Wolfie Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Hey there! So I am planning to apply to the UK as an international student. In high school I am doing the IB diploma and my predicted will be around 40-41 with HL biology (7) HL chemistry (6) HL Psychology (6) SL Eng (6) SL Mandarin (6) SL Math (6-7), my UKCAT score was average 650 with a band 3 SJT. I really wanted to apply to imperial, UCL, King's, Brighton Sussex and possibly anything for another school. According to my grades and UKCAT, what do you guys think would be my best option? and do you guys think King's would consider me as they highly value UKCAT score? Any advice would be amazing! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac117 Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 EU med applicant here! My predicted are in my signature, and they’re slightly different (but not by much). My UKCAT was 655 SJT 3, and I am considering King’s as well. If you have decent GCSEs (5-6A* +) it will work for your advantage as they value these too. Try to see whether there isn’t more of a “safer” choice out there (eg. Aberdeen, Bristol - both of them don’t value UKCAT as highly as King’s and they’re amazing schools!). There’s a cap on the international medics, so it’s worth nothing the competition for the few places will be high. Are you international as in outside the EU (so not in the home/EU quota), or from EU? I’m applying to UCL as well! Make sure they don’t require a 7 in chem hl, because that’s what I’ve been told when I called them (though maybe that’s not the case?). Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted September 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 As in outside of the EU, will take a look at those universities! Over the summer I went to the UCL talks of medicine and was pretty sure I heard you either need to get a 7 in HL Biology or HL Chemistry for requirements. Hope that helps! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Befuddled Posted September 30, 2017 Report Share Posted September 30, 2017 I considering to apply to Manchester for medicine and some others as well (BSMS, Sussex, Brighton Birmingham, etc.) But I found out some of them had UKCAT minimums - like Manchester needed top third decile. I got an unexpectedly low score - 2440. Should I still apply to Manchester? (I'll be in the to-be-considered pile ) While I'm at it, I might as well ask - is there really a 4 uni limit to medicine for UCAS? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaby Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 On 30/09/2017 at 4:03 PM, Befuddled said: While I'm at it, I might as well ask - is there really a 4 uni limit to medicine for UCAS? Yes, there is. The 5th choice people make is usually something related e.g. biomedicine, biochemistry, biomedical science, stuff like that. Entry into med school is very competitive, it is often that you don't get into any of your choices, that 5th choice is something to fall back on. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) Hey, I applied to Imperial as an international student and have a deferred entry position. Your predicted grades are looking good, and if your BMAT goes well that should be good! I believe UCL tends to be a bit tougher to get into (either that or they really didn't like the drop in my grades since I heard literally nothing from them after IB grades came out and were like nope, not good enough ). Anyway, I wish you luck! Edit: I read the above posts and apparently I needed that 7 in Chem. Damn it, make sure you don't freak out in your exams and you'll be good for it. Edited October 1, 2017 by Guest Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Befuddled Posted October 2, 2017 Report Share Posted October 2, 2017 14 hours ago, Gaby said: Yes, there is. The 5th choice people make is usually something related e.g. biomedicine, biochemistry, biomedical science, stuff like that. Entry into med school is very competitive, it is often that you don't get into any of your choices, that 5th choice is something to fall back on. Ahh, ok. So I'll have to pay the multiple course fee if I choose another kind right? Does that mean I should tweak my personal statement to include something like biochemistry? Because I really just want to focus on medicine and not give them the idea I'm not completely determined to do medicine... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac117 Posted October 2, 2017 Report Share Posted October 2, 2017 On 30/09/2017 at 5:03 PM, Befuddled said: I considering to apply to Manchester for medicine and some others as well (BSMS, Sussex, Brighton Birmingham, etc.) But I found out some of them had UKCAT minimums - like Manchester needed top third decile. I got an unexpectedly low score - 2440. Should I still apply to Manchester? (I'll be in the to-be-considered pile ) While I'm at it, I might as well ask - is there really a 4 uni limit to medicine for UCAS? I suggest against applying to Manchester. My friend got 2450 in the UKCAT and he chose universities which were not that keen on selecting students mainly through the UKCAT. I didn't do that well myself (2620), so I chose GCSE-heavy universities where my interview chances are much, much higher. If you have good predicted grades (39+ I'd say), you should try BMAT unis such as Oxbridge or UCL/Imperial. Make sure you like their style of teaching, though, because it is quite significantly different to the typical 5-year medical course. Also, some unis might require a 7 predicted in chemistry (e.g. UCL), so keep that in mind as well. Some less UKCAT-heavy unis are: -Birmingham -Aberdeen -Keele -Leicester (if you have good GCSEs, so 7A*+, you are almost guaranteed an interview) - QMUL (but here you really need stellar GCSEs and band 1 or 2 in SJT) -Bristol (50% is personal statement - crazy!) Regarding the personal statement. Unis are aware of the sheer competition surrounding the medical degree, and are more-often-than-not willing to accept students who don't mention the course they applied for in their personal statement. That's what I've been told by admission officers at King's College London, Birmingham, and Manchester. As long as it is somewhat relevant to the medical degree (you will be almost 100% rejected if you apply for theatre studies or English literature for you 5th choice) you should be fine. Though, worth noting, is that applying to somewhere like Oxbridge or Durrham for your 5th choice might be risky, as these unis already have a high demand for their courses with students who write personal statements directly related to the course they're applying to. Personally, I chose molecular genetics, as it is something I'm very interested in. If you have any questions, hit me up. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB`NOT`ez Posted October 7, 2017 Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 (edited) On 9/23/2017 at 2:40 AM, Wolfie said: Hey there! So I am planning to apply to the UK as an international student. In high school I am doing the IB diploma and my predicted will be around 40-41 with HL biology (7) HL chemistry (6) HL Psychology (6) SL Eng (6) SL Mandarin (6) SL Math (6-7), my UKCAT score was average 650 with a band 3 SJT. I really wanted to apply to imperial, UCL, King's, Brighton Sussex and possibly anything for another school. According to my grades and UKCAT, what do you guys think would be my best option? and do you guys think King's would consider me as they highly value UKCAT score? Any advice would be amazing! Would just like to throw out Hull York Medical School, St. Andrews & Edinburgh for your considerations. Have a friend who got into Hull York - her condition might have been a 35-36 with a 6 and 5 for Biology and Chemistry HLs, respectively. Edited October 10, 2017 by IB`NOT`ez 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac117 Posted October 7, 2017 Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 1 hour ago, IB`NOT`ez said: Would just like to throw out Hull York Medical School, St. Andrews & Edinburgh for your considerations. Have a friend who got into Hull York - her predicted might have been a 35-36 with a 6 and 5 for Biology and Chemistry HLs, respectively. Good point! There's also a completely new medical school at Aston University (literally the first year they allow undergrads to apply for medicine is this year!) and they also have 665 requirement. They only let in 60 undergrads this year but I know for a fact this med school is under the radar and many aren't aware of its existence (or are afraid to apply because it's new), so it might be worth a shot! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaby Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 On 02/10/2017 at 1:10 PM, Befuddled said: Ahh, ok. So I'll have to pay the multiple course fee if I choose another kind right? Does that mean I should tweak my personal statement to include something like biochemistry? Because I really just want to focus on medicine and not give them the idea I'm not completely determined to do medicine... No, just write a personal statement for medicine, that's what most people do. And you don't pay a 'multiple course fee', because there is no such fee, you just pay a normal fee for 5 choices. In theory, a UCAS application would allow you to apply for 5 unrelated subjects e.g. medicine, law, English lit, physics and theatre studies - UCAS doesn't care, it'd just be extraordinarily stupid. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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