Applicant data is processed as described in the University’s privacy policy for applicants, but with the following difference. Data on unsuccessful applicants to courses in medicine may be retained for ten years following the original application date.
The reason for this is that we share information about applicants and students, which will help the GMC to conduct research into medical education, through the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED). This may include demographic data, attainment and exam data, and fitness to practise information. This information will not be used for other purposes by the GMC, will not be used to make decisions about you, and will not be published in a way which could identify you.
As noted on the UKMED website:
“The Medical Act 1983 gives the General Medical Council a legal responsibility to promote high standards of medical education and co-ordinate all stages of medical education. UKMED supports the General Medical Council to fulfil this function by enabling investigation of training pathways, educational programmes and, selection and assessment tools……The validity of UKMED relies on the General Medical Council having a complete dataset for its cohorts of students and doctors.”
Many unsuccessful applicants to Cambridge will be successful in gaining a place to study Medicine elsewhere. Data on unsuccessful applicants from Cambridge can therefore be combined with data from other sources, to enable UKMED’s research, as described above.
More information about UKMED can be found on its website. In particular, the website has an FAQ section which explains how medical applicant and student data is processed, and also has information on access to and amendment of, data that UKMED holds on medical applicants/students.