[ToMuchAtOnce]

I was in hospital for the last 2 weeks, missed a as chemistry exam and did not get time to revise for all my unit 1 exams last week, so expecting horrible grades! my target grades were all A/A*, however i think i'll be lucky with a C's after the exams i have just sat. i really want to get into medicine, should i retake the year or resit my unit 1 exams in jan? but will it still count as my application would be given in before the results arrive?

[modini]

Talk to your head of sixth form (or whoever writes your reference) and ask them to mention the hospitalisation in the reference when you come to apply, as it is an extenuating circumstance and I'm sure the med schools will understand. Maybe also ring up the unis you're planning on applying to and ask what would happen to someone in your situation and what, if anything, needs to be done.

[:)ella]

Dont repeat the year, just get special consideration and in your UCAS reference the teachers can mention extenuating circumstances and it won't count against you.

You might end up with loads of work next january if there's no way of getting special consideration this june but it's still probably better than resitting the year

[myyrh]

(Original post by ToMuchAtOnce)
I was in hospital for the last 2 weeks, missed a as chemistry exam and did not get time to revise for all my unit 1 exams last week, so expecting horrible grades! my target grades were all A/A*, however i think i'll be lucky with a C's after the exams i have just sat. i really want to get into medicine, should i retake the year or resit my unit 1 exams in jan? but will it still count as my application would be given in before the results arrive?

January resits would still count towards your A levels but your AS grades won't change. Predicted grades are always more important than your AS results. Your school should be able to write about your extenuating circumstances in the reference so the universities will take that into account when they see your AS results. You should probably avoid resitting the whole year because you may run into difficulties when it comes to applying even with extenuating circumstances.

[EllaBella<3]

(Original post by ToMuchAtOnce)
I was in hospital for the last 2 weeks, missed a as chemistry exam and did not get time to revise for all my unit 1 exams last week, so expecting horrible grades! my target grades were all A/A*, however i think i'll be lucky with a C's after the exams i have just sat. i really want to get into medicine, should i retake the year or resit my unit 1 exams in jan? but will it still count as my application would be given in before the results arrive?

I missed all of my AS exams, I was also in hospital. You should have a note written by your doctor and a supporting statement by your head of sixth form which can be sent off to the exam board to apply for special consideration Uni's don't really take AS exams in to consideration though .. thank god! Good luck!

[ToMuchAtOnce]

Thank you so much guys!

[ToMuchAtOnce]

(Original post by EllaBella<3)
I missed all of my AS exams, I was also in hospital. You should have a note written by your doctor and a supporting statement by your head of sixth form which can be sent off to the exam board to apply for special consideration Uni's don't really take AS exams in to consideration though .. thank god! Good luck!

Gud luck to you too! Are you doing A2 now? hows it going? are you coping with all the exams at once?

[fallenangel]

(Original post by ToMuchAtOnce)
I was in hospital for the last 2 weeks, missed a as chemistry exam and did not get time to revise for all my unit 1 exams last week, so expecting horrible grades! my target grades were all A/A*, however i think i'll be lucky with a C's after the exams i have just sat. i really want to get into medicine, should i retake the year or resit my unit 1 exams in jan? but will it still count as my application would be given in before the results arrive?

Pretty sound advice has been given - you're fully justified using the mitigating circumstances route. Definitely speak to your sixth form and your examination officer - you may get special consideration.

Unfortunately however, because this isn't your final year of A2 - I doubt you'd be given any more than free re-sits in January (because you can still do the exams next year)

When you apply for medical schools, as far as I know - you can email the universities and attach a letter of mitigation from your doctor. They may take it into consideration, a friend of mine was hospitalised due to major surgery post an accident and e-mailed his universities a letter from the hospital and physio/occupational therapist. The universities were definitely sympathetic and took it into account when assessing his application.

[ToMuchAtOnce]

(Original post by fallenangel)
Pretty sound advice has been given - you're fully justified using the mitigating circumstances route. Definitely speak to your sixth form and your examination officer - you may get special consideration.

Unfortunately however, because this isn't your final year of A2 - I doubt you'd be given any more than free re-sits in January (because you can still do the exams next year)

When you apply for medical schools, as far as I know - you can email the universities and attach a letter of mitigation from your doctor. They may take it into consideration, a friend of mine was hospitalised due to major surgery post an accident and e-mailed his universities a letter from the hospital and physio/occupational therapist. The universities were definitely sympathetic and took it into account when assessing his application.

Would a discharge letter be enough?

[Venomilys]

nice one

[fallenangel]

(Original post by ToMuchAtOnce)
Would a discharge letter be enough?

In all honesty i'm not too sure how the mitigation route works exactly - I'd definitely suggest getting advice from your sixth form/college regarding the matter.

I guess you could send whatever you can to the universities - you've got nothing to lose.

[EllaBella<3]

(Original post by ToMuchAtOnce)
Gud luck to you too! Are you doing A2 now? hows it going? are you coping with all the exams at once?

Yes, i'm doing A2 and i've got an offer from King's to study Medicine - so I was literally in the exact same situation as you I had lots of exams in January and unfortunately injured my self again! (c-spine damage .. woo!) so I was in a lot of pain etc and didn't do as well as I wanted to. At the time I was doing 4 A levels, but a couple of weeks ago I realised if I carried on trying to do everything I wouldn't get the grades I needed. I phoned up KCL and they reduced my offer from AAAC to AAA taking a huge pressure off allowing me to 'drop' (i'm still doing the exam, just not doing any revision :P) one subject Its suddenly got so much easier to manage and my exams are much more spread out, so yeah, I seem to be coping well The only advice I can really give you is not to panic. I was still in hospital and actually missed 7 of my exams and I got myself in to such a stew about it all, which did my recovery no good whatsoever.

Stay cool, know your limits and you'll be just fine


You will be given predicted grades usually, I was

[monica95]

(Original post by EllaBella<3)
Yes, i'm doing A2 and i've got an offer from King's to study Medicine - so I was literally in the exact same situation as you I had lots of exams in January and unfortunately injured my self again! (c-spine damage .. woo!) so I was in a lot of pain etc and didn't do as well as I wanted to. At the time I was doing 4 A levels, but a couple of weeks ago I realised if I carried on trying to do everything I wouldn't get the grades I needed. I phoned up KCL and they reduced my offer from AAAC to AAA taking a huge pressure off allowing me to 'drop' (i'm still doing the exam, just not doing any revision :P) one subject Its suddenly got so much easier to manage and my exams are much more spread out, so yeah, I seem to be coping well The only advice I can really give you is not to panic. I was still in hospital and actually missed 7 of my exams and I got myself in to such a stew about it all, which did my recovery no good whatsoever.

Stay cool, know your limits and you'll be just fine


You will be given predicted grades usually, I was

WOW, kings That's amazing, well done!
Also I was just wondering since I'm wondering about what things to take at college. What a level/as levels you took and if you dropped any? Also if you don't mind asking what grades you got in which?

Thanks x

[EllaBella<3]

(Original post by monica95)
WOW, kings That's amazing, well done!
Also I was just wondering since I'm wondering about what things to take at college. What a level/as levels you took and if you dropped any? Also if you don't mind asking what grades you got in which?

Thanks x

Thank you!

I took biology, chemistry, physics and maths and no, i've continued all four to A2. However, I had a panic a week or two ago and told my sixth form I couldn't do maths anymore otherwise there was no way I was going to get my essential grades to fulfil my offer, so Kings have reduced my offer from AAAC to their standard 3 A level offer of AAA. (so much pressure taken off!)

You only actually need chemistry for medicine. Biology is highly recommended and usually a requirement, not always though. In terms of your other subjects, take what you enjoy! I hated maths at secondary school and I think it was always me not wanting to give up because I found it my hardest subject. I also took all sciences and maths because I thought that was required - all of my teachers said it at the time :L Have you got any idea which university you might like to go to? They all vary. Oxford/Cambridge definitely prefer you to have three sciences, however, UCL prefer those candidates who have breadth in their choices, so take French or English.

I'm doing my final A level exams at the moment (as well as a few retakes!) Overall, when I re-sat my AS's (January), I got AABB (A's in maths and biology, B's in physics and chemistry), however, on my UCAS, my AS grades were ABBB, which is what the exam board gave me.

Grades are so important with medicine, however, if you're applying to the course it's somewhat an expectation that you'll receive these.. if that makes sense? In your next couple of years at college, do the extra things that will make you stand out from the usual straight A candidate. Get as much work experience under your belt, maybe take a particular interest in a current piece of research and follow it ruthlessly?

I would personally advise only taking 3 subjects to A2 level, unless you college states you must do four. It allows you to distribute your time thoroughly and concentrate on all the other bits to do, like your application, admissions tests (UKCAT/BMAT), interviews, open days, student finance etc..

Anyway, apologies for the essay! What're you thinking about taking at college? Are you sitting your GCSE's now? How're you finding them? Good luck! x

[CpnCornetto]

Is it to late to apply for special considerations?

[fallenangel]

(Original post by CpnCornetto)
Is it to late to apply for special considerations?

As far as I know - there is a couple week window after the exam was sat.

[CpnCornetto]

(Original post by fallenangel)
As far as I know - there is a couple week window after the exam was sat.

I'd advise OP to apply for special considerations as soon as possible then.
the college should still be open as A2's have exams and that.
Or if It's a school it will definitley be open.
But yeah you need to apply for them, I got them with my January As exams due to my best mates funeral being that week, turns out I only got taken up in one module (from 76 to 80) (AQA exam board) (WJEC didn't do anything and I ended up resitting my chem module) but having them there in time meant I worried less about the exams and could concentrate more on the matters in hand.

[fallenangel]

(Original post by CpnCornetto)
I'd advise OP to apply for special considerations as soon as possible then.
the college should still be open as A2's have exams and that.
Or if It's a school it will definitley be open.
But yeah you need to apply for them, I got them with my January As exams due to my best mates funeral being that week, turns out I only got taken up in one module (from 76 to 80) (AQA exam board) (WJEC didn't do anything and I ended up resitting my chem module) but having them there in time meant I worried less about the exams and could concentrate more on the matters in hand.

If the OP can - he should definitely take your advice.

Congrats on the offers by the way man

[AMELIA-x]

I got a letter from my consultant usually they are happy to write you one, but i don't think a discharge letter would be enough!
I also photocopied all letters from the hospital to show my extenuating circumstances


Usually the universities are okay with it, even if you do end up re-sitting the year!
the only two that said I wouldn't be considered the same as other applicants were Kings and UCL (who advised me not to apply there, because I wouldn't be considered at all.)