My strengths are chemistry and biology, particularly haemotology and I'd love to be a doctor. I've just left school and I've got my last science exams within the next week. I've got a feeling that i'll finish school with an A* in biology (if all goes to plan, but i'm not 100% confident) and an A in chemistry, but I was wondering how much more difficult is A level? Is it proportional? As in is it a lot harder but i'll be a lot smarter so i'll be able to cope? Or does it become a massive challenge? Either way i'll be taking biology, chemistry, maths and psychology but if i don't get the AAA or AAB required to get into a lot of my local medical schools could any of you suggest an alternative career that still incorporates my strengths? Something to do with pharmaceuticals perhaps? I just want to know if there's anything that I could use as a backup if I was to get ABB or BBB for instance....of course i'd rather it was well paid but really as long as it's to do with blood/medicine or something a long those lines i'm interested because that's what I enjoy.

i'm planning to go UCl

The main degree is pass/fail. Most universities have some kind of merit/distinction system but the decision process on how these are awarded is individual to each university. You are also ranked within your year group, and your ranking counts towards foundation programme job applications.

If you intercalate, that bit will be graded in the normal university style, and at Cambridge they give you a grade in the first two years as well, but not for the final degree.

Hey, so i want to get into medical school so i was wondering what GCSE's i would have to take. I am defiantly taking biology and chemistry.
I've heard you need to take maths, but i am absalutly crap at maths and i have to redo my GCSE in maths because i got a C and i need atleast a B to get into my university. So i was thinking, would i get into university with these a level grades?
biology, chemistry, english language, maths for the first year, physics for the next year. please help !

Just wondering when would you go on the course as in how long b4 ur exam should you book?

Great, thanks :) will they not inquire to where I've been working in an interview then? Or do they only care about the experience gained?



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I started revising for the UKCAT last summer, actually:D because I genuinely thought we had to sit it last summer... :$ But yeah, I'm pretty busy at the moment and have to pass my baccalaureate so I think I will re-open my UKCAT 'revision' book in July, even though I can say that I'm now familiar with the questions type. What about you? Um, just out of curiosity, why do you want to study abroad? I guess it's probably for the same reasons as me...
Studying abroad isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows.:o

Hey, I'm sorry this is a bit off topic but what were your GCSE and A-level results? :)

I'm thinking of doing medicine too!
Jatz

First of all, I would question your reasons for wanting to be a doctor. Make absolutely sure you want to spend the next 8 years training to be a doctor; and that you haven't 'suddenly' become fascinated.

Medicine is a highly competitive course to gain access to so be absolutely certain you want to do medicine.

With those grades, you can get into most UK universities for most subjects. BUT for medicine, grades are not enough, as
- only about 40% of UK applicants get a place anywhere
- the number of places available to international students doing medicine is very tightly controlled by the government, making it even more competitive for internationals
- you'll need work experience, including hands on caring, though many medical schools say that this need not be in a clinical setting. Shadowing doctors in a hospital is invariably NOT enough

Ultimately, medicine applications in the UK are something of a lottery given how competitive it is. Every year there are many well qualified applicants who do not get an offer.

I am in year 12 and hoping to apply for Medicine for 2014 entry.
A huge part of my life currently besides my A-Levels is musical theatre. I usually have 2 musicals/plays on the go at once and am in several choirs and accapella groups. It would really be really disheartening for me if I wasn't able to take part in all of these because of the time demands of my medicine course.
So I was wondering if anyone could give me any information about UK universities with musical societies for medical students, particularly musical theatre based societies. Or whether you know of anyone who/or whether you yourself take part in the main university music theatre as a med student - and whether this is actually doable or whether you end up not spending much time with your medical student friends in doing this.
This is a huge thing, so any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

Thank you

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Basically I was wondering, as i would like to go in the path of medicine if you med students or ex med students could possibly answer some questions for me:

1)
a)what was ur gcse/a level grades
b)what a levels did you choose / drop
2)bmat/ukcat score and when did you do it (some do it earlier than others - e.g. yr 12 or 13)?
3)revision techniques for your exams (any or all - bmat, a level, uni exams) (and state if you revision techniques changed from gcse to a level).
4) how many hours did you revise for each day? (an estimate and state whether it was for gcse or a levels or others) also when did you start (e.g. 5 months before an exam, 3 weeks, 1 day etc.)
5) what uni do you go to now/ what course are you doing/ how are the exams like? do you enjoy it?
6) how is ur uni (meaning in terms of teaching, lessons whether ur uni is very helpful. rate it on a scale of 1 - 10.
7) what unis did u apply to and how many call backs or interviews did you get?

i tried to find another forum on this, but there were lots and i didnt want to go through HUNDREDS of threads so i decided to make my own one. thank you in advance and appologies if i have offended anyone.

oh and im not trying to be nosy, i just want more knowledge so i can see what studying medicine is like, and whether it is right for me! answer in as much detail as you possibly can please!! THANKS!! :)

Hey, I know it's been a long time since you've posted in the thread :p

Did you get into the uni you wanted? :-)




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Undergraduate - studying a levels/eqv and hasn't done a degree yet :) post graduate - done a degree and looking to carry on with education for a masters phd or something :) and a graduate is somebody with a degree who has graduated from uni :) and for somebody doing a levels you want the undergraduate degree for medicine hope that helps


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I'm aware of the requisites for the degree - I have a 1st Class in my degree. Interesting to see you mention A-levels, are those still considered as important? I thought that they would have been superseded by my degree? The reason I ask is that my A-levels are actually quite poor. I am something of an academic late bloomer

Can any current med students tell me how busy their lives are?
For example, can you describe the amount of work you have to do per week?
How would you compare it to A2?

I have been told by many teachers about the workload of medschools, I just do not know if they are exaggerating.
If someone currently studying medicine could tell me about their experiences, that would be great. Thanks:)

Hey folks, i have a few questions i was hoping you could answer for me:

I am a Pakistani national studying in Pakistan.
My GCSE grades are A*, A*, A, A, A, A, A, A
My expected A2 grades are A*AAa in Chemistry, Biology, Physics and English Language [AS] respectively.

Where do you think these grades could land me? Not just in the UK but Australia, USA etc also? Any chances of scholarships? Thanks bunches! :D

I would have though that as you have Maths, Biology and Chemistry, it doesn't matter what you're fourth one is. So in this case, as you said you prefer maths, I would go for Further Maths rather than Physics.

Could you clarify whether you are doing all the AS & A levels within one, two year period ?

Think that is where a lot of confusion is arising from since you said you swapped to a science subject - is it still within the usual 2 year period? I.e. you did GCSEs in year 11 and are sitting all your A2's 2 years later (year 13)

Did they ask you about it & did you write it in your personal statement? How many years ago was this?
Yeah I needed to acknowledge and reflect on the need to resit in my personal statement. This was last year (just finished first year now)


If I ended up with let's say... BBB, and I got predicted one or two A*s and the rest As, would that make a difference? or will unis that don't bother with extenuating circumstances only allow people with AAB to resit?

Hi all, I am currently finished my first year of Health and Social Care Level 3 Extended National Diploma and have had a few future career changes! I am now really interested in doing Medicine in university.. would I even be considered onto the degree doing the course I am doing now? I have had placements in a hospital where I was shadowing nurses and observing surgery in the theatres! I have also worked in a pharmacy for over 2 years and have completed my HCA course (health care assistant) and am now a qualified HCA! I have a lot of interest in medicine and the human body! Just need to know if I should change my course or carry on for the 2 years and do a foundation year or something!?? Thank you!!

What does anyone think about putting desire to work for Médecins Sans Frontières in personal statement? It's been something i've wanted to do for a long time, however I am a bit unsure?

Thanks

Instead of a gap year, I'm going to apply again in September while starting the other degree, and volunteering weekly, because that's the course I'd end up doing if I had an unsuccessful gap year anyway, because I've decided I wouldn't apply a 3rd time. Applying while on a degree is an unusual route- but one people have taken before.

The reason I didn't choose a medicine-related degree, such as Biomedicine is because I'd find it difficult to do well in a degree I didn't fully enjoy. Not to mention the graduate route is very expensive and I wouldn't be able to afford it, but also as someone else mentioned it's even more competitive, so it's unlikely I'd be anymore successful.

Not only are the courses harder, if you actually get a place, but just to apply you'll have to get a 2:1 in a degree that you don't love, which isn't easy. And second degrees are very expensive- even more so when it's 5 years.

As a side note, there is nothing stopping you from obtaining a degree - and then applying as an undergraduate depending on your personal circumstances (best double check with individual uni's) ... As someone else pointed out, GEP is rather more competitive so that may be a better shot if you do change your mind in the future.

Hi, I really want to study medicine at university. For my AS-levels I am definitely doing Chemistry, Biology and Maths but not sure what to do for my fourth option. I'm interested in pschology but not sure whether it would be looked down upon by certain universities. I am also interested in History but not sure as not really related to medicine. Thanks in advance for helping! :)

You can always reschedule it..UKCAT isn't about cramming. Its practice and you should do past papers spaced out and it is time pressured. 2 weeks is sufficient with afew hours a day. Its about having a technique :)

You need to apply to places where you exeed the stated requirements.
unireq.co.uk this website may be of use to you.

E: I got in with 2A* 1A 6B's and a C at GCSE so any questions just pm me.

My friend has an active relationship with someone in Warwick and he studies at Imperial. It seems to be working fine. He's only first year but they see each other every few weekends and see much more of each other during the holidays. I don't know how that might change in the clinical years though.

I think ukcathelp.org are planning on uploading a bank of SJT questions soon (I'd they haven't already gone so!) plus it's free!

Hello I'm wanting to do medicine in university but my school didn't let me do chemistry to a full A-level so I can only take this to an AS level. I'm currently doing Mathematics, Biology and psychology which will be taken to the full A-level, are there any universities that are doing a foundation/widening access year for medicine that doesn't need chemistry to the full A-level or at all or are there other routes into medicine? I really need help please!!!

I'm just preparing myself for the worst here. If I don't make my AAA offer for med school, are there any that will accept an AAB candidate through clearing? I highly doubt it, but just thought I'd ask to be on the safe side.

Okay, I have underachieved in this exam period, however I aim to rectify that in Sixth Form.

I'm really geared towards applying to Medicine, and I hope to be successful however I need help.

I will work my ass off to ensure 4 As at AS, and will continue to do so throughout A2. Now here comes my question,

Since my A-Levels can be entailed to both Medicine and Engineering, and should I be unsuccessful initially, what should be my steps?

FIRSTLY, can someone run through the application process of Y13 with me? Like what you do at the start of the year in terms of UCAS, Personal Statements etc?

Here's my plan

- Work my ass off at AS for 4 A's.

- GAIN A TON of work experience and start to write my Personal Statement ( 30-40 hours? )

- Start studying for the UKCAT in the summer before A2.

- and then what when A2 arrives( somebody clarify this as asked above - the whole process)

- Say I achieve 700 in the UKCAT, 4 A's at AS, and a great PS/WorkExperience/Extra Curricular..etc, would I be successful?

Now, this is where my problem lies.

My GCSEs aren't great AT ALL.

2 A*s, 2/3 As, 4 Bs.

I will most likely resit two of the B's(No biggie, it's just two simple papers)
and get them to A*s.

Now, where should I apply?

I understand my GCSEs will, at this point, be pulling me back.

So where would it be good to apply strategically?

Now, I understand that even attaining these grades isn't enough and I may not get any offers.

I will take a gap year, hopefully by the end of the gap year I will have around A*/A*/A or A*/A*/A* - I intend to work my ass off so hard for this.

But say I do achieve this.

and STILL DON'T GET IN

My second preferred course would be engineering, and as previously mentioned, my A-Levels entail the course requirements.

So, would I just change my PS, get some work experience in engineering and re-apply?

Or would that not work?

I'm going to try take a shot at medicine firstly, however, I'm not sure what to do if I don't get in TWICE.

I like the idea of Mechanical Engineering.

Just received my predicted grades for A levels with which I'll be applying in 2014 as AAAB. Do I still have a chance to get into a Russell Group Uni to study medicine or will I have to take an alternative route? I know you cannot give a definite answer but any guidance would be great.

Ah I see. So I just have to email the admissions people to find out?

Thought it might be, but I got confused because you quoted me. :o

If you have a high percentage of A*s at GCSE, and you are predicted A*AA by your teachers, you can apply at Oxford.
Otherwise, don't.

For Imperial, the focus is more weighted on GCSEs and AS levels (among other things). Read here http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki...your_Strengths

I'd say AABB is good enough for many places, but apply smart. The above should help you to think it through.

Probably not. Loads of people change schools all the time. It'd just one of those things you have to cope with. Sorry.

Hi, and welcome to TSR.

Ultimately, you will have to talk to med schools about your situation, as you're going to be a special case, and they all have their own rules for handling special cases. I can only list a few options for you to explore...

• write off your first year in Sixth form and start again, taking Biology, Chemistry and two other AS subjects (one of which you would drop after 1 year). It would be important to achieve 4xAS and 3xA2 in the next 2 years, as med schools expect all candidates to have handled the same workload. But would your school let you do this?
• apply in Sept/Oct for an 'Access To Medicine' or Foundation course. The former are for people whose backgrounds prevented them from achieving their full academic potential, the latter for bright students who are studying the wrong subjects. You could probably apply for either - details and entry criteria are in the wiki (see the link in my signature block, or top right on this page)
• finish Sixth Form, take a 3-year degree at uni, and apply for graduate entry.

Currently, you have some GCSEs which are below the minimum requirements. You should probably retake them, but if you go down the Foundation/Access route, you'd either have to take a gap year (you can't make those grades before the UCAS deadline, I think), or else you'd have to get some uni's to agree to make GCSE success part of an offer rather than a minimum requirement (and that will probably be difficult/ impossible).

Whichever route you take, make sure your referee explains your background, and your early language difficulties. School references are often read only to look for warning flags and extenuating circumstances.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

I meant what do people think of doctors having tattoos generally. They don't have to have seen it. I imagine most would be OK with it though.

I want to know if I could take medicine referring to my results in my GCSE.

Mathematics(Higher) - A
Chemistry- A
Physics- A*
Biology- A
English- B
French- B
Geography- A
Philosophy- B
Citizenship- B

Can I try Medicine? Please give me some advice.

Hi everyone!
I'm currently a lower 6th student, and I'm aiming to apply to medicine at University in a few months time. I've studied Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths at AS level, and I got good results in January. I think the summer exams have gone well, so hopefully I will have got the required grades to apply. I've also been volunteering in my local hospital, working on wards at meal times once a week, for the past 5 months. Work experience wise, I've already got some, and I've organised some more for this summer.
My main issue is further reading. Unlike many other hopeful candidates I know, I don't have a parent who is currently a doctor, or in healthcare. I feel like many of the other people I've met already know how the NHS functions, and keep up to date with current issues with ease, as they are talked about at home. I really want to study medicine, my volunteering has shown me how fulfilling it could be. I find anatomy, especially the heart, and medical ethics fascinating, although I haven't encountered many of the other areas in medicine in my subjects so far. I would just like to know if anyone has any recommendations on good books or other publication to read to further my understanding of the NHS and current medical issues. Also if anybody knows any good books giving an introduction to the heart, suggestions would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

will being fluent in arabic (its the language i speak in the house, but i am equally fluent in english) help in my chances of getting into medical school? will they see me in a better light, or does knowing arabic not really matter?
I would have thought this would help my chances..
Your opinions will be appreciated:):)

Hey guys! Anyone here who's applying to med school without biology or sucessfully got accepted into med school without biology?
I TOTALLY regretted not taking bio during As level and I think its too late to do a crash course since I'll be applying to med school this year. Out of the 30+ medschools, I can only apply to 8 of them since most of them want bio :(
Do you think my chances will be lower and/or mostly probably get rejected? Did those without bio struggle in med school?

Basically is anyone aware of the the possible cut-off scores for bmat and ukcat in terms of medical schools in scotland (and also oxford, as i want to apply there too)??
also, how difficult would it be to achieve them and how much work needs to go into achieving them as i am aware the marking of them isn't so simple!!!

I've just finished my exams and I'm a tad worried about the fact they are going to be a little under my predicted grades. I'm targeted A*A*AA (A2) but I completely flunked my physics exam and my European history teacher taught us nothing, despite our class frequently complaining. I think I might get anywhere between AABB and AACC. Unless I screwed up my recent bio/ chem exam, but I'm confident I got at least a high B anyhow.
Whilst I am confident that if I resit both my history & physics I can probably get AA, obviously I'm applying for med school in October. I was just wondering whether the med schools might be reluctant to accept me if I only achieved say AACC or whether they looked more on the A2 predicted results.
Muchos thanks.

Hi everyone :)

Just recently booked my UKCAT and was just wondering if anyone had any tips on how to revise and prepare for it?

Thanks!


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KJTamjidi - good for you!

Now, in regards to the GAMSAT, considering you're 24, don't worry, you have plenty of time for graduate medicine. The GAMSAT is on the 18th September this year, so you've just just over 3 months to get everything together - what was your science like beforehand?

The first thing I can suggest is buying the (stupidly, stupidly expensive book - the GAMSAT Gold whateverthehell), which contains all the info you need. There are three sections as you know from looking at the papers, the first is humanities, with a marketing background you know how to 'read' passages, don't you? You shouldn't need too worry about that one. The second is two essays, which need you to be able to argue and debate; if you're a good debater, or naturally a big reader, then you should be okay with that too. I'm actually going to do the practice-marked ones and send them off, I'm worried that my technique is rusty.

The last part, the science, is going to be tricky. How is your science, really? It may be a case that you need to study for a year to get to grips with it - but there's some easy things to remember here - firstly, Chemistry is the biggest challenge, Physics and Biology are the smaller parts. Did you do GCSE science/how did you do? I'd say, start out the really really simple way, find yourself a practice AS and A level Chem (and Bio and Physics) paper to see what you know and what you don't. That will give you a really good grounding of whether you're (sorry) abysmal, or (yay?) much better than you'd think.

The Physics for the GAMSAT is far more mathsy than Physics to my eyes (more trig and algebra than cosmology and such). The biology (and my degree is biology with a specialism in genetics), from my eyes, is quite happily A Level standard, you need to know your basic anatomy and organ systems, which are easy to remember (really, if you have any kind of interest in medicine you'll know that stuff easy). The stuff you're going to have to learn is things like cell structures and contents (very very simple) and what they do. But again, all in the book.

The Chemistry is going to be the biggest hurdle, I reckon. It's notoriously quite hard, especially organic chemistry (well, from my experience anyway).

Also, there's going to be the issue of your lack of work experience; however - you still have years of work behind you, and plenty of time to get some together. Just remember to keep the work experience going on for the interviews, and then if you don't get the position *still* keep it going because you're going to be able to use it next year!

Hope that helps?

If the rate of diagnosis is decreasing yet increasing HIV sufferers, isn't that because of african immigrants who have already established their HIV status? Their diagnosis is made outside the UK.

It is. Were you there for the person's interview ...

Well yes - you've done the same degree as everyone else! The fact you did an extra year beforehand and may have had some extra support/classes in the first couple of years of the degree proper (my understanding is this varies between universities) has no effect on the final outcome.

It looks like this

First of all, don't panic until you've got your results, you don't need to decide anything yet. Remember that your grade is not just based on raw marks - UMS is adjusted based on how the whole cohort performed on a particular paper, so your own calculations may not be that accurate.

If you do get a C, the first question is what predicted grade is your teacher willing to give you? If they will not predict you an A then you are right that there is little point in applying to medicine in year 13. If they will (and you are predicted As in two other subjects!) then you might as well apply for deferred entry - what do you have to lose? If they won't, then work hard through year 13, perhaps resit some modules, and aim for AAA or better, then you can apply on your gap year.

are there any places that can fund or sponsor you to study medicine in the UK? i've heard of people working for certain places during their undergrad degree, and then they get funded by the same people to do their medical degree...does anyone know the names of such businesses?? thanksss

Thanks a lot and I really appreciate that you went through the time to write that, it has brought a lot of light into my situation and what I can do next. It's certainly took away the stress off results day for me. Thanks :)

That's why I have to have 4 new subjects so that I complete 4 AS and 3 A levels in 2 years.

A note to you all: oxford and Cambridge prefer it if 75% of your results are a*s, but if not, it isn't the end of the world so long as you ace the sciences and maths :)

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There's a page on the wiki that lists the schools that will consider you. It's a bit out of date so you'd have to double check with each Medical School you're considering applying to, but it seems that there are a few who would be willing to consider you :)

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki...fferent_Course


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You'll be a pro when you get to med school!

yeah i did well at AS - i can get an A* and still fail m2 - but i know it's going to look super dodgy on the UCAS form. I just hate m2 - never studied it in my life and i don't know if i can even get like 10ums in it

Can't believe Kings is so low and Plymouth is so high :O Oh well at least Nottingham has swans

Hi,

This year I'll e going off to college to study Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Economics. However I would like to re do 7-8 of my GCSE modules to gain higher grades, as I'm looking to apply to a Uni like Cambridge.

If i was to retake whilst studying AS Level then I'll gain 8A*s 2As for my GCSE profile overall

Do you think it's possible?

basically this year I'll come out with A*-B grades
if I retake whilst 7-8 of my exams whilst studying AS, I'll come out with 8A*s 2As.

I know there are other factors that Cambridge look at like bmat score, interview performance, work experience etc... But I'm just looking at grades for now. Would you think it would be a good idea for me to do this?

Prefer answers from people in a similar situation, but anyone is fine :)

Hello, my average was ¬ 93% I think and my BMAT was terrible and interview was average but somehow got in. I feel the application process seems fairly subjective, some people much cleverer than me got rejected, so it's always worth a shot if your ums is around 90, and your BMAT is above average ( if I got in, anyone could). Having said that I would find out more about the course. It is very science based with virtually no clinical contact in the first 3 years, seriously, they don't even teach you first aid. The lecture load is large and you have to learn a lot of detail to a silly extent, and once you get in, you have to work consistently hard, make sure it's what you want, because I constantly feel stupid ( probably because I am), lazy and inferior compared to the other medics around me.

Sorry for the rant, exam term is getting to me, I'm procrastinating from sleeping of all things. CAMBRIDGE I HATE YOU !

Just wondering what average offers students get for med school, e.g. if predicted A's B's would you get a offer in to uni if for 3 A's. For example if I got predicted an A 2 B's would I get a offer for med school if so what would it be? For the students applying for med school what GCSE's do they need, if you have any advice or information please let me know.

Hey :)

Without wanting to pry, do you think the problems you had which affected your performance have now been successfully addressed or are they ongoing?

If you feel that all those difficulties are now in the past and that you feel prepared to revise for the GAMSAT, write a PS, apply through UCAS and also keep up with third year of uni, then there's no reason why you shouldn't apply for med school this October. You'll have to make sure that your tutor is willing to predict you at least a 2:1 though, as only two GEPs will consider you with a 2:2 prediction.

Personally, I feel it's worth examining why you're currently on a low 2:2 average. If it's because you're finding your degree demanding and/or difficult, I would be wary of adding the pressure of a med school application on top of the pressure which already comes with the final year of a degree. Ultimately, you really need to try your absolute best to finish uni with a 2:1 (it doesn't matter even if it's a scraped 2:1) but it will make things so much easier when it comes to applying to graduate entry medicine. Perhaps not applying this year and concentrating fully on your degree (as well as perhaps taking up some volunteering) would be more benficial in the long run.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking a year out after finishing uni in order to apply for GEM - not many people in my year have come straigh from a degree, most have taken (at least) a year out.

But yeah, I can't emphasise enough how much easier it will make things for you if you can get a 2:1 - it's definitely doable, especially if you pick decent modules and write a good dissertation.

I'm generally quite a cautious person and I don't like to overload myself with too many different demands at once, so if it were me, I would put all my effort into finishing 3rd year with 68+ and then I'd apply for medicine the following year :)

Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you have any further questions

Only if this desire is for the right reasons - a course/location you prefer and think you will do better at - not some vague notion of "prestige." As for "good chance of getting in" - don't underestimate how competitive GEM is. Even with great UKCAT etc scores and better work experience than you had this year, there are absolutely no guarantees.


No, I think that's an isolated demonstration of the power of "Oxbridge" - they are unique in knowing that the majority of applicants they give an offer to will accept it. This is absolutely not saying that the Oxford/Cambridge medical courses are better than anywhere else - and I say this as a Cambridge graduate! I don't think any of the other medical schools, whether you consider them "prestigious" or not, have anywhere near the same level of certainty that people will accept their offers. I would suspect (though admittedly with no evidence) that they all over-offer to a similar degree.


I am not aware of any current plans for expansion of UK medical school places. The reason the foundation programme is becoming oversubscribed is because of increasing numbers of applicants from Europe/further overseas due to recent changes in immigration/employment law. As I said before, your foundation programme application is marked by people who do not know what medical school you went to, so a "prestigious" name will not help you there. Later on, specialty applications do have the name of your medical school on there, but it is expected that your post-graduation achievements will be your major selling point by then, and there is no hard evidence of bias towards or against a certain medical school.


I don't know anything about the US matching programme, but I think it's a lot more to do with your USMLE score than anything else.

Overall, my general advice to anyone considering ditching a med school offer and gambling on reapplying is to stick with what they've got, because there are no guarantees you'll be successful again. In your situation, there is some financial sense in going for GEM rather than undergraduate entry, and if you seriously think you will be very unhappy at the place you currently hold an offer for (which begs the question why you applied there in the first place?) then by all means have another go. Just go into it with your eyes open - you're not going to gain much, if anything, from any supposed "prestige" or lack thereof, from a particular institution; and remember that GEM is VERY competitive. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

After some of my research where you do your electives, your USMLE scores and LORs are more important than school prestige.

Hi,

Not sure where to start! Firstly, I have very poor GCSEs (and I mean poor poor not TSR/medicine poor) as I spent a lot of time in hospital during GCSEs. And I'm an A Level resitter due to again spending time in hospital/chronic illness. In addition to this I've been caring for my mum for years since I was a child.

I have applied for medicine twice and I have been rejected, I applied to Southampton's BM6 course because I thought that I may vaguely stand a chance of being considered as academically I did meet the criteria at least but it is understandably a very competitive course. I also applied to Leicester and Birmingham (but didn't expect anything from them and was right not to).

I've lost a lot of confidence both from the rejections, and having to retake my Chemistry A Level. Also frustrated that its taken me years to reach the point to have finished my A Levels. My school/ sixth forms weren't supportive with factors such as being a young carer and my own chronic illness. For example, they wouldn't inform the exam boards if I had been taken ill to hospital unless I was in intensive care and even then they were pretty difficult. The school I was at said I wouldn't even pass with 3 grade Es at A Level, (I've passed with ABBDc -currently resitting to pull up the D and one of the Bs to an A) and recommended my college not to enrol me onto the A-Levels programme but after pleading my case with the course co-ordinator she agreed to the enrolment. I know they're not good grades by medicine standards but better than what people seem to expect of me. :-/

I'm currently holding offers from Warwick and Leicester for Biomedical/Interdisciplinary Science. But my mum is really sick at the moment and has spent 4+ months in hospital so I don't even know if university is possible at the moment.

I don't think its worth reapplying as an undergraduate but I've heard graduate entry medicine is so competitive.

Would I be wasting my time even doing a Biomed degree with a view to grad medicine with my background? I don't have any confidence at the moment about my ability to do well at uni given everything that has happened.

I'm also really conscious about the financial implications of grad entry.

Medicine is something that I've wanted to do for a very long for what I hope is the right reasons. I took being rejected to heart I'm ashamed to admit. And I've tried to talk myself out of this goal to study medicine a lot but it is all I really want to do. I know that probably isn't a healthy attitude...

Anyway, I'd really appreciate some honest opinions/feedback about this.

Sorry for the length of this post, I do waffle. :)

I`m also thinking of doing medicine. Currently im only taking 3 AS Levels in year 12 and predicted AAA. If i take economics AS Level, during year 13, will my conditional offer just have "pass in Economics AS Level" or will they not consider it and reject me since i didnt take 4 during year 12? Thank you

Hi :)
Welcome to TSR :)

Here is an interview score sheet for BSMS. Apparently it might be changing this year, but it's useful to know.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/reque...20FOI.pdf.html

actualy a further questions- what do you think would be the best choice for me then? retake the year with 4 completely new subjects excluding maths and fmaths?

Thank you! What extra AS would you recommend? I was thinking economics but maybe that'll be too hard during A2 levels ontop? Really wish I took a fourth this year

why did you do Igcse physics and Gcse physics??

anyways, as you got an A in gcse physics, the IGCSE wont matter most likely

I absolutely despise AQA. Speaking of CHEM2, I sat the exam today, and I cannot believe how many stupid errors I've made - most of the questions were 1 markers so it's not that much of a big deal, but still it really bugs me as I have done all new spec past papers and it doesn't seem to have paid off much. I just hope A2 is better. Also no january exams is the stupidest decision the government has ever made. Can you imagine how much it will affect the potential university applicants struggling for offers?

Hi I just wanted to ask those of you who do medicine, what life is like at university, I mean is there a lot of work involved, do you have free time?

Also I am kind of scared that I might not be able to medicine with my GCSE results :(, so what grades did you get at GCSE's and at a-levels? :o

I have just done my AS's and I think I am going o get:
A-Chem, A-Maths, A-Physics B-Biology, B-German]

Should I still be considering medicine if I end up with a B in biology?

Hey guys,

I really want to study Medicine at a top university with a beautiful setting and at a recognized university by employers.

These are my predicted GCSE results:

• A in I.T.
• A* in Film Studies
• A in History
• B in Photography
• B in English
• A in Maths
• Credit in DiDA (Equivalent of a B)
• B in Religous Studies
• C in Science (OCR Gateway Foundation)
• C in Additional Science (OCR Gateway Foundation)

Then at A-Level if I got:
The school predicted me these in a trial 3 weeks I was put on in October if I continue at the standard I was working.

• A in Biology
• A in Chemistry
• A in English Literature
• A* in History
• A* in Film Studies

Would I be accepted to Cambridge with those A-Levels.


Could I get into Cambridge to do Medicine with those sort of results?

Thankyou! Extremely useful (as was the other answer). I've scored well before on verbal and quantitative reasoning tests, so I should be okay with preparation.

They will definitely not reject you. The only things university related they are worried about is your grades and the subject area your degree is in :)

But be careful to research the entry requirements fully, as some schools do require certain a levels at a certain standard :)

Thanks Becca-Sarah

I am doing my internship now from a EU medical school, outside UK. And I am looking for FY2 standalone posts. Where can I look for these post?
Also, do I need general registration with GMC?

Could someone update me please? :)

Birmingham (firm)
Interview: 4/3/13
Offer: 28/3/13 A*AA

Is graduate entry incredibly competitive even if I apply for the undergraduate course ?

im actually doing a Bsc at the moment! im going to apply graduate entry, so ive done all the usual work experience, shadowing etc etc

HI all,
Just thought I would share a few points that I have found out recently in regard to sitting A-levels for graduate medicine. Southampton have updated their entry requirements for the BM4 course. They now require a C in chemistry A-level or C in AS Chemistry and Biology/human biology, this has been updated from needing a Pass in AS Chem and Bio. Having a grade D in AS chem from 7 years ago I recently took AS biology, now with the new requirements I have to take AS chem as well and pay the late examination fees that my local college charge! Hope this helps anyone who doesn’t realise that they are in the same situation as me and may need to take extra exams for the ’14 application. Speaking to the admission people last year when planning which A-levels to sit they said they had no problem with the gap between the two grades I was planning on using.

After speaking to Leicester admissions they do not count A-levels taken after you originally take them (at school) towards your application score (1-5) for that section. But they did say that itmay count towards gaining an extra point in showing ambition to study medicine(think that’s in the section scored 1-10).

I'm definitely not going to get AAAAB this year. Do you know how I can contact universities? Should I email or call?

Hey, I also applied to genes week and have been accepted. I got an email yesterday..


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Please don't take that seriously. Maybe that was the case for that person, but that doesn't mean it's the case for everyone. I believe that the amount of work you do to prepare for an exam is a major factor in the grade you achieve. Do you really think it's possible to just walk into a science GCSE exam having done "ZERO work" and get an A*? I'd argue that for the majority of people, that isn't the case. You need to learn the work in order to be able to answer the exam questions. As far as I'm concerned, it's as simple as that. I think you'll find that the vast majority of people who obtained straight As and A*s at GCSE did a LOT of work.

I can't believe I missed all of those, thanks so much for finding them.

A* English Lit.
A* English Lang
A History
B-Biology
B-Chemistry
B-Drama
C-Physics
C- Maths

I went to a school that sees less than 30% of its students achieve 5A*-C grades including English and maths. I'm retaking the C grade maths at college.

Hi all,
I am looking for a study partner / study group for GAMSAT & UKCAT preparation. I am a dentist based in London. I would be pleased if anyone who is interested contacts me ASAP.


Thank You

I'm a first year vet student at RVC and was wondering if it is possible to swap to medicine?

Which is why you can't practice in this country without taking a separate test.

Doesn't have a medical school though.

As everyone else has told you, lectures are only there to get information across. I attend lectures that are useful, but if a lecturer is poor, and I'm not learning anything then my time is better spent on my own, learning what I need to.

As for sufficient interest - lecturers make dull subjects interesting, and have the power to make interesting subjects dull. I really don't want to know the person who has sat through the many 100s of lectures I've had and found them all interesting - they must be the biggest suck up in the world.

It certainly hasn't harmed my grades doing it my way, and I do more work than most so I'm hardly less dedicated than those who attend every lecture.

Resits within your two year A level period are fine for all unis except UCL, who will accept resits of your January modules in June but not the resitting of AS modules in your A2 year, and Nottingham, who'll permit one resit per subject only.

Oh thanks, I'm due to starting my A levels soon and I don't really know how they work

They probably won't count GCSE resits and an A is fine for the vast majority of medical schools, don't worry about it :)

Can the universities see your 4 or 5 choices? What if I apply to just 3 universities for medcine and the other two for genetics?

They have enough difficulty getting suitably qualified Doctors into specialty posts without having to worry about whether they went to Corpus Christi or Exeter college.

I am quite worried about this as I cannot function at all during nightime.