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Getting a friend into medicine

So, it looks like a friend is having a change of heart about life choices. She will be graduating the OU with a 2.1 in psychology. She has two C's at A level, through no fault of her own. Which Universities would look at her favourably, she has considerable experience within multiple healthcare environments.

Reply 1

overtherainbow

10

you will probably have to email the unis individually to find out properly but maybe try the less over subscribed unis first (yes i know all are competitive but some are less stringent with grades than others) or maybe the less traditional courses

Reply 2

Becca-Sarah

19

This sounds exactly like a girl on my course!! Right down to the OU Psych course and healthcare exp! So I guess Deen would be a good shot...

Reply 3

Single Malt

OP

6

Becca-Sarah

This sounds exactly like a girl on my course!! Right down to the OU Psych course and healthcare exp! So I guess Deen would be a good shot...

Did she have seriously sub-par to non-existent GCSE's and A levels? We are talking C's and D's for GCSE's. Also did this girl have any biology or chemistry knowledge when she applied, because my friend has none :frown:

Reply 4

apotoftea

19

Single Malt

So, it looks like a friend is having a change of heart about life choices. She will be graduating the OU with a 2.1 in psychology. She has two C's at A level, through no fault of her own. Which Universities would look at her favourably, she has considerable experience within multiple healthcare environments.

SGUL, King's, Newcastle, Nottingham and Swansea would be all good bets in terms of only looking at degree results and offering 4 year courses but would need to double check whether they take OU or not, SGUL does. Other unis do take any subject graduates but you need Science A-levels.

Bar King's, they all require taking the GAMSAT (King's asks for UKCAT). GAMSAT will require scientific knowledge though :smile:

Reply 5

Becca-Sarah

19

Single Malt

Did she have seriously sub-par to non-existent GCSE's and A levels? We are talking C's and D's for GCSE's. Also did this girl have any biology or chemistry knowledge when she applied, because my friend has none :frown:

I'm fairly sure there were some crappy A Level grades. She did Access to Medicine at College of West Anglia, so I can assume she has no prior Bio/Chem.

Reply 6

krisblade

8

I doubt she could get into uni without any prior science knowledge. Even if it was just a matter of sitting the GAMSAT, you need to know about science for that. I believe its A-level knowledge at least? And many people on here often complain how hard it is, even those with science A-levels and degrees. And if she never did science A-levels or a science degree - how can she really be sure that she could handle the preclinical years of the course which is basically all science?

Reply 7

ben_l

krisblade

I doubt she could get into uni without any prior science knowledge.

It is absolutely possible to be admitted to a GEM course without having science A-levels or sitting the GAMSAT. I should know, because I've done it.

Reply 8

ilovehotchocolate

8

Yeah, if she takes the GAMSAT and passes Peninsula 5year would take her.

Reply 9

GodspeedGehenna

3

Keele, KCL, Leicester, Newcastle, Nottingham, St. Georges, Swansea, Warwick and Imperial (if she has 100hrs lab experience) could potentially take her on to the four year course. She will naturally have to sit the GAMSAT for most of these, sometimes UKCAT.

She would have to look at their entry requirements specifically regarding A-level grades, but they will accept without bio/chem atleast.

krisblade

I doubt she could get into uni without any prior science knowledge. Even if it was just a matter of sitting the GAMSAT, you need to know about science for that. I believe its A-level knowledge at least? And many people on here often complain how hard it is, even those with science A-levels and degrees. And if she never did science A-levels or a science degree - how can she really be sure that she could handle the preclinical years of the course which is basically all science?

Right, because theres absolutely no science in Psychology. Oh my how ever will we handle all of that confusing science?

Reply 10

Ironmike

11

krisblade

I doubt she could get into uni without any prior science knowledge. Even if it was just a matter of sitting the GAMSAT, you need to know about science for that. I believe its A-level knowledge at least? And many people on here often complain how hard it is, even those with science A-levels and degrees. And if she never did science A-levels or a science degree - how can she really be sure that she could handle the preclinical years of the course which is basically all science?

And this my friends is why medicine will never lose its elitist persona. Not got a string of A* then forget it.

To add to the discussion, my mate is in his third year at St George's on the GEP course. He got a 2:2 in psychology from keele university, and has no science A levels. I can definitely recommend St George's as a uni, and they don't seem to be influenced by the sort of nonsense posted above about needing 4 A* planted firmly in your behind.

Reply 11

lingual

Which medical schools are less stringent with grades?

Reply 12

AnonymousPenguin

16

lingual

Which medical schools are less stringent with grades?

None will go below whats published on their website - that is AAA/AAB. Some do not have too strict GCSE requirements like Newcastle, but they use the UKCAT quite heavily.

Reply 13

lingual

AnonymousPenguin

None will go below whats published on their website - that is AAA/AAB. Some do not have too strict GCSE requirements like Newcastle, but they use the UKCAT quite heavily.

Which 5 year courses are graduate friendly, and not too stringent on GCSE and Alevel grades for graduates? I got CCC at Alevel, and am studying Biomedical Science.

Reply 14

apotoftea

19

GodspeedGehenna

Keele, KCL, Leicester, Newcastle, Nottingham, St. Georges, Swansea, Warwick and Imperial (if she has 100hrs lab experience) could potentially take her on to the four year course. She will naturally have to sit the GAMSAT for most of these, sometimes UKCAT.

She would have to look at their entry requirements specifically regarding A-level grades, but they will accept without bio/chem atleast.

If you look at the small print regarding Keele - they only take on 10 students for the graduate course. These are their entry requirements:

'Graduate applicants
Students with a first or upper second class Honours degree may be eligible for entry directly into module 2 of the course, and therefore be able to complete the MBChB course in four years. There will be a maximum of 10 places available for this entry route, and these will be offered to the 10 highest ranked applicants who meet the eligibility and interview requirements. Course A101 is not currently open to international students.

This entry route is designed to recognise relevant prior learning achievement of graduates and blend them with standard entry students into the curriculum at a point that will be more challenging. It is likely that successful applicants will have a prior degree in either Biomedical Science or another health profession, although applicants with other backgrounds can be successful with appropriate prior study and preparation for GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test)'

Keele's a really funny one for graduate entry from what I've heard/read and think for the case of the OP's friend, there are probably better options to pick given you only get 4 choices...

Reply 15

Nutta!

10

Single Malt

Did she have seriously sub-par to non-existent GCSE's and A levels? We are talking C's and D's for GCSE's. Also did this girl have any biology or chemistry knowledge when she applied, because my friend has none :frown:

Apart from the GAMSAT unis, I dont think she has a good base at the moment.

Coreect me tho

Reply 16

Installation

14

GodspeedGehenna

Keele, KCL, Leicester, Newcastle, Nottingham, St. Georges, Swansea, Warwick and Imperial (if she has 100hrs lab experience) could potentially take her on to the four year course. She will naturally have to sit the GAMSAT for most of these, sometimes UKCAT.

She would have to look at their entry requirements specifically regarding A-level grades, but they will accept without bio/chem atleast.

Right, because theres absolutely no science in Psychology. Oh my how ever will we handle all of that confusing science?

Oh bugger 2 U. There isn't as much science in Pysch as there is an actual science.

Reply 17

Antonious Block

7

apotoftea

Keele's a really funny one for graduate entry from what I've heard/read and think for the case of the OP's friend, there are probably better options to pick given you only get 4 choices...

Yeah don't waste a slot on keele unless you have godly results from every exam you've ever done.

I was in the top 2% of GAMSATers and they didn't even consider me for interview because of my A-levels.

Reply 18

Antonious Block

7

Nutta!

Apart from the GAMSAT unis, I dont think she has a good base at the moment.

I wont correct you but being able to apply to the GAMSAT unis means she definitely has a chance to get into a medicine, strong base or not.

Reply 19

ilovehotchocolate

8

lingual

Which 5 year courses are graduate friendly, and not too stringent on GCSE and Alevel grades for graduates? I got CCC at Alevel, and am studying Biomedical Science.

Peninsula loves grads :smile:

They think we have valuable life experience to pass on to the freshers :p:

They only do a five year course, you need to pass the GAMSAT, cut off was 64 this year. Passing the GAMSAT will automatically get you an interview, they don't look at your other grades (apart from a min 2.ii required in your degree) then go looking for Iceman Johndoe's interview help thread on New Media Medicine's Peninsula subforum. Read, memorise and embrace his amazing advice and watch the offer come your way :smile:

Yay for lovely med students! Good luck!

EDIT: As an aside to those people flaming Krisblade for saying nonscience people won't be able to do the GAMSAT: yeah, true 2/3rds of the GAMSAT is non-sciency, brilliant, but you need a 55 in the science section to pass. You do need a knowledge of science to A Level standard to answer the questions, or an amazing ability to speed read the questions and get all the info to answer them from the blurb of each question. So it is possible, yes, but def not easy. To pass the uni's cut off you need to be in the top 10-15-20%, depending on the uni, of everyone who took the GAMSAT. That's people who think they are clever enough to spend the £200 and take the test and have a good chance at it. I'll happily hold my hands up and say I can't do Physics, that's why I dropped it in year 9. It just confuses me, I don't get it (If I push a wall, the GCSE book tells me the wall pushes back. How does it know when to stop pushing? Silly Physics). Chemistry beyond GCSE confuses me a fair bit too, but that's because we had a silly teacher who confused herself, let alone us. I'm not too sure how I passed the GAMSAT (Griffiths GAMSAT Review:the answer is always C was a lifesaver), but it was bloomin' difficult! If I had a better, broader science knowledge, it would have been easier, and I would have gotten better marks. That's just logic isn't it? He's not saying you can't do it, just that it'll be very hard for you, and it's a hard exam anyway, with goal posts that move as the cut offs are set after the results are out.

Getting a friend into medicine

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