How to get into Medicine through UCAS Clearing
A place at medical school is by no means certain, even for the best candidates. You could be left in the position that you have no offers. If this is the case, you will be entered into UCAS clearing.
Please note if you are reading this on A-level results day and have not got your grades have a read at our blog on UCAS Clearing, Clearing+ and Adjustment 2020 first using the button below.
A-LEVEL RESULTS DAY - WHAT TO DO IF YOU DON'T GET THE GRADES - CLICK HERE TO READ
Clearing is how medical schools will fill any vacancies that are left over following the initial interview process. You can use clearing if you are in the following circumstances:-
You applied to university after 30th June 2020
You were not made any offers by any university
You did not meet the conditions set by any university that you applied for
You had offers but you (for whatever reason) decided to decline them all
Now the question is, how do you proceed? Well, the first step is to search for a vacancy which you can do by using the UCAS search engine. A list of universities with clearing spaces for medicine can be found by clicking the following link:-
CLICK FOR UCAS CLEARING SEARCH
Note this will bring up other courses that have a medical context. You are looking for course A100 Medicine, or possibly some foundation year courses. The search also brings up other courses that have wording similar to medicine, such as medical science. You will need to sort through this. At the time of writing (early July 2020) the following Universities are coming up:
St George’s – The only ‘standard’ medicine option available at present.
Leicester – the option that is available is the 6 year medicine with a foundation year course. It has reduced entry requirements but is only available to candidates that meet its widening participation criterion.
Buckingham – This is a private medical school with much higher fees for UK candidates.
On A-level results day more options may be available. Due to COVID19, many students may be trying to defer a medical school place. The medical school will usually permit this for a few students, and this would release some spaces. Due to COVID19 things are more uncertain this year. Note if the medical school does not permit you to defer and you cancel your offer you will likely have to reapply again next year.
We would always advise students to attempt to obtain a medical school place for the current UCAS year first before going for any other option. So this is what you need to do: -
If you have your A-level grades and you have only just missed your medicine offer (for example if your offer was AAA and you have AAB) ring the medical schools that have given you the offer and see if they will still consider giving you the place. I would say this is more vital if you are a widening participation candidate.
Widening participation criterion is new and it not possible to predict how medical schools will respond to students who are in this category.
If you have exceptionally high grades, you might want to try to ring the medical schools that rejected you after an interview.
If you have no luck so far, you will need to do a search using the UCAS clearing search as shown in the link above.
Once you have done this, make sure you check the entry requirements for the particular medical school that has places through UCAS clearing. Entry requirements will not just be GCSE and A-level grades but can also be UCAT and BMAT scores. You will still have to achieve these, and it is likely they will still interview you. Medical schools have been interviewing using Skype during the COVID pandemic.
CLICK TO LEARN ABOUT PRIVATE INTERVIEW TUITION
Before calling, you need to make sure you have your Clearing number (You can find it in your UCAS Track page), your personal statement, exam results or transcript of records. It helps greatly if your GCSE and A-level grades are high along with a good load of extra-curricular activities and/or some relevant work experience and lastly but not least is a very good ability to express your genuine passion for Medicine over the phone.
The competition will be very high and as I mentioned before, you need to have all the requirements ready along with being able to convince the admission committee for choosing you over many other qualified candidates who might or might not have a better profile than you. So you will need to move fast! But hold on, don’t lose your nerves yet! You should take into account that the majority of the Clearing places will be filled on A-level results day or within that week. Keep calm, keep your head cool. Arranging, organizing and making sure you have all the above-mentioned documents will help you in this case.
So, now you have all your documents and your Clearing number ready. It’s time to call the university! Firstly, always remember to be polite during the whole talk. Make sure to have all the questions you want to ask are noted and listed beforehand so that you don’t miss asking about any key question you might have. It is a good idea to arrange all your questions in bullet points along with a list of reasons on why you want to pursue your education in this particular university? In case you are asked. Below are some additional tips on being successful during Clearing:
Phone by yourself. It is very important! Think like this, if your parents or any relatives of you are calling for you, this shows you are not independent and capable of handling responsibilities which you will have to face if you are pursuing a career in Medicine!
Keep calling. Well this might sound absurd but believe me it is a very helpful strategy! And it makes sense because universities are very busy during Clearing. Although they try answering everyone’s calls but sometimes they might unintentionally miss yours. So, if you miss the first time, try again. If you miss again, try again and continue doing that!
Send emails. Besides calling, make sure to also send an email to the respective university with all your results and contact details so that they can contact you back. Remember, an email is a more solid form of contact as it will remain in their inbox, reminding them that you approached!
Remember the name of people you have spoken to, or better, note them down. In case you would like to call them back, you can ask them by their name which will demonstrate your sincerity.
Accept that the university’s decision is final. Lastly, there is no point in arguing out of disappointment if you are not offered a place. They might have better candidates or the place might be already filled up. Be mature, politely thank them for giving you their time and move on to calling the next university of your choice.
If the medical school accepts you add your clearing choice on the UCAS track using the details the medical school has given you.
I hope this article was helpful in guiding you on getting into medicine through Clearing. Meanwhile, remember whether you do or do not get a place offered, do not lose hope. There is always a way in life that you can shine and we will be doing further blogs on what to do if you still do not have a place at medical school for this September. Best of luck on your Clearing process!
