Students land top offers for competitive medicine courses

This year has seen nine ambitious students apply for highly competitive medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine university courses with each one of them supported to achieve their goal by their peers, a team of experienced staff, and a structured programme that began as soon as they joined King’s Sixth Form.

Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Lee Parkes, oversees the support programme for applicants. He said: “We have seen a steady increase in offers for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine over the last few years and, against an increasingly competitive national picture, this is something to be very proud of indeed.

“To add a bit of context, our eight medicine and dentistry applicants received almost double the national average number of invitations to interview, which was a hugely positive starting point for this year’s cohort.

“However, even more impressive was the number of offers they all held by the end of the process. Each student can only apply to four institutions, which means that they could receive a maximum of 32 offers between them. They received 20 of these; a conversion rate of 62.5% which compares remarkably well to a national average of 16.7%.”

“In addition, having received two excellent offers, our aspiring vet has also accepted her offer from the University of Bristol.”

At King’s, students are supported to achieve their goal as soon as they join the Sixth Form. In fortnightly Enrichment sessions, students can take the Medics elective, which covers all the essentials for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine applicants, and in the service strand of the Enrichment course, students can choose to visit a care home, which gives invaluable experience for enhancing applications. 

Peer support is also key. Successful Upper Sixth students run a popular MedSoc for Lower Sixth students, and they hold an informative Q&A which gives next year’s applicants the most up-to-date insight into the process.

Advice from previous students is also collated into a useful booklet for applicants to consult at every stage of the process. This is updated annually, making it a highly relevant and invaluable resource for all aspiring medics, vets and dentists.

Alongside this, time is allocated for mock UCAT tests, as well as mock interviews with both school staff and external interviewers, preparing students for the demanding application process, and giving them the opportunity to refine their technique and approach where necessary. 

Mr Parkes believes that this high level of support contributes to the success of King’s students: “Applying to study medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine is a rigorous process that demands high predicted grades, an in-depth interview, an excellent – and relevant – personal statement, and a good performance in the entrance tests.

“At King’s, we prepare students for every aspect of the process and support them at every stage.

“This year’s cohort have worked phenomenally hard and have taken on advice to ensure that the applications they made were right for them and I am delighted that they have been so successful.”

We wish all of our offer holders the best of luck as they prepare to sit their A Level exams.