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Graduate Entry Medicine: 2016 Entry

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Original post by B1525
I emailed head of admissions at barts and she that its a points based system, you get more for MSc PhD etc


Did they mention what weighting each degree gives? Or what UKCAT scores will be needed to offset this?

It's difficult to decide if to apply to Barts now when I only have a 2:1 and have no idea what UKCAT score will be required..
Original post by sampowell92
Did they mention what weighting each degree gives? Or what UKCAT scores will be needed to offset this?

It's difficult to decide if to apply to Barts now when I only have a 2:1 and have no idea what UKCAT score will be required..


I agree it makes it really hard to know.

I have a 2.1 in Physiology and I am sitting my ukcat in a week. If people with masters/PHDs get more weighting on their academics then I feel you'll need a much higher ukcat to balance out! But not knowing how high is hard.


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My mate has a degree in Biomedical Engineering and now wants to do Medicine. Does anyone know if her degree will be eligible at unis that want a Life Science degree for graduate entry?
Cheers!
Original post by ladybird198
My mate has a degree in Biomedical Engineering and now wants to do Medicine. Does anyone know if her degree will be eligible at unis that want a Life Science degree for graduate entry?
Cheers!


I wouldn't have thought so unless she had a lot of bio modules in her degree. Best to email the relevant unis to check though
Original post by HCAssistant93
I agree it makes it really hard to know.

I have a 2.1 in Physiology and I am sitting my ukcat in a week. If people with masters/PHDs get more weighting on their academics then I feel you'll need a much higher ukcat to balance out! But not knowing how high is hard.


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Yeah exactly.It's thrown a spanner in the works cause I was pretty sure I was going to apply to Barts. I got 772 in the UKCAT which I imagine would be high enough with a 2:1 but it's still risky with no info as to how the system is scored!

Good luck with your UKCAT, how are you feeling about it?
Original post by sampowell92
Yeah exactly.It's thrown a spanner in the works cause I was pretty sure I was going to apply to Barts. I got 772 in the UKCAT which I imagine would be high enough with a 2:1 but it's still risky with no info as to how the system is scored!

Good luck with your UKCAT, how are you feeling about it?


Tbf that is a really high ukcat well done! I'd be ok with that for barts but without knowing their scoring system it is hard. With 772 I'd be confident anywhere I apply!

Thanks. I feel ok not great. I'm very inconsistent in practices and keep making horribly silly mistakes in QR. My AR and DA are good so I'm hoping they'll push my mark up but with the new DA algorithm it seems harder to get such a high score!

What did you use to prepare? Which sources did you feel were most representative of each section? and what were your subtest scores if you don't mind me asking?


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Original post by HCAssistant93
Tbf that is a really high ukcat well done! I'd be ok with that for barts but without knowing their scoring system it is hard. With 772 I'd be confident anywhere I apply!

Thanks. I feel ok not great. I'm very inconsistent in practices and keep making horribly silly mistakes in QR. My AR and DA are good so I'm hoping they'll push my mark up but with the new DA algorithm it seems harder to get such a high score!

What did you use to prepare? Which sources did you feel were most representative of each section? and what were your subtest scores if you don't mind me asking?


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Bear in mind we don't actually know if there is a new DA algorithm, it's just speculation due to the fact that people seem to be getting lower scores in it this year than last year. You might be the one to disprove this theory!

I used Medify, the Kaplan book and the official mocks to prepare. They're all pretty representative imo. The VR in Medify is perhaps a bit difficult and the Kaplan DA a bit easy, but they're pretty good.

My subtest scores were: VR 700, QR 810, AR 890, DA 690.
Original post by sampowell92
Bear in mind we don't actually know if there is a new DA algorithm, it's just speculation due to the fact that people seem to be getting lower scores in it this year than last year. You might be the one to disprove this theory!



I used Medify, the Kaplan book and the official mocks to prepare. They're all pretty representative imo. The VR in Medify is perhaps a bit difficult and the Kaplan DA a bit easy, but they're pretty good.

My subtest scores were: VR 700, QR 810, AR 890, DA 690.



Do you mind me asking what kind of scores you were getting in mocks? How many questions did you end up leaving? (If any)
Original post by sampowell92
Bear in mind we don't actually know if there is a new DA algorithm, it's just speculation due to the fact that people seem to be getting lower scores in it this year than last year. You might be the one to disprove this theory!

I used Medify, the Kaplan book and the official mocks to prepare. They're all pretty representative imo. The VR in Medify is perhaps a bit difficult and the Kaplan DA a bit easy, but they're pretty good.

My subtest scores were: VR 700, QR 810, AR 890, DA 690.


Hopefully! In getting 750+ for DA consistently. How did you practice for the QR to get such a good score, cos I find the calculator on Kaplan doesnt work well and puts in two numbers for every 1 I type! How quick were you to decide if you should flag and move on?




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(edited 8 years ago)
Just out of curiosity, are there any grads planning on commuting to their medical school should they get a place? How far are people planning to commute?
Reply 1270
Original post by sampowell92
Did they mention what weighting each degree gives? Or what UKCAT scores will be needed to offset this?

It's difficult to decide if to apply to Barts now when I only have a 2:1 and have no idea what UKCAT score will be required..


She wasn't very clear. Just mentioned that you get a few points for masters and a few more for PhD. Im sure this can be offset with decent UKCAT
Original post by ForensicKetchup
Just out of curiosity, are there any grads planning on commuting to their medical school should they get a place? How far are people planning to commute?


I am (sort of). I'm planning to apply to Notts and Warwick, which are both within driving distance from my house, about 30 and 50 minutes respectively. I'm also applying to Swansea and Newcastle (or Kings, not entirely convinced yet), but I'd move for any of those.

Warwick and Notts are my first choice because it would be very nice not to have to pay a mortgage and rent, and being able to see my husband more than at the weekends would be a bonus too. Where are you planning to commute to/from?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by ForensicKetchup
Just out of curiosity, are there any grads planning on commuting to their medical school should they get a place? How far are people planning to commute?


I'm a grad and I commute to Leicester. It's about 45 mins to one hour, depending on the traffic. It's doable but hard going. It makes studying on weekdays very unappealing and it means it is harder to be social. But it means I get the creature comforts of home so it's worth it.

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Original post by Wanderlust&Tea
I am (sort of). I'm planning to apply to Notts and Warwick, which are both within driving distance from my house, about 30 and 50 minutes respectively. I'm also applying to Swansea and Newcastle (or Kings, not entirely convinced yet), but I'd move for any of those.

Warwick and Notts are my first choice because it would be very nice not to have to pay a mortgage and rent, and being able to see my husband more than at the weekends would be a bonus too. Where are you planning to commute to/from?


I'm applying to Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which are all between 45-60 minutes drive from where I live. I am only applying to three medical schools , which I know limits my chances of a place. I'm limited to the central belt because of my partner's job and being able to afford a place to live. Dundee and Edinburgh are my first choices because they're pretty much equal driving times, albeit in the opposite directions. Glasgow is slightly more difficult to get to, but not impossible.

I predict many stops at the petrol station in each of our futures....
Original post by ForestCat
I'm a grad and I commute to Leicester. It's about 45 mins to one hour, depending on the traffic. It's doable but hard going. It makes studying on weekdays very unappealing and it means it is harder to be social. But it means I get the creature comforts of home so it's worth it.

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That's roughly the commute I'm looking at, so nice to know it's doable. Do you find your timetable allows for some study while you're in uni? For example, an hour here or there to get a little bit done in the library?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by ForensicKetchup
I'm applying to Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which are all between 45-60 minutes drive from where I live. I am only applying to three medical schools , which I know limits my chances of a place. I'm limited to the central belt because of my partner's job and being able to afford a place to live. Dundee and Edinburgh are my first choices because they're pretty much equal driving times, albeit in the opposite directions. Glasgow is slightly more difficult to get to, but not impossible.

I predict many stops at the petrol station in each of our futures....

Gah, the petrol stops. If I get in, I'll have to sell my beloved car for something more fuel efficient. That sacrifice alone should be worthy of a place at medical school, really.
Original post by ForensicKetchup
That's roughly the commute I'm looking at, so nice to know it's doable. Do you find your timetable allows for some study while you're in uni?


It probably did, to a certain degree. We were in every morning and many afternoons. I tended to come home on free afternoons but was usually too tired to study. It depends on your motivation. I've seen you're studying to Scottish universities, which means five year courses, so you should have an easier timetable than I did.

Bear in mind though, the cost of petrol, parking and car wear and tear soon adds up and you can end up paying almost as much as you might do in rent. Especially when commuting long distances.

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Original post by Richardjamesford
Do you mind me asking what kind of scores you were getting in mocks? How many questions did you end up leaving? (If any)


I was only getting around 700 average (some lower) in the mocks, ended up doing way better in the real thing.

I don't think I left any questions unanswered in the test, but some were a guess and move on sort of thing..
Original post by HCAssistant93
Hopefully! In getting 750+ for DA consistently. How did you practice for the QR to get such a good score, cos I find the calculator on Kaplan doesnt work well and puts in two numbers for every 1 I type! How quick were you to decide if you should flag and move on?




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My QR was actually my worst section in practise, you'll probably do better than you think. The Kaplan calculator is crap but I think the Medify and official mock one works fine?

In terms of flagging QR, I'd read the question and quickly run through in my head what i'd have to do, and if it was obviously going to take too long i'd guess and move on. It should only take 10 seconds or so to weigh up a question like this
Original post by -inspired-
Yeah that's what I thought. If I don't get in this year though then at least I can be more organised and do both next year haha! Ah okay, Kings looks amazing, I was so annoyed that they changed their requirements to only science degrees (although at least that means less competition for you there so hopefully lower UKCAT threshold this year!) I'm hoping for Southampton but I'm slightly worried that they might want the A level requirements to have been met prior to your degree within the usual year 12/13 so I'm going to have to give them a ring tomorrow to make sure. Hopefully not!


Exactly my plan haha. We have the whole year to prepare so can't really go wrong! Fingers crossed for you.

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