The Student Room Group

Medicine clearing?

I know this is obviously wrong , but can you hold an offer and still apply for med in clearing . soz but I dont need a lecture about how lucky I am to have an offer I understand , dont mean to be rude . what im thinking is try get verbal confirmation from the uni and then once received go into clearing then ? thanks in advance :smile:

Reply 1

why would you go into clearing if you have an offer? have you changed your mind about the course? if so then i dont think you can, medicine is super super competitive and not to mention all the entry exams (bmat, ucat)
just apply next year after a gap year if you are serious about med
also see below:

Who can use Clearing?
You can apply for a course using Clearing if you’re not already holding an offer from another university or college, and the course still has places.
You can use Clearing if:

you’re applying after 30 June

you didn’t receive any offers (or none you wanted to accept)

you didn’t meet the conditions of your offers

you've paid the multiple choice application fee of £27

you’ve declined your firm place using the ‘decline my place’ button in your application

from https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/26/what-is-clearing-and-when-does-it-open-in-2023/

Reply 2

It doesn't matter where you do a Medical degree - your patients are never going to ask 'which Uni' and neither will the NHS.

Medicine isn't a vanity contest.
The way clearing works is that you need to decline your offers before you go into clearing. If you do this, I can guarantee you that you won't be getting that Medicine offer back if the plan goes lopsided.

Since the demise of UCAS Adjustment, some universities are happy for you to enquire if you'd be accepted while still holding an offer and before going into clearing, but not every university does this and I'd assume that med schools in particular would be extremely unhappy about this and probably wouldn't allow you to do this.

In any case, this is all a moot point because only a handful of places are available in clearing for Medicine and they get snatched up instantly. As others have pointed out, you should be extremely happy with your offer - you're in the lucky 1/3ish of med applicants that actually got an offer, it doesn't matter where you go to university for Medicine either so just let it go.
(edited 1 year ago)
The speed at which you’d need to refer yourself to a results day clearing choice for med would negate the “have your cake and eat it” strategy. A lot of remaining med places get filled via waitlists so you really are scrabbling around for a very small number of places which are being snapped up.

Reply 5

Original post by Scotland Yard
The way clearing works is that you need to decline your offers before you go into clearing. If you do this, I can guarantee you that you won't be getting that Medicine offer back if the plan goes lopsided.
Since the demise of UCAS Adjustment, some universities are happy for you to enquire if you'd be accepted while still holding an offer and before going into clearing, but not every university does this and I'd assume that med schools in particular would be extremely unhappy about this and probably wouldn't allow you to do this.
In any case, this is all a moot point because only a handful of places are available in clearing for Medicine and they get snatched up instantly. As others have pointed out, you should be extremely happy with your offer - you're in the lucky 1/3ish of med applicants that actually got an offer, it doesn't matter where you go to university for Medicine either so just let it go.

thanks for the reply . my plan was to only go into clearing if a med school gives me verbal confirmation and id be willing to risk it if a med school explicitly had given me the heads up . Also since I am a gap yr applicant I have already achieved alevels which makes it easier for clearing as some med schools like kcl last year were in clearing way before alevel results day .

Reply 6

Original post by Admit-One
The speed at which you’d need to refer yourself to a results day clearing choice for med would negate the “have your cake and eat it” strategy. A lot of remaining med places get filled via waitlists so you really are scrabbling around for a very small number of places which are being snapped up.

I love the analogy haha . hopefully me having achieved alevels will expedite the process

Reply 7

Original post by examboard
thanks for the reply . my plan was to only go into clearing if a med school gives me verbal confirmation and id be willing to risk it if a med school explicitly had given me the heads up . Also since I am a gap yr applicant I have already achieved alevels which makes it easier for clearing as some med schools like kcl last year were in clearing way before alevel results day .

'Way before Results Day' :
Many Unis will have places for International applicants in early Clearing - that doesnt mean they will be offering UK places in August.

Most Med Schools have 'waiting lists' of applicants who they interviewed but didnt make an offer to and if they are a) not holding an offer anywhere else, an b) get the grades, these are the folk they use to fill any spaces - because organising full MMI in the middle of Clearing is a nightmare any Uni will want to avoid.
Original post by examboard
thanks for the reply . my plan was to only go into clearing if a med school gives me verbal confirmation and id be willing to risk it if a med school explicitly had given me the heads up . Also since I am a gap yr applicant I have already achieved alevels which makes it easier for clearing as some med schools like kcl last year were in clearing way before alevel results day .

A verbal offer does not guarantee you a place however. They can give you a verbal offer at the same time someone on a different line gives another applicant a verbal offer, and in the time it takes you to reject your current offer to then add that uni to your UCAS in clearing for them to confirm their offer, they may not have any spaces left.

And medicine is one of the courses where there are a very fixed number of places (as universities only get a certain number of places allocated each year by the government and get huge fines if they go over).

As above where you go to medical school is besides the point (the NHS specifically blinds specialty recruiters from your medical school to ensure no bias) - getting into any medical school is the hard part. This is like winning the lottery and asking if you should bet all your lottery winnings on red 31 with 1:1 odds at the roulette table. Best case scenario you end up in the same situation as before, and there's a very strong risk you lose everything.

I would recommend focusing on the offer you do have and planning ahead for the course there :smile:

Reply 9

Take the advice above - it is from someone who knows the University admissions system inside out.
You will not get better advice.

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