SGUL vs Bristol

[Raindroppe]

Aaargh, I just wish we could pick 5 Unis, then I'd be MORE than happy!

Anyway, I'm a reapplicant for medicine. Last year I applied to Cardiff, Cambridge, UCL and BSMS. THIS year, I am definetely applying to UCL. I will then probably go for Cardiff and Southampton. For my final choice, I'm deciding between Bristol and SGUL. I think.

I prefer Bristol city, but they don't require an admissions test. In my UKCAT I got an ave of 725, and I'm thinking why apply somewhere where they're not even going to look at it? It just means I have to do even better at Interview, and last year, I think interviews were one place where I fell. However, Bristol is further from home (I don't want to be too far away). BUT I like that in Bristol you're not just stuck with healthcare students.

So what do you all think? Which place do you prefer and why? What are the pros and cons of each place? And which place do you think I have a better chance at?

If grades help sway your opinions at all, I got 3 As at A level for Chemistry, Biology and Psychology and at AS I also got As in Maths and General Studies, with a B in Critical Thinking. At GCSE I got 10A* and 2A.

[malaz_197]

i personally fell in love with Bristol at the open day, but ended up not applying and when i went out to Bristol with my friends, i was glad i didnt. it just felt unfriendly and lacks that special feel to it. it just looked and felt lifeless. but this is a personal preference thing. your grades are fantastic for both places. if intervews are where you fell last year, you need to fix that for this time. both st george's and bristol interview so applying to a non-UKCAT uni doesnt mean you have to do better. plus St George's dont use UKCAT in determining who gets offers,they only use it in border line cases so you have to do well in both places.

i would suggest SGUL, because:
-Very friendly place (according to me)

-Only independent healthcare institution in the UK, so there is no rivlary with non medics (according to wikipedia)

-2nd institution in the UK to provide formal medical education, established in 1751 (according to wikipedia)

-Gained an excellent 23 out of 24 in the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) inspection of medicine, the highest score of any London Medical School (according to their website)

-Top UKCAT medical school in London (according to Times League table)

-Is part of the hospital, materilaising reason as to why you are there

-You get to meet cool people like me (according to me)

but if you feel that you want Bristol and are only applying to SGUL because you think you can get in, then better stick with Bristol.

[***]

i would suggest SGUL, because:
-Very friendly place (according to me)

True, but I am sure the same can be said of most places if you are a friendly sort of person who gets on well with others.

-Only independent healthcare institution in the UK, so there is no rivlary with non medics (according to wikipedia)

There are many non-medic students at SGUL so be careful with this statement.

-2nd institution in the UK to provide formal medical education, established in 1751 (according to wikipedia)

What has this got to do with the present day? Bad reason to choose to study at a particular institution.

-Gained an excellent 23 out of 24 in the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) inspection of medicine, the highest score of any London Medical School (according to their website)

How does this translate to the quality of undergraduate medicine? I'm not sure what the QAA assesses or of its relevance.

-Top UKCAT medical school in London (according to Times League table)

Again, what has this got to do with the course? This seems like a meaningless statistic and ha absolutely no bearing on the quality of the course.

-Is part of the hospital, materilaising reason as to why you are there

No, it shares the site with St George's Hospital but is not part of the hospital. In the first 2 years I got to spend a total of about 2 hours on the wards!

-You get to meet cool people like me (according to me)

I can't support or refute this assertion!

but if you feel that you want Bristol and are only applying to SGUL because you think you can get in, then better stick with Bristol.

Most sensible thing you've written in the entire post!!!

malaz_197 - have you actually started at SGUL yet? Just curious. Always good to have an ambassador for the place although would be better if you used meaningful arguments, but if you haven't started yet then you are forgiven!

[Gizmo says -]

it is really part of the ospital.
its the same building, that big red mass of bricks and white plastics.

being fifty yards from the library or lecture to any department you want is pretty much an advantage, compared to needing to tek a bus in. it means you can use the departments easily, though if you ave no intention of using this advantage (like 99% of georgies medics) then its no advantage at all.

[malaz_197]

There are many non-medic students at SGUL so be careful with this statement.

true, i meant non-healthcare.

What has this got to do with the present day? Bad reason to choose to study at a particular institution.

it shows that its a well established uni with a long experience of educating future doctors.

How does this translate to the quality of undergraduate medicine? I'm not sure what the QAA assesses or of its relevance.

huh?! QAA is the university Ofsted. so it shows that university is achieving high standards of education.

Again, what has this got to do with the course? This seems like a meaningless statistic and ha absolutely no bearing on the quality of the course.

i dont go by these things myself (if i did, i would have chosen Cardiff) but for people who care, its the top one! and it must have been placed there for a reason.

No, it shares the site with St George's Hospital but is not part of the hospital. In the first 2 years I got to spend a total of about 2 hours on the wards!

well, its part of it building-wise. and i didnt mean spending time on the wards by my statement. being based in the hospital makes you more positive about learning.

I can't support or refute this assertion!

im sure you will support this one once you meet me

malaz_197 - have you actually started at SGUL yet? Just curious. Always good to have an ambassador for the place although would be better if you used meaningful arguments, but if you haven't started yet then you are forgiven!

you sound like a very unhappy st georgian! i havent started yet, but im sure St George's is the finest university in the land.

[***]

you sound like a very unhappy st georgian! i havent started yet, but im sure St George's is the finest university in the land.

I love the place and wouldn't change med schools for the world. I just don't like people bigging it up on stuff that is inaccurate or meaningless when it comes to undergraduate education. There is plenty wrong with the place (just ask some of my friends who are resitting written finals, quarter of the year in fact, so perhaps this refutes your argument about the QAA ranking and its long history in educating students making it very experienced etc) but every place has it's problems.

St George's rocks!

[malaz_197]

I love the place and wouldn't change med schools for the world. I just don't like people bigging it up on stuff that is inaccurate or meaningless when it comes to undergraduate education. There is plenty wrong with the place (just ask some of my friends who are resitting written finals, quarter of the year in fact, so perhaps this refutes your argument about the QAA ranking and its long history in educating students making it very experienced etc) but every place has it's problems.

St George's rocks!

hmmm, i thought i was being accurate by using their website, times university guide and wikipedia. so im not being personal apart from the friendliness of the place. yeah, i heard about higher pass threshold at Goerge's. need to get 60%+ to pass, dont you? maybe your friends are working hard enough, its not st george's fault but yeah nowhere is perfect.

[***]

hmmm, i thought i was being accurate by using their website, times university guide and wikipedia. so im not being personal apart from the friendliness of the place. yeah, i heard about higher pass threshold at Goerge's. need to get 60%+ to pass, dont you? maybe your friends are working hard enough, its not st george's fault but yeah nowhere is perfect.

malaz_197: when you learn to post information that is relevant, up to date and from reliable sources perhaps I will be able to take you seriously. Try citing wikipedia in your work and see how far that gets you. A QAA report that is over 8 years old (and being compared to reports even older) is not a useful source of information.

The information about the pass mark being 60%+ is out of date. There is no fixed pass mark anymore. I don't think I will pass your comments on to my friends who are retaking as I am sure the last thing any of them or the other 50+ students need after 2 years had slog is some pipsqueak pre-fresher telling them they failed because they didn't work hard enough. I am sure gizmo will give you more information about georgies being notorious for failing high numbers of students unfairly although the previous major incident with assessments was a few years ago.

I look forward to when you start clinicals. Who knows, I might be your SHO. That would be fun! As it is I am sure our paths will soon cross during Freshers or in clinical skills teaching since I am a tutor.

[st1888]

umm...when u say theres no pass mark anymore,,,well what does that mean...u must have a pass mark.....what percentage is required to pass the first year???

[***]

umm...when u say theres no pass mark anymore,,,well what does that mean...u must have a pass mark.....what percentage is required to pass the first year???

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant there isn't a fixed pass mark anymore but instead the examiners set the pass mark depending on how difficult they think the paper is or on how students perform generally (for OSCEs). So it could be that the pass mark is 75% one year but 50% another year if the examiners decide the paper was much harder the second year than before although I don't think there is usually too much variation, and the pass mark is usually around 60%.