaker
3) PS will be reviewed and needs to meet Cardiff's criteria to pass
4) Contextual applicants may need a lower score
(seems we are in agreement up to this point!)
5) People should ignore that full marks have been needed in previous years and apply anyway, as it has ZERO impact on likely scores needed for this year, and Cardiff is a great place to study
(here, we strongly disagree, as I believe that the almost 100% increase in the number of A* equivalents issued for the CAGs most people applying this year have sat means there will be a lot more people with full marks, so do not see how scores can come down)

And to anyone still reading, Cardiff will strongly encourage you to apply, if you contact them, despite being pretty sure that many people who ask will not make theur cut off (based on the multiple people I know who have been in just this situation in previous years). Lots of info in the past couple of years' threads, if people wish to see it for themselves :smile:
if you score the full 27 marks ( for me its GCSE + A levels) do they ever look at these grades again?
Is there no point applying as I score 24/27 for gcses?
Reply 71
Original post by gracehibbert_x
Is there no point applying as I score 24/27 for gcses?


No 24 is a good score i would still consider!
Reply 72
Original post by gracehibbert_x
Is there no point applying as I score 24/27 for gcses?

Last year (2021 entry) some scoring 27/27 were rejected - the only applicants who may have been considered with slightly less were WP and welsh applicants; but even those within a point or so.
Last year circa 4000 applied and just over 1000 shortlisted. Think 500 offers were made.
Given this years cohort will have inflated GCSE grades from teacher assessed grades i think even more with full GCSE points will apply.
I think it’s a risky choice and you may have better options for being shortlisted.
Reply 73
I need some help, I've flopped my UCAT with 544 band 3 I'm applying to BMAT universities now, if not will reapply with UCAT next year.

I am looking to apply to Cardiff, as they seem to place less emphasis on UCAT, but don't know if they will consider me with such a low score. I score 27/27 for my GCSEs.

Do you think its worth the risk? (as backup too if i dont do well in BMAT)
(edited 2 years ago)
Reply 74
Original post by eor29
I need some help, I've flopped my UCAT with 544 band 3 I'm applying to BMAT universities now, if not will reapply with UCAT next year.

I am looking to apply to Cardiff, as they seem to place less emphasis on UCAT, but don't know if they will consider me with such a low score. I score 27/27 for my GCSEs.

Do you think its worth the risk? (as backup too if i dont do well in BMAT)

Cardiff are likely to use UCAT this year to shortlist, given number of applicants with inflated GCSEs - and hence full marks - due to teacher assessed grades.
If you’re welsh and WP it might help. However, realistically they’ll probably cut 75% as per last year.
You could try - with full GCSEs and a PS that ticks all the boxes it might get through but I’d be prepared for it to be risky/aspirational.
You might also want to post on megathread ‘which medical school should I apply to’, if you’ve not already, as they’re pretty good with tactical application advice.
Reply 75
Original post by eor29
I need some help, I've flopped my UCAT with 544 band 3 I'm applying to BMAT universities now, if not will reapply with UCAT next year.

I am looking to apply to Cardiff, as they seem to place less emphasis on UCAT, but don't know if they will consider me with such a low score. I score 27/27 for my GCSEs.

Do you think its worth the risk? (as backup too if i dont do well in BMAT)


QUB is probably the best place for you, so check their selection process 😊
Reply 76
Original post by gracehibbert_x
Is there no point applying as I score 24/27 for gcses?

Would be very risky with grade inflation (many people with 26/27, 27/27 have been rejected in the past, and you can check previous Cardiff A100 threads for that if in doubt)
(edited 2 years ago)
Reply 77
Hi - i have read a few comments about tailoring my Personal Statement for Cardiff (suggesting perhaps their reqs are a little different to other schools?)
Can someone point me to the guidance for Cardiff - if it exists, and any feedback from current students?
Many Thanks
Surfio
Reply 78
i have found this:
The personal statement should include insight into a career in medicine, evidence of experience and reflection in a caring environment, evidence and reflection of personal responsibility, evidence of a balanced approach to life, and evidence of self-directed learning.
I have: 9999998887 (27/27) and then A*A*A (8/9)
For UCAT I have 2730 band 3
That should give me a good chance of an interview and competitive application right? (I've made sure to put what they like to see in my PS too).
Also I got an A* in EPQ, will that count towards anything (bear in mind I've already applied to Cardiff I just need the reassurement :redface:)
(edited 2 years ago)

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