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Oxford Biochemistry Students and Applicants

Thought I'd create a new thread for us biochems since there was one last year. So are there any biochemists out there? Have you started your applications yet? What college is your first choice or are you submitting an open application? IB or not? Share! :biggrin:

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Reply 1

eleshoos

amira91

Hopefully applying ^^ Need to see what happens after I send things back for remarks :/
St Annes hopefully, or Exeter ^^

Reply 2

amira91

Cool!

I thought about remarks for a while in Swedish and English but dropped the idea since I was right in the middle in the grade boundaries. :frown:

I am still in the middle of my college selection. I'm leaning towards Corpus Christi since the biochem tutors there are working in the field I'm interested in.

Btw does anyone know what colleges are best for biochemistry and what colleges are most/least popular?

Reply 3

eleshoos

Yeahh, Im right at the top of my grades and some of my marks seem proper dodgy so I decided theres not really much to lose ^^

And Im not sure for biochemistry in particular, but colleges like pembroke dont get applied to that much!

And I was considering Cambridge but got put off by resits and I much prefer the atmosphere in Oxford :smile:

Reply 4

amira91

eleshoos

Yeahh, Im right at the top of my grades and some of my marks seem proper dodgy so I decided theres not really much to lose ^^

How did it go? :smile:

Hey, let's keep this thread going! Have you guys started your personal statements yet? Btw is anyone going to the 17th Sep open day?

Reply 5

eleshoos

amira91

How did it go? :smile:

Have you guys started your personal statements yet? Btw is anyone going to the 17th Sep open day?

I got my Biology remarked and it went up by 4 UMS, so I got my A :smile:

Im going to send back some more, so hopefully they will go up too!
The oxbridge teacher at my school today said I wasnt good enough for Oxford :frown:

Sad times XD
Uhhmm, I havent started yet, have yoou? And I probably will, are you going? :smile:

Reply 6

amira91

eleshoos

I got my Biology remarked and it went up by 4 UMS, so I got my A :smile:

Im going to send back some more, so hopefully they will go up too!
The oxbridge teacher at my school today said I wasnt good enough for Oxford :frown:

Sad times XD
Uhhmm, I havent started yet, have yoou? And I probably will, are you going? :smile:

Congratulations! :smile:

Oh what does he/she know? No one is psychic! If you have the grades and show clear enthusiasm for biochemistry then you have a good chance. :smile:

I have started on my PS but am no way near finished haha :smile:

And yes I'll be there on the 17th. I'll be attending Corpus' formal open day. Looking forward to it!

Reply 7

eleshoos

amira91

Congratulations! :smile:

Oh what does he/she know? No one is psychic! If you have the grades and show clear enthusiasm for biochemistry then you have a good chance. :smile:

Not really sure my grades are up to it, but there is always hope haha! Im going to give it a chance anyway, no harm in trying :smile:

I mean, they arent awful:/

Anyway, have you done any further reading?

And coool, we might see each other and walk past each other and not even realise XD Gotta love forums for that :wink:

Haha!

Reply 8

Primus Pilus

Hey guys, recently got my AS results:

Biology - A
Physics - A
History - A
Chemistry - B

Dropping History, and continuing all sciences, as well as taking up AS Maths.

GCSEs - 5A* 6A 1B

Thinking of doing the Biochemistry course, is it worth a uni slot on UCAS to apply to Oxford, as in, will my B in Chemistry seriously affect my chances of even an interview or will they just instantly just dismiss my application - basically is 4As at AS needed to apply and realistically get an offer at Ox?
Only 5 UMS off an A, so retaking a module in Jan to get it to an A!!

Just applying for other high grade unis, so wondering if I should chance it with Oxford or instead save the slot for something else...

Thanks.

Reply 9

Wuzzie

I had an interview at Oxford, although for Biology, predicted A*A*A, and from my first year AS's had achieved: AAA (Math, Biology and History - the latter not predicted A*) and CB, with a C in English, and a B in critical thinking. I then dropped English and picked up a Chemistry AS, which I recently finished with an A; but basically, it depends much more on your predicted grades then your actual ones, and if you are predicted high in Chemistry A level, I think you could still have a very good chance.

My GCSE's were also 7A*, with 4A's, and 1 B in History, although the number of A's may vary, I can't remember the number of subjects I took, I believe it was 12 and a half, or 13 and a half. xD

Reply 10

elieshout

What are your A2 predictions? Those could matter here: if they're all As and A*s, including for Chem, it could be worth it. A stellar score on whatever admissions test you have to do for Biochem would also help a lot, so look into that and think about wheter you think it's something you'd do well on.

Reply 11

2009Emily

As long as your predicted an A in Chemistry at A level you should be fine, I'm applying for Biochemistry at Oxford as well(with the same AS grades as you =] ) and was told by an Oxford admissions person today that they interview the majority of Biochemistry applicants due to there being no admissions test for the course, so thats when you can show them your full potential.

Reply 12

????????8

I'm thinking of applying to a top universities like Oxford and I want to do something in medicine.
Do you think I have a chance of getting in? If not is there any other good universities?

GCSE
Maths-B
English lit-A
English Lang-B
Double Science-AB
Religious studies-A*
History-A
French-B
Drama-B
Food Technology-A

AS
Maths-A
Chemistry-A
Biology-A
Religious studies-A

I've also done 25 hours of voluntary work and I've done many extra curricular activities at my school and I've also done other activities.

Reply 13

LearningMath

elieshout

No admissions test for Biochem... Pretty much everyone gets interviewed, so ace your interview and your AS scores will hold very little weight. Maybe spend some time thinking about the chemistry grade as this is the only required subject for biochem, so you may have some explaining to do!

The best advice i was ever given was that the application only costs 1 of 5 UCAS places and few days of your life, so you may as well give it a try. :smile:

Reply 14

amira91

I'm gonna try to plough my way through the recommended reading list at least up until the interview (if I get one). Right now I'm reading "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins. It's interesting to read even though evolution och altruism/selfishness isn't primarily my field of interest. How about you?

Yeah that'll probably be the case haha :smile:

Have you formally booked anything at the colleges?

Reply 15

eleshoos

amira91

Right now I'm reading "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins. It's interesting to read even though evolution och altruism/selfishness isn't primarily my field of interest. How about you?

Yeah that'll probably be the case haha :smile:

Have you formally booked anything at the colleges?

Haha! I literally just finished that book today XD There are some really interesting biochemical principles in it as well :smile:

I do love Dawkins!

Not just yet, but Im thinking of booking for the St Annes one which is on the same day as the biochemistry one :smile:

Yoou?

Ooohh I do love this forum :smile:

Reply 16

tweety_wu

I am in a really difficult situation now. My alevel results are :
Biology A
Chemistry A
Physics A
Maths A
Further maths B

however, all my AS grades are As, the A2 grades are B for biology, physics and further maths. A in chemistry and maths. Will this be an disadvange for me? How about I resit my A2?For example, resit maths n chem to A* and further maths to A.

Also, some people tell me reapplying is in a worse position than other candidate....

Does it important to have some relavent work experience? I am offer a job to work with NHS, however, the job duties are mainly office work...and did anyone have biochem work experience?? Where can I find those jobs? I dont mind doing volunteer work. =)

Please help!! thx a lot XD

Reply 17

AnonymousPenguin

tweety_wu

Do you have AAAAB or AABBB? :s-smilie:

Reply 18

tweety_wu

my overall Alevel grades are AAAAB. =)

Reply 19

Cirsium

AnonymousPenguin

Do you have AAAAB or AABBB? :s-smilie:

I think OP means she got Bs in the Year 13 modules, but because her AS grades are high enough she averaged out to an A.

OP, you're sort of asking the wrong question.

Of course anything less than a perfect academic record is a disadvantage: the real question is how much of a disadvantage?

You haven't done yourself any favours, but to be honest retaking the A level units probably isn't a good use of your time. If you're seriously considering it it's worth emailing colleges to ask if they'd even accept the resits. I mean, your grades aren't gonna go up. (I think you have to get an A* in one sitting?) and they'd have to give you an offer before you resat.

Why didn't you go to university this year, if you don't mind me asking?

Few applicants will have work experience - the sort of stuff that goes on in a biochemistry lab is expensive to run, so unless you have some sort of bursary backing you, or some cash you can throw at the lab to pay for consumables it'd be hard to convince anyone to take you on.

You're not in a worse position as a reapplication candidate. A higher % of applicants get in post qual (whether because borderline people don't bother applying, or because they're a year older and smarter, or because they don't freak out at interview, or because they're a known quantity) than pre qual.

All you can do really is apply and see. Make sure you know your basic chemistry really well, and do plenty of extra reading.