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End of the road or not?

Hey guys if you haven't seen already I posted a forum about cambridge medicine. I got 7 As and 3 Bs at Gcses. After looking at my grades I laughed at myself and thought "this is no doctor". I realised that there is no way I'm going to cambridge but I want to do medicine at some good English school and fulfill my dream. Is there still hope or should I give up and continue to be depressed knowing that I couldn't make it 😢
Reply 1
Original post by BigDreamer123
Hey guys if you haven't seen already I posted a forum about cambridge medicine. I got 7 As and 3 Bs at Gcses. After looking at my grades I laughed at myself and thought "this is no doctor". I realised that there is no way I'm going to cambridge but I want to do medicine at some good English school and fulfill my dream. Is there still hope or should I give up and continue to be depressed knowing that I couldn't make it



you have potential
with the right as levels you can focus and do medicine
Original post by BigDreamer123
Hey guys if you haven't seen already I posted a forum about cambridge medicine. I got 7 As and 3 Bs at Gcses. After looking at my grades I laughed at myself and thought "this is no doctor". I realised that there is no way I'm going to cambridge but I want to do medicine at some good English school and fulfill my dream. Is there still hope or should I give up and continue to be depressed knowing that I couldn't make it


Well lucky for you, you have more than good enough GCSE grades~

The rest will depend on other aspects of your application
You're gcses are fine and honestly, it looks like grades went down this year so unis will take this into account.
Yes there will be people with higher grades but there'll be people with lower grades too
Don't apply to any gcse heavy unis...ace your As and ukcat/bmat

It is not the end of the road!
Good luck
Reply 4
Your GCSE grades don't determine anything! I know one person who got C's/D's at GCSEs and attained 3 A*s in A-Level.

Work genuinely hard, you'll get there.
Original post by Hody421
Your GCSE grades don't determine anything! I know one person who got C's/D's at GCSEs and attained 3 A*s in A-Level.

Work genuinely hard, you'll get there.


Unless the person who got 3A* only applied for medical school after obtaining their A level results what you have said is just wrong. Every med school has minimum GCSE requirements and they are virtually all above a number of Cs. Most need a number of As or A* at GCSE. The rest are looking for great voluntary work, high ukcat/bmat

7As is OK but you will need to research which schools you apply to, you need AAAA at AS and AAA predicted art A Level. It's all possible but you will need to be selective and do your research.
Reply 6
Original post by russellwallace
Unless the person who got 3A* only applied for medical school after obtaining their A level results what you have said is just wrong. Every med school has minimum GCSE requirements and they are virtually all above a number of Cs. Most need a number of As or A* at GCSE. The rest are looking for great voluntary work, high ukcat/bmat

7As is OK but you will need to research which schools you apply to, you need AAAA at AS and AAA predicted art A Level. It's all possible but you will need to be selective and do your research.

I meant generally, not 'medical-only'. Didn't you see why I didn't specify the subject he applied to?
Original post by Hody421
I meant generally, not 'medical-only'. Didn't you see why I didn't specify the subject he applied to?


No, that is not at all clear
Reply 8
Original post by Hody421
Your GCSE grades don't determine anything! I know one person who got C's/D's at GCSEs and attained 3 A*s in A-Level.

Work genuinely hard, you'll get there.

Your GCSE grades play a huge role in determining whether you have any kind of shot at an offer for Medicine. It's completely irrelevant that you can potentially turn things around and do amazingly at A2. Few (if any) med schools will care at that point.
Thanks guys what applications test should I take bmat or ukcat. Realistically?
Original post by Ronove
Your GCSE grades play a huge role in determining whether you have any kind of shot at an offer for Medicine. It's completely irrelevant that you can potentially turn things around and do amazingly at A2. Few (if any) med schools will care at that point.


So I have no shot then :frown:
Original post by BigDreamer123
So I have no shot then :frown:


Unless you wait until you have AAA at A level and apply or apply after graduation with a 2.1
Original post by BigDreamer123
So I have no shot then :frown:


You're fine so far, your GCSEs are likely to tick off the minimum requirements. Just research each school and apply to the ones that do not have heavy weighting towards GCSEs or where A/A* are given same weighting.

A good place to start is here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_to_Medical_School_using_your_Strengths

Also, make sure that your AS grades and test results are as stellar as you can possibly get them to be.
Officially, Cambridge as a whole has no specific requirements for GCSE results. Medicine is one of the few courses in which there is only one guideline in regards to GCSEs; that being that you must have achieved at least a C in Maths and Science, which you obviously have.

You will have to take into account your competitiveness as an applicant, though. With Medicine, every applicant is going to have incredibly strong grades; where you set yourself apart is in your work experience, extracurriculars and interview performance. If you are absolutely dedicated to studying Medicine, then put all your effort into tackling your AS Levels head-on. Alongside this, you need to be actively seeking out opportunities for Medical work experience. Provided you achieve all As at AS,secure a very high set of A2 predictions, and a brilliant reference, you will have a strong basis for a Medicine application - even at Oxbridge, from what I understand. At that point the ball will be in your court to write a stellar personal statement that confirms your passion for the profession.

I would strongly advise that you stay away from Oxford. They are very particular about GCSE results, whereas Cambridge is focused almost entirely on how well candidates perform in their AS Levels. If you want to go to Cambridge, then you must put 100% of your effort into attaining not just A grades at AS, but very high UMS scores as well. They go based on UMS averages, so you will need 95% or more in your 3 most relevant AS Levels at least, I expect.

Of course, the option will always be open for you to apply post-A2, and this may be a better option for you given the circumstances - many Medicine applicants do go this route. Applying during a Gap Year will give you even more time to procure relevant work experience, and will dispel any doubts regarding your academic ability provided you achieve top grades at A2.

You are not at all disadvantaged in applying for Medicine at university, and I would say Cambridge is still an option for you too. But you do need to make sure that everything you do from this point onwards is geared towards your future ambition. I wish you the best of luck. :smile:
Reply 14
Original post by BigDreamer123
So I have no shot then :frown:

Just apply very carefully and be prepared to reapply if you get no offers. You will be in a better position with your A2s in hand, but I wouldn't be put off from applying in Year 13 - you might as well.
if you basically want to go to cambridge now, you must basically get 99% or 100% UMS average across all your AS subjects....otherwise its not looking great...

apply to places like keele, lancaster, st georges, hyms (this places to me dont have the stigma of having an academically rigorous admission process)...when and if you get 4As at AS....(no other bmat university, because thats just risking it)....
So it would be stupid applying to UCL Newcastle or Manchester?
Would not be stupid applying to newcastle or durham, they don't care about your gcse's.
Could I apply to ucl
Reply 19
I'm in a similar position to you, if you carefully look at GCSE requirements for each med school & visit the 'GCSE requirements' and 'apply using your strengths' as you have to be pretty selective now about where to apply to. It's not the end of the world if you don't go to like Oxbridge or whatever, because at the end of the day wherever go for uni, you'll become a doctor regardless. Do some research to avoid 'GCSE heavy' medical schools, boss your AS & A Levels/BMAT & UKCAT, get loads of EC's and volunteering along with a strong PS and you should be okay. Good luck!

P.S medical schools such as Newcastle, Durham, Leeds and Exeter seem like pretty good shouts with these GCSE grades.


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