UCAS
…all students intending to apply to university are fully guided through the UCAS application process…
Stage 1: The Application
Lansdowne’s Experience
Year on year, the Medical, Dental and Veterinary schools have increased the entry requirements and students have had to adjust. Therefore, it has become difficult for re-take students to obtain places at university for these demanding courses. However, Lansdowne prides itself in understanding the sector and helping the students achieve their goal. Majority of our students receive interviews and although it is not in any way a common outcome, some of Lansdowne students obtain unconditional offers for subjects such as Medicine even before the completion of their course.
Entry Requirement
Most Medical Schools place great emphasis on this section. The criteria for calling students for interview is generally based on GCSE (and may be AS results), A Level predicted grades, the personal statement and the school’s reference. All these have to be satisfactory for the university to call the student for interview.
Personal Statement:
Most Medical Schools place great emphasis on this section. Unfortunately, some students hire professionals to write their personal statements, or they let relatives dictate sentences; Universities often see through this at the interview, if not before. If the personal statement is not ‘personal’, it will be patently obvious at the interview. However, whilst the basic voice must be the student’s, it is prudent to seek advice and support.
Choice of University:
The choice of the university should not be based on the name of the university but the type of course it offers. Whilst Medical degrees are the same, the approach to the subject differs vastly from one Medical School to another. For example, Cambridge University initially follows the traditional method of lecture-based studies, with the patient contact coming later in the course. However, other schools like University College London (UCL) follow the part lecture/part tutorial approach and the students are given patient contact early in the course. Some others, including Keele University, run courses mainly through Problem-Based Learning (PBL).
For more details on Medical and Dental applications, use the following link:
Stage 2: Interviews and Offers
Interview Preparation:
Thorough preparation for interviews is an absolute must. However, universities do not like pre-prepared or clichéd answers delivered ‘parrot fashion’ as these will severely reduce the chances of success. To overcome the paradox, it is highly advisable to create a list of questions that might be asked and prepare for those in such a way that the answers are fresh each time. At Lansdowne we help prepare the students to formulate their own answers and deliver them with confidence.
At Lansdowne, each student receives at least one interview practice with the Director of Medical Programme alone and at least one panel interview with another experienced member of staff. However, it has been known that some students have been given up to 8 interview practices to prepare them for the important day.
For more details on Medical and Dental applications, use the following link:
University Offers:
University offers arrive at different times of the year. It has been known for some universities to wait until May to make their decision. Therefore, students need to be ready and prepared for the choices on offer.
Once the student has been offered a conditional place, they must wait until they have received replies from all of the universities. UCAS will send the student a ‘Replying to Offers’ e-mail/text/letter. Students must use the instructions from UCAS to reply to their offers online. It is advisable to choose the university the student really wants to go to firmly and the one that has offered the least grades as the ‘Insurance’.
At Lansdowne the Director of Medical Programme is at hand to provide feedback, advice and support regarding this crucial decision.
