BMAT at Imperial

[The Messiah]

Just wondering how you people feel about Imperial using the BMAT from next year onwards (entry for 2006)....

I know a few people who want to apply there and are pissed....

[Sipadan]

Well, if you young blighters keep getting better and better A Levels results then I don't think that the med schools have any alternative other than a lottery system. No doubt though, it's a kick in the teeth after going through A Level hell.

[The Messiah]

Of course, i'm just wondering whether other London med schools might follow suit, becasue of the increase in applicant's they are going to get. I've already heard that QMUL are going to introduce it in 2007....

[Bambi]

I thought it was expected really, oxbridge do it UCL does it so it was a given really that Imperial would be next

[The Messiah]

I think so too. i'm just interested in the other unis response. A couple of years ago QMUL raised their offers to AAB from ABB becasue too many people were applying to it as they saw it as the easiest London emd school to get into....

[Sipadan]

Standard offers from med schools are a bit like an arms race, no one wants to be seen as inferior. In the good 'ole days, Charing Cross had a reputation for being the 'easy' London school and 3Cs might have done it. Now it's part of the super-charged Imperial College conglomerate, funny how things change.

[True4real]

Originally Posted by Sipadan

Standard offers from med schools are a bit like an arms race, no one wants to be seen as inferior. In the good 'ole days, Charing Cross had a reputation for being the 'easy' London school and 3Cs might have done it. Now it's part of the super-charged Imperial College conglomerate, funny how things change.

yup, lol... most of the upper end med schools have started with the BMAT, so why not imperial???... and also the competition is sooo much, for like imperial its supposed to be about 7 applicant to 1 place ratio, but we were told at an introductory lecture that it was more likely 14 to 1 ratio.

as well as this i look back at alevels, i found alevels pretty easy-ish, and most people would get in regardless.. however BMAT actually does separate the people who would easily get the AAA/AAB requirement. this then differentiates between the growing number of people who are all hitting the AAA/AAB requirement.

[wickedsingh]

In practice an entrance exam seems like a good idea, but I am not sure BMAT is designed well enough to pick out the best candidate.

For instance all the emphasis is on speed. You read a question, think and answer. I did the BMAT this year and did fairly well, I got 5.8, 5.6 and 7.5, which was better then this girl at my college who got into Cambridge.

But I am sure I could have got a much higher score. I am slightly slow in my approach to BMAT kind of problems. I read the questions, then identified any loopholes they expected me to fall through, then I find the two best answers and put the down what I think is the accurate one. Then I might read back over it to ensure I have put down the correct answer.

With this whole approach it takes me on average 1.5-2 minutes to do a question. So not enough time to do it all. Quicker speed doesnt necessarily translate into intelligence. Einstein spent ages devising his theories, but no one would argue he wasnt intelligent, infact many would say that he was the brightest person of his times.

[dingojackass]

Unfortunately as a doctor you won't have as long as Einstein had to postulate a diagnosis. I think that's what they're getting at - quick and accurate problem solving

[The Messiah]

Told you all so