[Richyp22]

(Original post by gazzzzaaaaaa)
Hey guys, I didn't know which thread to go to so I'm gonna ask here anyways:
Basically, I'm currently a yr 12 student studying Biology, Chemistry Psychology and history, and want to get into medicine. What i want to know is, how much is my GCSE's going to affect my chances of getting in?
my grades are as follows:

Double Science: AA §
English Lit and Lang: AA
Turkish: A
Maths: B
Citizenship/PDC: C
Drama: C
Sociology: C
Music: C
ICT: CC
PE: C

§ In the sciences, i am 4 marks and 2 marks away from 2A*'s, is it worth me resitting??

Also, as you may have noticed, i didn't take history for GCSE, but have so for AS. I'm not going to change my choice, neither do i regret it, but will it help that i chose the subject despite not choosing it previously at GCSE?

Thanks to anyone who replies!!

It will reduce the schools you can apply to to about 15 relistically. And tbh you would have to make up for it with four A's at as to give your self the best chance. I have only 2A* 7A's and im going to need to make up for lack of A*s through my as levels too.

[jenni00004]

(Original post by Einy)
Hey, just wanna say to those apllying for this next year. Something i did for my UCAS form was write articles for a medical company on a range of subjects. it was certainly one of those things that made my form stand out a bit, because it was something no one else had done If anyone would like i can give you their email address and you can get in contact.

Could you please send me details of this and how to get in contact , this would be soo interesting !!!! i would love to do this

im not your typical 'im captin of the netball team and i have a grade 8 in piano and clarinet' type so please could you send details as soon as possible

[sherazhar]

(Original post by Einy)
Hey, just wanna say to those apllying for this next year. Something i did for my UCAS form was write articles for a medical company on a range of subjects. it was certainly one of those things that made my form stand out a bit, because it was something no one else had done If anyone would like i can give you their email address and you can get in contact.

can i have their e-mail id pls? How did it go?

[Weirdo225]

Can I also please have the email address?

[AkDo]

Hi! i'm another medical student ready to be bombarded with questions if anyone needs any help =] Quote me or ask on (preferably) ask on my blog! Good luck to all of you!

Some general advice:

First you need predicted grades of AAB or higher to even think of applying at A level. You're much better off with AAA because that opens up to you applying to ALL the universities that offer medicine and not just the select few that allow AAB applicants. For a detailed analysis I suggest reading this. But that's up to you, here's the information any way. Not a single university to my knowledge requires you to have maths but a few require Chemistry and Biology. You definitely need to take Chemistry so that you can at least apply to most. I would really suggest taking Biology. The last two are up to you. Personally I took Maths and French because I loved them and still do. I even took them to A2 because I loved them but it was a lot of effort and 4A levels do NOT help you in any way. Basically take ANYTHING you think you're good at and love because at the end of the day you need to do well, but Bio and Chem have to be two of your options.

Now to GCSEs. Birmingham asks for 8A*s (or it might be now at 9 - can't remember so do check that up). Basically most universities use a combination of UKCAT and GCSEs or BMAT and GCSEs to work out which candidates to interview. This is on the basis that all the candidates have done the relevant work experience (a week in a hospital or GP etc. is fine and more than enough - it's what you learn about patient care not the cool medical jargon that's important! i.e. ethics, empathy and holistic care etc.) and have met the above A level requirements. Some universities give you a score for how many A*s you have and add that to a score for BMAT/UKCAT and interview according to that. Others have a cut off for UKCAT/BMAT and a separate cut off for GCSE A*s and whoever is higher gets an interview. These cut offs vary year to year so look around to find them. But basically if you do well in the UKCAT or BMAT you'll be fine despite not having good GCSEs and vice versa. Some universities don't look at UKCAT or BMAT (like b'ham, leicester and one other I think). The BMAT unis are UCL, Imperial and Oxbridge (Cambridge + Oxford). The rest are all UKCAT universities. The UKCAT is an exam which includes various tests - I'd suggest going on the Kaplan course for it because they really helped me but they're expensive so you can just buy the books - 600 questions UKCAT book. Amazon it. For BMAT there's a wide range of books available too - this exam is different, not on a computer, includes science and has an essay section are some of the differences.

You don't need a billion extracurricular activities. What's more important is that you can write about the skills you developed from these ECA's. That's for the personal statement.

Okay that's the end of my essay; I really should get back to my exam revision. If you've got any questions just let me know and check out the link in my signature also (if you want). If you need anything ask questions there (preferably - quicker response time) or here and I'll get back to all you as soon as =D Wish you all hell of a lot of luck!

[Ruth94]

(Original post by Einy)
Hey, just wanna say to those apllying for this next year. Something i did for my UCAS form was write articles for a medical company on a range of subjects. it was certainly one of those things that made my form stand out a bit, because it was something no one else had done If anyone would like i can give you their email address and you can get in contact.

Could I have this email address too?

[redheaded]

Hey I was wondering if anyone could help me, I'm not sure if I'm just freaking out because its exam time or if I need to think twice about applying for medicine in September!
Basically, I got 6A*s and 5As at GCSE and i'm in Y12 studying Chem, Biol, English Lit and German. I'm reasonably confident (fingers crossed) that I'll get As in the first 3...but I'll be lucky if i get a D in German. I'm really that bad...I regret taking it so much because I loved it at GCSE but now I just can't do it! Would having AAAD or similar at AS stop universities from taking me seriously? I have lots of extra curriculars (volunteering, shadowing, piano grades etc.) so would that compensate for me failing AS German?
I really want to do medicine, but everyone else seems to have straight As and I'm not going to get that
Thank you in advance haha

[tania<3]

(Original post by redheaded)
Hey I was wondering if anyone could help me, I'm not sure if I'm just freaking out because its exam time or if I need to think twice about applying for medicine in September!
Basically, I got 6A*s and 5As at GCSE and i'm in Y12 studying Chem, Biol, English Lit and German. I'm reasonably confident (fingers crossed) that I'll get As in the first 3...but I'll be lucky if i get a D in German. I'm really that bad...I regret taking it so much because I loved it at GCSE but now I just can't do it! Would having AAAD or similar at AS stop universities from taking me seriously? I have lots of extra curriculars (volunteering, shadowing, piano grades etc.) so would that compensate for me failing AS German?
I really want to do medicine, but everyone else seems to have straight As and I'm not going to get that
Thank you in advance haha

I didn't have straight As at AS last year but I still got in :-)

Anyways, getting a D in the fourth AS isn't too much of a big deal - so long as you get the necessary 3 A predictions, you can still apply. There are a number of unis which require a minimum of B/C in the fourth AS but there are a number which don't care at all - I would do my research and email unis/look around on this site before applying, just to make sure. Most unis also dont look at AS grades, so if you really have to, you can retake AS modules and bump your grade up.

Also have you considered maybe taking up a new AS next year? If you think you can't get a minimum B in that subject, you could do a different one. Obviously A2 is a lot of hard work (i think its probably double AS) so there's a lot of stuff to factor in before making a decision like that. But AS exams are significantly easier than A2 so if you want to open up your options a little more, it would be worth considering a new AS alongside your three A2s.

Although - you haven't gotten your D yet so don't count your chickens before they've hatched you might do a lot better than you think!!!!

[tania<3]

(Original post by AkDo)
x

Such a hench paragraph - you're clearly procrastinating!

[Ber]

Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool don't look at UKCAT or BMAT

[AkDo]

(Original post by tania<3)
Such a hench paragraph - you're clearly procrastinating!

It was either that or something that rhymes with procrastinating. Got to make some hard choices in life.

[Wolfy^]

Are there no more graduates thinking of applying for the 5-year course? It's getting a bit lonely over here!

[Hippokrates]

(Original post by Wolfy^)
Are there no more graduates thinking of applying for the 5-year course? It's getting a bit lonely over here!

You're probably the only one who can afford it.

[manupalace]

(Original post by Wolfy^)
Are there no more graduates thinking of applying for the 5-year course? It's getting a bit lonely over here!

(Original post by Hippokrates)
You're probably the only one who can afford it.

This.

Okay maybe you're not the only one but you are in a minority.

[Wolfy^]

(Original post by Hippokrates)
You're probably the only one who can afford it.

(Original post by manupalace)
This.

Okay maybe you're not the only one but you are in a minority.

'Afford' might be pushing it a bit. I don't have the money and I am by no means rich. However, my family inherited a house which my parents are intent on selling in a few months. I made a deal with them in which they will give me the money for med school now, with the condition that I pay them back after I graduate. So, even more debt, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

[FishFinger_Custard]

(Original post by Ronove)
The 20 week placement sounds very nice. If you take a gap year you've got loads of time to arrange more work experience/voluntary work/shadowing, whether it be before applying or arranged for the time during the gap year (though obviously before applying is better).

I know how hard it is to get a paid job in a relevant area but if you live in an area where they still recruit for HCAs it doesn't hurt to keep applying whenever a post comes up. Set up a notification thing on NHS Jobs for posts in your area. They no longer have an HCA bank where I live so there's no chance for me!

I don't think any uni would absolutely expect you to have a full-time healthcare job in your gap year with the job situation as it is. If you can keep up some regular volunteering and still be doing it when you reach interviews it will look good I'm sure. By the way, it's easy to arrange to spend a week or two at a Vitalise centre, volunteering with disabled people, so that's one more thing you could definitely get done between exams and October this year. Don't forget to look at jobs like portering or admin in hospitals/GP surgeries and similar and some kind of work in a care home. All of these types of things would be a decent substitute if you couldn't get a job as an HCA. They at least show you're focused on healthcare and will be getting experience of relevant environments.

Hello you mentioned Vitalise. I'm volunteering in June, I have no idea what to expect. Have you volunteered before, if so, any advice? What should I pack!

[~ Purple Rose ~]

(Original post by FishFinger_Custard)
Hello you mentioned Vitalise. I'm volunteering in June, I have no idea what to expect. Have you volunteered before, if so, any advice? What should I pack!

Apologies for interrupting, but I have volunteered for Vitalise a few times. Which centre are you going to?

Expect to have a good week and learn a lot, but to be absolutely exhausted by the end!

Make sure you ask for help if you need it, and take your breaks - don't just sit with guests chatting, go to your room and use the time to lie down/read/shower etc, you really need the break, especially later in the week.

What sort of week you are doing may influence what you pack, but in general just normal clothes, jeans, shorts etc. Comfortable shoes are important, and clothes that you don't mind getting dirty/wet, although you might want to take a nice top/outfit for the last night.

[larryb]

hey I'm in year 11 doing gcse's but i wondered if you guys could give me some advice. i am aiming for:
bio: A*
phy: A*
chem: A*
math: A*
eng lit: A*
eng lan: A*
history: A*
geography: A
latin: C
DT: B


if i got theses grades do you think i have a shot at doing medicine, i also have a bunch of volunteering and work experience lined up
thanks.

[chiny94]

(Original post by larryb)
hey I'm in year 11 doing gcse's but i wondered if you guys could give me some advice. i am aiming for:
bio: A*
phy: A*
chem: A*
math: A*
eng lit: A*
eng lan: A*
history: A*
geography: A
latin: C
DT: B


if i got theses grades do you think i have a shot at doing medicine, i also have a bunch of volunteering and work experience lined up
thanks.

These grades are absolutely fine! Just keep working hard to get these grades and you can definitely apply for medicine

[Satta101]

I'm not even sure if I want to apply for medicine anymore. I was so sure before exams began but now, I feel like I'm not even going to get decent grades. But good luck everyone ! I wish you well for this journey!