UCL Medicine Offer Holders 2013 Chat Thread :D

Can you record lectures at UCL?? Anyone know?? I have heard that if you ask you can, but was wondering if anyone actually knew for certain.

Sorry I'm a hopeful applicant for 2014 for medicine I was just wondering if UCL looked at GCSE results aswell when taking an application into account?

Thanks

As far as I know it's a factor but AS grades and the BMAT is more important I think.


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Hey, I did more than 3, but I can tell you quite honestly, it makes very little difference. As long as you excel and perform amazingly on those 3 that you are doing, this will be noted. I remember going to interview and handing in my AS level UMS/grades sheet, so they must assess how well you are doing in each A level. By doing more, you risk under performing and it takes up a lot more time, which I feel could be better spent on extra-curricular activities and other unique stuff which you can discuss in personal statement, and will make you stand out amongst other candidates.
By doing more A levels though it does show (in my opinion) that you are able to take on a increased work load and manage it successfully (that is if you do well in them ).
But conclusion is, you will definitely definitely be ok with 3 A2s no need to do more!
good luck x

hey guys! I'm thinking of applying to UCL for medicine this year....I've got 10A* and AAABB at AS with A*AAA predicted. Got 743 in my ukcat so was wondering whether I should do the bmat for UCL or just apply to all ukcat unis? Do I stand a chance of getting an interview at UCL given my bmat and personal statement and everything is good? Can I get rejected because of my Bs at AS(one is in bio)? Also do UCL ask for UMS scores??

hey guys! I'm thinking of applying to UCL for medicine this year....I've got 10A* and AAABB at AS with A*AAA predicted. Got 743 in my ukcat so was wondering whether I should do the bmat for UCL or just apply to all ukcat unis? Do I stand a chance of getting an interview at UCL given my bmat and personal statement and everything is good? Can I get rejected because of my Bs at AS(one is in bio)? Also do UCL ask for UMS scores??

Hmm UCL does say in their info bit that AS results are important and a top grade will be expected in chemistry and biology. But if you get a really good bmat result it might make up for your B in biology? Plus you have good gcses and hopefully an interesting PS...?
Maybe consider applying to Imperial as they don't seem to mind a B at AS. 2 people I know got an interview with a B in chem AS...dunno about UCL. UCL didn't ask me for ums marks.

What did you get the Bs in? It might disadvantage you depending on the Bs, but if you do above average in your BMAT and have a really solid personal statement you might have a chance.


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AAABB(chem,maths,physics,biology, further maths respectively) so in bio and further maths how much prep do you think is required to do well in the bmat?

Ah I see. I think that might disadvantage you then...they look at biology I think.
I did much for for the BMAT than the UKCAT. I didn't do physics AS so needed to go to a physics teacher after school every week for about 4 weeks to brush up on past questions and I found revising the iGCSE formulas for that very helpful. There are 3 sections in the BMAT:
1. Aptitude. It's like the UKCAT but slightly harder. You can't really do much to prepare apart from getting used to the style of questions.
2 Science. You have to brush up on your maths, chemistry, biology and physics. They say it's GCSE standard but I found some things were AS too! Look at the OCR specifications since the same people do the BMAT.
3. Writing. It requires you to write no more than an A4 side of paper on a question. You have to write a balanced argument and come to a conclusion, answering all parts of the question. This requires some practice and help marking it from other teachers or friends.

UCL uses the BMAT as an indicator rather than a cut off like Imperial. I.e UCL look at grades and personal statement, rank you, then they get your BMAT results and see if you've gotten average or above average and then invite for interview. I got 10 A*s and 1A at GCSE, and 5 As at AS, but got a very average/verging on low BMAT result and still was interviewed on the second day of interviewing. They just use BMAT as a check really



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ohh wow thanks for the detailed response! I think i'm not going to bother taking the risk with the bmat and just go for ukcat unis....thinking of kings, barts, st georges and maybe hull York/Leicester....where did you apply? did you get any other offers? congrats btw!

I'd say talk to some other people before making your final decision about the BMAT I'm only one person after all and people may have been accepted with your grades so keep asking!
I applied to UCL, Kings, Barts and UEA. I got rejected from Kings first without interview because my UKCAT score was below 700, then got an interview and offer from UCL and UEA, and finally rejected after interview from Barts
Thanks! You'll be fine. I like giving advice too so don't worry about asking more questions!


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How much prep is required for the bmat and how did you do? I was considering Imperial but worried about their bmat cut-off...is the bmat a lot harder than the ukcat? I did about 1 month prep for the ukcat and got 743 so i'm wondering if doing the same for the bmat will it allow me to get a high score? Do you know anyone who got into UCL with a B at AS?

The BMAT cut off isn't thaaat high for Imperial..it's around average and the essay cut-off is lower than average. If you do normal to well, you should be fine. But there is a risk that you might not do as well as you expect like the case this year for many people (bmat this year was a bit weird..). Also the thing with Imperial is even if you are 0.1 point short of one of their cut-off, they will reject you straightaway...it's quite brutal.

I don't know anyone who got into UCL with a B at AS but that's cos I don't know anyone who applied with a B. There could've been...I really don't know..

Why don't you try a bmat paper and see for yourself how hard it is and whether you think you can do well in it?

yeah I've checked it out and I think i'm just going stick with ukcat unis which unis did you apply to? thanks for all the help!

ohh right how was the interview at barts? were you given a reason for your rejection? I think kings would be my first choice and probably barts 2nd and then st georges and Leicester/HYMS....why did you go for UEA? do you think applying to unis where I have guaranteed interviews is a safe option? for barts I have 743 ukcat 550 ucas tariff points do you think that's enough for an interview? thanks

The interview at Barts was alright. Pretty standard questions although they were trying to catch me out and the woman interviewing me had something against me, I swear. This is going to sound really bad but I didn't really prepare that we'll for the interview because I had for the university I wanted (UCL), and knew Barts couldn't give me a lower offer anyway so there was no point. I went in and came out in a blur so I think my answers were just too vague and standard because of the lack of preparation.
That sounds REALLY bad, I know. But I'm not going to lie to you :')

You'll definitely get an interview from Kings. Queen Mary's probably too, although last year they rejected lots from my year who had a high UKCAT plus 4 As at AS without an interview even. It changes year to year.


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The interview at Barts was alright. Pretty standard questions although they were trying to catch me out and the woman interviewing me had something against me, I swear. This is going to sound really bad but I didn't really prepare that we'll for the interview because I had for the university I wanted (UCL), and knew Barts couldn't give me a lower offer anyway so there was no point. I went in and came out in a blur so I think my answers were just too vague and standard because of the lack of preparation.
That sounds REALLY bad, I know. But I'm not going to lie to you :')

You'll definitely get an interview from Kings. Queen Mary's probably too, although last year they rejected lots from my year who had a high UKCAT plus 4 As at AS without an interview even. It changes year to year.


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