Medical schools that like 4 A-levels?

Hello,

Ill be applying for uni as a re-applicant and have taken 4 A-levels, probably A*AAA (chem,bio,maths and physics). just wondering if any universities will give benefit to applicants with 4 A-levels? ive heard Barts would be good to apply to if i have 4, any others?

I don't plan on applying to any BMAT universities as my GCSEs werent great and i hate essay, so don't want to do the exam

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

Musical-Ocean

No universities like/require 4 A-levels however you may have an advantage over your peers with 3 A-levels.

Reply 2

Palindromic

OP

3

Original post by Future_Dr

Yh definetly, just because the normal requirement are 3 alevels. Unis might like it. Also you have an A* and As, so why not apply to good unis such as Oxbridge...

my GCSEs weren't as good as most applicants as i didn't really try in subjects i wasn't interested in (languages, RE, english,etc...) and my AS year wasn't great so my UMS scores are no where near good enough for cambridge. Also i cba to do the BMAT to be honest

Reply 3

Steerforth

11

Original post by Future_Dr

Yh definetly, just because the normal requirement are 3 alevels. Unis might like it. Also you have an A* and As, so why not apply to good unis such as Oxbridge...

I disagree. Having an extra A-level is not advantageous when it comes to applying to the majority of medical schools. Barts may be an exception as they look at UCAS points to create a cut-off iirc.

The bit in bold just proves your ignorance.

Barts and the London

Barts, last years cut off for interviews was 500 UCAS points iirc, which is kinda difficult to do with less than 4 A levels.

Reply 6

Palindromic

OP

3

Original post by Helloworld_95

Barts, last years cut off for interviews was 500 UCAS points iirc, which is kinda difficult to do with less than 4 A levels.

what?! but 4 A's is 480 ucas points isnt it? so cut off was A*AAA? i have general studies aswell, but they probably wont count that

Reply 7

myyrh

9

Original post by J1994D

what?! but 4 A's is 480 ucas points isnt it? so cut off was A*AAA? i have general studies aswell, but they probably wont count that

They would definitely count that. They count anything which adds UCAS points.

Reply 8

Helloworld_95

19

Original post by J1994D

what?! but 4 A's is 480 ucas points isnt it? so cut off was A*AAA? i have general studies aswell, but they probably wont count that

Yes, although they do accept other qualifications, not sure if GS is one of them though.

They also seem to be quite big on the UKCAT and their selection criteria page seems to suggest that those with A*AAA predictions who got interviews would also have high UKCAT scores.

Reply 9

Insanity514

15

Barts and I would say for Cambridge, the more A*'s you have the better.
Doesn't matter at all for Oxford.

Reply 10

ser00

12

At the Oxford open day (for medicine) they said that 2/3 of people there have 4+ A2s, and that although their offer is A*AA, they give a slight advantage to people with more (although they first rank you according to GCSEs and BMAT). So with your grades, I'd definitely look at Oxbridge as an option (if you have good GCSEs).

I think most would give a bit of preference to people with 4, but you should contact admissions people at different unis or go to open days to check.

What are your A levels btw? There's a big difference between doing general studies/critical thinking/further maths as your 4th (as many don't count these as separate A levels) than doing a language/history/physics etc..

Reply 11

Palindromic

OP

3

Original post by myyrh

They would definitely count that. They count anything which adds UCAS points.

''General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted subjects at AS and A-level.'' dont think so :/ seriously 500? thats outrageously high?

Reply 12

Palindromic

OP

3

Original post by ser00

At the Oxford open day (for medicine) they said that 2/3 of people there have 4+ A2s, and that although their offer is A*AA, they give a slight advantage to people with more (although they first rank you according to GCSEs and BMAT). So with your grades, I'd definitely look at Oxbridge as an option (if you have good GCSEs).

I think most would give a bit of preference to people with 4, but you should contact admissions people at different unis or go to open days to check.

What are your A levels btw? There's a big difference between doing general studies/critical thinking/further maths as your 4th (as many don't count these as separate A levels) than doing a language/history/physics etc..

okay thankyou, im not applying to bmat universities, as most put alot of emphasis on gcse and i hate the exam. chem,maths, physics, and biology. A* in either chem or maths(most likely) both if im super lucky

Reply 13

myyrh

9

Original post by J1994D

''General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted subjects at AS and A-level.'' dont think so :/ seriously 500? thats outrageously high?

They mean as a substitute to the required subjects which fulfill their requirements of AAAb. Basically General studies/Critical thinking is not suitable as one of those subjects but as an extra it still adds to your UCAS tariff.

Reply 14

Helloworld_95

19

Original post by J1994D

okay thankyou, im not applying to bmat universities, as most put alot of emphasis on gcse and i hate the exam. chem,maths, physics, and biology. A* in either chem or maths(most likely) both if im super lucky

No they don't, Imperial puts arguably the least emphasis on GCSE's of any medical school, and UCL and Cambridge are pretty close behind but you need a good BMAT score and AS results to balance them out.

Reply 15

username854791

14

Original post by Steerforth

I disagree. Having an extra A-level is not advantageous when it comes to applying to the majority of medical schools. Barts may be an exception as they look at UCAS points to create a cut-off iirc.

The bit in bold just proves your ignorance.

How does the bit in bold prove my ignorance? :s-smilie:

1) Cambridge and Oxford are very excellent unversities in respect to their reputation, they are bound to have good professors. But that doesn't mean that the teaching would suit anyone. Ofcourse.

2) I didn't at all segregate other universities, please refer to the bit in bold where it says "like". So I could very much refer the same for other highly ranked unis like Imperial, Bristol etc..

Also, yes most unis don't care how many Alevels you have as long as you meet the requirement. But having an extra alevel, that to with a good grade such as an A shows the capability. So if you say it may not be advantageous, it is definately not disadvantageous, if anything gives you some sort of stronghold.

Reply 16

Steerforth

11

Original post by Future_Dr

How does the bit in bold prove my ignorance? :s-smilie:

1) Cambridge and Oxford are very excellent unversities in respect to their reputation, they are bound to have good professors. But that doesn't mean that the teaching would suit anyone. Ofcourse.

2) I didn't at all segregate other universities, please refer to the bit in bold where it says "like". So I could very much refer the same for other highly ranked unis like Imperial, Bristol etc..

Also, yes most unis don't care how many Alevels you have as long as you meet the requirement. But having an extra alevel, that to with a good grade such as an A shows the capability. So if you say it may not be advantageous, it is definately not disadvantageous, if anything gives you some sort of stronghold.

When it comes to medical degrees no university can be considered better than any other. They all meet the requirements set by the GMC, and doctors produced from one medical school have have never been proven to be any better than those produced from a different medical school.

I would agree that Oxford, Cambridge etc are excellent universities, however advising someone to apply there just because they have an extra A-level is ridiculous. The fact is that they only want 3 A-levels, and won't favour anyone taking more. If you did take more however, they do have the option of making an offer of A*AAA, therefore making it more difficult to meet the offer.

I would always recommend only taking 4 AS subjects before dropping one for A2. If people keep recommending others to take more than the standard 3, where does it stop? Soon the standard will be 4, then 5?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 17

username854791

14

Original post by Steerforth

When it comes to medical degrees no university can be considered better than any other. They all meet the requirements set by the GMC, and doctors produced from one medical school have have never been proven to be any better than those produced from a different medical school.

I would agree that Oxford, Cambridge etc are excellent universities, however advising someone to apply there just because they have an extra A-level is ridiculous. The fact is that they only want 3 A-levels, and won't favour anyone taking more. If you did take more however, they do have the option of making an offer of A*AAA, therefore making it more difficult to meet the offer.

I would always recommend only taking 4 AS subjects before dropping one for A2. If people keep recommending others to take more than the standard 3, where does it stop? Soon the standard will be 4, then 5?

Yes ofcourse they all have to meet that standard set by the council. BUT like I said before it is the teaching that varys from school to school. Some have very traditional way e.g. Oxbridge and some london unis. There are also PBL teachings as well. Ofcourse some teachings do not suit others. So the same applies to the OP.

When I advised.... I just looked at the OP potentail as determined by the grades they achieved. Therefore I suggested that they should apply to Unis like Oxford or Cambridge where the standards are quite high.. they are more demanding in terms of academics and evidently the top unis on their own. So why not... I mean doesn't have to be them... if you are capable of applying there then why not? I am not talking about the long term that just because that doc went to cambridge, he is ten times more brillient than the one went to another med school. Also my advice is only to the OP not anyone else. And for goodness sake,.. it is only an advice, the OP is hopefully wise enough to make their own descisions to what they want to do for their future.

Just because someone has say 4Alevels, does not inevitable mean med schools will change their offers to 4 As or even 5.. thats just stupid in all respects. Medicine is a challenging degree and you have to be on the top on your game,, as they say, competition is immense, so having that extra alevel is only going to show that you are capable. I know and hopefully so does the OP that you ONLY have to meet the requirment. and so if you have the OP and another applicant with 3 alevels but excellent work experience better than the OP and UKCAT(if it matters mostly to the school) then they will also be inclined towads giving the other applicant the place.

Reply 18

myyrh

9

Original post by Helloworld_95

Yes, although they do accept other qualifications, not sure if GS is one of them though.

They also seem to be quite big on the UKCAT and their selection criteria page seems to suggest that those with A*AAA predictions who got interviews would also have high UKCAT scores.