Medicine at cambridge

Hi! I'm an 11th grade student in a british school in spain. I really want to be a doctor and I plan on applying to Cambridge, UCL and Imperial College. My school offers both IB and A-levels but I am truly confused about which one to choose

If I did IB, I'd do Biology Chemistry Maths HL and english spanish psychology SL. With A-levels, probably Biology Chemistry Maths and I don't know what else. Pleeease help and if you have any suggestions on what subject to take tell me too please! Thanks very much in advance

Reply 1

aLittleBookWorm

15

Hi there! I've applied for medicine this year (Cambridge, Exeter, Cardiff & Nottingham) so I can tell you what I know from my experience :smile:

I'm in the UK and I'm studying A levels but I know that, for most unis at least, it won't matter much whether you take A levels or IB, but check each unis website to see what their policies and grade requirements are.

As for what you take as your fourth subject for AS level, I wouldn't worry too much, especially if you're taking Bio, Chem and Maths as your other 3. I took English Lit and I loved it, found it a nice break from all the science, but I know that languages are really useful whatever you end up doing (and would really help you on an Erasmus placement or an elective!) so I'd say English Lit/Lit&Lang or Spanish would be a great 4th subject! I'm not sure if it's UCL or Imperial (think it's UCL) but they apparently like you to have Biology, Chemistry, and a non-science subject at A level - not requirement, just a possible preference.

One thing I would say about the unis you've mentioned is that all 3 need BMAT (BioMedical Admissions Test - tests your knowledge of Bio, Chem, Physics & Maths, as well as your essay writing skills and your general thinking skills). It's not an easy exam and in my school they recommended that we didn't apply to more than one BMAT uni (although a couple of people applied for 2). You take the exam after you send your application to your unis so it is a bit of a risk because if it doesn't go as well as you'd hoped then you wipe out any choices which need a good BMAT score. Just something to think about!

Reply 2

Miakaavanah

OP

Original post by aLittleBookWorm

Hi there! I've applied for medicine this year (Cambridge, Exeter, Cardiff & Nottingham) so I can tell you what I know from my experience :smile:

I'm in the UK and I'm studying A levels but I know that, for most unis at least, it won't matter much whether you take A levels or IB, but check each unis website to see what their policies and grade requirements are.

As for what you take as your fourth subject for AS level, I wouldn't worry too much, especially if you're taking Bio, Chem and Maths as your other 3. I took English Lit and I loved it, found it a nice break from all the science, but I know that languages are really useful whatever you end up doing (and would really help you on an Erasmus placement or an elective!) so I'd say English Lit/Lit&Lang or Spanish would be a great 4th subject! I'm not sure if it's UCL or Imperial (think it's UCL) but they apparently like you to have Biology, Chemistry, and a non-science subject at A level - not requirement, just a possible preference.

One thing I would say about the unis you've mentioned is that all 3 need BMAT (BioMedical Admissions Test - tests your knowledge of Bio, Chem, Physics & Maths, as well as your essay writing skills and your general thinking skills). It's not an easy exam and in my school they recommended that we didn't apply to more than one BMAT uni (although a couple of people applied for 2). You take the exam after you send your application to your unis so it is a bit of a risk because if it doesn't go as well as you'd hoped then you wipe out any choices which need a good BMAT score. Just something to think about!