The Student Room Group

Should I apply to medicine strategically?

Hey Student Room!

I did a lot worse on my UCAT than I would’ve wanted, 2530 B1. 600 in VR, 610 in DM, 720 in QR & 600 in AR (I’m most angry at my AR score tbh).

I got a 9 in Chem and Physics, 8 in Biology, Computer Science, Maths and Geography, 7 in English Lit & 6 in English Language. In a Polar 4 Quintile 2 area, and very above average grades for my school.

I picked out 4 medical schools: Keele, Brunel, Kent and Medway & Plymouth. Are all of these good choices? Any of these that I should change? Or should I take a gap year? Taking on all feedback here. Sorry if this isn’t the correct place but I’d appreciate any advice whatsoever 🙏
(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 1

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum. :biggrin:

The Medicine forum gets a high volume of questions being posted, and some of these are already answered by the resources and Megathreads that members of the community and volunteers have created. This is an automatic post which is designed to highlight these resources. Below is a list of threads and articles that could answer your question (you should be looking in the original post of the megathreads). If one of the below threads is a more relevant place to ask your question, please post a reply in that thread to ask your question. If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked below, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Megathreads
(Please read the first post, before then posting any further questions you have within that thread.)
The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread
Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

2023 Applicants:
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2023 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2023 Entry
Medicine 2023 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2023 Entry
Medicine Interview discussion 2023 Entry
2023 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Index of Individual Medical School Applicants' threads 2023 Entry

2024 Applicants :
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2024 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
GAMSAT 2024 / 2025 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2024 Entry Discussions Megathread
Medicine 2024 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2024 Entry
Medicine Interview Discussion 2024 Entry
2024 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Medical Schools Index 2024 Entry

2025 Applicants :
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2025 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
GAMSAT 2025 / 2026 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2025 Entry Discussions Megathread


Other application years:
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2026 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2026 Entry

Useful Articles:
GCSE Requirements for Medicine
Everything you need to know about the BMAT
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
Interview Frequently Asked Questions
MMI Medicine Interview Tips
What to do after an unsuccessful first application
Funding medicine as a second degree

If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked above, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Reply 2

I think you’ve made good choices, but don’t downplay your achievements. Your UCAT score is good, as are you GCSES and predicted A levels. They sound like great choices and I don’t think there’s an issues with them, as long as you genuinely want to go there. Don’t apply to a university you wouldn’t want to attend. Best of luck!!

Reply 3

Plymouth UCAT cutoff was 2680 in 2022, however, it decreased in 2023 to 2210 for 2024.
So do you thunk it will remain that low?

Reply 4

Original post by Rose_Blyton
Plymouth UCAT cutoff was 2680 in 2022, however, it decreased in 2023 to 2210 for 2024.
So do you thunk it will remain that low?

I have no idea, I’m praying that it won’t jump up more than 300 ish points because if it does I’m screwed
(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 5

To be fair, I feel it would be unfair for it to jump that much, considering the UCAT percentiles this year weren’t massively different to last year. We won’t fully know but I don’t think that should put you off applying, I still think it would be a good choice

Reply 6

Original post by BlueTiger55
To be fair, I feel it would be unfair for it to jump that much, considering the UCAT percentiles this year weren’t massively different to last year. We won’t fully know but I don’t think that should put you off applying, I still think it would be a good choice

Yeah I don’t know why it would jump that much, which is why I’m taking the risk and opting for it. After I posted, I switch Brunel to Bangor because I found out that in 2024 they only had 50 home students (probably a limited number of spaces). Thanks for the help :smile:))

Reply 7

Good idea, Bangor seems like a great option. No problem! Come back when you get your interview invite!!
so good that you are applying this year
even if for many applicants it ends up being a 2 year process applying for medicine ( and you are being sensible, so could well get offers this cycle anyway) it must be invaluable experience of applying, preparing for and sitting the admissions test and of interviews
wish all of you success on this supportive thread
( ps you got a SJT Band 1 👏🏼)

Reply 9

Hey could I ask about mine. I got 999999988 at GCSE, predicted A*AA (chem, bio, history), UCAT 2890 but band 3 😭. I was thinking Liverpool, Leeds, Oxford and St Andrews. Are these good?

Reply 10

Original post by BlueTiger55
Hey could I ask about mine. I got 999999988 at GCSE, predicted A*AA (chem, bio, history), UCAT 2890 but band 3 😭. I was thinking Liverpool, Leeds, Oxford and St Andrews. Are these good?

Post on which med school should i apply to thread using format on first page

Reply 11

Original post by MedMama
so good that you are applying this year
even if for many applicants it ends up being a 2 year process applying for medicine ( and you are being sensible, so could well get offers this cycle anyway) it must be invaluable experience of applying, preparing for and sitting the admissions test and of interviews
wish all of you success on this supportive thread
( ps you got a SJT Band 1 👏🏼)

Thank you very much, that was incredibly helpful! That really calmed me down.

Quick Reply