*CLOSED* - The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread [part 4 of 5]

Do you know the previous year point cut offs? I have a score of 95/100 but now am scared that isn’t enough

It depends what you mean. Most dont, once you have exceeded their minimum (mostly 3A's). however achieved grades will give a significant advantage over non achieved for alot of unis.

Hey! I'm an international applicant for medicine and I'm really struggling to decide where I should apply, any help would be greatly appreciated.


IGCSEs and AS grades were teacher assessed grades, not sure if that makes a difference

IGCSES:
Physics: A*
Biology: A*
Chemistry: A*
Maths: A*
FLE: A*
IT: A*
Urdu: A*

AS:
Biology: A
Chemistry: A
Physics: A
Maths: A

A Levels: Haven't received predictions yet

UCAT: 2650 band 2

Not the best but it is what it is

VR: 700
DM: 690
QR: 660
AR: 600
SJT: Band 2

Work Experience:

Volunteer for the national COVID vaccination drive, around 110 hours.

HR intern at a local hospital

Research/Preference:

My preference is, honestly, any university where I have a reasonable chance of getting an offer and unis which have a relatively sizeable amount of intl seats. All my info on UCAT cut off comes from Medify and the table attached to this thread, but I've been told UCAT cut-offs for intl applicants is usually higher so I'm really confused as to what information I should be looking at,

I have considered:

Plymouth: Has a cut off of around 2400

Birmingham: I was told, using their online offer tool, that I would be likely to get an interview? But I realise, perhaps, that is for local students. Not sure.

Cardiff: But they require 9 IGCSEs, I don't have that many-

Liverpool: Their cutoff seems to be within my range

UEA: The average UCAT cut off for intl students was 2,596 in 2020 according to a FOI I read online.

Leicester: Seems nice enough, but I don't understand the scoring. My UCAT would be 26.5/32 but I don't have 8 IGCSEs (seems like a recurring pattern )

And that's all I know, I'm also considering perhaps sitting the BMAT.

Any further recommendations as to where I should apply with my kind of score would be amazing, I'd be eternally grateful.

As in the unis which aren't looking at grades at all until the offers on result day -
Here's Nottingham's for example:
We do not score A levels, AS levels, or equivalent as we do not require predicted A level grades as part of our selection process. However, you will still need to achieve the A level grades or equivalent required to meet the academic conditions of any offers.

@GANFYD Thank you so much for the reply -- and confirming my thought process so far.

UEA are "out", as they want me to take A-level Biology or Chemistry in addition to my diploma in June - a step too far, lol!! Waiting to hear back from Edge Hill and ARU about my qualifications, so fingers crossed, though my UCAS selections seem to be slowly making themselves!!

I thought my PS might be "interesting" in being different, but totally agree that that is very much a subjective judgement (and my SJ is seemingly not as good as I thought it was ).

You don't mention HYMS....I have a sentimental attachment to them and Sheffield, but I guess as it's just a numbers game I'm going to have to cut out such emotional nonsense!

Thanks again and have a great evening.

@GANFYD Sorry, just one final (?!) question please: am I right in thinking that, of the ones you confirmed as sensible suggestions, none of ARU, Edge Hill, SGUL, Southampton, Liverpool or Plymouth (plus Sheffield, if I want to risk the cut-off score) will formally score GCSEs or A-levels, but just screen to make sure you meet their academic threshold – which hopefully they will consider I do, despite not having the usual Home qualifications? Thank you.

Hey, I'm also a carer. St Andrews and Keele may be good options but I'm not sure how they'll feel about the B in Chem so you might want to check

Liverpool "score" them, but only to make sure you meet their minimum points score. The others also just have minimum requirements for grades

guys how do you know that the final UCAT deciles will be coming out on the 5th of October?

thank you! Do you think my other choices of Liverpool, Aston and ARU are okay?

Full stats for reference:
GCSEs: 999998887 (7 in business studies)
A-level Predictions: A*AA (Psychology, Bio, Chem respectively)
UCAT: 2520 Band 2
Contextual: Meet 1 of the contextual criteria for Cardiff
Work experience: BSMS, Observe GP, Special School volunteer


Thank you so much.

guys how do you know that the final UCAT deciles will be coming out on the 5th of October?

You are limited by your UCAT, unfortunately, so will need to apply where you may get interviews, rather than by location.
Look at Plymouth (!), ARU, Aston, Liverpool, Keele and Sunderland

Liverpool, KMMS, Aston, Nottingham, Lincoln, Keele, Cardiff and Oxford say they do not consider predictions

There are a few more med schools that will consider your application with AAB predicted, though your offer is still likely to be AAA.

They are Lancaster (take AAB with an EPQ or AS level), Sheffield if you offer an EPQ at A with it, HYMS (and if you have an EPQ and make them your firm, this would be your offer too, but the EPQ must be at least an A), possibly Sunderland (they say "It is likely that a number of applicants achieving AAB in the subjects listed will also be admitted" but don't specifically say they will accept AAB predictions, so call and check), Keele, who use the same admission criteria as Sunderland, though their offer will likely be AAA or AAB + A in EPQ; and I think, Leeds (they certainly award a score for lower than AAA predictions in their selection scoring, but the marks given mean you would be unlikely to make the interview cut off if these were your predictions).

You would also need to check carefully whether you met any WA criteria (they are different for each med school, so will require a plough through websites) as this lowers accepted predictions and offers made.

Also Leicester, Liverpool and Edge Hill if predicted A*AB (with A* in chem or bio). They will accept these final grades, too

Hi all, reposting since i previously didnt get a response, hope that's okay
GCSEs and grade breakdown : 99999888A*7A (9s in bio chem maths business and french, 8s in English lit, geography physics, 7 in English language, A* in further maths and A in statistics)
A level achieved: AAA (bio chem maths)
UCAT: 690 avg (2760)
SJT band : 3
Brief mention of work experience : Brighton and Sussex, observe gp, ongoing clinical experience as hca
I meet WP criteria: low household income, bursary student etc.


Where can i apply with a very safe chance of getting interview?

Hi,
Would really appreciate people's opinions on where to apply.
A-levels: A* Biology, A Chemistry, A* Psychology
GCSES: 9 Maths, 9 English Lit and then 8 in Bio, Chemistry, Physics, English Lang, Art, Drama, History, French
UCAT: 2490 and SJT Band 3
Planning to apply to Keele, Cardiff and Aston just need a fourth choice