Mature Medicine Applicants Thread 2013

angel_fish

Yes I would very much like to go to UCC.

Fiddles44 wrote: »

I presume you want to go to UCC?

Fiddles44

angel_fish wrote: »

Yes I would very much like to go to UCC.

Best of luck with it

angel_fish

Cheers!

SolitaireX

I assume no one's heard from UCD yet?

ruthiecahill

I've a feeling next week is the week!

studentforever

Hi everyone.

I go for a couple of weeks and loads happens! A massive congrats to everyone who has been either offered a place or wait listed. And commiserations to those who got zip just like me :rolleyes:

For those disheartened, I would like to offer some advice. A rejection is not the end of the world. Yes, everyone has worked hard, and yes, it is disappointing...

BUT...

The lack of luck this time around can be used positively. Use the upcoming year to volunteer, get different experiences and beef up your application for next year. A year may seem like a long time but think how much good you could do for organisations screaming out for volunteers. You might even gain a different perspective on things or discover a different avenue you hadn't considered before. Before this year (in my attempts to gain experience for med, very altruistic I know...) I would never have considered working around children. But from volunteering I've discovered I absolutely adore them, messy, noisy and stress inducing as they are. So much so that I now teach first aid to children so you will not know unless you try different things.

Apply for courses if you have the time/money/desire. There is never anything wasted about learning a new skill, language, or whatever. This upcoming year is your year, remember that. Getting a place in medicine is not going to be the highlight of your life, just the start of a new chapter in it. So regardless of how long it takes to get there, do not for a second wallow in pity. Life (and apparently getting into med school) is about experiences, so go get some.

And to end my oh so fabulous pep talk, it is incredibly difficult to get in as a mature student. Look how many people even in this thread have tried multiple times to get in, and their perseverance paid off.
GO TEAM MATURES FOR 2014!

ruthiecahill

Rang UCD admissions today & was told that medicine interviews have now been called.

So that's that then

SolitaireX

Has anyone heard anything from UCD?

julie2tubz

Nope... I was expecting some sort of correspondence.

ruthiecahill

I would have definately thought we'd have heard something....yes or no!

SolitaireX

I sent a mail asking what the story was, just saw the reply, apparently they have already conducted the interviews, I find it difficult to believe that none of us got an interview, anyone think they're not taking on matures this year?

ruthiecahill

I find it hard to believe too!
I'm in UCD currently & did a few research projects in the last yr within the school of medicine and got to know many of the lecturers there. I really felt I had a good chance this yr!

ultimatehero

I have my suspicions about ucd.

Has anyone else on boards been offered a place in ucc..?

QueenBee1

Hi all! I am really interested in studying medicine but I have a terrible leaving cert, barely passed (but I did) I am now a mature student so can anyone advise me is it worth my whole applying or how can I do any additional exams to apply or what is the best route? Any advice very welcome thank you

PingO_O

QueenBee1 wrote: »

Hi all! I am really interested in studying medicine but I have a terrible leaving cert, barely passed (but I did) I am now a mature student so can anyone advise me is it worth my whole applying or how can I do any additional exams to apply or what is the best route? Any advice very welcome thank you

Hey queenbee, the best route is really the one you feel will give you the best chance of getting in.

If you go the mature route you'll need to have a HC3 or better in biology and either chemistry or physics, plus you'll need sufficient voluntary experience/work experience, something that gives you a real idea of what working in a healthcare setting is like and why it motivates you to become a doctor.

You could also repeat the leaving cert altogether and apply the same way you would as a school leaver.

Either way you'll also have to sit the HPAT exam.

I've also heard of people applying through both routes which is also an option I guess!

Is it worth applying for? Yeh I'd say if its something you want to do then don't hold yourself back!

borrch

Could anyone tell me what the NUIG interview was like yesterday?

spacecat

Hrum, just got an email from NUIG informing me that they are 'gearing up for my arrival in September'. Gee, that would be nice but I didn't even get called for an interview, lol

I wonder if the email would be seen legally as some form of contract or acknowledgment of my place on the course

I may just rock up there in September waving this email shouting 'I have arrived'!!!:rolleyes:

dtfo

So I got a place in RCSI , didnt want to know until I finished my leaving cert.:)

Was just wondering how people are dealing with loans, are you just approaching your local branch or is there a particular branch that deals with it , like the gradmed situation?

SolitaireX

Loans are really tough to get for mature entry and they won't give you the grad entry loan. I was talking to Orlaith Kane in the BOI Stephens Green branch, you should give her a shout she's trying to sort out mature loans.

ruthiecahill

dtfo wrote: »

So I got a place in RCSI , didnt want to know until I finished my leaving cert.:)

Was just wondering how people are dealing with loans, are you just approaching your local branch or is there a particular branch that deals with it , like the gradmed situation?

Congratulations! Were u on waiting list or were u with the 1st offers?

I'm on waiting list, so did some enquiring just in case! I approached BOI & was told they do a preferential rate for students which isn't too bad....u can pay interest only until degree is finished. I think the max tho they do is for 30K. AIB were offering more but, no preferential rate, so interest repayments very high.
I went to UCD Belfield branches to enquire.

Fiddles44

Is anyone here starting in Trinity this year?

dtfo

ruthiecahill wrote: »

Congratulations! Were u on waiting list or were u with the 1st offers?

I'm on waiting list, so did some enquiring just in case! I approached BOI & was told they do a preferential rate for students which isn't too bad....u can pay interest only until degree is finished. I think the max tho they do is for 30K. AIB were offering more but, no preferential rate, so interest repayments very high.
I went to UCD Belfield branches to enquire.

No I wasnt on waiting list, just didnt want to know until I finished the leaving cert. Im pretty confident I will get the points so hopefully that will free up a mature place for someone on the waiting list

Fiddles44

dtfo wrote: »

No I wasnt on waiting list, just didnt want to know until I finished the leaving cert. Im pretty confident I will get the points so hopefully that will free up a mature place for someone on the waiting list

Did you not have to accept the offer by the 11th of June? I was told that anyway in my offer email. Then the cao send out the other offer the first week of July

SolitaireX

Fiddles44 wrote: »

Did you not have to accept the offer by the 11th of June? I was told that anyway in my offer email. Then the cao send out the other offer the first week of July

Forgot about that, you needed a €1000 deposit paid by the tenth.

LJ82

Fiddles44 wrote: »

Is anyone here starting in Trinity this year?

hiya, i'm doing a masters in tcd in sept, are you doing an undergrad?

Fiddles44

LJ82 wrote: »

hiya, i'm doing a masters in tcd in sept, are you doing an undergrad?

Yeah, starting medicine. What's your masters in?

LJ82

congrats, i'm doing masters in social work, have you heard anything about start dates or anything?

Fiddles44

LJ82 wrote: »

congrats, i'm doing masters in social work, have you heard anything about start dates or anything?

Master courses might be different but the undergrad courses usually start around the third week of September. I haven't got any exact dates yet

LJ82

oops just realised this is a medicine thread :eek: don't know how I ended up on this :eek:

PingO_O

LJ82 wrote: »

oops just realised this is a medicine thread :eek: don't know how I ended up on this :eek:

Haha get outta here you! congrats to everyone who got a place. Just a request if you get a chance at all would you mind sharing your experiences of first year at some stage, would love to hear all about it!

Fiddles44

Haha no worries

Fiddles44

PingO_O wrote: »

Haha get outta here you! congrats to everyone who got a place. Just a request if you get a chance at all would you mind sharing your experiences of first year at some stage, would love to hear all about it!

Will do! Hopefully it'll all go well

LJ82

ah sure ye only loved having me good luck to ye all

dtfo

Do we not get offered our cao place today?

ruthiecahill

I thought so, and it says so on CAO site, but I've received no letter or email from CAO!
Is everyone else the same?

dtfo

I wasnt offered a place today because I will be competing on leaving cert points as well. Were you waiting on RCSI ruthiecahill?

ruthiecahill

dtfo wrote: »

I wasnt offered a place today because I will be competing on leaving cert points as well. Were you waiting on RCSI ruthiecahill?

Yeah, I'm on waiting list alright. No offers yesterday. Still have no idea how many others are on waiting list . Keeping fingers crossed for end of August now!

SolitaireX

Anyone else get a letter from UCD today? Mine told me I was unsuccessful with my mature application, the surprise

spacecat

SolitaireX wrote: »

Anyone else get a letter from UCD today? Mine told me I was unsuccessful with my mature application, the surprise

Same here. I found the letter a bit...well....cold, if you know what I mean. Compered to the other rejection letters I received, lol At least they said thank you for your application

ruthiecahill

I was really annoyed! What was the point in sending us a letter at all, when CAO had told us on Friday whether we had an offer or not!!!
Talk about kicking you when ur down :mad:

another question

I would like to apply to do Medicine in one of the Dublin universities in Sept. 2014 but I have a lot of questions and although I know many of them have probably been answered in other threads I thought this would be easier for me and for other interested mature students to find all the relevant information for studying Medicine in one thread.

If anyone has or is studying medicine in Ireland as a mature student or has any answers to the below questions, I would be appreciative of your help.

**THREAD HIJACKING WELCOME - Other Boards users are more than welcome to post their questions here also, the more Q&A's the better for everyone**


1) What should I be doing between now and Sept. 2014 that would benefit my personal statement in terms of work experience, volunteer work etc? From what I can gather on Qualifax, all the universities seem to say that consideration is only given to candidates with relevant life experience who can prove/show they have a genuine interest in the area etc.

2) On a scale of 1-10 (10 being extremely difficult), how difficult is the course itself?

3) I'm 24 and working part-time in retail since I left school. I studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology for my Leaving certificate. I didn't give chemistry much time in school and ended up with a D3 on a higher paper, will this make things difficult for me? I had a B1 (higher) in Biology and an A1 in Physics (ordinary).

4) Time is of the essence for me and I really would prefer to be able to do the 5 year programme instead of the 6 year one (I intend to give this my all and study really hard). I am correct in thinking that Trinity are the only ones who offer a 5 year programme? I am eliminated from UCD as I don't have the required HC3 in chemistry and I think the same applies to RCSI.

5) People keep saying to me 'if you really want to do something, then just go for it and don't be worrying about money and other obstacles' but I am so worried about money. I don't know how I am going to put myself though university for a minimum of 5 years, paying rent and bills etc. Even though I have studied privately myself before, I haven't claimed a degree from the government so at least I will have my fees paid ( a bit of a ramble sorry) so my question here is: is Medicine one of the more expensive degrees to do in terms of books, I'm just imagining that on the basis of the course size, the books themselves must be an exorbitant cost.

6) I know there was a cut in the nursing internship salary to 50% of what it was previously. Did the cut effect the doctor internship also? Or does anyone know what the internship year pays because I like most will be crying out for a half-decent salary at that stage.

7) Finally, do any of the Dublin universities offer clinical placement in Sligo General Hospital that you know of or is it all done in the Dublin teaching hospitals?

That's all I can think of at the moment, it would be great to hear from some of you doing the course as mature students and how you manage.

spurious

A lot of the 2013 Medicine thread will be relevant.

paperclip2

another question wrote: »

I would like to apply to do Medicine in one of the Dublin universities in Sept. 2014 but I have a lot of questions and although I know many of them have probably been answered in other threads I thought this would be easier for me and for other interested mature students to find all the relevant information for studying Medicine in one thread.....
.

spurious wrote: »

A lot of the 2013 Medicine thread will be relevant.

Threads merged.

Abby19

another question wrote: »

I would like to apply to do Medicine in one of the Dublin universities in Sept. 2014 but I have a lot of questions and although I know many of them have probably been answered in other threads I thought this would be easier for me and for other interested mature students to find all the relevant information for studying Medicine in one thread.

There has been a similar thread every year, it may be worth while reading through them all as not everything gets copied over again. I'll answer some of your questions below.

1) What should I be doing between now and Sept. 2014 that would benefit my personal statement in terms of work experience, volunteer work etc? From what I can gather on Qualifax, all the universities seem to say that consideration is only given to candidates with relevant life experience who can prove/show they have a genuine interest in the area etc.

You have to have your CAO form in by February 1st usually (personal statement for UCD, UCC and NUIG), same for the Trinity supplemental form, so you need to have whatever experience you plan on getting done by then. RCSI tends to ask for a separate submission of documents a bit later, but generally in Spring.

3) I'm 24 and working part-time in retail since I left school. I studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology for my Leaving certificate. I didn't give chemistry much time in school and ended up with a D3 on a higher paper, will this make things difficult for me? I had a B1 (higher) in Biology and an A1 in Physics (ordinary).

TCD (5 years) - Applicants must present a Grade B and a Grade C in two of Biology and Chemistry or Physics at higher Leaving Certificate level or equivalent.
If you are completing a foundation course or TAP then there are different requirements, distinctions in parts of your course. Please check with Clodagh Byrne the Mature Students Officer.
UCD (5/6 years) – Mathematics and a laboratory science subject
RCSI (5/6 years) - Mathematics and a Science subject
UCC (5 years) - HC3 in Chemistry and a HC3 in either Biology or Physics.
NUIG (5/6 years) - Leaving Certificate Honours Science required

4) Time is of the essence for me and I really would prefer to be able to do the 5 year programme instead of the 6 year one (I intend to give this my all and study really hard). I am correct in thinking that Trinity are the only ones who offer a 5 year programme? I am eliminated from UCD as I don't have the required HC3 in chemistry and I think the same applies to RCSI.

With only one honours science subject you are not eligible for TCD or UCC the only 5 year courses. UCD, RCSI and NUIG do 5/6 year courses, but you generally have to have done 2 sciences to be eligible to skip 1st year. It is at their discretion though.
Would you consider repeating your LC Chemistry? It would open up your options, mature students don't have to meet all the requirements in the same sitting and you can include in your applications to show you are serious

6) I know there was a cut in the nursing internship salary to 50% of what it was previously. Did the cut effect the doctor internship also? Or does anyone know what the internship year pays because I like most will be crying out for a half-decent salary at that stage.

Medical Interns salary was cut separately, and they have lost some allowances. It is now €30,257. http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/Benefits_Services/pay/salary_scales_new_entrant2011.pdf

7) Finally, do any of the Dublin universities offer clinical placement in Sligo General Hospital that you know of or is it all done in the Dublin teaching hospitals?

Most clinical placements in the Dublin universities are around the Dublin hospitals. You may have to organise your own electives during the summer in which case you could apply to Sligo. NUIG may be affiliated to them but I don't know for certain.

another question

Abby19 wrote: »

There has been a similar thread every year, it may be worth while reading through them all as not everything gets copied over again. I'll answer some of your questions below.



You have to have your CAO form in by February 1st usually (personal statement for UCD, UCC and NUIG), same for the Trinity supplemental form, so you need to have whatever experience you plan on getting done by then. RCSI tends to ask for a separate submission of documents a bit later, but generally in Spring.



TCD (5 years) - Applicants must present a Grade B and a Grade C in two of Biology and Chemistry or Physics at higher Leaving Certificate level or equivalent.
If you are completing a foundation course or TAP then there are different requirements, distinctions in parts of your course. Please check with Clodagh Byrne the Mature Students Officer.
UCD (5/6 years) – Mathematics and a laboratory science subject
RCSI (5/6 years) - Mathematics and a Science subject
UCC (5 years) - HC3 in Chemistry and a HC3 in either Biology or Physics.
NUIG (5/6 years) - Leaving Certificate Honours Science required



With only one honours science subject you are not eligible for TCD or UCC the only 5 year courses. UCD, RCSI and NUIG do 5/6 year courses, but you generally have to have done 2 sciences to be eligible to skip 1st year. It is at their discretion though.
Would you consider repeating your LC Chemistry? It would open up your options, mature students don't have to meet all the requirements in the same sitting and you can include in your applications to show you are serious



Medical Interns salary was cut separately, and they have lost some allowances. It is now €30,257. http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/Benefits_Services/pay/salary_scales_new_entrant2011.pdf



Most clinical placements in the Dublin universities are around the Dublin hospitals. You may have to organise your own electives during the summer in which case you could apply to Sligo. NUIG may be affiliated to them but I don't know for certain.

Thank you so much for your answer. I have been reading through this thread from the beginning but I'm only on page 5 but there is so much information available which is great.

I am absolutely considering repeating my LC Higher Chemistry, I really need to only go up 1 grade from a D3 to a C3 to be eligible for TCD 5 year programme but I would hope to do a lot better than that. Thanks again.

Medme

Hi all,

I know theres a similar thread on vet so mods feel free to merge if you see fit!

So im now 30, didn't get a mature med place this year (will try again next year etcetc), I do have enough points for undergrad but they could be improved, (along with my HPAT score) so im contemplating the pros/cons of going back to repeat the LC in an effort to get an undergrad place..

Has anyone repeated the LC to get med/vet at my fine age?!! And any suggestions as to where, im assuming the institute is a front runner? Given that ill be shooting for max points im not keen on self-study only option, ill go all out if i run with it..

Im aware of grad entry - unfortunately not eligible. It seems mature entry is always going to be a 'long shot' given the element of subjectivity in interviewing etc but the undergrad entry is at least black and white!

Any advice on LC as an 'oldie' much appreciated

another question

Medme wrote: »

Hi all,

I know theres a similar thread on vet so mods feel free to merge if you see fit!

So im now 30, didn't get a mature med place this year (will try again next year etcetc), I do have enough points for undergrad but they could be improved, (along with my HPAT score) so im contemplating the pros/cons of going back to repeat the LC in an effort to get an undergrad place..

Has anyone repeated the LC to get med/vet at my fine age?!! And any suggestions as to where, im assuming the institute is a front runner? Given that ill be shooting for max points im not keen on self-study only option, ill go all out if i run with it..

Im aware of grad entry - unfortunately not eligible. It seems mature entry is always going to be a 'long shot' given the element of subjectivity in interviewing etc but the undergrad entry is at least black and white!

Any advice on LC as an 'oldie' much appreciated

I gave 'repeating the LC' about 30 seconds of consideration before I remembered the nightmare it was the first time but reading now that you consider to repeat it at 30 (I'm 24) has gotten me thinking. How would you go about repeating? Vague question sorry. I mean do you have to repeat Irish, Maths and English again or not (because we've already passed them?) and can you pick a combo of any 6 subjects as long as you have a 'passed' LC from years ago.

Would you intend to go to a Yeats type establishment or take the dreaded self-study option? I'm also interested in anyone who has repeated the LC as a mature and how they found it - scared mature.

yoppo

another question wrote: »

I gave 'repeating the LC' about 30 seconds of consideration before I remembered the nightmare it was the first time but reading now that you consider to repeat it at 30 (I'm 24) has gotten me thinking. How would you go about repeating? Vague question sorry. I mean do you have to repeat Irish, Maths and English again or not (because we've already passed them?) and can you pick a combo of any 6 subjects as long as you have a 'passed' LC from years ago.

Would you intend to go to a Yeats type establishment or take the dreaded self-study option? I'm also interested in anyone who has repeated the LC as a mature and how they found it - scared mature.

I just finished my LC as a mature student at 27.

You would have to repeat English, Irish, Maths and a 3rd language despite the fact you have passed it previously. If you go in as a LC student based on points you go in with all the subjects in one sitting. You can't use previous years results.

Other then that pick subjects your comfortable in. I went to a Yeat's type institution and there was pass English classes for people who wanted to do med. It was just one hour a week. You could do pass Irish aswell.

I done Bio, Chem, Phy, Home Ec, Hon Maths, Ag Sci as my options. I took up Ag, Hon Maths and Physics as new subjects but my degree in chemistry did kinda help in physics as I done a module in physics before.

Any questions I'm happy to help!

Medme

yoppo wrote: »

I just finished my LC as a mature student at 27.
...
Any questions I'm happy to help!

Your going to regret saying that!

How did you find Hons Maths as a new subject yoppo? ...that's the one that potentially stresses the hell outta me as ill want to 'count' it ie.shoot for an A/B and I'm unsure if its realistic although I got a B1 in it 12 yrs ago!:o

Would you mind me asking where you went, what school? And your opinion as a mature repeat in it..

Thanks a mill

yoppo

Medme wrote: »

Your going to regret saying that!

How did you find Hons Maths as a new subject yoppo? ...that's the one that potentially stresses the hell outta me as ill want to 'count' it ie.shoot for an A/B and I'm unsure if its realistic although I got a B1 in it 12 yrs ago!:o

Would you mind me asking where you went, what school? And your opinion as a mature repeat in it..

Thanks a mill

It was tough. Parts were fairly doable but the new context and applications is very wordy which doesn't suit me. I got an A2 in pass but I know the disparity between pass and honours is crazy so I stuck my neck out and done honours. I'm aiming for a C1-B1!

I went to one in Limerick, there is only one anyway! It was good, the teachers were all very good and you go through reams of exam questions, pre's, old course everything! I wasn't given anything because I was older. It was still a hard year. I was aiming for 550 but I have a feeling it could be 520. I think the A2's in biology and Ag could let me down.

My focus weaned a small bit when I got my HPAT results in March/April. I'd advise you to do HPAT right now. If you have the points don't waste time and money. Spend it on the HPAT and ace it!!