Predjudice against good A-level Scores

[Libosoulja]

ok now this is the part where i think unis have links between each other. Ok the aim of every university is to fill as much places as they can rite... so they can get as much money from the government as possible. The only way to do this, is to optimise the total number of candidates given offers, that if a candidate of a specific calibour (average intake) is given say 2 offer, no other offers are ussued, to give another candidate the same number of offers, to garuntee 2 candidates with the same number of offers, rather than 1 person getting all 4 offers.

I understand that some perople get all 4 offers, but i only believe that happens when all the universities want that particular student for sum reasosn or another.

Lets face it, the guildlines give out by GMC 'tomorrows doctors' is the same, i.e same criteria for all unis, so there shud not be any slight difference, hence the same students who get 1 offer should get all 4, and this would give a higher probability that some univerisities wont even fill half thier spaces.

Medicine is differenct to other subjects in other subjects different criteria count, because it is not goverent by a main body.

can you see where im coming from?

[scrubs]

I get where you're coming from, however I dont agree.

These sorta rumours go round every year, and are always unproven.

This year is the first year where the whole thing is electronic, so do you think that in previous years it would be plausible for universities to collaborate with each other when there was no centralised (and remotely accessible) UCAS system where all details on offers/rejections could be kept? There are thousands of applicants to each medical school, I can't see how it is plausible to say that each uni checks up on each applicant with each of their other choices.

Even though the medical schools are meant to follow set guidlines on what makes a good medical applicant, I think its very much up to each university how much weighting they give to certain attributes, be they academic or other. For example, Edinburgh mark non-academic and academic aspects of a UCAS form out of the same marks, giving equal weighting to each, whereas Newcastle check you have the minimum grades needed in order to shortlist you, and then select candidates solely on extra-curricular activities.

Surely if such collaboration existed between universites then people would have heard of it? The UCAS system seems very strict on the fact that unis dont see your other choices, so as to not disadvantage you, so how would the unis know what your offer/rejection situation is like?

I understand what you mean about trying to get the right number of students each year. Its a fine balancing act it seems. As unis will only have, say, 240 places that will be funded each year, they've got to try and make enough offers that mean they'll get close to this number of firm acceptances (as people will turn down offers and not succeed with grades) without going over, as it is hugely expensive to fund a medical student's studies (cost about £250,000 I've heard) with no government support. I think this balancing act is achieved through previous experience and estimation, rather than secret collaboration.

[rajiv117]

no doubt grades are important , but at the end of the day the uni's want someone who can work alone, away from home , and has good communication skills , after all you may know everything about why a patient is sick but you need to relay it to them in a compassionate and proffesional manner. grades form a percentage of your application but not 100%, if you remember that your sure to get in, in my view.