Gap year or go to England?

I got an offer for Paramedic Science in UEA, (grades ABB I think). I was hoping to get into Ulster (Grades BBC), but unfortunately got sent a rejection earlier today. Still waiting to hear from GCU and Bristol, but expecting rejections on that front too.

the question is now
a) Go to England, put myself in nearly 10 grand of debt per year and be farther from everyone I know, BUT at least be guaranteed to get in (grades allowing)
b) take a gap year, work on getting more experience etc etc, reapply and hope i get in, because i could get rejected again. but if i get in, no debt (other than an optional maintenance loan) and its literally like. an hour away as opposed to a whole flight and train journey

At the minute, I can't choose. England has it's own positives - independence, a new place, already been accepted. But Ulster would mean I could live at home, and the course is funded (or at least was to be), which is obviously a major plus. The year out would also leave me time to improve my skills without worrying about balancing school. Thing is, I might not get in. Again. And then where does that leave me?

If I took a gap year, I'd ideally volunteer with SJA, and also try to get volunteer experience with the elderly and/or possibly with children in my old primary school as a classroom assistant. I'd hope to take BSL course and get my C1 licence too. Any other suggestions for what I could do in this year are VERY appreciated.

I'm yet to email Ulster on what actually got me rejected but I intend to do this tomorrow when admissions opens.

Does anyone have any advice what would be best here? Anyone else been in this position? Any advice at all helps!

I also got a rejection from ulster for paramedic science yesterday . Did you get the email with the feedback? It was saying there was over 600 applicants for 40 positions which is a bit mad. I am also starting to think about the possibility of taking a gap year as I have gotten a rejection from Bristol. Only have GCU and Keele left and havent even heard about an interview for GCU. I am more leaning towards getting into GCU as it is alot closer to NI. It’s very sad though because I was so excited to be able to go to ulster and only be an hour or two by train away from family as opposed to in a different country. Am thinking of the possibility of paying the late UCAS fee and applying to the university of Limerick down south but I still need to look into it more. It seems as though its the only one down south offering an undergraduate course to people not in the ambulance service but I’m really not sure. Wishing you all the best in whatever you decide to do

Yeah, eventually got the email with feedback - you think they’d try upping the places available if they consistently get over 600 applicants?? (they said that was what they got last year too)

Somewhere between going to UEA and going for a gap year. Waiting to hear from Bristol and GCU but expecting rejections on those fronts, but definitely agree - GCU would be so much handier to get to.

Ulster would’ve been better to go to though - literally an hour-ish up the road on the 212 as opposed to a hop skip and jump over the water. Really was not expecting a flat out rejection since I got interviews from Hull, UEA and Bristol, so was expecting at least that from Ulster. Feel like I could’ve cemented myself as a solid applicant if I’d even got an interview.

I think down south would be through the CAO? No clue how applications work down there tbh, never considered it.

What sort of stuff did you have on your personal statement? Trying to gauge what the difference was between getting and interview and getting a rejection - so far it seems to be if you’re a mature student, you’re in.

Hoping you figure it out too! Lots of decisions to make now

Ahhh yeah I meant CAO lol. To be honest I can’t really remember what I put on my personal statement, I mentioned SJA and DofE, also some other volunteering and that I worked in a pharmacy. I’m not really sure what more they could want, so yeah I’d say mature students are more likely to get in as they can gain a lot more experience.
A gap year is also looking really likely for me which is something I never thought I would have to do. Also is something I really don’t want to do because I was really excited to start the course and don’t think I could wait another year. I don’t really think I can take going through UCAS again ngl - the waiting is horrible, even a friend of mine who applied to medicine has gotten decisions from all her unis.
I definitely would like to get an offer from GCU but if they don’t and keele do give me an offer I think I will probably take it (even though Keele is kinda in the middle of nowhere in Staffordshire. It is also a masters degree so its 4 years which is alot). I just really want to get in somewhere lol.
I would be extremely sad moving so far away from friends and family here though I am definitely the type of person to get massive FOMO so I would miss home a lot.
Fingers crossed we atleast hear back from all of our options soon so we can start properly deciding what we are doing

Ah ok lol

I was excited too, absolutely devastated getting a pre-interview rejection because it was where I would've loved to go. But either UEA or a gap year is most likely for me now. Could try CAO too but I didn't look into it at all because it was never something I considered.

Was hoping to never see UCAS again.

Have you no offers yet? Hope you get into GCU, seems closest to home!

Definitely understand the FOMO. All my old friends were going to Belfast, and one current friend to England, so I was always going to be apart from them. Just never thought I'd be that far 😅. That being said, I feel like UEA would give me a chance to really come into myself as an adult, rather than feeling like a teenager forever (I /am/ 18, just doesn't feel like it lol). A bit of independence never hurt, huh?

Would be some craic if we both got into GCU! I'd like at least one other NI student where I'm going, if you get what I mean?

Currently heard back from 4/5, one offer, two rejections and on hold for Bristol. Not a peep from GCU, but hoping that changes.

Yeah I haven’t gotten any offers yet which is a bit nerve-wracking. Most of my friends are staying in Belfast, but one of my friends has an offer for Edinburgh (but also Queen’s so they don’t know where they’re going) so if I were to go to GCU I wouldn’t be far from them if they were to go to Edinburgh.

I’ve heard alot of good things about UEA, it seems to be pretty high up in the rankings and was very close to applying but I ended up not in the end. I get what you mean about becoming an adult, though I think Ulster would have been perfect for that because I would have moved to Magee so would have my own independence but also would be able to visit home as much as I want so wouldn’t miss out on much.

I was really hopeful about getting into UWE Bristol because I got an interview offer from them within like 3 hours of my application going through, but it ended up being my first rejection. I also applied to Lincoln but ended up withdrawing because I knew I didn’t want to go there (though this was before I started getting rejections so I probably should’ve stayed with it anyway)

I hope we can hear back from GCU soon because I just want to be done with interviews , especially with A-Levels being so close I feel like i’m so caught up worrying what to do that I’m not thinking about actually sitting my A-Levels in a couple months.

Hope you hear soon!

UEA was the first go get back to me (within a week of applying) and first to offer me a place, so I’m quite content about going there. Crying about accom prices though

I want the interviews done too - got so caught up in the “what to do now, I’ve been rejected” that ‘I think I also forgot i have A-Levels around the corner

Best of luck to you though!

I was talking to my careers teacher and the first thing she said to me when I told her about ulster was that most of the 40 applicants are probably mature students so it seems a lot of people are in agreement. She was talking about the possibility of talking a gap year now which is a bit daunting.

Looked at the Uni of Limerick and genuinely think I might fork out the 60 euros and apply late to CAO. Although one of the requirement for Limerick is a Full B license and a provisional C1 and im only doing my test for the car license in May so it is cutting it a bit close.

It also seems like Limerick do just a full year of placement in Year 2 (for a 4 year course) and you have to spend a full 52 weeks on placement. They also mentioned that their placement partner is NWAS so that would mean spending a full school year + summer in NW of England?!?!

Probably going to spend the rest of my day doing a deep dive into this because my careers teacher wants me to choose if I want to apply to CAO as soon as possible (also means no personal statement and no interview yay )

Best of luck to you aswell and hopefully things start going our way soon I am very excited for it to be July so Alevels can be done with.

Funny enough, my careers teacher said the same thing. I think 20-odd students that were accepted last year were mature students, so realistically there were 20 places for us.

Looked at Limerick too. Seems nice enough but I worry about HPECC vs HCPC if I want to move back up home. I have my car licence but I’d need a C1. No interview and no personal statement though? Sign me up

I’ve been doing a deep dive into accommodation and moving costs - Costs making me think it might be cheaper taking a gap year lol

Hopefully they do 🤞🏻

It seems like the HPECC vs HCPC thing is a lot more complicated with brexit and I can’t seem to find a straight answer. HCPC say they take relevant degrees for international applicants but don’t say which ones are eligible? Surely if the placement in Year 2 (which I have discovered is a paid placement ) is in NW England then we should be able to?

Apparently also with Limerick you are a qualified paramedic after your second year? So you can work while studying? Seems a bit confusing and I doubt HCPC would accept the qualification after two years but maybe after 4 years once you have the Bachelor’s then thats fine? Who knows.

I feel like the gap year would be a good idea because it would mean we are more likely being able to go to ulster but I really don’t want to wait another year and am not ready to leave education yet if that makes sense? Feel like if I were to take one I would just be lost in trying to figure out adulthood for a year. Could be fun but I feel like I just want to get my education over with.

Brexit 🙄 making everything complicated since what, 2016? 2017?

Maybe we could contact the HCPC? I’m sure they’d have an answer somewhere, we can’t be the first people looking to know that.

I would take a gap year, but e-mailing Ulster got me nowhere, so I don’t even know what I have to improve. Not sure I want to chance taking a year out, only to get pre-interview rejected yet again. A gap year would be easy enough if I had a A-B plan for what I needed to do, but failing that, it seems like a roundabout way to end up going to England anyways. That being said, I could get life skills in that gap year. Learn a language or something - helpful even to get jobs.

I was looking at old youtube videos for Limerick and one from 2 years ago I think was saying that some people do stay in the NW of england after there placement and some managed to get into the HCPC after the placement but they don’t talk about it much. It seems a bit weird to be able to work full time in the UK after a 2 year course.

Also they were talking about how the 3rd and 4th years only have 1 week of contact per semester? Would that mean the final 2 years are mainly online? It seems like such a weird course

My careers teacher was also saying that if I took a gap year that I should definitely go and work in a care home or some other healthcare type job and get the experience and also do a lot more SJA volunteering. I’d say doing all that would give you a lot higher chance of getting into ulster as all that experience would definitely be what puts the mature students ahead. Though that still doesn’t really guarantee anything sadly since its such a small course. My careers teacher was very shocked when I told her it was 40/600

It seems like if you go to Limerick, you’re probably handiest staying down that direction. Which could be all well and good of course, but I think the broad majority of people would like the possibility of taking their job back home with convenience. And (a possible) 2 years online??? What happened to communication being a critical part of the job lol

I was planning on the same if I take a gap year, maybe taking some extra qualification or another. SJA seems like the best bet though, as would care home experience and the like.

40/600….seriously, I’d pay for the bloody course if it meant I could feasibly get in! Spaces should easily be quadrupled. Queen’s medicine took 266 (home/eu) students for 2021/22 start, out of 1019! 26% acceptance rate rather than Ulster’s dim 7%! For a subject thats undoubtedly more competitive!

I think the decent thing for them to do would be to have a separate course for mature students, so school leavers such as ourselves actually get a shot. How do I compete with someone who was out working and getting experience, when I was still a Year 8 playing with fidget spinners?? Record ambulance and A+E wait times, and they’re denying hundreds of passionate applicants, and won’t explain why!

Facebook mum rant over lol

Ahhh a lovely wee facebook mum rant there
I’m starting to talk myself out of limerick a wee bit because the course is so weird but ahhh idk too many decisions.
I’ve read on a thread that keele uni medicine offers are coming out after the 31st so we will hope and pray its the same for paramedic science because ahhh I want to know if I have an offer but I also dont wanna know if ive been rejected ahhhh

thank you lmao

limerick does sound like a kinda weird course but if it’s what gets you there, it’s what gets you there, right?

Hoping you get good news soon

Did you hear from GCU? I got a rejection

Rejected here too. What reason did you get?

That there was alot of competition for the course and that my applicant was strong but not as strong as the other applicants what about you?

Yeah, eventually got the email with feedback - you think they’d try upping the places available if they consistently get over 600 applicants?? (they said that was what they got last year too)

Somewhere between going to UEA and going for a gap year. Waiting to hear from Bristol and GCU but expecting rejections on those fronts, but definitely agree - GCU would be so much handier to get to.

Ulster would’ve been better to go to though - literally an hour-ish up the road on the 212 as opposed to a hop skip and jump over the water. Really was not expecting a flat out rejection since I got interviews from Hull, UEA and Bristol, so was expecting at least that from Ulster. Feel like I could’ve cemented myself as a solid applicant if I’d even got an interview.

I think down south would be through the CAO? No clue how applications work down there tbh, never considered it.

What sort of stuff did you have on your personal statement? Trying to gauge what the difference was between getting and interview and getting a rejection - so far it seems to be if you’re a mature student, you’re in.

Hoping you figure it out too! Lots of decisions to make now