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Medicine: Oxford vs Cambridge + more

Hi all,

I am having trouble deciding between oxbridge medicine, which to apply to.

Can you contrast the two for me?

Like pros and cons of each of the medical courses and the unis. What do I need to consider when deciding? How do you choose between them?


Cambridge names some colleges which require three science A-Levels, if you have three science A-Levels would it be advisable to apply to these or better to apply to others where not everyone has 3 science A-Levels (cos then your different possibly)? If you get my jist.

Cambridge interview 90% of applicants and oxford only 40%. I think that my grades/experience/suitability are enough to get me to the interviews of either. Would I then be better off applying to oxford because I would have less competition at interview?

Please help, I haven't got long left....


Which other unis do the more academic sciency people apply to? After oxbridge where else has similar course structure and is good to apply.

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Reply 1
hyuuga


Cambridge interview 90% of applicants and oxford only 40%. I think that my grades/experience/suitability are enough to get me to the interviews of either. Would I then be better off applying to oxford because I would have less competition at interview?

you haven't done the BMAT left, so you can't rely on that... also, bear in mind medical applicants will have higher average grades than you might expect
Reply 2
hyuuga

Can you contrast the two for me?

Like pros and cons of each of the medical courses and the unis. What do I need to consider when deciding?


i could. but i don't really have the time, nor the inclinication to tell you what you should think is important! :wink:


How do you choose between them?


how did i choose? geographical location & what the city seemed like. & then i just didn't consider Cam anymore.


Cambridge names some colleges which require three science A-Levels, if you have three science A-Levels would it be advisable to apply to these or better to apply to others where not everyone has 3 science A-Levels (cos then your different possibly)? If you get my jist.


TBH, i don't think having 3 science A-levels makes you especially "different" or special.. even at Oxford where the entire uni requirement is Chem +1, a huge number seem to have 3. so it's having 1 or more non science that makes you "special".. ( biased? no... :p: )


Cambridge interview 90% of applicants and oxford only 40%. I think that my grades/experience/suitability are enough to get me to the interviews of either. Would I then be better off applying to oxford because I would have less competition at interview?


erm, what H&E said. for Oxford BMAT is crucial to get an automatic interview. even if your GCSE A*% is 100% you need to perform decently in the BMAT (i.e. ~top 60%).

& the average Oxford medical applicant has just over 60% A* grades at GCSE. would be interested to see if the average offer holder is the same/higher/lower though..

see sig for link to more info about medicine at oxford.


Which other unis do the more academic sciency people apply to? After oxbridge where else has similar course structure and is good to apply.


obvious suggestion might be the places with compulsory BSc/equiv. perhaps?
Imperial London, Nottingham.. (off the top of my head!)
or the places where it's optional & easily done, e.g. Bristol.
& they'd avoid the unis that apparently assume AAA candidates want to become 'research doctors' & subsequently don't want them. :wink:
Reply 3
Elles


erm, what H&E said.

i know we're both miserable, but c'mon...
Reply 4
RxB
i know we're both miserable, but c'mon...

buuuuuuuuurn
Reply 5
RxB
i know we're both miserable, but c'mon...


i was just adding the stats to your comments! not my fault they're miserable.. :p:
Reply 6
Basically, I agree with what Elles said, but here are a few other comments of my own:

hyuuga
Like pros and cons of each of the medical courses and the unis. What do I need to consider when deciding? How do you choose between them?


Oxford and Cambridge's courses are much more similar than they are different, and any differences between the two of them are tiny compared with the differences between them and any other uni. Some points for consideration:

Cambridge does full body dissection; Oxford only uses prosections
In 2nd year, Oxford have exams at the end of the 2nd term and then go into their intercalated project; Cambridge spend the whole year doing medicine, but include some optional extra sections you can pick from.
More Cambridge students have to leave after 3rd year.

Shamefully I chose mine because I have a family history at Cambridge (:redface:) and didn't even consider Oxford!

Cambridge names some colleges which require three science A-Levels, if you have three science A-Levels would it be advisable to apply to these or better to apply to others where not everyone has 3 science A-Levels (cos then your different possibly)? If you get my jist.


I know very few people who don't have 3 sciences; I really think it would make NO difference.


Which other unis do the more academic sciency people apply to? After oxbridge where else has similar course structure and is good to apply.


Imperial is traditionally very strong on sciences, but personally I'd rather sell my soul than go to London, so I didn't apply there. Nowhere else has a very similar course structure, and if you don't know that about medical schools yet then you're very lazy and need to go and do some research on it NOW.

This thread answers a lot of questions about Oxbridge Medicine.
Reply 7
hyuuga
Hi all,

I am having trouble deciding between oxbridge medicine, which to apply to.

Can you contrast the two for me?

Like pros and cons of each of the medical courses and the unis. What do I need to consider when deciding? How do you choose between them?


You can find out the differences by looking at the course specifications. Oxford and Cambridge medical schools are more similar to each other than to any other medical school, but they're not exactly the same.

If you want some suggestions, find out about:

1) Anatomy teaching (all done in the 1st year in Cambridge and more thorough, involving dissection [do-it-yourself] and prosection [pre-cut specimens]; some anatomy in the 1st year at Oxford, but much of the clinically oriented stuff is at the end of the 3rd year and there is no dissection, only prosections; on the plus side for Oxford, their clinical students will remember their anatomy better when they start clinical)
2) Physiology and Pharmacology teaching (separately in Cambridge, integrated in Oxford)
3) Seminars are used in pharmacology at Oxford to discuss the kinds of treatments used for some diseases, e.g. asthma. For us, this stuff was covered fairly unthoroughly in lectures and we used seminars more for learning about mathematical and data handling skills in pharmacology (something which I think is more substantial in our course). This point is perhaps not that important, it's just something that my friend and I noticed when discussing the differences between my course (Cam) and his (Ox).
4) Size of core preclinical course (2 years in Cambridge, 1 year and 2 terms in Oxford)
5) 3rd year arrangements (Cambridge students join Natsci students to specialise; Oxford students have a variety of options designed for medics but broadly the same options and research opportunities are available; Oxford students also start their 3rd year course earlier, in the 3rd term of the 2nd year)
6) Clinical school destinations (about 70% of Oxford students stay on, whereas only 50% of Cambridge students can, but a few move to Oxford)
7) Patient contact in preclinical course (limited in both, but probably more comprehensive at Oxford, although more focused on general practice; Cambridge requires annoying coursework writeups but your mark doesn't really matter)
EDIT: 8) Came up with another difference. At Cambridge we have a couple of clinical days in the first year, where we go to the clinical school to learn about some clinical cases and build on our basic science knowledge. I believe Oxford have more of this than we do, because we don't do it very often.

hyuuga
Cambridge names some colleges which require three science A-Levels, if you have three science A-Levels would it be advisable to apply to these or better to apply to others where not everyone has 3 science A-Levels (cos then your different possibly)? If you get my jist.


If you have 3 science A-levels then just be glad that you can apply wherever you want. Most applicants (to all colleges) will have 3 sciences anyway, often with an additional science or humanity for good measure.

hyuuga
Cambridge interview 90% of applicants and oxford only 40%. I think that my grades/experience/suitability are enough to get me to the interviews of either. Would I then be better off applying to oxford because I would have less competition at interview?


Personally, I hate the system Oxford have introduced for cutting down interviewees. It adds a degree of unpredictability to the whole process, because you can't be sure you will do well in the BMAT on the day. Everyone can have a bad day - do you want the result of one exam to determine whether you get a fair shot?

I'm not saying your academic results won't be just as important at Cambridge (the average tariff points of successful applicants are, after all, the highest in the country), but at least they have to meet you and can't just reject you outright. In any case, a high BMAT result together with the A-level/GCSE results you are so confident of (I'm presuming mostly or all A*s for GCSE and all As at A-level) would probably be enough to get you into either university.

In theory they're about equally difficult, so if you have a preference for one over the other then I would use that as your criteria rather than deciding which one you think you have a better chance of getting into.

hyuuga
Which other unis do the more academic sciency people apply to? After oxbridge where else has similar course structure and is good to apply.


I think Elles' advice was good. Look at which unis offer intercalated BScs. One of my supervisors reckons Imperial and UCL are quite sciencey. Some of the provincial ones like Nottingham and Bristol are also. St Andrews is very sciencey but it is a 4 year preclinical course and you have to move to somewhere else for clinical (normally Manchester).
Reply 8
duuuhhhhh....sorry I forgot about the BMAT which I am not too sure about. I didnt mean to sound all arrogant about the grades I just meant that I dont have any major specific problems, ie. that side is kinda covered so I know i have to worry more about other things....although I do have a B in english GCSE- eeeek!

I have been looking at prospectuses and thought it would be better to get advice from students who are actually on the courses aswell incase I misjudge them. But thanks, the advice has been really good, not that I have made a decision...iz hard when you consider both tho....as most people seem to have just 'known'. It was like that for me last year.

Oh did I forget to mention...I got rejected from oxford for PsyPhi last year...will this work against me if I apply there. The fact that I got rejected and the fact that I applied for another course.

I've been told to apply to london because it increases your chances of getting a place, for some reason I get the feeling that imperial doesn't fall into that category.

Most schools don't make it that clear in prospectuses that they don't want potential research doctors...e.g. like southampton does... could you drop me some info?

urgh...I made decisions really late which doesn't help...and then I gotta start being fussy bout it.

I'm not lazy...I think too much about it...lack of instinct for a decision...please don't remind me that this is bad in a doctor.

Cheerio!


EDIT: If ox have shorter pre-clin that cam, does that mean its more intensive?

by the way ...= , in most cases...its just habit.
Reply 9
Regarding being rejected by Oxford for PPP, I don't see why they would hold it against you. On the other hand, Oxford PPP is supposed to be less competitive than Oxford Medicine, so you might want to consider why you were rejected for PPP and whether there is any reason to expect that your odds will be better this time around. Just a thought.

Imperial is the most competitive med school in London academically (don't know whether the applicants:tongue:lace ratio shows this or not). You probably have a better chance with UCL and GKT, both of which are very good as well. Barts is not so heavy on the science and is more of a PBL place. Ditto St George's.

Btw, I don't think there is any medschool that would openly admit they deliberately reject medical applicants for being too academic. Personally, I think Southampton is ok. They gave me an offer even though my PS was quite science-oriented (which it had to be because I was applying to Cambridge). It's very difficult to second-guess really, but it's more likely Southampton would reject someone for not ticking one of their boxes than for marks which are too high.
Reply 10
They said I was good in interview, and that my grades were good etc. My problem was that I did below average on their written test and personally i think that was cos I hadnt written essays for such a long time. I will probably have a similar problem with the BMAT essay but I still have the science and thinking skills test to bump me up...at least i hope they will. I know you kinda need to be quite good at writing essays because of the supervisions,but I really want to work on it and am willing to practice. I regret not taking a suitable A level now.

Thanks sbailey for being really helpful; helenia and elles too.
Reply 11
hyuuga
They said I was good in interview, and that my grades were good etc. My problem was that I did below average on their written test and personally i think that was cos I hadnt written essays for such a long time. I will probably have a similar problem with the BMAT essay but I still have the science and thinking skills test to bump me up...at least i hope they will. I know you kinda need to be quite good at writing essays because of the supervisions,but I really want to work on it and am willing to practice. I regret not taking a suitable A level now.

Thanks sbailey for being really helpful; helenia and elles too.


No problem, hyuuga. If your grades are good and you interview well then I see no reason why you shouldn't apply to Oxford again or to Cambridge. Let us know if you have any more questions.
Reply 12
How long do you stay in cambridge for the interview?

I know in oxford I was there for around three days.
Reply 13
hyuuga
How long do you stay in cambridge for the interview?

I know in oxford I was there for around three days.


Both my interviews were on the same day, but you can stay the night before if you live sufficiently far away (as I did).
Reply 14
Similar to my initial query:

How can I choose a college?

I understand that all of them seem to have similar sports, computer, and library facilities.

In oxford at least, they differ on emphasis on drama and music.

What about cambridge?

What else is there to look at?...I don't want to do an open application and end up somewhere I won't like. Or is that very unlikely anyway? I mean its kinda worth doin that at oxford anyway because so many people are placed in colleges other than their choice, but in cambridge, choosing a very competitive college means that you have really diminished your chances of receiving admission. Ow...my head hurts.
Reply 15
hyuuga
Similar to my initial query:

How can I choose a college?

I understand that all of them seem to have similar sports, computer, and library facilities.

In oxford at least, they differ on emphasis on drama and music.

What about cambridge?

I'm not involved with music or drama, so I can't help you. You're probably right that some colleges are more involved than others.

hyuuga
What else is there to look at?...I don't want to do an open application and end up somewhere I won't like. Or is that very unlikely anyway? I mean its kinda worth doin that at oxford anyway because so many people are placed in colleges other than their choice, but in cambridge, choosing a very competitive college means that you have really diminished your chances of receiving admission. Ow...my head hurts.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/statistics/docs/med.doc

The document above shows you the admissions statistics over the past couple of years specifically for medicine at each college. It's much more useful than the old colour-coded table for ranking competitiveness, which in fact was often very misleading. As you can see, it's quite common to get your first choice college unless you apply to a very popular one like Emma. The number of applicants pooled from a specific college to other colleges probably gives you a good idea of the quality of applicants at that college, but choosing the "easiest college" is pretty pointless really because the Cambridge pooling system for medicine is excellent now (so says my DoS anyway).
Reply 16
I haven't been to a cambridge open day. I went to oxford only, and that was last year. I have been to the city of cambridge though. Oh, I also have a possible placement in cambridge. Would have been nice to have started it before making my decision.

A college in one is not that different from a college in the other. Both universities are equally difficult to get into, the course structure is very similar for medicine, the teaching style is almost identical and so the main factor is the city.

I quite liked both cities and I am quite adaptable so that I enjoy most places anyway as long as the people are diverse.

I'm thinking of just going for an open application for colleges, because I haven't seen them anyway and will probably enjoy any of them. Is that a fine idea? Anything i need to consider?

Urgh...its getting really messy trying to decide, I mean I haven't been around cambridge medical dept either, but the facilities are obviously up to scratch. Um...do cambridge do the computer-based learning stuff?

Sbailey, and others, would you mind letting me know what other unis you applied to? I need to think of another too. I got Cambridge?, Bristol, Cardiff, and then ....Soton? But they are all very much the more competitive and I need a possible safety althought thats unlikely with medicine anyway. Especially because this is my second year applying to uni.

UMmm... you reckon cambridge will be more competitive because its tops this year? I really should not be thinking about scraping in as the last possible choice for the uni should I.
Reply 17
hyuuga
I haven't been to a cambridge open day. I went to oxford only, and that was last year. I have been to the city of cambridge though.

A college in one is not that different from a college in the other. Both universities are equally difficult to get into, the course structure is very similar for medicine, the teaching style is almost identical and so the main factor is the city.

I quite liked both cities and I am quite adaptable so that I enjoy most places anyway as long as the people are diverse.

I'm thinking of just going for an open application for colleges, because I haven't seen them anyway and will probably enjoy any of them. Is that a fine idea? Anything i need to consider?


At the very least you could choose a college with a good location. I do think you're better off making your own choice, even if it isn't that well informed.

Urgh...its getting really messy trying to decide, I mean I haven't been around cambridge medical dept either, but the facilities are obviously up to scratch. Um...do cambridge do the computer-based learning stuff?

Yes, for histology and medical sociology there is a whole set of CAL packages created in-house. We don't use CAL for anatomy like Oxford, but we get a lot more hands-on experience so it's arguably not required.

Sbailey, and others, would you mind letting me know what other unis you applied to? I need to think of another too. I got Cambridge?, Bristol, Cardiff, and then ....Soton? But they are all very much the more competitive and I need a possible safety althought thats unlikely with medicine anyway. Especially because this is my second year applying to uni.


I applied to Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton. Bear in mind that I had not taken Biology AS, so my choices were limited. Newcastle was my only rejection, but I think this was down to my own performance at interview rather than it being more competitive. I don't really know which medical schools are easier to get into, but it's fair to say that the ones you have listed are all very good. I met someone who applied to Cambridge and said that if he got an offer from Cardiff he would go there instead (crazy mofo).
Reply 18
For some reason, the only college I can think of applying to is clare. A few people said it once and they were nice on the phone. Is that enough? Anything good/bad i need to consider about clare? I will look at the clare thread section too.

Hey sbailey, you think you know what might have made you so attractive to medschools apart from interview? Like any outstanding stuff you did, you just seem like it was inevitable that you would go to cambridge in terms of confidence. I'm not going to pretend I did it...just seeing if I have anything like it.

At oxford some of the meds got asked why our hands aren't transparent to light or something? Are the questions similarly sciency at cambridge? Is there much point them asking you after the BMAT.

Ok I'm going to read some of the literature again now.

ps.thanks for the admissions stats link
Reply 19
hyuuga
For some reason, the only college I can think of applying to is clare. A few people said it once and they were nice on the phone. Is that enough? Anything good/bad i need to consider about clare? I will look at the clare thread section too.


Clare medics are great :biggrin: Though several of the teaching fellows and the DoS for preclinical medicine are changing next year, but I don't think it'll affect the standards. In my year in the first year, only us and Churchill had everyone pass everything in the 2nd MB. :cool: If you stay on for clinical, they also own some very funky houses down by Addenbrooke's, which is convenient :smile:


Hey sbailey, you think you know what might have made you so attractive to medschools apart from interview? Like any outstanding stuff you did, you just seem like it was inevitable that you would go to cambridge in terms of confidence. I'm not going to pretend I did it...just seeing if I have anything like it.


Generally Cambridge don't give a damn about extra-curricular stuff - I was certainly not outstanding on that front (possibly why I got a rejection without interview from Newcastle) though I did have lots of voluntary work, it wasn't the usual helping-in-an-old-people's-home thing that so many med applicants do. I genuinely don't know what it was that sold me to the places I did get in (Nottingham and Southampton as well as Cambridge), aside from that they knew I was a fairly solid bet to get the grades. I had a nice reference too, but I don't know how much that counts for. If there is a secret key to getting into Cambridge, I don't know what it is!


At oxford some of the meds got asked why our hands aren't transparent to light or something? Are the questions similarly sciency at cambridge? Is there much point them asking you after the BMAT.


There are a lot of science questions; my interviews were almost entirely science based - and not just A-Level stuff, they make you USE what you know to hypothesise and interpret various pictures and situations, to see how well you think.