Medical school admissions, alternate routes into UK medical school and BMAT tips for #ResultsDay . I’ve taught courses and tutored on this so I hope it is helpful!:

So first thing I want to say is if you didn’t get the results you wanted please do not despair and everything happens the way it is supposed to and you will get to where you need to be! That’s a guarantee!

Please be sure to double check the info I mention here on the official websites for the aptitude tests and the unis you’re applying to as things are changing constantly due to covid. Also don’t hesitate to call/email uni admission offices with questions!!

So some of you reading may not have gotten the grades you’ve wanted. Most of you will be doing Chem and Bio with another 1/2 subjects eg Maths, Physics or an essay subject. Your grades may have been close to what you needed or they may have been further off than you’d have liked.

A calculated/predicted grade is often not representative of your ability so don’t internalise the grade if it’s not what you wanted. Many teachers etc impose limits on your potential (esp when you’re not white) so remember that you can actually do it and you deserve better!!

A lot of you want to take your A-levels in autumn 2020 & I believe they will be in early-mid October. Ask yourself if you’ll be ready to sit your A-level exams by then. From what I know (please double check) taking the exams in the autumn will qualify you for 2021 medicine entry

There will also be exams in the summer of 2021 but reports say that these exams may be one month later than usual eg July. These exams should again qualify you for 2021 medicine entry. But ofc double check this with your schools and individual medical schools you’re applying to.

The choice then becomes between getting your exams over and done with in autumn 2020 or waiting till the summer 2021 if your school and the Med school permits you to wait till then to take them.

You need to find out what works for you. If you feel able and ready to take your A-levels in the autumn then go ahead. But many of you will have booked your UCAT or will be booking your UCAT for a time that will coincide with your prep for your A-level autumn 2020 exams.

UCAT registration closes on the 17th of September 2020 12pm. And the final test date will be the 1st October 2020 (you get your results instantly) in time for the UCAS university application deadline of 15th October 2020 to apply for 2021 Med school entry.

The BMAT final registration deadline is on the 15th October 2020 and you usually have to register through a centre which is typically your school so remind your teachers about it! You need them to help you sign up if it’s being done through school.

The BMAT exam takes place on the 4th November 2020 (there are usually two sittings but there’s only one this year). And it has a cost to it - £46. UCAT is £75 if you’re in the UK/EU and £120 if you’re outside the EU.

Check their websites to see how exams work this year. I know for sure that UCAT can be done at home (with certain things in place)

This info is relevant because if you have a choice between taking the autumn 2020 A-level exams and the Summer 2021 exams and you choose the autumn ones you may have to grapple with BMAT, UCAT registration + revision and personal statement + application deadlines.

Again if you do have the choice between autumn 2020 assessments and summer 2021 assessments for your A-levels (PLEASE CHECK!) I would go with the Summer assessment so you can focus on the BMAT/UCAT and personal statement application through UCAS for September 2021 medicine entry

This also means you can prepare for your A-level assessments with more breathing room. Now when you apply for medicine you get 4 UCAS choices for medicine and you get 1 more choice but you can’t pick medicine for it. It has to be another course.

I would personally say put down Biomedical Science (Biomed) and if you don’t want to do that you can do pharmacy. Biomed courses tend to be similar to the pre-clinical (first 1-2 years) course content of medicine courses in the UK.

This sets you up nicely once you transfer from Biomed to medicine after completing the 3 year Biomed course.
Biomed can give you a good basis in understanding the physiology of the human body which ofc is great for medicine.

Pharmacy on the other hand is less conventional as a 5th choice and is a 4year course unlike Biomed which is 3years. Biomed provides a smoother transition onto graduate medicine courses whereas pharmacy...

... (in my opinion) provides a better option for those who may find themselves not wanting to go through another 4/5 years in Med education.

Pharmacy also has more of a established and direct career framework for you to enter post degree than Biomed. You can do courses other biology/physiology/psychology/biochemical related courses although they are less conventional than biomed and pharmacy in my experience

You usually get a standard 4years max of student loan (maintenance and tuition fees) although it varies from case to case. As a Med student whether you’re a graduate or not, year 5 onwards of your tuition fees is covered by the NHS.

A grad Med degree is usually 4yrs but can be 5. Yr 5 will be funded by the NHS but you will most likely have to cover the tuition fees yourself in the years before the NHS funding comes through. You may be eligible for a tuition/maintenance loan in those years of grad Med though.

This means that perhaps during your undergrad degree you may need to find a job part-time that allows you to save up for tuition fees for grad Med. But also look at the bursary and funds your university has to offer.

Some Med schools do a 6yr course with an intercalated BSc (an extra degree basically done in a year) for undergrads (people with no degree/coming straight from school/gap year), the grad course at this uni would usually be 5yrs long as the grad would already have an extra degree.

Whereas other medical schools that don’t have the compulsory extra degree done in a year would have a 5 year course for undergrads and usually have a 4 year course for graduates.

Different unis will require one of the BMAT, GAMSAT (graduate medicine aptitude test) and UCAT for graduates and BMAT and UCAT for undergrads. I’ll attach the resources at the end of thread so you can see which unis use which tests.

Also for the UCAT or BMAT it can be expensive to register so if you are on free school meals, on learner support or your parents have job seekers allowance there’s a bursary scheme that can partially or totally cover the costs. Again the links will be at the end.

Now for a few last BMAT tips! This pic contains info on the sections!

Section 1 it tends to be the most difficult and comprises of understand arguments and problem solving. The understanding argument part of section 1 requires you to detect flaws in arguments and to identify conclusions and assumptions.

An argument needs:
- Foundational points
- A conclusion
- A connection between the foundational points and the conclusion

A made up example q on understanding an argument.

The answer. Green represents the foundational points or smaller conclusions. Blue is the connection between the foundational points and the main conclusion. And red is the main conclusion.

Basically the points in green emphasise Google’s superiority in the tech field and form the basis to put forward our argument. Tech being a key part in society means that everyone should have access to google (being the main conclusion).

A simple example but shows you how to break things down. A conclusion may also not come at the end of a passage it may be in the middle. But look for the point that everything seems to be leading up to and everything points towards.

For section 2 basically print out or download the specification from the BMAT website and tick off each point one by one as you complete it in your revision. The spec contains guidance on everything you need to know for section 2 in the exam. Very important!

Some of you may have dropped maths or physics at A-level so revisiting the topic may be difficult initially but use websites like exam solutions (for maths) and YouTube eg khan academy for things like physics to explain concepts.

Now for section 3, the essay. Usually people have the least guidance on this. It’s marked by 2 examiners. Quality of content is marked from 1-5 so if one examiner gives you a 3 and another a 4 you get a 3.5.

Common scores range from 2.5-3.5, but it’s still pretty common to get 3.5-4 with 4.5-5 being less common. If you answer all parts of the question to a basic coherent standard you will score a 3 pretty much guaranteed (I’ll explain how to do this later).

The next marking criteria for the essay is quality of English. Again you have two examiners, if one gives an A and the other a C you get a B. However majority of people get an A from both examiners so do not fret. But check over your essay at the end to minimise grammar mistakes!

Don’t use colloquial terms, say things like do not instead of don’t. Use simple language instead of complicated long words you don’t know the full meaning of as the examiner will notice.

Spend 5-6 mins planning your essay on the question sheet or on a scrap bit of paper! This is v important so you don’t write from scratch on your essay paper!

Spend 20mins writing the actual essay.
Spend 4 mins or so checking the spelling and grammar to make sure the essay is fluid and clean.

There is usually a veterinary related essay question, a medicine/science question(s) and a philosophical question. Pick the one that is easiest to write on!!! This will make your life easier when actually writing the essay.

A good essay structure (1/2):
Explain what the statement means (may ask you to describe the statement or say what it implies)
Write an argument in favour of the statement
Write an argument against the statement

(2/2) Include a hypothetical scenario or real-life example in your arguments for and against as this strengthens the essay (bringing you over that score of 3)
Finish off the essay with your opinion (don’t sit on the fence!) that uses one of your main points as a justification.

When explaining the statement isolate the key words and phrases and literally explain what they mean in when planning your essay. An example essay question from the 2012 BMAT past paper.

A way of explaining this statement is isolating the words/phrases “scientist” “right questions” and “ right answers” When fleshed out this can look like:

“This statement means that The role of an expert of physical or natural sciences is not to provide precise factual explanations but rather to provide the correct and appropriate queries.” Roughly speaking.

When explaining a statement you can use synonyms of words but don’t use the key words within your explaining if possible. Also give an argument for and against the statement regardless of whether the questions asks. They may only ask for an argument for or one against. Do both.

Sometimes they will not ask you explicitly to give an argument for and against. They may use other language to demonstrate that they want that. Eg with this question here. 2nd sentence is argument against and 3rd sentence is argument for. Just using different wording.

When finishing off the essay with your opinion also say something like “in summary” or “in conclusion”. Don’t generalise from specific cases if you can help it. Don’t repeat the same points and don’t make overarching assumptions where possible.

Start preparing for BMAT 2months beforehand. Get yourself slowly acquainted with the content through looking at the older past papers and doing question banks. Save the most 5 most recent past papers as blind ones you do timed in the last 2-3 weeks.

Increase your hours and intensity of study gradually from an hour a day or every other day in the beginning to up to an average of a solid 4-5hrs per day by the time exam day is coming (and maybe more hours later on if you can handle it)

1-2days before exam day just review questions and revise techniques. Don’t burn yourself out!

Finally please remember that as demonstrated above there are numerous ways into Med. I’ve spoken to doctors who took a gap year (or two), who did another degree or even went abroad to do it. And they got through due to determination and God’s grace. Please believe in yourself

Coronavirus has made things more difficult yes, but regardless your potential and drive will still shine through. Praying for the best for all of you. Relevant links are below.

UCAT bursary scheme:
https://www.ucat.ac.uk/ucat/bursary-scheme/

UCAT dates and fees:
https://www.ucat.ac.uk/ucat/dates-and-fees/

BMAT dates, fees (costs £49 not £46 btw) and bursary scheme:
https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/bmat/bmat-november/dates-and-costs/

UCAT unis:
https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/bmat/bmat-november/dates-and-costs/

BMAT unis:
https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/bmat/bmat-november/

GAMSAT unis:
https://gamsat.acer.org/university-admission/admission-uk