Can you go to medical school with a 2:2…what can I do?

Hi everyone, I am new to this site and just looking for some advice, opinions and thoughts from my fellow members on my current situation. Basically I really want to pursue my dream as a doctor. I’m 21, and my prior work experience was working at Marks and Spencer for 3 years, and I have recently got a job as a Healthcare Assistant at a hospital looking after the elderly population.
I left school with pretty average GCSE’s, C’s in mathematics, English, Electronics and B’s in Physical education, Information Technology and only a D in science. Upon leaving school I don’t believe that teachers always offer the best advice with regards to choosing subjects at college that would be beneficial for your future career prospects. I chose to study subjects that I liked, Physical Education which I gained a C at A level in and Information Technology which I completed a Btech with a grade of Merit/Pass.
I then went to another college and studied a “Foundation Degree” in Sport and Exercise Physiology which then led to a top-up 3rd Year that then lead to me gaining a full BSc honours. I graduated with a 2:2 (57% achieved) in the summer and initially my thoughts were to work full time, save funds and then complete an MSc in a science related subject such as Health Science or Biomedical Science.
My dream is to try and pursue the idea of going to medical school and becoming a doctor, however after looking at medical schools and courses, there requirements seem way above the qualifications I currently hold. For example, most uni’s require a 2:1 degree or at least AAAA/AAAB in A levels in science related topics which I also do not hold.
Now I believe I have 2 choices, to either study for a MSc and see if universities will accept this as my latest and best qualification or study with the Open University and try and top up my current degree to a 2:1 level through transferring credits/modules from my last degree as I was only 3% off in my last degree..is this even possible? I’m really stuck to what I should do next and any advice opinions or even past experiences you guys have had with uni applications which could be relevant to this would be massively appreciated.

Thankyou all!
Dannybro1

Reply 1

gr8wizard10

21

Without the A's at GCSE / A-Level, it seems incredibly unlikely. I'd advise not wasting your time, unless you're willing to resit everything again. I may be wrong, however.

Reply 2

gustavus

13

I would seriously spend time researching this. Any decision will have massive consequences for you won't it?!

I would approach the medical schools directly and see if doing an msc would help you- or just make you a better qualified person in the reject pile....

As you know competition for these careers is very high. They can afford to be very choosy. You need to find out if Alevel grades as a graduate would have a lot of weighting. If they do - you may be wasting your time if you were doing an MSc purely for this reason.

You also need to be clear what you, as a person, offer the profession... Above I really want to be a doctor!!

Your point of only being 3 percentage points off a 2:1 is an interesting one.... If there is some way you can rejig your modules and pass at a higher level you would have to pass the remaining modules at a much higher score if it were to mitigate for poorer scores-assuming equal weighting.....

Is there someone in the know, who can sit down with you and go through your transcript?

To me, one of the things that shouts out to me is your overall academic profile. For example was there a reason for your academic performance? Why would I take a chance on you?

These points are not meant to wee on your fireworks - just draw out ideas I had.

Good luck

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Reply 3

wablapna

Original post by Dannybro1

Hi everyone, I am new to this site and just looking for some advice, opinions and thoughts from my fellow members on my current situation. Basically I really want to pursue my dream as a doctor. I’m 21, and my prior work experience was working at Marks and Spencer for 3 years, and I have recently got a job as a Healthcare Assistant at a hospital looking after the elderly population.
I left school with pretty average GCSE’s, C’s in mathematics, English, Electronics and B’s in Physical education, Information Technology and only a D in science. Upon leaving school I don’t believe that teachers always offer the best advice with regards to choosing subjects at college that would be beneficial for your future career prospects. I chose to study subjects that I liked, Physical Education which I gained a C at A level in and Information Technology which I completed a Btech with a grade of Merit/Pass.
I then went to another college and studied a “Foundation Degree” in Sport and Exercise Physiology which then led to a top-up 3rd Year that then lead to me gaining a full BSc honours. I graduated with a 2:2 (57% achieved) in the summer and initially my thoughts were to work full time, save funds and then complete an MSc in a science related subject such as Health Science or Biomedical Science.
My dream is to try and pursue the idea of going to medical school and becoming a doctor, however after looking at medical schools and courses, there requirements seem way above the qualifications I currently hold. For example, most uni’s require a 2:1 degree or at least AAAA/AAAB in A levels in science related topics which I also do not hold.
Now I believe I have 2 choices, to either study for a MSc and see if universities will accept this as my latest and best qualification or study with the Open University and try and top up my current degree to a 2:1 level through transferring credits/modules from my last degree as I was only 3% off in my last degree..is this even possible? I’m really stuck to what I should do next and any advice opinions or even past experiences you guys have had with uni applications which could be relevant to this would be massively appreciated.

Thankyou all!
Dannybro1

hi, you would be accepted straight away in central europe like poland or romania but it will set you back around 6500 a year. If you have family that can help you, get saving a bit and off you go.
You can then come back here and you will be a doc ! Happy dayz. Never let this fok.in cuntry tell you you CANT CANT CANT DO IT :biggrin:

Reply 4

Zorg

18

GAMSAT uni's are your best bet. I would give it some serious thought though. The rest of application will need to shine to counter balance the 2.2
The 2.2 and lack of science GCE equivalents will limit you to select uni's.
Check the Wiki etc. for more information.

Reply 5

dances_with_lamposts

7

Original post by Dannybro1

Hi everyone, I am new to this site and just looking for some advice, opinions and thoughts from my fellow members on my current situation. Basically I really want to pursue my dream as a doctor. I’m 21, and my prior work experience was working at Marks and Spencer for 3 years, and I have recently got a job as a Healthcare Assistant at a hospital looking after the elderly population.
I left school with pretty average GCSE’s, C’s in mathematics, English, Electronics and B’s in Physical education, Information Technology and only a D in science. Upon leaving school I don’t believe that teachers always offer the best advice with regards to choosing subjects at college that would be beneficial for your future career prospects. I chose to study subjects that I liked, Physical Education which I gained a C at A level in and Information Technology which I completed a Btech with a grade of Merit/Pass.
I then went to another college and studied a “Foundation Degree” in Sport and Exercise Physiology which then led to a top-up 3rd Year that then lead to me gaining a full BSc honours. I graduated with a 2:2 (57% achieved) in the summer and initially my thoughts were to work full time, save funds and then complete an MSc in a science related subject such as Health Science or Biomedical Science.
My dream is to try and pursue the idea of going to medical school and becoming a doctor, however after looking at medical schools and courses, there requirements seem way above the qualifications I currently hold. For example, most uni’s require a 2:1 degree or at least AAAA/AAAB in A levels in science related topics which I also do not hold.
Now I believe I have 2 choices, to either study for a MSc and see if universities will accept this as my latest and best qualification or study with the Open University and try and top up my current degree to a 2:1 level through transferring credits/modules from my last degree as I was only 3% off in my last degree..is this even possible? I’m really stuck to what I should do next and any advice opinions or even past experiences you guys have had with uni applications which could be relevant to this would be massively appreciated.

Thankyou all!
Dannybro1

Original post by wablapna

hi, you would be accepted straight away in central europe like poland or romania but it will set you back around 6500 a year. If you have family that can help you, get saving a bit and off you go.
You can then come back here and you will be a doc ! Happy dayz. Never let this fok.in cuntry tell you you CANT CANT CANT DO IT :biggrin:

Yes you can! I got 2 b's, 2 d's and loads of c's for my gcse's, DDe at A/as level and a 2.2 in my degree. I passed gamsat in 2008 and started medicine in Nottingham in 2009. I've been a dr since August! It can be done.

Sorry, I don't have time to reply properly (I have to go to work!), I just wanted to add a little to the thread. :smile:

Reply 6

jay2013

17

Original post by Dannybro1

Hi everyone

Thought I would give you my opinion. I haven't applied but I'm thinking of studying medicine in the near future. I graduated last year with a 2:2 in Sport Science but I had, what you would call, mitigating circumstances. At GCSE I got 6-7 Bs, a few Cs, a D in design technology and a F in French, again I had mitigating circumstances. At A level I got a B and two Ds, again under mitigating circumstances.

But I've always been attracted to study medicine. I've been thinking about it for three to four years now and I've done some research as a result. If you have a degree already, you can apply for Graduate Entry Medicine. Check this thread out:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/graduate_entry_medicine_-_a_guide

I don't know how up to date it is, but you get a general idea of what universities are looking for.

I believe most universities require 2:1 as they want evidence that you are at least average in terms of academic ability because let's face it, medicine is no walk in the park! lol I have a mate who's about to graduate in undergraduate medicine and even in first year he was writing something like the equivalent of an four page essay every two weeks! Some universities require certain grades at A level and GCSE for Graduate Entry Medicine like for example the Uni of Liverpool. Others don't like for example St George's in London.

For me, I'm looking to do my Masters this Sept/Oct in Sport Science, hopefully get a distinction, and continue with Sport. However, medicine is still something I'm thinking about and I may look to apply to study medicine in a few years. For you, if you already have a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, like me, then you'll already have a certain level of knowledge regarding physiology and anatomy, therefore it may be best to do a Masters like I am in preparation for med school like Exercise Physiology or something similar.

P.S. I should also add in my research I found out that St George's in London has a international graduate entry medicine programme where you study medicine for four years aboard (in Cyprus, Israel and the USA currently) and when you graduate you graduate from St George's university and can then apply for foundation training posts!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

ilem

17

Nottingham graduate entry course would be an option for you, but you'd have to ace the GAMSAT since 2.2 candidates are expected to perform better in it to compensate.