The questions that actually come up.

Most students begin around six months before their UCAS deadline. Earlier is better but not always necessary; UCAT preparation benefits from sustained practice over months, not weeks. For reapplicants and graduate-entry candidates we begin at any stage of the cycle.

Almost never too late, but tell us as soon as possible. We need a clear read on the student's profile (year, predicted grades, UCAT status, target schools) before we can scope what is realistic. Send us a message on WhatsApp and we will tell you straight on the call.

Message us today. The call covers where the student is now, the format of the test or interview ahead, the runway available, and whether targeted intervention will move the needle. Inside two weeks of the UCAT we focus on technique and timing. Inside a week of an interview, a calibrated mock plus a stations clinic. For a closing shortlist deadline, fast-start school selection. If the runway is too short to do honest work, we will say so and suggest the alternative.

No. Year 11 is a good time to think strategically about work experience, building a competitive medicine portfolio, and study habits that will survive Year 12. UCAT preparation itself benefits from sustained practice starting in Year 12. A Strategic consultation or an early WhatsApp chat is usually the right entry point at this stage.

Not yet. Keep us in mind and have a look at our Services page. We do not begin paid work below Year 11. We would rather you spent the money on books, lab kits, and work experience than on us; the public information at that stage is plenty.

It depends. Some medical schools accept AAA. Some only A*AA. Some will consider contextual offers. We match students to schools based on grades, UCAT, and application strength, not on a single rule. If predicted grades are below AAB across the sciences, we will say so on the WhatsApp call and discuss whether the strategy is retakes, a gap year, or a different route into medicine. The Strategic consultation is the dedicated product for school selection of this kind.

Every engagement begins with a conversation on WhatsApp. Free, typically 15 to 20 minutes. We ask for the student's year, predicted grades, any UCAT score, and target schools. If we are not the right fit we will say so, and where useful we will point you elsewhere.

No. Our enquiries exceed our capacity. We triage on fit and decline engagements where we do not believe we can hold our standard. The strongest signal at the first call is whether the student wants this for themselves; motivated students get more from the programme and consistently outperform their starting profile. A four-person team coaching medicine applicants across UK and Hong Kong cycles is also a hard constraint, and we run a small cohort by design.

Message us and we will tell you directly. We close intake when the cohort is full, and the complete Integrated and Intensive programmes usually close earliest in the cycle because they plan around the student's full calendar. Earlier conversations carry more flexibility on programme design, mentor matching, and timetable.

Three reasons. First, we decline engagements where the fit is poor at the first call. Second, coaching is delivered by current medical students at Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, UCL, and KCL, who sat the current UCAT and the current interview formats. Third, shortlist design is built around what a student's UCAT and grade profile can actually convert. See the Results page for the full numbers by cycle.

We say no when we cannot do honest work for a family. A student who does not want this for themselves. Predicted grades that make UK medicine extremely unlikely where the family is not open to alternative routes; a Strategic consultation usually points to a different path. A request to write the personal statement for the student, or to work around admissions integrity. A timeline so tight that taking the fee would not be honest.

Yes. The BMAT was discontinued after 2024. Almost every UK medical school now relies on the UCAT, alongside personal statements and interviews.

Yes. The UCAT dropped Abstract Reasoning in 2025. Our team coaches the three-section format from the reform onwards, with practice materials and approach updated for the current sections.

Within the first day of the booking window. Booking early secures preferred test centres and earlier dates. We coach every student to sit the UCAT in a window that leaves margin before results day and allows a retake decision if the score underperforms expectations.

As soon as possible. Roughly six months before the test window is the practical floor, around April for the standard UCAS cycle. Year 11 students who know they want medicine can start earlier; sustained practice over months consistently produces better scores than late, compressed cramming. See our UCAT programme for the full structure.

Medify is the only practice platform that mirrors the live UCAT interface and question difficulty. An in-house bank would either drift in calibration or cannibalise the platform that actually produces the score. We teach technique first; once the foundations are in place, every Medify hour after that adds real points. We include the subscription in the fee so the student is not chasing paper mocks or scraped question banks. UCAT programmes and above include a 3-month Medify subscription.

A lower UCAT score is not the end of the application. We review every result against national percentile data and build a school shortlist that maximises the remaining options. Interview coaching is disproportionately valuable for students in this position.

Often yes, depending on the score and the schools the student is targeting. A lower UCAT closes some doors and opens others; the right shortlist plus a strong personal statement and interview prep can still produce offers. Send us the score and predicted grades on WhatsApp and we will tell you what is realistic.

Peer-reviewed by multiple members of our team across multiple drafts. Drafts, line edits, panel review, final proof. The statement has to stand up at interview.

Yes. UCAS restructured the personal statement for the 2025 cycle. Our team has coached students through the new three-question format from its first year.

An MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) rotates the candidate through short, scenario-based stations. A panel interview is a longer conversation with two or three assessors. Different medical schools use different formats. We coach both.

Our team includes direct admissions-panel experience and hundreds of hours of medicine interview coaching. We have assessed medicine applicants at panel level and know how answers are scored. See the Team page for full backgrounds.

Over 500 hours of mock interview coaching delivered since 2022, plus direct admissions-panel experience at MBBS panel level. Mocks are scored independently by multiple mentors and reconciled before feedback reaches the student. See the Team page for full backgrounds.

Every interview-prep session is effectively a mock. We rehearse against the live format of each school that invites the student, with written feedback after each session and a rerun on the weakest stations. Headline mock count varies by tier and by how many invitations land; the contact hours leading up to the day matter more.

All three. Integrated covers the complete application across UK and Hong Kong in one coordinated programme. Hong Kong Application is the dedicated programme for students applying to Hong Kong only. Intensive adds extra hours, priority scheduling, and extended post-offer support on top of Integrated.

Different systems, different timelines, different tests. The UK uses UCAS and, for most medical schools, the UCAT. Hong Kong admits through JUPAS (for HKDSE students) and non-JUPAS (for international qualifications), with HKU and CUHK running their own interview processes. We coach both and coordinate them where a student is applying in parallel.

Yes. We coach across DSE, IB, A-levels, and other qualifications recognised by UK and Hong Kong medical schools. Our co-founders applied in parallel to UK and Hong Kong and took offers on both sides; the team coaches each track to its specific entry requirements. For HK-only applicants the dedicated programme is Hong Kong Application: HKU and CUHK personal statements, HK interview preparation, and HK school selection.

Our team has navigated both cycles first-hand. We plan UCAS and JUPAS timelines in parallel so the cycles do not compete, and we coordinate school choice across both markets to maximise options. Integrated is the standard programme for this; Intensive for compressed timelines.

English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Sessions are delivered in all three.

On the Results page, a 'reapplicant' is a student who applied to medicine in a previous cycle without our help, did not convert, then came to us for a fresh cycle. We did not coach the previous attempt; from our delivery side they are first-cycle clients. The reapplicant offer rate measures their outcomes under our coaching for that fresh cycle.

Every reapplicant, graduate-entry, and gap-year student who has completed a programme with AlphaMED has received a medicine offer (see the Results page for the cycle-by-cycle data). A non-traditional path is not a disadvantage with the right strategy.

We coach both undergraduate and graduate entry. Our team includes a mentor who holds one of the small handful of international Oxford graduate entry places offered each year, bringing that experience directly to the coaching.

Usually immediately after results day if the year is being used for a reapplication, because the UCAT and personal statement cycle restarts within months. For gap years taken for other reasons, we begin 12 months before the next UCAS deadline.

Headline pricing on the Services page: Strategic consultation £300. Single workstream from £1,850. Hong Kong Application from £3,850 (HK only). Integrated from £8,850. Intensive from £15,950. Exact fee for a specific case depends on the depth of work the student needs and the stage of the cycle (later applications need compressed delivery, which we price separately). We scope it on the free 20-minute WhatsApp call.

Integrated at £8,850. Complete medicine application across both UK and Hong Kong. Buying each workstream separately totals £12,500, so Integrated saves £3,650 (29%). Applicants on compressed timelines or targeting the highest-ranked schools move to Intensive.

Integrated for students with adequate runway and a clear UK and Hong Kong intent. Intensive for students on compressed timelines, those targeting the highest-ranked schools, or families wanting extended post-offer support. Single workstream where the student already has strength across the rest of the application. We confirm on the WhatsApp call once we see the profile.

Depends on the rest of the profile. A single workstream covers one area properly and works well for students who already have strength elsewhere in the application and want focused work on one gate (UCAT, personal statement, or interview). We confirm fit on the WhatsApp call.

Integrated (£8,850) is the complete application across UK and Hong Kong, 80 hours, one named mentor. Intensive (£15,950) adds 45 extra flexible hours (125 hours total), priority scheduling across time zones, extended post-offer support (firm/insurance, clearing, deferral), and direct co-founder access for strategic calls. Applicants on compressed timelines or targeting the highest-ranked schools take Intensive.

Our school-selection consultation. One hour on WhatsApp with a co-founder, followed by a written shortlist of target medical schools with rationale. £300. Shortlist built on three filters: eligibility (where the student qualifies), validity (where their UCAT and grades land in range), and conversion (where historical data supports a real offer probability). We name the schools where the profile fits, and the schools where it does not, with reasons. League tables and generic guides work from public information any family can find themselves; we work from cycle-specific patterns, scoring rubrics, and the student's actual profile. School selection is also included in Integrated and Intensive as part of the complete application.

Yes. Every programme has a published price on the Services page. The scoping conversation happens on the free 20-minute call, where we match the right programme to the student. The price after that is the price.

Yes, on content. We help draft, review, and pressure-test what the student writes; final review of a complete form before submission is included for Integrated and Intensive students and arranged ad hoc for others. The admin parts (visa status, passport, fee category, qualifications equivalence) we will help with where we can, but cannot always guarantee end-to-end coverage; those questions are tricky and often need direct contact with the admissions office. We do not submit on a family's behalf. UCAS, JUPAS, and non-JUPAS forms remain the student's to file.

Yes, by arrangement on Integrated and Intensive. Terms are confirmed on the free call.

Flat fee at the start of the programme. Families that want to test the relationship can start on a single workstream. We do not guarantee an upgrade from there to a full programme: the bottleneck is capacity, not price, and cohort planning is set on day one for the package signed. Where capacity allows we may extend the engagement, sometimes with a small loyalty discount. Building a full programme out of stacked single workstreams ends up more expensive end to end than committing to Integrated or Intensive at the start.

Yes, by request. Ad hoc hours sit outside cohort planning and are priced accordingly. Intensive families have a more favourable ad hoc rate than the public hourly because the relationship is already at programme level.

No fixed deadline. Pricing increases through the cycle as delivery compresses. Cohort places fill from the start of the cycle, and the complete programmes (Integrated and Intensive) usually close earliest. Earlier conversations also carry more flexibility on package design and mentor matching.

Case by case. We invoice in GBP as standard. HKD or USD payment by bank transfer is possible on request, with currency conversion handled where needed. Card payments are also accepted. Confirmed on the call.

Premium admissions consultancies cover all subjects with opaque pricing, five-figure total fees beginning around £15,000 and rising well into six figures, and a generalist team across every subject. Tutoring companies often charge a lower headline hourly rate, but the total bill across UCAT, personal statement, and interview commonly matches or exceeds a full programme with us, with mentor handoffs based on marketplace availability rather than continuity. We publish every price. We do medicine only. One named mentor through to offers. Our team coaches under the current UCAT, current personal statement format, and current interview rubric, because we sat them recently. Numbers on the Results page.

No. Any advisory that guarantees an offer to a medical school is either misrepresenting the admissions process or exposing itself to liability it cannot meet. We publish our offer rate, by cycle, on the Results page, and let the record speak.

On request, not as a listed product. Our focus is medicine admissions. If a student needs subject mentoring alongside an admissions programme, we can arrange it, priced separately.

Online, over video call, one to one. Sessions are booked through direct communication with the mentor. In-person meetings in London are occasionally arranged for local students where useful. See the programmes overview for delivery format by tier.

One hour as standard, with flexibility upward where the work calls for it. UCAT sessions are usually focused on the hour; personal statement and interview sessions can run longer. We do not run shorter than one hour.

Students can message their mentor on WhatsApp for things that do not need a full session. We respond within 24 hours under normal conditions. Quick clarifications by message; substantive work in session. Drafts are marked up in writing between sessions on a full programme.

Yes. Where the mentor confirms a section is mastered, hours can be redirected to weaker areas of the application. The decision is mentor-assessed, not student-claimed; the most common pattern we see is a student feeling fluent on past papers while still missing the timing or the marking criteria. Hours bought are hours delivered, redirected if mastered, never quietly dropped.

UK and Hong Kong as standard. We timetable sessions to work either end.

24 hours' notice reschedules without charge. Less notice may forfeit the session depending on the reason. No-shows forfeit. Flag a clash early and we will work with you.

No. We do not record sessions and do not permit recordings. Students speak more candidly when nothing is being archived, and mentors coach more freely when they are not on tape.

GDPR compliant. We are ICO-registered (number in the footer). Student material is not shared with third parties.

We do not offer refunds once a programme has been signed. Your fee holds a place in a capped cohort and a mentor's time across a full application cycle, both planned around that place from day one. The WhatsApp call before sign-up exists to make sure the fit is right before money changes hands. If circumstances change after sign-up, including a mid-cycle realisation that an offer is unlikely this round, message us directly. We keep the hours and redirect them to whatever is most useful next, whether that is reapplication preparation, an alternative route into medicine, or a different end goal entirely. We handle each case directly.

A dedicated member of our team of four. They deliver the sessions, review the work, and coordinate the strategy. The same person from the first call to the offer.

Mostly. The person you meet on the first free call is usually the lead mentor through to offers. Where another mentor's strengths fit a specific school or stage of preparation better, we pair them in. We match on student need, not rotation. Full backgrounds on the Team page.

They are currently studying medicine at Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, UCL, or KCL. The relevant credential for admissions coaching is not being a doctor; it is having recently won the seat the student is competing for, under the current UCAT, the current personal statement format, and the current interview rubric. The team has coached medicine applicants since 2022, with hundreds of cumulative hours per cycle, and treats coaching as a primary commitment alongside study. Co-founder backgrounds, hours, and credentials on the Team page.

No. Isaac no longer holds any role in KCL's admissions process. His experience on the KCL admissions panel informs how he prepares applicants, not how current applicants are assessed. Every AlphaMED student goes through the same admissions process as any other applicant.

London, with students across the UK, Hong Kong, and internationally. All sessions are delivered online unless otherwise arranged.

Yes, actively. Coffee chat or WhatsApp, with anyone we might build something useful with: schools, complementary tutors, charities, research collaborators, founders in adjacent spaces, parents of prospective students who want to think out loud, or anyone with an idea that lines up. Reach Isaac on WhatsApp. We partner where the missions align and pass on anything that conflicts with ours on integrity.

Tell us. The first WhatsApp call is a good place to work out whether medicine is what you actually want, rather than what is expected. If it is not, we will say so. The worst outcome is starting a five-year degree because of momentum.

The coaching relationship is with you. We keep your parents informed on progress, schedule, and anything commercial. We do not report the content of sessions, your drafts, or private concerns you raise with your mentor. If something affects your wellbeing in a way we think your parents should know, we will tell you first.

Varies by programme and stage of the cycle. UCAT season is the heaviest: expect several hours a week on top of school. Personal statement and interview seasons are more concentrated bursts. We plan the load around your actual school timetable, not an idealised one.

Normal. School lists shift as your UCAT score, predicted grades, and priorities change. We rebuild the shortlist with you whenever new information lands. You do not commit to a list before we know what you can convert.

We debrief honestly. We review every stage of the application, identify what did not land, and if you want to reapply we plan the next cycle from that review. Continued coaching across a second cycle is possible; we handle the fee for that case by case. The published reapplicant offer rate covers a different group of students; see What does 'reapplicant' mean in our statistics? for the definition.

Happy to chat. The programme is scoped to admissions, but informal advice on next steps, uni life, intercalation, electives, and similar is part of the relationship for students we work with. If you want specific scoped work outside admissions (subject mentoring, for example) we arrange that separately.

Yes. Through our team and the AlphaMED alumni base, we can introduce prospective students, current applicants, and offer-holders to people studying on the specific course or school they are weighing up. Useful before drafting a shortlist, before firming an offer, and into first year. We facilitate the introduction; the chat itself is informal.