yup. pms matching is like striking a lottery. the safest thing to do is to just keep an open mind and not be so focused on that one university. cause all the unis are good and no matter which uni you go to, you'll still graduate as a doctor and be able to practise medicine.

no idea why people are so obsessed about which uni they are matched to.
seriously, if you desperately want to go to that particular uni, you should have just applied for a direct entry there. everything comes with pros and cons- imu is the cheaper and the easier route to enter unis overseas but obviously you'll never know which uni you'll be matched to.

as for passing the exams.... memorize. medicine has always been a tough course. you just have to read and read again. make lame medical jokes to remember. each time your muscle is aching... try thinking of which muscle it is. go through your medicine cupboard to read the ingredient name and wat the drug is used for. i remember better when i see the actual application in real life.

oya, as for being in the bottom 20%, u can always compare your marks to the class mean. i remember during summatives they used to put up graphs of how the batch performs. your eos results will also state the class mean. if you're average or above average... good for u. below average.... just work really really hard.

This post has been edited by monkeygirl: Jul 2 2010, 10:21 AM

i remember that if you cannot afford the pms you've been allocated to, you can appeal to imu. but you need to show proof by showing the copy of your parent's J form (tax forms) to confirm your financial status. some batchmates changed from pms -> seremban because of this.

very true. cheapest if i still remember is places like liverpool, aberdeen, belfast, etc. nz fees are actually quite expensive. and adelaide's fees have jumped very high. it's still one of the cheaper aussie unis but not really the cheapest if you compare all the schools

haven't seen this thread for a long long time.

for those who have been matched to UK, sorry to say but you probably have to take your ielts again. apparently under some new guideline, new students applying for visa have to do so with a valid ielts score. since the ielts score is only valid for 2 years........
i think the new guidelines will affect those applying for visa next yr onwards. i managed to get my visa done even with an expired ielts score.

just fyi for ppl aiming to go to uk, tier 1 work visa will no longer be available for new applications, pending further notice fr the uk gov. means that essentially, foreign trained medical doctors will no longer be accepted UNLESS you're incredibly awesome and get invited to fill a job position at a uk hospital.

right now, i think foreigners trained in uk medical schools are still allowed to pursue foundation year jobs (FY1 & FY2) as part of their training. after that, it's really hard to secure a position since you need to apply for a work visa. the gov will probably amend the visa regulations again once the economic crisis improves

feeling bored writing my report so i'm back here looking at lowyat forums.
lol.... anyway, i'm studying in leeds now after transferring thru the imu-pms route in 2010. 4th yr now.

regarding ur qw if med graduates from russell grp makes a difference for f1&2... NO
they recently revamped the f1/2 applications and it's now point based (lol.. like everything in the UK. visa application is also point based)
so you get points for having published research, presenting in conferences, etc (points are hard to come by ;( )
not too sure about the details but i think they do look at your academic standing in uni as well and award points based on where you are in your batch.
the whole application form is like an essay paper as well. they ask you things like: describe a situation where you've shown leadership skills in 500 words or something. and they give u points based on ur answers.

then starting from my batch, we all have to sit for a situational-judgement exam thing where we get points based on our scores. i heard it's an mcq paper where they give you a situation [eg: u overheard ur colleague insulting the patient with another colleague. do you: 1) report him to GMC (medical council in UK) 2) talk to him 3) report him to your consultant 4) ignore ]

so yea... ur points will then indicate how likely you'll get a competitive deanery/program (eg: london)

80 ppl didn't get a job this year. but eventually all will be placed since there will be ppl who reject job offer, fail final yr exams (the results are out before anyone sits for their 5th yr finals. some unis dun hv 5th yr finals la but that's another story) etc
as far as i know, there are some changes being made to the immigration rules etc. they say it'll be tougher for international students to stay but BMA is fighting for us (yay!). i know for the this yr's grp, they didn't take into account the applicant's nationality. what happens next yr we hv to wait n see.

oya, regarding the application, the essay answers are scrapped and will be replaced by the situational judgement test thingy (mcq exam i mentioned earlier)