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Rejected from Medicine, reapply or clearing?

Hi so I have all 4 rejections from KCL, Nottingham, St Georges and Birmingham and thus preparing for a gap year.

The trouble is if I decide to reapply I don't really want to wait a long time (4 months) just to be rejected. If I reapply when would I hear i.e. do reapplicants get interview earlier?

I really am pissed off with waiting so long....so I don't know whether to do clearing, possibly law at some decent university? Because no offense but I don't think there are people with 10A* doing biomedicine or medical sciences, I would rather do something else.

My stats are 10A* 1A GCSE, 5As (93% average) at AS-level, 725 UKCAT and currently predictions of A*A*A .

If I reapply with achieved grades of A*A*A what are my chances?
Also where do you think I should apply this time?

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Reply 1
It's insanely ridiculous that you got rejected; makes me wonder which students actually have a chance at medicine these days :lolwut:

If Medicine is the course you're 100% convinced you want to study and take up as a profession then I'd say take the gap year and try again next year because you'll find it very hard to enjoy any other course when you have your mind set to medicine.

Don't feel discouraged though! They're the ones missing out here :smile:
(edited 10 years ago)
What's your volunteering and health related experience like?
How do you think your interviews went?
Original post by oscartales
It's insanely ridiculous that you got rejected; makes me wonder which students actually have a chance at medicine these days :lolwut:

If Medicine is the course you're 100% convinced you want to study and take up as a profession then I'd say take the gap year and try again next year because you'll find it very hard to enjoy any other course when you have your mind set to medicine.

Don't feel discouraged though! They're the ones missing out here :smile:

Don't be so quick to encourage here: she might be a capable academic but maybe they thought the OP would not make a great doctor.
Reply 4
They must have seen your neg rep.
Reply 5
Original post by TheGreatPonderer
Don't be so quick to encourage here: she might be a capable academic but maybe they thought the OP would not make a great doctor.


Absolutely I'd say this post borders on over confident! I'm sure plenty of people do science based degrees eg medical science with top gcse's etc infact I know someone with 12A*'s who does exactly that at Durham. It appears to me that the OP is focused more on the prestige of any chosen degree course than on the content!
Perhaps he should consider that she didnt interview well, or simply didn't apply to her strengths? Maybe with top gcse's Birmingham would have been a smart move etc

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by em.d_4
Absolutely I'd say this post borders on over confident! I'm sure plenty of people do science based degrees eg medical science with top gcse's etc infact I know someone with 12A*'s who does exactly that at Durham. It appears to me that the OP is focused more on the prestige of any chosen degree course than on the content!
Perhaps he should consider that she didnt interview well, or simply didn't apply to her strengths? Maybe with top gcse's Birmingham would have been a smart move etc

Posted from TSR Mobile

I wanted to leave that implied so I didn't offend the OP but you've pretty much hit on what I was thinking.
Reply 7
Original post by TheGreatPonderer
I wanted to leave that implied so I didn't offend the OP but you've pretty much hit on what I was thinking.


Let's not think of it as offensive let's think of it as answering a question which was asked of us

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by em.d_4
Let's not think of it as offensive let's think of it as answering a question which was asked of us

Posted from TSR Mobile

Oh, no... don't get me wrong: I would have eventually offended her. I just wanted them to answer my questions first so I could know why she got rejected. My curiosity comes first! :yep:

:top2: :rofl:
Reply 9
Original post by TheGreatPonderer
Oh, no... don't get me wrong: I would have eventually offended her. I just wanted them to answer my questions first so I could know why she got rejected. My curiosity comes first! :yep:

:top2: :rofl:


Hahaha subtlety isn't really my style :wink: I'm more straight up here's the deal! But yeah I'm pretty curious too

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by em.d_4
Hahaha subtlety isn't really my style :wink: I'm more straight up here's the deal! But yeah I'm pretty curious too

Posted from TSR Mobile

Given that the first post negates to mention any work experience/volunteering and that's such an important part of the medics portfolio, I'm willing to bet that it was lacking somewhat. Otherwise, people who saw her results (it is a she, right?) gave her a false sense of security with sentiments similar to "they are the ones missing out" which inflated her already noticeable ego (elitism and looking down at other courses) to the point where the interviewers were like :lolwut:
I presume, like many, she has good grades and teachers/friends recommended/assumed medicine which is often the case. Certainly, in my case, when I told people I was delaying University until after I'd served in the Army people thought I was crazy!
Reply 11
Original post by TheGreatPonderer
Given that the first post negates to mention any work experience/volunteering and that's such an important part of the medics portfolio, I'm willing to bet that it was lacking somewhat. Otherwise, people who saw her results (it is a she, right?) gave her a false sense of security with sentiments similar to "they are the ones missing out" which inflated her already noticeable ego (elitism and looking down at other courses) to the point where the interviewers were like :lolwut:
I presume, like many, she has good grades and teachers/friends recommended/assumed medicine which is often the case. Certainly, in my case, when I told people I was delaying University until after I'd served in the Army people thought I was crazy!


I think you've summed up the impression I got from the OP's post to perfection
Original post by em.d_4
I think you've summed up the impression I got from the OP's post to perfection

In her defence, it's probably not her fault either. It's people's obsession with doctors. I finished my a levels over 5 years ago and have now finished serving in the armed forces but I still ended up going in to medicine (first year now) and I'm sure it was because of the expectation that was held over me as a kid/teen :lol:

Anyway, high five :tongue:
People with your stats get rejected all the time, there is so much competition.

Reapply again. There are rarely any places in clearing for med...
Reply 14
Original post by ocelot92
Hi so I have all 4 rejections from KCL, Nottingham, St Georges and Birmingham and thus preparing for a gap year.

The trouble is if I decide to reapply I don't really want to wait a long time (4 months) just to be rejected. If I reapply when would I hear i.e. do reapplicants get interview earlier?

I really am pissed off with waiting so long....so I don't know whether to do clearing, possibly law at some decent university? Because no offense but I don't think there are people with 10A* doing biomedicine or medical sciences, I would rather do something else.

My stats are 10A* 1A GCSE, 5As (93% average) at AS-level, 725 UKCAT and currently predictions of A*A*A .

If I reapply with achieved grades of A*A*A what are my chances?
Also where do you think I should apply this time?


Nothing you have told us gives us the ability to tell you what your chances are, if you don't also tell us what medical/health work experience you have. You do realise that is critical, right?
Reply 15
Original post by Miel Purple
People with your stats get rejected all the time, there is so much competition.

Reapply again. There are rarely any places in clearing for med...



Original post by TheGreatPonderer
Given that the first post negates to mention any work experience/volunteering and that's such an important part of the medics portfolio, I'm willing to bet that it was lacking somewhat. Otherwise, people who saw her results (it is a she, right?) gave her a false sense of security with sentiments similar to "they are the ones missing out" which inflated her already noticeable ego (elitism and looking down at other courses) to the point where the interviewers were like :lolwut:
I presume, like many, she has good grades and teachers/friends recommended/assumed medicine which is often the case. Certainly, in my case, when I told people I was delaying University until after I'd served in the Army people thought I was crazy!



Original post by em.d_4
Absolutely I'd say this post borders on over confident! I'm sure plenty of people do science based degrees eg medical science with top gcse's etc infact I know someone with 12A*'s who does exactly that at Durham. It appears to me that the OP is focused more on the prestige of any chosen degree course than on the content!
Perhaps he should consider that she didnt interview well, or simply didn't apply to her strengths? Maybe with top gcse's Birmingham would have been a smart move etc

Posted from TSR Mobile


Hey guys thanks for replying.

First of all i was not going to do clearing for medicine, i would do law or economics.

My work experience (I think) is fairly decent:
2x3 week work experience at GP surgery, 1 week hospital, 3 week dentistry, 2 week pharmacy, 3 months volunteering at residential home, 3 weeks at care home, 1 year as student councilor at school. (also volunteered at CCF cadets - but thats not caring)

I also did apply to B'ham
Original post by ocelot92
Hey guys thanks for replying.First of all i was not going to do clearing for medicine, i would do law or economics.My work experience (I think) is fairly decent:2x3 week work experience at GP surgery, 1 week hospital, 3 week dentistry, 2 week pharmacy, 3 months volunteering at residential home, 3 weeks at care home, 1 year as student councilor at school. (also volunteered at CCF cadets - but thats not caring)I also did apply to B'ham
I am pretty sure you got interview for all of them but just messed up that part. Take a gap year, improve on your interview skills and get some experience I suppose. Nothing else to say really since your stats are quite impressive.
Original post by ocelot92
Hi so I have all 4 rejections from KCL, Nottingham, St Georges and Birmingham and thus preparing for a gap year.

The trouble is if I decide to reapply I don't really want to wait a long time (4 months) just to be rejected. If I reapply when would I hear i.e. do reapplicants get interview earlier?

I really am pissed off with waiting so long....so I don't know whether to do clearing, possibly law at some decent university? Because no offense but I don't think there are people with 10A* doing biomedicine or medical sciences, I would rather do something else.

My stats are 10A* 1A GCSE, 5As (93% average) at AS-level, 725 UKCAT and currently predictions of A*A*A .

If I reapply with achieved grades of A*A*A what are my chances?
Also where do you think I should apply this time?


Hello there. Sorry to hear about your rejections, as a fellow med applicant I understand how tough the whole process is, and it is crazy how many fantastic applicants get 4 rejections each year! However, when you consider that only 35-40% of applicants even get one offer, it is perhaps not surprising that unfortunately some incredible applicants get turned down.

From your stats, I'm assuming you got a minimum of 3 interviews, so obviously that is the area that needs work. Academics help you get interviews, but once you're at the interview they mean sod all at 95% of unis! (not trying to be harsh, thats just the way it is :frown:!)
It comes down to whether you can stand taking a gap year. If you can I would be very surprised if you did not receive an offer next year as long as you performed equally well in your UKCAT and got good grades etc and (CRUCIALLY) worked on interview performance. My advice: enjoy your year out, do something worthwhile, apply smart (as you did this year), and work on your interview performance.

Do that and in 12 months time you'll be sitting on at least one unconditional offer for medicine :smile:
Original post by ocelot92
Hey guys thanks for replying.

First of all i was not going to do clearing for medicine, i would do law or economics.

My work experience (I think) is fairly decent:
2x3 week work experience at GP surgery, 1 week hospital, 3 week dentistry, 2 week pharmacy, 3 months volunteering at residential home, 3 weeks at care home, 1 year as student councilor at school. (also volunteered at CCF cadets - but thats not caring)

I also did apply to B'ham


Personally:

1) I don't think it's just about academia, almost every applicant will have similar grades to you :3
2) it's not about how much work experience you did, it's about what you learned from it, and how much of it was conveyed in your personal statement/interviews.
3) my mum is currently doing a medicine post-grad at KCL, and one of her lecturers was telling her how many students he's sacked in the past because they "don't view patients as humans, merely as a number" so clearly they're not just looking at your ability to assess data, they want someone easy to approach, talk to and confide in too...

I think you should have a think about the "real" reasons why you'd want to study medicine, if you're 100% focused into it for the right reasons, then reapplying may be a good option.
Reply 19
Original post by ocelot92
Hey guys thanks for replying.

First of all i was not going to do clearing for medicine, i would do law or economics.

My work experience (I think) is fairly decent:
2x3 week work experience at GP surgery, 1 week hospital, 3 week dentistry, 2 week pharmacy, 3 months volunteering at residential home, 3 weeks at care home, 1 year as student councilor at school. (also volunteered at CCF cadets - but thats not caring)

I also did apply to B'ham


If you are so uninterested in medicine that you want to switch to law/economics at this stage, then medicine probably isn't for you. I'd be surprised if there are many places in clearing for those two courses at "top" unis so I wouldn't get your hopes up too much.

Did you get interviews at all? Your grade profile is good, so there must have been a flaw either in your PS or in your interview technique to end up with all rejections. Given that you're now thinking of switching to totally different subjects, maybe they picked up that your heart wasn't really in it?

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