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So I was chillin' wit' the med applicants today and..

I was shocked to find that a lot of them had got straight rejections or are still waiting on offers from unis like ICL UCL KCL and Nottingham. These students got 4/5 As at AS and they did all the work exp/voluntary work/DofE etc. I can't think why they wouldn't have got a lot of offers? They seem like the perfect potential med students.

They also got good BMAT/UKCAT scores (I think 1 of them got 20 or something from the BMAT and didn't get an interview from ICL) perhaps it was their personal statements? They said the best way to stand out is by a musical instrument or specific sport, is this true?

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Reply 1
Avatar for Hygeia
Hygeia
14
Reicey_x
I was shocked to find that a lot of them had got straight rejections or are still waiting on offers from unis like ICL UCL KCL and Nottingham. These students got 4/5 As at AS and they did all the work exp/voluntary work/DofE etc. I can't think why they wouldn't have got a lot of offers? They seem like the perfect potential med students.

They also got good BMAT/UKCAT scores (I think 1 of them got 20 or something from the BMAT and didn't get an interview from ICL) perhaps it was their personal statements? They said the best way to stand out is by a musical instrument or specific sport, is this true?


Getting into medicine is incredibly difficult - there are a huge number of 'excellent' applicants and something like 60% of applicants get 4 rejections. A large number of these will be predicted straight As at A level.
Personal statements are very important, and while having lots of work experience is good, the important thing is what is learnt from it and how it's portrayed on the PS rather than how much is done.
A huge number of applicants will play instruments/sport to a high standard and some of them will be rejected just as people will be accepted with neither sports or music.
Reply 2
Avatar for J4GGYBoss
J4GGYBoss
13
its not as hard as it looks!, if they have the right experience and places like leeds accept AAB. Which isnt too difficult. Dont go into medicine if your only after the money :smile:
Reply 3
Avatar for Reicey_x
Reicey_x
OP
2
J4GGYBoss
its not as hard as it looks!, if they have the right experience and places like leeds accept AAB. Which isnt too difficult. Dont go into medicine if your only after the money :smile:

I think it's incredibly hard, they applied to Leeds and sheffield and got straight rejections. Like I said, they had all the experience. I'm not sure if your last sentence is directed towards me?

If so, I'm definately not going into medicine for the money, what gave you that idea?!?!
Reply 4
Avatar for Reicey_x
Reicey_x
OP
2
J4GGYBoss
its not as hard as it looks!, if they have the right experience and places like leeds accept AAB. Which isnt too difficult. Dont go into medicine if your only after the money :smile:

You're not even applying to med... :|
Reply 5
Avatar for HiBear
HiBear
4
J4GGYBoss
its not as hard as it looks!, if they have the right experience and places like leeds accept AAB. Which isnt too difficult. Dont go into medicine if your only after the money :smile:


EXCUSE ME?

please, dont go around spreading lies about things you dont know anything about and go back to econ..

it is as hard as it looks, everyone has perfect grades (literally all my rejection letters have said: yeah our avg applicant grades were 43..... most offer 36 or 38.. IB Points)
everyone has the work experience, the extra curriculars....
Reply 6
Avatar for lukenn
lukenn
J4GGYBoss
its not as hard as it looks!, if they have the right experience and places like leeds accept AAB. Which isnt too difficult. Dont go into medicine if your only after the money :smile:


so when was the last time you applied to medical school? when med applicants say its hard to get in, they arent trying to brag or get symphathy or look impressive, they are saying it because it is. as said, 60% get straight rejections. its not the grades that are the hard part, its trying to make your application stand out so it actually gets noticed amongst the hundreds of similar applications.

OP, personal statement has such a huge influence, chances are they may not have portrayed their work experience well enough, or simply didnt stand out. who knows. more often than not its sheer luck :s-smilie:
Reply 7
Avatar for Kinkerz
Kinkerz
15
J4GGYBoss
its not as hard as it looks!, if they have the right experience and places like leeds accept AAB. Which isnt too difficult.


Please refrain from posting when you clearly know zilch about the topic. When you do post and your post reflects the true lack of knowledge you exhibit, it makes you look like a tool, you see.

Have a nice day :smile:

Edit: Cheers for the neg! "Your mum's my tool you trampy git". Yeah, I'm really offended and hurt :rofl: Please, next time come up with a superior insult and get yourself out of red-rep so your reps actually have some impact. I'll reiterate: Have a nice day :smile:
HiBear
EXCUSE ME?

please, dont go around spreading lies about things you dont know anything about and go back to econ..

it is as hard as it looks, everyone has perfect grades (literally all my rejection letters have said: yeah our avg applicant grades were 43..... most offer 36 or 38.. IB Points)
everyone has the work experience, the extra curriculars....

Doubt that. Not that many people get 43... and not all of them go into med. :lolwut: The second part is true though.
Reply 9
Avatar for HiBear
HiBear
4
moneyfaery
Doubt that. Not that many people get 43... and not all of them go into med. :lolwut: The second part is true though.


predicted grades....
they are a bit inflated most of the time, dont you think?
(too bad it wasnt so in my case... lol)

and fine it was only edinburgh.. but still!
HiBear
predicted grades....
they are a bit inflated most of the time, dont you think?
(too bad it wasnt so in my case... lol)

and fine it was only edinburgh.. but still!

No, predicted grades aren't inflated here. I wish they were. To be fair though, offers or 36-38 aren't that tough... but yeah, what's tough is actually getting noticed by the univ.
Reply 11
Avatar for HiBear
HiBear
4
moneyfaery
No, predicted grades aren't inflated here. I wish they were. To be fair though, offers or 36-38 aren't that tough... but yeah, what's tough is actually getting noticed by the univ.


i know many teachers here inflate them by 1 grade or so, if they are close to the borderline..

mm i agree 100%
Reply 12
Avatar for WilliamWJ
WilliamWJ
9
my friend just got AAAA in his jan exams and is predicted AAAA in all four A levels he has taken. he went to india with the world challenge in y11 and had to raise £3000 for the trip himself. he also went to gambia i think in the summer of last year and did voluntary work in a hospital there.
he got 4 rejections too...
WilliamWJ
my friend just got AAAA in his jan exams and is predicted AAAA in all four A levels he has taken. he went to india with the world challenge in y11 and had to raise £3000 for the trip himself. he also went to gambia i think in the summer of last year and did voluntary work in a hospital there.
he got 4 rejections too...


Reading such anecdotes makes me consider suicide.
WilliamWJ
my friend just got AAAA in his jan exams and is predicted AAAA in all four A levels he has taken. he went to india with the world challenge in y11 and had to raise £3000 for the trip himself. he also went to gambia i think in the summer of last year and did voluntary work in a hospital there.
he got 4 rejections too...


All comes down to how he came across in his PS and/or at interview. Its all very well having done all those things but if you fail to state what you gained from the experiences then you're buggered tbh. And the same goes for interview, regardless of how eloquent and chatty you may be normally, if you walk into the room and just freeze then it'd be less than impressive.

A lot of things can cause a good applicant to be not quite as good as another, unfortunately medicine applications are never clear cut.
Reply 15
Avatar for Reicey_x
Reicey_x
OP
2
lol it's funny how I'm getting more and more scared about applying.
Reicey_x
lol it's funny how I'm getting more and more scared about applying.


Writing a good PS (leave plenty of time to do this and get it checked over by lots of people), making sure you do your research about where you apply to and just generally being prepared and well organised will help you a lot, Yes applying to medicine is difficult, you just need to do whatever you can to make it (marginally) easier for yourself :smile:
Mask Of Sanity
Reading such anecdotes makes me consider suicide.


I'm assuming you're going to apply for Medicine...? In which case, don't lose hope!! It's perfectly possible to get an offer (or several!) for Medicine.

Although I'm lucky that I didn't discover the Student Room before applying. If I'd realised how difficult it was to get an offer, I might not have even tried :s-smilie:
Reply 18
Avatar for shark67
shark67
13
ever heard of luck?
Reply 19
Avatar for Kinkerz
Kinkerz
15
RedFeltTipPen
Although I'm lucky that I didn't discover the Student Room before applying. If I'd realised how difficult it was to get an offer, I might not have even tried :s-smilie:


See my offer was at least 50% from the PS helpers on TSR, they basically got me to interview stage. Without the PS helpers I doubt I'd have got to interview stage for 2009 entry.

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