Journal: The Treacherous Journey of A Medical Applicant

[Enco]

Anyone who applies to medicine has a drop of crazy in them.

To help make this all the more fun, I have decided to post everything I do here in this "journal". I have already started on the official blog section but think this will be easier for people to keep track of all the smaller details. If you just want the 'lite' version with only important posts, just read this. If you want all the little details, you can read everything here

I'll be sure to bring you all the emotion and suspense along the way which you will hopefully find enjoyable

[Enco]

GCSEs:
6 A's, 3 B's and 2 C's

Fairly average. Below the average medical applicant but after a long phase of giving up on becoming a doctor, I got back in the race after some serious research and realising I still have a chance. We'll see how it goes.

As Grades:
AAAB

Scraped an A in Chemistry. Got a B in Physics and A's in Biology and Business Studies. I'll probably be dropping physics next year.

UKCAT:
VR: 670
QR: 720
AR: 680
DA: 700
AVG: 692(.5)

Fairly happy with my scores. Especially as they are all consistent. Many people with higher scores have the odd fairly low score. I just hope the average doesn't increase by too much this year and I still have a good shot at Manchester and Newcastle. I don't think the average will increase to more than 660 though.

Uni Choices:
Manchester
Newcastle
Liverpool
Keele

Those are the ones I'm thinking about right now. They may however change. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated. They are also in order of preference. If I get into Manchester I will be one happy guy.

[Enco]

Having some thoughts about applying to Leicester instead of Liverpool.

Leicester

• They use a 40 point system (10 for UKCAT, academics, ref and ps).
• I'll get 9/10 for UKCAT and 8/10 for academics. My 9/10 for the UKCAT is why I'm considering them.
• Sadly no cut off point has been established and so it's fairly risky.

Liverpool

• They score GCSEs where A*/A = 2 and B = 1
• You need 15 points minimum and I just hit that.
• Most people will beat that score and so for that reason Liverpool may too be fairly risky.

If anyone wants to offer some advice feel free to drop me a message. I'll decide for definite within the next few days.

[Enco]

Another day and another post. Nothing better to do right now.

Leaning towards Liverpool a bit but still not completely sure. On another note, I start upper 6th soon Looking forward to it. Mainly because I want to send off my application and get into the swing of things again. Hoping to have it all sent off for mid September. It's all getting very real now...

I keep going through confident phases and phases where I think I'll get four rejections. Time will reveal all I guess. I really don't mind where I go as long as I get in. Manchester or Newcastle would be nice but Keele/Liverpool (or Leicester) would make me happy.

[Enco]

Yes I know.. another post at a ridiculous time buttt...

I've decided to stick with Liverpool. Why? I think the points system for Leicester is a little too risky. Yes I would do well in the UKCAT section but most people, if not all, will have 10/10 for the academics section so that would hold me back. Liverpool you better not disappoint me with a rejection!

On a completely different note, I've decided to stop drinking fizzy drinks until the end of the year. Is this going to happen? Who knows (not that I drink fizzy drinks much anyway).

I'll try post more informative things at more sensible times from now on. Emphasis on try..

[Enco]

Found some supposed statistics for the med unis:

Manchester - 8 applicants per place
Newcastle - 11 applicants per place
Liverpool - 8 applicants per place
Keele - 9 applicants per place

Sounds about right. Surprised at the Newcastle number though. Would have thought Manchester would be higher. Fairly useless info but others my be interested :P Obviously these may be incorrect but I can't imagine the values being too different.

[Enco]

Glad people are interested in reading this. Well one person that I know of anyway

Got my copy of my CRB check that was done for me to do some work at a care home. Luckily I have no convictions. I'm good to go. Starting in a week or so. Should be fun and interesting. Hopefully.

I also got to see my results slip in person. All my coursework results (biology, physics and chemistry) were B's. Hopefully they don't let me down this year. 7 days till school

[Enco]

Decided to take all four As subjects next year. I'll see how physics goes and drop it if need be. I've decided to do this as it'd be easier to drop a subject than pick one up. Starting upper 6th in three days. Hopefully then I can send off my UCAS application and start the waiting game.

Thanks for the comments/advice. However, can you please drop me a message instead of posting here? It just helps make everything easier for others to read and keep track of

[Enco]

School tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I can get my predicted grades straight away just as a peace of mind.

I've decided to put my fifth uni choice down as pharmacy at UEA. ABB are the entry requirements so it'd be a good backup. However, as my ps will be tailored for medicine I doubt I'll get an offer. We'll just have to wait and see. My second backup is pharmacy through clearing (there were places this year) and my third backup is optometry through clearing.

Obviously medicine is still choice number one and I might be tempted into taking a gap year if things go sour and re-applying or maybe graduate entry. I'll cross that bridge if I get to it.

[Enco]

Nothing interesting happened. Was expecting some UCAS talk/news but nothing. Ah well.

Confirmed that for biology I'm predicted an A but I'm fairly sure both business and chemistry will also be an A. Physics I'm unsure about. Will have to wait and see. I'll ask tomorrow.

Nothing new. I probably won't post too many updates the coming week or so until things start to pick up.