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Medicine in clearing!

Hey guys, I am currently a Year 13 Student who just finished their Levels. I was just wondering that if I do my UCAT before results day is it possible for me to go through clearing with that UCAT score or do I have to use a score form the last cycle (if there are any med schools in clearing). Thank you so much!

Reply 1

I might be wrong but I think that :
1) Medicine courses almost never go into clearing
2) The UCAT is for next year's applicants. If there were any spaces in clearing, I think you'd have to use the score you got last year.

Reply 2

Aa above, as all Med applicants have to be interviewed / complete MMIs, and this would be a nightmare to run in the middle of Clearing, AND because Unis dont want to the PR disaster of Medicine in Clearing, any Results Day spaces will be filled by 'near miss' offer holders or those they previously interviewed earlier in the year but who missed the cut-off score for an offer.

If you have now decided that you want to do Medicine, go to Uni Open Days now, get some relevant work / volunteer experience over the summer, and apply in the autumn for 2026 entry.

Useful Mooc - free online Uni course - that explains the application process -
Applying for Medical School - Online Course - FutureLearn

Reply 3

Original post
by conspicuous-toot
H(if there are any med schools in clearing).


...which there won't be.
Original post
by Reality Check
...which there won't be.

There are usually a few nowadays, although they only have a handful of places(!). Think St Georges was the first to utilise clearing and now there's usually a few medical schools with a couple places that get snapped up pretty quick.

Dentistry on the other hand still doesn't use clearing as far as I know (exclusively using wait lists I gather). Not heard anything about vet med either.

Last year UCL even went into the main clearing process for the first time (not for medicine mind)! Strange times...

Reply 5

Original post
by artful_lounger
There are usually a few nowadays, although they only have a handful of places(!). Think St Georges was the first to utilise clearing and now there's usually a few medical schools with a couple places that get snapped up pretty quick.
Dentistry on the other hand still doesn't use clearing as far as I know (exclusively using wait lists I gather). Not heard anything about vet med either.
Last year UCL even went into the main clearing process for the first time (not for medicine mind)! Strange times...

That's interesting - I didn't realise that any medical places were popping up on Clearing. Whoever got one of them must have felt that all their Christmases had come at once.
Original post
by Reality Check
That's interesting - I didn't realise that any medical places were popping up on Clearing. Whoever got one of them must have felt that all their Christmases had come at once.

Yeah I bet! It's a new-ish trend. I think first started happening with one or two medical schools before COVID, then during COVID between the pandemic and also there was a year with a demographic hole due to low births 18 years before, it got a bit more normalised I think? Then again there was also one year where medical schools had to offer free tuition, rent, all sorts to anyone that deferred, because due to over-offering and then too many reaching the offer grades they had more unconditional offers than quota'd places...

I think those places are a bit more like how clearing used to work originally where it was a fierce scramble for one of a handful of places (as opposed to now where it's almost just a second application round with how many unis/courses often end up in clearing and how many students make use of it now). And I think there have been years where there were no places (e.g. the above mentioned year where they had to offer loads of students bonuses to defer entry for a year to avoid fines from the government).

That said in relation to OPs question I believe they normally only accept UCAT scores from the "current" cycle i.e. only people who took the UCAT to apply by the usual deadline have valid scores (whether or not they applied to medicine in the end). However may be dependent on the medical school...?

Reply 7

Original post
by artful_lounger
Yeah I bet! It's a new-ish trend. I think first started happening with one or two medical schools before COVID, then during COVID between the pandemic and also there was a year with a demographic hole due to low births 18 years before, it got a bit more normalised I think? Then again there was also one year where medical schools had to offer free tuition, rent, all sorts to anyone that deferred, because due to over-offering and then too many reaching the offer grades they had more unconditional offers than quota'd places...
I think those places are a bit more like how clearing used to work originally where it was a fierce scramble for one of a handful of places (as opposed to now where it's almost just a second application round with how many unis/courses often end up in clearing and how many students make use of it now). And I think there have been years where there were no places (e.g. the above mentioned year where they had to offer loads of students bonuses to defer entry for a year to avoid fines from the government).
That said in relation to OPs question I believe they normally only accept UCAT scores from the "current" cycle i.e. only people who took the UCAT to apply by the usual deadline have valid scores (whether or not they applied to medicine in the end). However may be dependent on the medical school...?

PRSOM

Reply 8

St Georges has in the past tried early Clearing to scoop up mainly overseas applicants who will often have results earlier than A levels. I doubt if any Unis have been in main Clearing for UK applicants recently.

Reply 9

Original post
by Reality Check
...which there won't be.

wanna bet?

med Clearing 2024 (source):
Anglia Ruskin
Buckingham
Central Lancashire
Leicester
Newcastle
Sheffield
St George's University London
Swansea

med Clearing 2023 (source):
Buckingham
King's College London
St George's University London
Leicester
York
HYMS
UCL
Medical schools definitely entered clearing last year:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7497374

Reply 11

Original post
by dx7
wanna bet?
med Clearing 2024 (source):
Anglia Ruskin
Buckingham
Central Lancashire
Leicester
Newcastle
Sheffield
St George's University London
Swansea
med Clearing 2023 (source):
Buckingham
King's College London
St George's University London
Leicester
York
HYMS
UCL

UK - or just Overseas places?
Original post
by McGinger
UK - or just Overseas places?


UK as well

Reply 13

Original post
by KA_P
UK as well

Not obvious on the links you provided.
Original post
by McGinger
Not obvious on the links you provided.

The first post of the thread specifies which medical schools entered clearing last year and which ones required only international. How would you suggest to improve to make it more clear for this year?

Reply 15

Original post
by KA_P
The first post of the thread specifies which medical schools entered clearing last year and which ones required only international. How would you suggest to improve to make it more clear for this year?

I'd suggest that you don't rely on Medify, a commercial website with its own agenda, for any information like this.
Original post
by McGinger
I'd suggest that you don't rely on Medify, a commercial website with its own agenda, for any information like this.


Oh no! That wasn't my link or post! We have a whole thread on TSR for this each year and it relies on directly checking the UCAS search tool, the university website course page, applicants who have shared responses from directly contacting admissions etc.

This is the link I was talking about:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7497374
(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 17

Original post
by McGinger
I'd suggest that you don't rely on Medify, a commercial website with its own agenda, for any information like this.

you did just that above w FutureLearn

Reply 18

Original post
by dx7
you did just that above w FutureLearn

Did what.

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