Less popular?

[Jonny-R]

Basing this on, to be honest, nothing substantial.. but the B&L sub-forum is looking a little quiet. I suspected this anyway, but does anybody else think the school is going to be much less popular this year with the new grade requirements?
It was in my opinion the easiest London school to get an offer from because of how they used the UKCAT so extensively and therefore interviewing a large number of applicants with quite relaxed interviews.

Maybe they have ruined the popularity now, I got the feeling that while it is a brilliant and proud medical school it was perhaps in quite a few cases chosen as a secondary option. So in effect, a lot of people wouldn't chose it over the others.

I might be very very wrong. Just what I was wondering. And this isn't how I feel. I loved it - and it won't affect me when I apply post graduate.

[ric87]

Haha I like ur thinking. I certainly hope so as have applied this year as a post graduate for the 5 year course. Maybe its more because they are a bit more clear on what they require for example UKCAT, so it causes less discussion? Where else have u applied? I hope I hear from unis soon!

[kotoreru]

Wow, just read through the Barts MBBS admissions page. It's almost doubled in size since last year!

Jonny-R; in my opinion the extensive use of the UKCAT is a two edged sword. Many very capable people probably didnt get an interview because they scored marginally too low.

I imagine Barts will get a high application rate, whatever their req. grades. As for 2nd choices - I couldnt tell you. I got an offer elsewhere (on a GEP) and still took the Barts' 5 year offer. Ho hum...

[icecream]

well i think it may be a bit quiet as there is still very little news about interviews and rejections yet, and so theres not many "who has BL firm for 2009" or "omg i have an interview" threads popping up in this sub forum yet.

[okora]

mmmm but admittedly, it is definately much quieter this year than it was last year...im a reapplicant too and i remember people starting to hear news by this time last year. its most certainly very quiet at the mo

...mmm it definately is different this year ...how bizaar :s

[f_debelder]

I agree. Most people applied because of the soft option, the heavy UKCAT and interview stuff, noone really wanted the crappy QMUL association. The people who wanted it as a first choice were generally in the know about Barts and the London itself, and/or had family connections with the old medical colleges.

[Gizmo says -]

its a reflection of the general type of people applying to medicine though.

if the applicant cohort were all near the median income value for people in this country, brats would be generally considered more MUCH favoured than the more expensive counterparts in west london.

but becos med skools tend to attract a large body of people from 'igher income family (not 'ighest, but 'igher), then their perception of med skools projects onto this forum more than the more sensible view of the generalised public.
If we were applicants from more moderate backgrounds, then Brats would bee seen as more valuable than imperial and brats, but instead, the views of a subset of people who are cloned to value ucl and imperial will dominate through sheer force of concentrated numbers.

i mean.... most of the generalised public see UCL as a white elephant whore of a university, truth be told. RFUMS suffers in the public eye as a consequence.

[Kinkerz]

Barts was in my list, but they raised the enrty requirements to AAA (not good for me :P), and when I'd sat the UKCAT I had to rule Barts out because I did badly...

[Gizmo says -]

see people like kinky are in the minority, although i would add that the minority is getting larger, i am pretty sure.

[rosa999]

i think there is something in that barts is often not top choice, i know it wasn't for me but now i'm here i love it to bits and can't imagine going anywhere else.
i really hope the increased grades don't put people off, its worth the extra effort xxx