UCL medicine 2013 entry

They didn't for the year I applied. However there is indication they might do so from now on based on this post onwards. They have yet to make this standard policy though as I've not seen it printed in any of their admissions documents sayings they'll universally do so for every applicant.

Hmm okay thanks, if they were planning to ask for UMS scores, are they looking for high A's for each subject not just scrapping past the A grade boundary? or will they check each module within each subject do you think?

But I don't think it will be as forumulaic as that. It will depend on the cohort that apply and what their data is like.

Hello fellow prospective UCL medics, I was just wondering if any of you know how much bearing UCL place on GCSE results? The selection criteria states that GCSEs are used as an indicator of academic background while AS results are used as a an indicator of academic performance, so does that mean that AS UMS will be more significant in the selection procedure than GCSEs? I ask because my GCSEs are decidedly below average for a UCL medic, I have 7A*s, 1A, 1B (in French) and 1C (in Drama) but my AS results are AAAA with a 95.5 UMS average. I understand that the calibre of the average UCL medical school applicant is insanely high and want to know whether my B and C will drag me down significantly. Do you think they'll put much weight on AS UMS?
Anyhow, any answers to my multitude of queries would be very much so appreciated
PS: If my chances are low, don't pull any punches :P

UCL admissions depends heavily on the cohort, as this rather angry email from them explains:

"It is impossible to predict a candidate's change of a successful application as the application has not been made, the BMAT has not been sat and we have not reviewed the other 2500 applications that we receive each year."

Pretty much what I've been trying to tell you and lots of other applicants all the time You absolutely cannot generalise so broadly and create forecasts like what you've been asking me.

Your GCSEs are probably slightly above or just average compared to the "average UCL medic". And GCSEs aren't taken into account too much. They look at them as you said for academic background - so to see how consistently you perform highly - which in your case is fairly good. And yes, they do weight AS grades above GCSEs. You won't be penalised solely for having a B or C (as you might in selection criteria by places such as Oxford or KCL).



Pretty much what I've been trying to tell you and lots of other applicants all the time You absolutely cannot generalise so broadly and create forecasts like what you've been asking me.

Yeh but I'm sure things stay reasonably consistent

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How hard did you find first year exams?

A mixed bag. We have 5 separate tests - all of which are done one after the other (Mon - Thurs as exam 5 is done on Thurs afternoon).

2 of the papers are SBAs (Single Best Answers) which are similar to multiple choice but crazily harder as they often just switch a word or phrase between answers meaning you have to know everything inside out otherwise you're lost. These are the most excruciating papers as you're cast into doubt all the time and even if you know the correct answer, several other options look really viable too. SBA mean exactly that - Single BEST Answer, quite often 3 of the 5 answers will be "correct", but 1 will be more correct than the others. Therein lies the problem

1 paper is an MEQ (short answer questions basically) which is actually doable, but the time limit they give means there's no way anybody ever answers all the questions in the paper. The passmark for this was 47% this year. This paper might get phased out next year or the year after as the GMC favours SBAs more as you truly have to know the info to get stuff correct.

1 paper is a data interpretation paper. So we get given diagrams, blood test data, flowcharts etc which we have to pick answers for. Fairly straightforward if you know the basic science underpinning the question.

Finally we have an anatomy spot test. Our dissection lab is filled with a circuit of cadavers, models, diagrams and specimens. Each station (50 or so) has a pin stuck in it somewhere with an accompanying question with a choice of 5 answers. You could get asked anything about the structure the pin is in (blood supply, drainage, lymph supply, innervation (parasympathetic, sympathetic, spinal roots, nerve names), origin/attachement/function, relations) and its as hard as hell given that you only have 30 seconds per station and they only reveal a portion of the cadaver to you meaning you've got to be quick.

Overall, everybody walks out the exams feeling like utter rubbish as there's so much room for doubt and as the answers are so similar, everybody can convincingly justify their option. However, the vast majority of the year pass in their first attempt. I came out feeling like crap after everything apart from the data paper and I surprisingly came in the top 20% of my year.

I still stand by the fact that the exams are no walk in the park - but they are by every means doable. The only annoying thing is the medschool's resit policy and the fact that you need to have all your revision done by the start of the week, as each paper tests you on every module from the course - we don't sit separate papers for separate modules.


EDIT: I know I make the exams sound really scary - but every medical school will soon be rolling out SBA papers into their curriculum and many other medical schools have FAR FAR more exams (I think B'ham may have 9+) and no matter where you go, you will find degree level papers A LOT harder, especially ones which are "multiple choice" as they really want you to know your stuff. If medschools don't SBA papers, they will have EMQ (Extended Matching Question) papers which are just as a pain in the arse. Google up examples of each if you're not sure.

How much revision did you do?

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Honestly speaking, what you say is the worst thing about UCL?

As a university, like any London university, it is heavily constrained by space. So there isn't a set focal point to be the student hub which makes socialising slightly less straightforward than a campus uni that has a large SU common room and bar etc. Though this is easily compensated by the fact that we're parallel to Tottenham Ct. Rd. which has loads of places to meet up etc. and there's plenty of recreational space in the quad, Regents Park (7 mins walk) and everything in Central London is so close by you can walk everywhere.

But the above doesn't affect us as much as you'd think as you wouldn't know any different unless you're a grad from another uni. It's just a contrast you notice when you visit friends at other unis or when you speak to them catching up.

What about the medical school/medicine course in particular?

Not sure, actually... most of our lecturers are really good and they all answer questions after lectures and let you email them should you have more questions etc. We do have small group teaching too (9-15 people per group), and that will increase even more next year with the new curriculum. They also take feedback really importantly, and often make changes based on student opinion.

Resources-wise, we are well catered for with our own library in the cruciform which has loads of copies of each book, and the 2nd floor of the science library is dedicated to medicine and we also have access to the libraries at the Royal Free and the Whittington hospitals. Also, lecture attendance is completely optional and every lecture is recorded (video + audio) and put online to view at any point which good if you oversleep/miss a lecture/need to revise/need to clarify something you wrote in your notes. All the lecturers give out handouts with the lecture summary, extra notes (sometimes), complementary reading (should you be so inclined) and also put up their raw presentations online so if you want, you can print them off before the lecture to annotate. Edit: We also have quite a few textbooks available as e-copies too.

The pastoral side is really good too, with communication between the faculty and personal tutors being easy and transparent, and they will go out of their way to support you should you face any difficulties - and I mean that as I've had a few friends go through some really rough patches or uncertain times, and the medical school has been very supportive.

On the whole, because I researched the course structure of UCL and understood what I was going into, I've been really pleased with the medical school and its delivery of the course. I know some people who hadn't grasped the fact that we have quite a clear pre-clinical/clinical divide with only around 15-20 hours (courses which are integrated tend to have a lot more, sometimes weekly contact) of patient contact in the first year who seemed slightly disillusioned, but that's more their error than the medical school's.

This is very subjective as it's only my opinion (loads of my peers disagree with this) but I didn't like how anatomy was taught. It is taught as an academic subject in itself so we perhaps sometimes don't always see the clinical relevance of this very practical subject - but in the long run it puts those who want to be surgeons in good stead as not everything a surgeon does is clinical, some some very rote academic understanding is needed. But anatomy lectures are one of the few lectures where the entire theatre is packed out - so I am easily overruled on that one.

A question about anatomy teaching. How much time do you spend, say, per week in dissection?

dissection starts after Christmas and it follows the systems (as closely possible that we study). So initially in the autumn term you learn about the immune system, which you can't dissect, but later move onto the cardiovascular system which is where dissection starts on the thorax. You later learn about the digestive system, and that's when you dissect the abdomen and bits of the pelvis. You do the rest of the body in Y2.

From then, each dissection session is 3 hours a week until the content is covered. In these dissection sessions we have academic anatomists, trainee and consultant surgeons from London hospitals, forensic anatomists, medical students and anatomical sciences/surgical sciences students all come and help with dissections, quizzing you and putting things into context from lectures etc. All of which is a massive benefit if you're able to stay on the ball.

However, medical students are free to go into the dissection room on various afternoons to examine models, continue dissecting or do self study with your cadaver.

Unlike lectures, every dissection session is compulsory.