[gbrown13]

Hey guys,

I have just finished Year 11 and am an aspiring medic. I go to a comprehensive school which isn't great to be honest. The average As/A level points per person is something like 580, which isn't great..
I applied and got an offer for a private school just down the road from me. Theres no doubt its a better school, the As/A level average is over 1000.
But I don't know if it would benefit me when it comes to applying to medicine. I believe with a lot of effort I could probably achieve 4A's at either school if I tried really hard.
Which do you guys would give me more of a chance when it comes to my medicine application?

Thanks in advance

[Vulpes]

(Original post by gbrown13)
Hey guys,

I have just finished Year 11 and am an aspiring medic. I go to a comprehensive school which isn't great to be honest. The average As/A level points per person is something like 580, which isn't great..
I applied and got an offer for a private school just down the road from me. Theres no doubt its a better school, the As/A level average is over 1000.
But I don't know if it would benefit me when it comes to applying to medicine. I believe with a lot of effort I could probably achieve 4A's at either school if I tried really hard.
Which do you guys would give me more of a chance when it comes to my medicine application?

Thanks in advance

Surely you can't be talking about UCAS points...

The school wouldn't matter as long as you achieved the grades.

[Chief Wiggum]

Neither is "better" purely for being a state school or private school.

[twelve]

(Original post by Chief Wiggum)
Neither is "better" purely for being a state school or private school.

Exactly this.

Which school do you prefer? I have had an entirely state funded education and have perfectly good grades and an unconditional offer to study medicine. My boyfriend has had an entirely private education, and is currently in his first year studying medicine. So it doesn't matter.

[Democracy]

Really doesn't make a difference (except that by going to a state school you'd be saving a lot of money) and there's more to getting into med school than grades anyway.

[zaliack]

580 points is the average for either Cambridge or Oxford, so I honestly don't understand what you mean when you say it isn't very good. Go for whatever school is better in terms of teaching, facilities, and particularly ask about their past experience with medics. If they have had a lot medics before, then they can help you better.

[georgia]

Universities do not care what school you went to. Why would they? Most people just go to the one that is closest, it's not like they choose them.

The thing you need to concentrate on is getting the grades and the other experience needed for a good application.

[Blorcyn]

If I were you and it were affordable, I'd go for the private school. It'll probably make it easier for you, but if you're determined enough you'll get where you want with either one and private/state isn't ever going to be the factor that finalises a decision, no matter how prestigious it is.


You'd do better to focus your attention on the other parts of the med app, Work exp and Extra Curriculars. They're things that actually count in the application.

(Original post by Bullet Knuckle)
.

[Bullet Knuckle]

(Original post by Blorcyn)
If I were you and it were affordable, I'd go for the private school. It'll probably make it easier for you, but if you're determined enough you'll get where you want with either one and private/state isn't ever going to be the factor that finalises a decision, no matter how prestigious it is.


You'd do better to focus your attention on the other parts of the med app, Work exp and ECs. They're things that actually count in the application.

what are "ECs" ?

[nexttime]

(Original post by gbrown13)
Hey guys,

I have just finished Year 11 and am an aspiring medic. I go to a comprehensive school which isn't great to be honest. The average As/A level points per person is something like 580, which isn't great..
I applied and got an offer for a private school just down the road from me. Theres no doubt its a better school, the As/A level average is over 1000.
But I don't know if it would benefit me when it comes to applying to medicine. I believe with a lot of effort I could probably achieve 4A's at either school if I tried really hard.
Which do you guys would give me more of a chance when it comes to my medicine application?

Thanks in advance

Statistically, the private school. The privately educated dominate the medical establishment. More likely to get the grades, more likely to get (good) help with applying. Overall, 4x more likely to get in.

Obviously i can't comment on your financial situation or whether you could achieve the required grades/work experience anyway, though.

[Lansaaaa]

Extra-curriculars I assume

[boba]

what are you referring to with these "points" since there clearly not ucas points

[gbrown13]

(Original post by boba)
what are you referring to with these "points" since there clearly not ucas points

Its not UCAS points, its the Department of Education point system that the government uses to judge how well schools are doing.
You can check what your school's scores are with the link if you would like.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education/

[Happydude]

State school, and just come on here with any queries you have. Hell, PM me!

The only thing I think private schools can offer is an in-depth knowledge of how to get in. We have that here for free! Anything to do with grades is mostly up to the individual. Sure, a great teacher helps but getting a tutor or two for subjects you struggle a bit with will always be tremendously cheaper than going to private school.

[boba]

(Original post by gbrown13)
Its not UCAS points, its the Department of Education point system that the government uses to judge how well schools are doing.
You can check what your school's scores are with the link if you would like.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education/

785.5 the school I went to has, though I have no idea what this means. its about half way between the score you said was not good and the one you said was good so I assume its about average. Although it was the highest in my town except a specialist art college.

[nearlybled2death]

The general benefit of going to private schools is smaller classes so more individual attention which can mean better grades. It's hard to get that attention in a class of 30+. I had a friend who was the only student in her physics A level class - not really surprising she got an A.

[Alyss05]

I was completely in the same position as you 2 years ago and if you have a good set of GCSEs behind you then you probably do have a good chance of 3/4 As at either school. I went to a private school and what I gained there was immeasurable in terms of progress in sport, communication and scientific ability. But if you have the chance to go I would - after all you'll definitely never have it again! The friends I've made there are phenomenal, the teachers are great! and it is SUCH a tight knit community. The boarding aspect is fantastic if you get to do that too. Overall the best decision I ever made and you'll be so sad to leave in 2 years!! (like me )

[georgia]

^ By contrast I was boarding in year 13 after always being a day pupil and I HATED it. I think it takes a certain personality type to enjoy boarding school, and that most definitely is not me.

[r-mc159]

I really don't think you should judge a school's performance entirely on points, think about it-

private schools usually only accept students with a certain amount of intelligence and ability, so probably will all get good grades (apologies if this isn't the case with this specific school like its not streamed or something), so naturally their points average is going to be wayy higher than a comp school that takes in all students regardless of ability, meaning their average points are obviously going to be much lower, irrespective of teaching.

I went to a comp with a 38% A*-C inc maths and english, but 29 of us came out with 10 A's and A*s anyway, because the schools not rubbish, we just have loads of people who didn't care and so pull down the avg points. just work hard and stick at it, and you'll be saving yourself loadss of money too

(P.s, the main benefit of state school i can think of is that if your school has a low results average, and you achieved high grades against this majority, some unis e.g. manchester will 'flag' you, and this means you can get a lower score in the UKCAT and it won't affect your application, woo! )

[Philosoraptor]

Depends - will you be putting your parents in financial hardship by going? Or is it something they'll be ok with.

If the latter - do it - you'll probably get a better more focused education.

I personally went state school all the way - and yes it made me much better at interacting with all sorts of people - but I definitely think I had a lesser education.