Medicine A100 Admissions statistics

The request was successful.

Dear St George’s University of London,

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, I kindly request some raw data from you regarding A100 applications for the latest available admissions cycle and the one preceding that.

The data I would like to have is as follows:

1) How many of the students admitted were studying A Levels?
2) The numbers of applications by country of residence at time of application (N.B by this, I count England, Scotland, Wales and NI as separate) and the number of offers categorised in the same manner.
3) For each applicant interviewed (anonymised) I would like to know what A-Levels (or equivalent - in case of Scottish applications, I mean Advanced Highers) they have completed and their UKCAT scores. (i.e Candidate 1 - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths. UKCAT -
3080) (for guidance on presentation see http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...)
4) The above information to be split into successful and unsuccessful
5) If #3 cannot be completed for data protection reasons or is simply not available by candidate, a table to be made with numbers of each subject and percentages
i.e Chemistry - 150 - 95.00%
History - 5 - 3.00%
etc etc as well as UKCAT in bands of 10 points average (ie 600-610). The total score divided by 4 will suffice for this. (for guidance see http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...)
7) In the event that #3 cannot be carried out, I would also kindly request the most common combinations of A-Level subjects to be released with numbers.
8) The numbers interviewed
9) The number of offers not subsequently made firm/insurance
10) The number of students who take up their place and enrol in September.
11) The number of graduates who apply to the A100 course on the same basis as students in the last year of school.
12) If any scoring system is used to grade applicants to be invited to interview, then I would kindly request this to be made available to me.
13) Any scoring or grading system used to assess interview performance and if a form or such is provided to interviewers to record performance is available I would also kindly request this.

#12 and #13 should be relevant for entry in 2012.

Under Section 11 of the aforementioned Act, I am able to request the form of the data requested and I would like it to be in Excel format (.xls or .xlsx) or at least a machine readable format such as CSV.

I thank you in advance,

Yours faithfully,

A Al-Jabir

Sheila Durkin, St George's University of London

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

I write to acknowledge your FOI request of 13 February 2012.

Our staff are currently working on this, and I write to advise that we may
need a little additional time in order to respond to your request fully.

We are working on this now, and I will be in touch again on Monday 12
March 2012 to advise you further.

With best wishes.

On 13/02/12, A Al-Jabir <[FOI #105712 email]>
wrote:

     Dear St George’s University of London,
    
     Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, I kindly request
     some raw data from you regarding A100 applications for the latest
     available admissions cycle and the one preceding that.
    
     The data I would like to have is as follows:
    
     1) How many of the students admitted were studying A Levels?
     2) The numbers of applications by country of residence at time of
     application (N.B by this, I count England, Scotland, Wales and NI
     as separate) and the number of offers categorised in the same
     manner.
     3) For each applicant interviewed (anonymised) I would like to know
     what A-Levels (or equivalent - in case of Scottish applications, I
     mean Advanced Highers) they have completed and their UKCAT scores.
     (i.e Candidate 1 - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths. UKCAT -
     3080) (for guidance on presentation see
    
[1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...)
     4) The above information to be split into successful and
     unsuccessful
     5) If #3 cannot be completed for data protection reasons or is
     simply not available by candidate, a table to be made with numbers
     of each subject and percentages
     i.e Chemistry - 150 - 95.00%
     History - 5 - 3.00%
     etc etc as well as UKCAT in bands of 10 points average (ie
     600-610). The total score divided by 4 will suffice for this. (for
     guidance see
    
[2]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...)
     7) In the event that #3 cannot be carried out, I would also kindly
     request the most common combinations of A-Level subjects to be
     released with numbers.
     8) The numbers interviewed
     9) The number of offers not subsequently made firm/insurance
     10) The number of students who take up their place and enrol in
     September.
     11) The number of graduates who apply to the A100 course on the
     same basis as students in the last year of school.
     12) If any scoring system is used to grade applicants to be invited
     to interview, then I would kindly request this to be made available
     to me.
     13) Any scoring or grading system used to assess interview
     performance and if a form or such is provided to interviewers to
     record performance is available I would also kindly request this.
    
     #12 and #13 should be relevant for entry in 2012.
    
     Under Section 11 of the aforementioned Act, I am able to request
     the form of the data requested and I would like it to be in Excel
     format (.xls or .xlsx) or at least a machine readable format such
     as CSV.
    
     I thank you in advance,
    
     Yours faithfully,
    
     A Al-Jabir
    
     -------------------------------------------------------------------
    
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     [FOI #105712 email]
    
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     -------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Sheila Durkin
Governance Manager
St George’s University of London
Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 ORE
Email [5][email address]
Telephone 020 8725 4698
Facsimile 020 8672 6940

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Dear Sheila Durkin,

That's absolutely fine, I know I asked a lot so its very understandable!

Yours sincerely,

A Al-Jabir

St George's University of London

I am on leave on the afternoon of Friday 9 March 2012. If you need to speak to somebody urgently in my absence please telephone Susan Trubshaw on 020 8725 0585 or Derek Baldwinson on 020 8725 5996.

Sheila Durkin, St George's University of London

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

I write to respond to your Freedom of Information enquiry received by
email on 13 February   2012 regarding A100 applications for the latest
available admissions cycle and the one preceding that. 

Please find set down below our comments and responses to your questions
bulleted in bold, as listed in your request numbered 1-13.  We noted that
there was no question 6 listed in your enquiry.

 

UCAS applications assessment – 2010 and 2011 entry

·        Kindly note that in both cycles, the selection process was
identical which is why it has not been separated out into the two
admissions cycles.   2012 cycle data is not available as the cycle has not
yet completed.

 

1) How many of the students admitted were studying A Levels?

·        See attached spreadsheet

 

     2) The numbers of applications by country of residence at time of

     application (N.B by this, I count England, Scotland, Wales and NI

     as separate) and the number of offers categorised in the same

     manner.

·        See attached spreadsheet

     3) For each applicant interviewed (anonymised) I would like to know

     what A-Levels (or equivalent - in case of Scottish applications, I

     mean Advanced Highers) they have completed and their UKCAT scores.

     (i.e Candidate 1 - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths. UKCAT -

     3080) (for guidance on presentation see

    
[1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...)

·        See 7).

     4) The above information to be split into successful and

     Unsuccessful

·        See 7).

     5) If #3 cannot be completed for data protection reasons or is

     simply not available by candidate, a table to be made with numbers

     of each subject and percentages

     i.e Chemistry - 150 - 95.00%

     History - 5 - 3.00%

     etc etc as well as UKCAT in bands of 10 points average (ie

     600-610). The total score divided by 4 will suffice for this. (for

     guidance see

    
[2]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...)

·        See 7).

     7) In the event that #3 cannot be carried out, I would also kindly

     request the most common combinations of A-Level subjects to be

     released with numbers.

·        The data requested is not available by candidate, and we would
therefore provide you with the following relevant information which we
trust will be sufficient for your purposes:

a)    Each application was assessed on the basis of minimum academic entry
requirements:

b)    Average of A at GCSE in the top 8 subjects which include English,
Maths, and the Sciences (either Double Award or Single Sciences) with a
minimum grade B in English Language GCSE (or international GCSE
equivalent).

c)    AAA at A-level (achieved/predicted) with a grade B in a 4^th
distinct subject to AS level (or international equivalent). This included
Chemistry and Biology either both to A-level or one to A-level and the
other to AS. International Baccalaureate applicants should have
achieved/be predicted 665 at Higher level and 555 at Standard level,
including Chemistry and Biology. All grades must be achieved at first
attempt and re-sits are not accepted. Thus, the most common combination of
subjects is Chemistry and Biology plus two other academic subjects (not
including General Studies). The third and fourth subjects that an
applicant chooses to complete are not recorded as there is no
discrimination between the additional subjects chosen by applicants and
they do not form any part of our selection process (points 3 & 7).

d)    For those who do not have AAAb predictions/achievement, contextual
information regarding school average at A-level is referred to. Candidates
with lower predictions/achievement may still be offered an interview on
the basis of this adjustment but no lower than BBBb
achievement/predictions.

e)    UKCAT was not used in selection pre-interview in either cycle,
although applicants were required to undertake the test for research
regarding future use.

f)     Those who did not meet the minimum academic requirements (including
adjusted A-level criteria due to school average) would be unsuccessful.
Those with extenuating circumstances are reviewed by the Admissions Tutor.

g)    Assessment of applications would be undertaken by the Medicine
Admissions Officer on the basis of the process described above. All
decisions would then be checked by the Admissions Tutor. Those who are
selected are randomly allocated to interview from the period
November-April.

h)      Personal statement and reference are not assessed as part of this
process, and only referred to in the case of those who cite extenuating
circumstances (as above).

 

     8) The numbers interviewed

·        See attached spreadsheet

     9) The number of offers not subsequently made firm/insurance

·        See attached spreadsheet

     10) The number of students who take up their place and enrol in

     September.

·        See attached spreadsheet

     11) The number of graduates who apply to the A100 course on the

     same basis as students in the last year of school.

·        Graduates are not accepted on the A100 and may only apply for the
specific Graduate Entry Programme.

     12) If any scoring system is used to grade applicants to be invited

     to interview, then I would kindly request this to be made available

     to me.

·        A scoring system has not been utilised for interview selection.
All applicants who meet the academic requirements are selected for
interview.

     13) Any scoring or grading system used to assess interview

     performance and if a form or such is provided to interviewers to

     record performance is available I would also kindly request this.

·     Applicants assessed at interview using the Multi-Mini Interview
format consisting of eight 5-minute tasks/questions testing various
non-academic aspects of an application. Assessors are made up of clinical,
academic and senior administrative staff. Scores are given for performance
in each task and these are added to achieve a total overall score. The
overall score at which applicants are offered a place varies from year to
year based on the performance of the interview cohort in relation to
number of places available. Applicants’ scores are ranked and places are
offered to the top performing candidates.

    

Whilst writing may I advise that if you are not happy with the way in
which we have handled your request, you can appeal by writing to the
Secretary and Academic Registrar of the institution:
 
Sophie Bowen
Secretary and Academic Registrar
St George’s University of London
Cranmer Terrace
Tooting
London
SW17 0RE
 
The Information Commissioner has authority and responsibility under the
Freedom of Information Act and you can contact the Information
Commissioner’s Office by email at ([3][email address]), or at
the following address:
 
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
For more information see the Information Commissioner’s Office – Freedom
of Information website:
[4]http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/free...
 
May I ask you to direct future FOI requests for SGUL to myself at
[5][email address], or to the generic email address [6][SGUL request email]
for the sake of expediency.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further queries.

Yours faithfully.

 

Sheila Durkin
Governance Manager
St George's University of London
Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 ORe
Email [7][email address]
Telephone 020 8725 4698

On 09/03/2012 15:53, A Al-Jabir wrote:

Dear Sheila Durkin,

That's absolutely fine, I know I asked a lot so its very
understandable!

Yours sincerely,

A Al-Jabir

show quoted sections

Dear Sheila Durkin,

Thank you for this, it is much appreciated.
The lack of a question 6 is simply a mistake on my part.

Can I infer from this that apart from for research needs, the UKCAT is not used at all in the admissions process?

Yours sincerely,

A Al-Jabir

Sheila Durkin, St George's University of London

Correct - UKCAT was not used in 2011 or 2010 for selection.

show quoted sections

--
Sheila Durkin
Governance Manager
St George's University of London
Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 ORe
Email [email address]
Telephone 020 8725 4698