Birmingham A100 Medicine 2019 entry

Original post by silverbirch1

Well yes but is no doubt just personal bad experience. I just do think some med schools are very cavalier in their recruitment processes and have no idea about the impact their way of doing things has on young people. I know everyone says it is a tough career and that you have to ne tough to apply, and that's fine, but it's often the ones who knew how to get in first time who say that sort of stuff. How to improve it? Maybe get candidates to apply with achieved results? It might help the med schools too who I hear find that students entering after 'leniency' on results day often struggle once they are in?

I quite agree. I think it should be compulsory for med school applicants to take a gap year and do something med related for at least some of it. It would give them a genuine idea of what the job entailed, allow application with achieved grades and a chance to see and do things that you cannot take if you are constantly on the education treadmill (mind you, didn't persuade either of mine to do it, despite offering financial support).
Bear in mind admissions depts are dealing with hundreds, if not thousands, of queries at this time of year, and I know from my experience that many of the questions asked can be answered by careful reading of the med schools website (you would think, though, that if they get asked the same questions again and again, they would make their websites a bit more user friendly and put more admissions info on it!). Any responses you have had are not going to be personal, just somebody having a bad day and you have been on the receiving end (not to say that makes rudeness OK).
Forums like this are a good place to start when asking for advice, there are some hugely experienced people on here who wil do their best to help you out.

Reply 105

silverbirch1

5

Thanks. I think you and meddad (and Julian?!) are doing the best job out there supporting everyone.
Maybe you could do something to help everyone thinking of applying for medicine be aware of what they need to do (ie start after gcse s) as at the moment the scales are heavily weighted in favour of those who know what's involved and those poor souls who don't!

Reply 106

Original post by silverbirch1

Thanks. I think you and meddad (and Julian?!) are doing the best job out there supporting everyone.
Maybe you could do something to help everyone thinking of applying for medicine be aware of what they need to do (ie start after gcse s) as at the moment the scales are heavily weighted in favour of those who know what's involved and those poor souls who don't!

Julian is just a God! (though he does have a bit of insider knowledge)
The problem is, you really need to start before GCSEs, as excellent results in these open up a lot of options, even if UKCAT turns out not to be your thing!
Unfortunately, that is life! Those who have always known they want to be medics will start their preparation early and those who come to the party laste will feel like they are playing catch up!
However, I think you are being unnecessarily hard on yourself. If you want any career, I would expect people to have done some research, and, where possible, got some work experience, as the rest of your life is a long time to do something it turns out you don't even like! All admissions are wanting is whatever their selection cut offs are to be met and for you to have some idea of what being a medic entails, so have put yourself in a position to find out. I think volunteering is good for everyone, as it teaches you a lot. What we try to do is show people how that type of thing can be used to show you have the skills necessary to be a Dr. And on a personal note, I want students and colleagues who love the job and have some of the communication skills and empathy required to be what patients consider a good doctor. Med school can teach you all the rest (and do a good job with that too, but having the innate skills definitely gives you a big head start)
On here, we try to help pair students/stats with suitable med schools-and there are some out there for most applicants with the academic potential to deal with the course, and an interview is your chance to show them what an amazing person you are. People worry so much about the "correct" answer, and I just want to know what you think, why you are doing this, have you considered things like ethics, can you get your views across (even if they are hugely left field). The over-rehearsed people stand out a mile, and whilst you should be prepared, no interviewer wants to read what a textbook on medical interviews says (we know), so use it to stimulate your own thoughts on subjects!

Not sure what more we can do to get the message out, as those who haven't thought of doing the research are not going to find it anyway. This is down to schools to start preparing people early, and sadly they are so busy just trying to get through the curriculum these days.
But it is not too late (hardly anywhere looks at your PS), so you still have time to do all the things you need to talk about at interview, and your questioning of things and reflection along the way will make you a better doctor in the long run!
Just ask if you have questions, as I say, the skill and experience level on the forums could not be obtained for considerable sums of money elsewhere!

Reply 107

I have 4A at as and 3a predicted at a2
I have a good amount of work experience and am confident with my personal statement
in my ukcat, I got average 597.5 and band 3
I will only be 17 by the start of medicine course
is Birmingham a good choice if not please suggest a better uni
please reply quickly as the deadline is very close for medicine applicants.

thanks

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 108

how do you calculate your GCSE points at Birmingham as the max is 6?

Reply 109

Original post by Adi2002

I have 4A at as and 3a predicted at a2
I have a good amount of work experience and am confident with my personal statement
in my ukcat, I got average 597.5 and band 3
I will only be 17 by the start of medicine course
is Birmingham a good choice if not please suggest a better uni
please reply quickly as the deadline is very close for medicine applicants.

thanks

Original post by Adi2002

how do you calculate your GCSE points at Birmingham as the max is 6?

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/medical-school/applying-to-medicine/selection-for-interview.aspx

Cut off the last 2 years has been over 8, though it may well come down a little this year as they have changed the ratio of GCSE to UKCAT weighting

Reply 110

thank you very much do you think Birmingham is a better choice for me or Nottingham

Reply 111

Original post by GANFYD

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/medical-school/applying-to-medicine/selection-for-interview.aspx

Cut off the last 2 years has been over 8, though it may well come down a little this year as they have changed the ratio of GCSE to UKCAT weighting

I got an A* in physics, chemistry.biology and maths
1A in English as a second language
2B in ICT and Geography
My school offered only 7 subjects
Can you please tell me my IGCSE score out of 6 Birmingham

Reply 112

Original post by Adi2002

I got an A* in physics, chemistry.biology and maths
1A in English as a second language
2B in ICT and Geography
My school offered only 7 subjects
Can you please tell me my IGCSE score out of 6 Birmingham

You would have to contact them about this, as you do not have Eng Lit which they normally require.
But if you are an international student, they don't select using GCSEs, they use UKCAT and then PS. Cut off was 655 last year

I do not know how Nottingham select international applicants, you woul dneed to check their website

Reply 113

Original post by GANFYD

You would have to contact them about this, as you do not have Eng Lit which they normally require.
But if you are an international student, they don't select using GCSEs, they use UKCAT and then PS. Cut off was 655 last year

I do not know how Nottingham select international applicants, you would need to check their website

thanks a lot

Reply 114

I love Medicine

5

Applying for Birmingham 2019 entry
I have sent off my application.
Hopefully I get an interview :smile:

love the aesthetic of the medical school. Modern

Reply 115