Hi! I would really appreciate any help or guidance as to which universities I have the best chance of getting an interview at. My situation is a little complicated, as I am a reapplicant who didn't get any offers for this year. Last year I applied to Liverpool, Leicester, Leeds and UCL, and got interviews for Liverpool, Leeds and Leicester, but didn't end up getting a place at either one. I resat the UCAT this August (I am not planning on doing the BMAT again) as I want to reapply for 2022 entry.
On results day I found out I achieved A*, A, B, and will therefore have to retake Chemistry in October, and the results for the October exams come out around January (I think). So I think reapplying may be a little more complicated, as some universities might not accept applicants with an October resit.
Here are my stats:
GCSEs:
Maths IGCSE - 8
English Lit IGCSE - 9
English Lang IGCSE - 9
Biology IGCSE - 9
Chemistry IGCSE - 9
Physics IGCSE - 9
German IGCSE - 9
Geography GCSE - 9
Design Technology GCSE - 9
Further Maths AQA Level 2 GCSE - B
A levels:
English Literature - A* (achieved)
Biology - A (achieved)
Chemistry - B (achieved)
I am retaking chemistry A-level this October, and I'm predicted an A.
Will universities count this as a resit? Or will it be fine, because we didn't technically sit exams in the summer?
UCAT:
Overall - 2810
Verbal Reasoning - 610
Decision Making - 690
Quantitative Reasoning - 710
Abstract Reasoning - 800
SJT band - 2
Work Experience:
- 1 week at a neurorehabilitation ward at my local hospital
- working as a domestic assistant at my local hospital during peak of Covid, working in wards such as ICU and Emergency Department, completing rounds of healthcare training
- 6 months volunteering at a local nursery
- gap year: during my gap year I have got a job working as a Medical Laboratory Assistant at the pathology department at my local hospital, and I also plan to volunteer at a local hospital
Any contextual or WP flags:
No contextual points for my school as I went to a private school, but I live in a POLAR4 quintile 2 area, although I don't think this is taken into consideration unless my school also falls under a contextual flag.
No Widening Participation flags either.
Preferences and research:
Based on my research, I think I should be okay for Sheffield and Manchester, though I am not too keen on the PBL aspect of Manchester. Others I am not so sure about - for example, I calculated my score for Birmingham and it comes out as 7.611 - do you think it is safe to apply here? My Band 2 in SJT would be a disadvantage post-interview, so I'm not sure if it's a safe choice. Cardiff don't accept A-Level resits, but I'm not sure if October exams count as resits? For Newcastle, the UCAT threshold for 2021 entry was 2820 - 10 points higher than my UCAT, so I am not sure if it is safe to apply here, and I'm not sure if they accept October resits. For Liverpool - I emailed the admissions team and confirmed that I am OK to reapply there a second time, and they consider October exams a 'first sit' rather than a resit. I know Liverpool had a bad interview-to-offer ratio last year, but I think I have a good chance at getting an interview, so I'm keeping it as an option. For Leicester, I'm not sure if I can reapply, as I applied last year and was rejected post-interview. Bristol take any kind of resits, but I'm not sure if my UCAT is high enough, as the cut-off for 2021 was 2830. I don't think Nottingham will be a good choice, as I score 120 out of 152.
I welcome any advice or suggestions, and thank you in advance for your time!