Wednesday 16 April 2008

2008 Application feedback

After my attempt last week to get feedback from the unis i applied to this year...BSMS were the first to reply.

I was really surprised by their email, as it seemed very personal, and described part by part of my application, and the guy writing the feedback even had a look at my reference and refered to it in the email. This is the second time i've applied to bsms.. and i have to admit..for 2 applications running.. bsms has provided the most personal/useful feedback!

They first described the selection process, and then went on to explain that i had a score of 22 from one assessor, and 21 from another.. giving me a final score of 21.5... which to be honest is quite an improvement from my a-level application when they gave me a grand score of 13.5 ......but then the email went on to mention that the cut-off for an interview was 22... which meant i had missed out on the opportunity of having an interview by 0.5 points..... gutted!!

UCL were second to reply with pretty much a "copy and pasted" generic reply, and mentioned i should try to get a higher score in the section 3 of the bmat.. and by the looks of it on the NMM forum..that seems to be their suggestion to every candidate asking for feedback.. well at least they replied!

BARTs and Manchester...well i'm still currently still waiting.. so will see what they say.. i am slightly worried about BARTs though.. as i know for some unis, if an applicant is rejected after interview, the medical school will not consider further applications from the student... (this is true for manchester), and i sure hope this will not be the case for barts, as it is definately a medical school i would like to apply to again next year.. but i will just have to wait till i hear back and see if i am eligible to apply again next year.

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Revision is not going so well, and i have yet to hear back from my MRes application, the director of the course sent me an email asking if i will be able to support myself through the course.. i said yes..and he has never got back to me.. so i guess my application is still "being considered by the application panel".

Wednesday 9 April 2008

UKCAT 2008 key dates update

UKCAT 2008 Key dates

UKCAT registration opens:
1 May 2008

UKCAT testing begins:
07 Jul 2008

Bursary and voucher application deadline:
26 Sept 2008

UKCAT registration deadline:
26 Sept 2008

UKCAT testing deadline:
10 Oct 2008

UCAS application deadline:
15 Oct 2008

source: http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/home/aboutus/key-dates/

ahhhh...the dreaded ukcat returns! now... for an early exam date or a later one... hm....

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Revision started well and slowly grounded to a halt as i dossed away the weekend eating too much junk and watching too much tv..

.... though reading back on an old post of mine, from april last year... i realised its not a one-off..and infact this seems to happen this time of year... EVERY YEAR...

Hence, i decided to change my revision tactics, and opt for the same option as last year.. to go into the library and revise at night when the telly is good, thus being at the library i avoid all temptations to watch tv (i will be missing desperate housewives tonight!!!), and sleep during the day. This will definantly ruin my sleep pattern, but hey.. if it gets the work done, then its well worth it.

however...this wouldn't be possible without the presence of the fantastic 24 hour library facilities on every kcl campus! up until uni i never really felt the need to use the library other than to borrow books, and i have to admit.. i was one of them annoying immature teenage kids who used the library as a social club, with revision as a bad excuse to meet in groups at the library to work (a little), and chat (a lot).

I guess having grown up a little bit, being at the library definately sets a different atmosphere with added pressure to be working and, of course being away from temptations such as the television or the computer really helps me to settle down into working mode. Hopefully all the hard work this year will be reflected in my results, but only time will tell.

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