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March 19, 2024, 09:35:41 pm

Author Topic: BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?  (Read 6772 times)

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Macrophagee

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BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?
« on: July 14, 2019, 04:55:00 pm »
+2
So I sat my UCAT a few days ago and basically...


I stuffed it up.
Badly! :'(

I don't know what to do anymore. These past few days were just awful. I am just so angry and upset at myself for getting such low scores, and my motivation for VCE is at an all-time low. I tried my absolute best for the exam but it hurts when your efforts have gone to waste and your "best" amounts to nothing. School starts tomorrow and I just don't have the energy to continue. :'(

So my chances of undergrad medicine have vanished. I'm not rural or indigenous, and at this point, I highly doubt a 99+ ATAR is even possible--let alone realistic.

Sorry for the emotional dump and if you made it to the end, thanks for reading.

caffinatedloz

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Re: BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2019, 05:41:30 pm »
+4
Aw! I cannot pretend to understand exactly what you're feeling right now, but I can only begin to imagine how difficult it must be. I know that it might feel like "the end" (very dramatic I know) but I encourage you to continue trying your best. I know how hard it is to find motivation, especially after disappointment, but I'm sure that you can pick yourself up after this. There will be other universities with other medicine courses which involve different prerequisites. For example, Deakin has postgrad medicine which relies on the GAMSAT and high GPA from an undergraduate course.

I know you'll find that energy somewhere. You are so close to the finish line! (Even though it feels so far...) You don't want to have any regrets at the end of the year. You don't want to be left to wonder what you could have done. Give it everything and know that that is all that you can ask of yourself.

Sending good vibes your way!
laura

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Re: BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2019, 07:06:40 pm »
+5
So I sat my UCAT a few days ago and basically...


I stuffed it up.
Badly! :'(

I don't know what to do anymore. These past few days were just awful. I am just so angry and upset at myself for getting such low scores, and my motivation for VCE is at an all-time low. I tried my absolute best for the exam but it hurts when your efforts have gone to waste and your "best" amounts to nothing. School starts tomorrow and I just don't have the energy to continue. :'(

So my chances of undergrad medicine have vanished. I'm not rural or indigenous, and at this point, I highly doubt a 99+ ATAR is even possible--let alone realistic.

Sorry for the emotional dump and if you made it to the end, thanks for reading.

Hey! You are not the only one, I have received some terrible scores as well, so I kind of know what you are going through. Laura_ has some great advice, I'll just add on to that.

Quote
So my chances of undergrad medicine have vanished.
No, your chances for undergrad medicine has not vanished at all. For example, you could proceed to another degree after year 12 or take a gap year and resit the UCAT again. What you are going through is COMPLETELY NORMAL. Many high achievers in the UCAT had to repeat at least once. I know a guy this year who got a total score of 3000, but had to repeat 3 times to finally get this score. It is not the end, merely the beginning ;D.

All you can do right now is to get the highest ATAR you can possibly achieve. Like I said, the fact that you messed up is completely fine. And guess what? Even if you messed up your ATAR as well, there are so many other opportunities, albeit harder, such as taking another degree and using your gpa as a mark and then transferring to undergrad medicine, or going post-grad and doing the GAMSAT etc. What you should be doing right now is to analyse why you got such a bad UCAT score. For me, I only figured out the right kind of preparation the DAY before my actual exam, which in my opinion saved my marks to become average. Right now, you just need to begin analysing what went wrong, and then figure out how you can get a better score. Research the ways in which people have achieved great scores (youtube would be a start) and then try out different methods. Try out long term preparation as well. As I am repeating the UCAT again, I am undertaking long term preparation by playing games on this app called 'elevate' on my phone, which strengthens the skills necessary to succeed not only in the UCAT but in all aspects of life. See? It is not the end at all. In fact, look at it this way. In one more year, you would have gone outside, finished school and experienced a little bit of the world. You would have grown so much as a person in both mental ability and maturity in one year's time. This will help you a tonne with your interview. You just need to change your mindset right now to see this situation in this way this way, trust me, life is a lot more manageable viewing everything with this kind of attitude ;D.

Right now, focus on your ATAR. That means getting back into gear in terms of study, and just smashing it in terms of the VCE. Like laura_ said, you do not want any regrets in the future, so you just need to work hard, albeit work consistently everyday.

It's so demotivating to see your hard work going to waste. But trust me, by honing that hard work with correct preparation you will undoubtedly succeed in the UCAT. That applies to nearly everything in life. You need good preparation along with hard work in order for success to come your way.

Now you might be asking what the correct preparation is? There is no straight answer but something which you will have to figure out yourself. Research how high-achievers have gotten a great UCAT score, and read guides on how to approach each section.

Hopefully that would life your spirits up quite a bit. I know how you feel, but your chances of undergrad med haven't gone at all, just delayed by a bit ;D.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2019, 07:09:48 pm by r1ckworthy »
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Lear

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Re: BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2019, 10:20:27 am »
+3

No, your chances for undergrad medicine has not vanished at all. For example, you could proceed to another degree after year 12 or take a gap year and resit the UCAT again.

Great advice above by both posters but I highly recommend you not do this.
It’s unwise to take a whole year of your life off (or more years) to firstly hope to get a better score in the UCAT and then still face small chance of getting an offer at any university. In this time you can be making progress in an undergraduate degree (perhaps in an alternative career pathway) and still be able to go for post graduate med.
2018: ATAR: 99.35
Subjects
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Methods: 43
Further Maths: 50
Chemistry: 46
Legal: 40
2019: Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine @ Monash

r1ckworthy

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Re: BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2019, 11:51:26 am »
+1
Great advice above by both posters but I highly recommend you not do this.
It’s unwise to take a whole year of your life off (or more years) to firstly hope to get a better score in the UCAT and then still face small chance of getting an offer at any university. In this time you can be making progress in an undergraduate degree (perhaps in an alternative career pathway) and still be able to go for post graduate med.

Hey, thanks for replying!

Totally get what you are saying in not wasting a year just to re-sit the UCAT. I wrote my advice down here as of hearing from other med students on what to do in case they did not get a great UCAT score the first time. I have researched and have seen many students undertaking an undergraduate degree to resit the UCAT and then transfer to medicine that way. I guess in my post I should have explicitly mentioned resitting the UCAT as ONE option, albeit I think it would depend on the person if this were a better or worse option. My plan is to try and transfer to med this way since many people have advised me on doing so, and I have in fact seen it happen this way for many people.

In the end, I guess it really depends on the person. But I feel that taking an undergraduate degree/alternative career pathway and resitting the UCAT is an option we should consider, as (a) the process for becoming a doctor would be quicker if we do get in, (b) we would still be in an undergraduate degree if we still don't get in and (c) we would still be eligible for post grad med as well. Please let me know any faults in my reasoning, because I have got a terrible UCAT score and this is currently my future plan ;D.
« Last Edit: July 18, 2019, 11:59:43 am by r1ckworthy »
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The Yr12 journey- a diary I "hope" to update... || Halfway through Year 12... lessons I've learned so far. || Check out my youtube channel!

Lear

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Re: BAD UCAT SCORE! What do I do now?
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2019, 12:06:16 pm »
+3
Absolutely agree with you.
Yes, there are some universities that you can apply as a ‘non-standard’ which means you are a person undertaking an undergraduate course but wishing to apply for undergraduate medicine. These universities take into account your university GPA alongside your UCAT score. So, if you get a bad score in year 12 you can resist the UCAT in first year and apply to these universities. This means that you aren’t banking a whole year on the small chance you’ll get a good enough UCAT and then ALSO the even smaller chance of getting an offer for medicine. Definitely do not recommend taking a gap year for that purpose. This includes redoing a subject to boost Atar.

Here are a few universities that take non standards


- UNSW
- WSU
- JMP
- JCU
- Bond
2018: ATAR: 99.35
Subjects
English: 44
Methods: 43
Further Maths: 50
Chemistry: 46
Legal: 40
2019: Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine @ Monash