Rejection?

If you have been rejected by all your medicals schools here are some things you may want to consider doing:
1.Ask for feedback and reflect
How far had you been successful throughout the application process?
Pre-interview rejections:
Your weakness may then have to do with the following:
Predicted Grades
If you were not given the predicted grade that you needed, it may be advisable for you to complete your A level course and achieve the AAA grade and then reapply!
GCSEs/Achieved A Level Result
If your achieved results were the reason for your rejection, then you may have to consider an alternative route into medicine or even an alternative career.
UKCAT Score
If this was a reason, work hard and practise for it again , resit it and reapply. If you are unable to achieve a satisfactory score, consider applying to BMAT schools or schools that do not look at the UKCAT.(Refer to my previous post for advice on the UKCAT: http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html)
Reference
Personally, I don't think that this would be a huge factor, but if this was something that had been a hinder to you, you will have to just prove yourself to your teacher/referee to get a better reference for your next application.
Personal Statement
I would think that this would be a common aspect of the application that has shattered the dreams of many. If the feedback you have received from your universities has to do with your lack of experience/maturity/insight/etc; you will ahve to really look at your personal statement, ask yourself, what could you improve? Could you have reflected more?To work on improving your personal statement you may .like to consider taking a gap year to gain more work experience and  do some volunteering to help strengthen you application. I have touched on these aspects of the application in my previous posts.
Rejected Post-interview
If you've received interviews but had gotten rejections, i would say that your weakness would most probably lie in your interviewing skills and how you presented yourself.
Think back tonthe days of your interviews, how were you feeling? Could you have performed better?
If your nerves were the reason that you were unable to have a successful interview, you might want to take up some self-improvement courses such as public speaking courses or even take some time out to go for interview workshops!
You had already gotten quite far into the application process so no doubt, you would be a strong applicant if you reapply!


Also think about your choices, did you apply strategically, could you have made better choices?

2.Take a gap year and improve on the different aspects of your applications as stated above)
Here are some ideas for a gap year:
In your Local area
Apply for work experience at your local hospital/clinics
Volunteer at your local old age home/hospice
Sign up to help out with any activities to do with helping others!
Get a job- it may or may not have to be in a caring environment, as long as you learn something while doing it(for instance,teamwork,organisation or leadership)
Abroad:
You may want to consider going on placements/volunteering with companies such as gapmedics. A quick google search should be able to get you a long list of companies that organise these kind of things!

3.Reconsider medicine as a career.
If this is not your first rejection, you may have to decide if medicine is really the career for you.there have been cases of applicants being successful on their third application to medical school. If your situation allows for this, then by all means, go ahead!(:

4. Consider alternative routes into medicine
I touched on this in my previous post!(:

The very best of luck to everyone out there! Don't give up and keep chasing your dreams!

Random Advice #2

1. All the medical schools in the UK are equally 'good'
They may have teaching methods and facilities but they are all recognised equally by the GMC. They may have different strengths in research and some may have a better location than others but none is 'better' than the others.
2.Choose wisely pleasepleasepleaseplease
DO apply to places where your strengths are considered. If you have a high UKCAT score(>680) you may want to consider applying to places where the UKCAT is used more, but if you did poorly in your UKCAT(<600) you may want to consider applying to a medical school that does not use the UKCAT(Eg; Bristol)
However, do bear in mind that if you apply to schools that do not use the UKCAT, they could potentially be relatively more competitive.
If you feel that interviews are not your strength, you may consider applying to schools that do not interview(Eg;Edinburgh) but then you would have to be confident of your personal statement, does it bring all that you are/all the passion you have across?
And if you are applying to a university which places a lot of emphasis on your Personal Statement please know that it is a sort of 'risk' because what you may feel to be a good/strong PS may not seem so to an admissions tutor going through a thousand over applications!Some may place more emphasis on extra curricular activities while some may look at your work experience more closely.
In conclusion, apply to schools where you strengths will give you an edge!
3.Prepare for your interview early!
I think I've said this a few times now><
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/What_you_should_expect_at_a_medical_school_interview this link gives a pretty good idea what the interviews are like at each school, but please do double check with the university website to see if any changes have been made

Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements play a huge role in helping you decide which medical school to apply to. Here are the main aspects of it:
1.GCSE(O Levels)
2.Predicted/Achieved Grades @ A level/IB/Scottish Highers/Etc;
3.UKCAT
4.BMAT
5.UCAS Tariff(http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/ please refer to this website for the exact information, from what i know, Queen Mary is an example of a medical school that uses this)

Different medical schools place different emphasis on different parts of your academics.
GCSEs:
Some schools require a minimum number of As/A*s(Eg: Cardiff, Birminghan,Belfast) while some use it as part of their 'scoring system' (Eg; Leicester) While some consider it only when there is a tie breaker (Eg; Dundee)
These school may change their admissions policy from year to year so please make sure you check on their websites!(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements gives an extremely clear guide as to what is needed for each medical school)

Predicted/Achieved grades:
Since I only did A Levels, I can only speak for those taking their A levels.
Generally , your predicted grades should be at least AAA and a predicted A* would not usually matter unless you have already achieved your A*(My friend applied to Bristol and got an interview which he believes he got mainly because of his achieved A*)
If you are a gap year student, AAA would be the minimum grade that you need!

UKCAT
Just as how the GCSEs are used differently by different medical schools, the UKCAT is used in varying ways. Some use it as part of their 'scoring' method(eg:Leicester), some use it to decide who get an interview by ranking their UKCAT scores(Newcastle/Durham), some use it as a cut off, in the sense where if you have an average score about the threshold they set, your UKCAT would no longer matter(Eg; for 2013 Entry, the cut off for Sheffield was 600)
Please note that all these are based on the 2013 application cycle and may vary from year to year.

BMAT
There are only a handful of medical schools in the UK that require you to take the BMAT, unfortunately I am not really clear on it as I chose not to take it and apply to the schools that require it. I would hate to be misleading so I would suggest you read up about it on TSR to get a clear idea on how it is used and what it is about

This is about all that I  have to say about this really ! Please note(again), that all these are based on what I have heard/learnt about the medical schools from this year's application cycle and may vary from year to year! So please do your own research and ensure you are clear of your chances of getting an interview before applying!

Best of luck to you! Feel free to contact me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com !