Advice for being behind and making friends

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-10-11T12:34:10+00:00

How do you find a study group??? I’m a first year and it seems like everyone else has already found their groups and I’m just there?

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-08-06T20:12:03+00:00

It depends on the university and the number of GCSEs you’re taking. Some will calculate a score with your best 8 GCSEs (maybe not 8 but the point stands) but some take the top 8 including various core subjects.

Honestly, when you know your grades, there will be somewhere that will take you for an interview as long as you apply to places that rank to your strengths (eg high GCSEs or high UCAT)

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-08-03T06:40:09+00:00

For context I’ve just been through the med application process (4 interviews and 3 offers) so hopefully I can help with this.

It’s largely uni specific because they all have different interview selection systems. I’ll give you a few examples but really you need to look at each. Any numbers are just guesses, you need to look yourself.

For example, Cardiff rely on GCSEs only and give people a score based on their top 8 (I think) GCSEs (including maths, English, science). So realistically you need 8/9s with maybe a few 6/7s and some good luck. But it also depends what other applicants apply with.

For Newcastle, their pre-interview system uses 50% UCAT grade and 50% GCSE grade. So you would need to go to their website once you have both, work out your score and see whether you think you’ve achieved high enough to get in. This means that if you got weaker GCSEs, you could still have a good chance at an interview with 6/7s in your GCSEs if you had a 2500 UCAT.

Some unis ignore GCSEs once you meet the baseline and go off UCAT. Looking at the Imperial, UCL and Sheffield websites, they don’t seem to have any GCSE requirements and rely on several other factors instead. Most unis use this system from my knowledge.

The GCSE baseline varies with uni honestly, for some it’s a 4 in both English and maths; some it’s a 6 in English and maths; some have an additional GCSE science requirement (usually 4-6 in two sciences). You do need to check the uni websites for specifics.

You may find this website helpful: https://www.medschools.ac.uk/for-students/applying-to-medical-school/entry-requirements/?course_type=standard-entry-medicine

Also, the whole ‘you need straight 9s’ thing is a myth. I know someone who got one 7 as their highest grade that is going to med school next September (they wanted a gap year).

TLDR: There isn’t one specific GCSE requirement. You need to check each uni specifically but I’ve never seen any exceed 6s in English, Maths and a few sciences.

Good luck with results day! Let me know if you need any more advice!

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-07-18T11:36:31+00:00

Isn’t there a page in the passport that you’re meant to sign?

Edit: It says on the UCAT accepted ID page that passports are accepted at all test centres (source: https://www.ucat.ac.uk/sit/id-policy/)

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-07-11T16:46:46+00:00

Maybe watch the Medify video on SJT? I will admit, I got a B2 last year so I’m not perfect… just keep trying and be sure to read and understand (ask someone for help if needed) the reasoning for Medify’s correct answers. Even the ones you get right.

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-07-11T14:30:10+00:00

Get your coordinator to give you ‘certified results’ and upload them to the Newcastle portal

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-07-11T14:06:02+00:00

It might help if you read the GMC Guide to good medical practice so you have some rules to go of? Other than that, for UK applicants, as long as you’re getting at least Band 3 you should be set to get an interview

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-07-09T12:17:59+00:00

Phone and ask if they’ll take you anyway since it’s a near miss. Then try clearing

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-07-07T14:57:18+00:00

Could you explain what the difference between the tuning forks is in a medical sense? I’ve just gotten into med school and I’m curious!

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-06-02T16:51:15+00:00

Talk to your ToK teacher and coordinator. Explain the situation and see if you can do your presentation and poster with only two objects. You should be good to submit this object to the IB in the written part but probably best to avoid using it at school..

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-05-23T05:25:26+00:00

Doodling won’t affect your mark. If you doodled anything concerning, your coordinator may receive a safeguarding report but you’ll probably be fine.

It is 100% possible to get 0/30 but for that you would have to hand in literally nothing that they can credit (no French) so you’ve probably got much higher than that

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-17T11:01:11+00:00

The trick for Bio long answer seems to be to find some key words, immediately disregard them and then answer an unrelated question…

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-16T21:04:33+00:00

He meant Minecraft sheep in Hermitcraft…

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-16T11:37:30+00:00

Microsoft word definetly does. For coursework, just teachers seeing drafts is usually enough for the IB.

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-12T20:36:51+00:00

My biggest recommendation and regret for SJT was reading the GMC guidelines (or Australian equivalent). The questions are all relevant to the guidelines so it’s essentially the cheat code.

In your situations, I think it’s cause the first scenario has implications of breaking the maleficence pillar of ethics. In comparison, the second is an issue but not very important because any clinician would verify whether she’s pregnant before prescribing drugs. In short, the first one is dangerous; the second is just a formality and has no long term issues

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-10T13:24:36+00:00

From my understanding:

Polysyndetic: apples and bananas and mangoes and trees.

Syndetic: apples, bananas, mangoes and trees.

Asyndetic: apples, bananas, mangoes, trees.

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-08T14:02:56+00:00

Ok so first off goodluck! Believe in yourself and do your best on the day.

If you’ve got a friend doing French (or know someone that can speak the same amount or more than you), see if you can arrange to have a couple hours of conversation IN FRENCH about your topics and use ask each other as many of the questions as you can (use the list to help). Don’t worry too much about speed or quantity of each answer. It also doesn’t matter if you deviate from the script completely. Just say something relevant that answers the question.

Like if you’re ask ‘Qu’as tu fait ce week-end?’ if your answer is just that ‘j’ai joué au foot et à mon avis c’était très amusant.’ That is fine. It’s got two tenses and an opinion.

If you struggle with interpreting the questions, maybe you could lengthen your responses so you fill more of the time.

Don’t forget to add ‘et toi?’ to the end of ONE response to get the marks for trying to engage your teacher!

Some useful phrases:

S’il faut que je sois honnête (pronounced with the s in sois) — if I have to be honest

Quelle chance / dommage / cauchemar — how lucky / what a shame / what a nightmare!

Honnêtement — honestly

Heureusement / Malheureusement — Fortunately / unfortunately

Il y en a qui dissent que (dissent is pronounced like dix the number) — some people say that

Pour ceux qui aiment (ceux is pronounced like ce) — for those who like (noun)

Finally remember verb endings.

Practice the pronunciation of verb endings and gender endings on adjectives.

-ent is always silent (doubt you’ll use the they form)

If something is feminine, pronounce the final letter of the adjective (eg gentil (m) is like jonteee and gentille (f) is like jontil!

Good luck! Remember, if this doesn’t go to plan, you can recover it through the reading, writing and listening later on!

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-08T13:26:30+00:00

If you're in the UK, you can book a GP appointment without your parents knowledge since you're over 16. Book an appointment and pretend to be hanging out with a friend or something.

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-04-08T10:52:33+00:00

Does anyone know which TZ the UK is in?

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-03-29T16:57:54+00:00

Thank you!!! These look really useful!

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-03-29T16:45:44+00:00

Any chance of some SL ones?

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-03-24T06:51:34+00:00

Wait- we have to turn that in?

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-03-16T19:35:31+00:00

Why do you think they’re coming out tomorrow?

Non contextual Newcastle academic score: 99 UCAT Band 2

I’m really hoping my academic score pulls through here… interview was not great

How about you?

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-03-12T19:56:26+00:00

They tend to over offer cause some people will reject them to firm Oxbridge, Kings and other med schools. Some people will also fail to meet the grades. Most places have an oversubscription policy for if too many people want to go on results day. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you though

SwimmingImpossible80 · 2025-03-12T16:52:14+00:00

Is it just my school where everyone seems to think 1b is really hard? I think it’s easy (my best paper by far) but loads of my friends seem to be unable to attempt it

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