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Cambridge for medicine

One of my friends is applying for Medicine at Cambridge( Clare college), and she wondered what kind of GCSE results are obtained by the average student. She's read the entry requirements and they're a little vague, plus I guess she wants a little reassurance. So if anybody knows please post.

Thanks in advance

Reply 1

7589200

18

No one knows the actual average. Since Cambridge don't seem to release it. But an anecdotal figure would be 8-9 A* and remember UMS at AS Level is important; getting 90% (270/300) in those would also be common.

This is only hearsay, though.

Reply 2

FyreFight

14

The ironic thing is that the entry requirements for medicine at Oxbridge are likely to be even higher, despite the fact that there are plenty of Universities which have better medschools (if you believe the league tables) than Oxbridge, and much much lower requirements.

Reply 3

sebbie

15

league tables don't mean an awful lot....

Reply 4

7589200

18

The Times says that Cambridge is best.

Reply 5

-42-

1

I am thinking of possibly applying for Cambridge for medicine, but could anyone tell me what their policy is on Maths/Further Maths - I am doing both of these but do they only count this as one A-level?

Cheers,

--42

Reply 6

FyreFight

14

Yeah, but do you really think that the standard of education at Oxbridge is so much higher than other medschools as to warrant such rediculous entry requirements? Medschools are all of a high quality, or they wouldn't be GMC approved. I seriously doubt that Oxbridge are massively better than anywhere else.

Reply 7

mlc409

1

Yeah, but do you really think that the standard of education at Oxbridge is so much higher than other medschools as to warrant such rediculous entry requirements? Medschools are all of a high quality, or they wouldn't be GMC approved. I seriously doubt that Oxbridge are massively better than anywhere else.

Must say I agree very much with this point.

Reply 8

-42-

1

I don't think so either, a lot of people get really hyper up thinking that Oxbridge provides so much better quality of teaching than everywhere else. I don't think Oxbridge is actually the most competitive to get in is it (in terms of applicatant :tongue:

laces ratio), although I guess the majority of applicants will all be AAA students. To be honest I just think the main difference is the style - I'm attracted to the course because I'd enjoy the strong scientific content at the start really.

--42

Reply 9

smirf83

3

NSiky

Yeah, but do you really think that the standard of education at Oxbridge is so much higher than other medschools as to warrant such rediculous entry requirements? Medschools are all of a high quality, or they wouldn't be GMC approved. I seriously doubt that Oxbridge are massively better than anywhere else.

yeh, but you've got to take into account the Oxbridge name. Some people want to have the prestige of having attended Oxford/Cambridge which are world-renowned universities, and whilst others may be well known as well, you can't really say Peninsula, Leicester, Dundee etc are anywhere near as famous.
But I agree, a medicine degree is a medicine degree, they're all approved by the GMC at the end of the day.

Reply 10

Helenia

20

-42-

I am thinking of possibly applying for Cambridge for medicine, but could anyone tell me what their policy is on Maths/Further Maths - I am doing both of these but do they only count this as one A-level?

Cheers,

--42

It seems to be standard practice to consider it as only one, but the admissions requirements page seems a little ambiguous on the topic.

Reply 11

Wangers

16

A Medical degree whether it be a BMBch, MBchB, BMBChir or BMBS are all equivalent in standard, since all graduates are accreditted. The difference lies in the style of the course, be that traditional or intergrated or PBL. which one you go to should depend more on you're preference for course rather then the name.

It is true that some people prefere to suffix their name with Cantab, or Oxen, as opposed to say Notts or Dundee to take the example listed above - however assuming on the whole 50% of doctors go on to be GPs, when was the last time you asked your doctor where he/she graduated?? if ever?

Also I think league tables are not entirely reliable - how much can you compare a traditional course against a intergrated or PBL course? they're compleatly different teaching styles - not to mention each institution would be inspected by different teams...etc...the variables are enormous.

Wangers

Reply 12

mom1

Re Maths -Further Maths read the official line here:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/responses/

Collective response to an enquiry regarding the number of A level subjects studied

Reply 13

cowsgomoo

13

i think manchester, newcastle, nottingham, liverpool, keele accept maths and further maths separate. and i thought cambridge did too.

Reply 14

Kicky

2

Originally Posted by -42-
I am thinking of possibly applying for Cambridge for medicine, but could anyone tell me what their policy is on Maths/Further Maths - I am doing both of these but do they only count this as one A-level?

Cheers,

--42

When I asked at the open day the tutor said that they accepted maths/f. maths as 2 subjects (as in you could get both in your offer), but they prefer you to be doing 4 if you are doing maths/f. maths.

Reply 15

-42-

1

Ah great, thanks for that. I am doing Biology, Chemistry and History too so I guess I'll be fine! To be honest if I can find a way to I would like to drop Further Maths and only do an AS in it, but I'm not sure how easy that is to do at my school...does further maths give you any sort of edge do you reckon when applying? Lol, well only if you get an A I guess, hence why I might not continue with it!

Cheers for the answers,

--42

Reply 16

Drifting~~

-42-

I am thinking of possibly applying for Cambridge for medicine, but could anyone tell me what their policy is on Maths/Further Maths - I am doing both of these but do they only count this as one A-level?

Cheers,

--42

They definitely count as two subjects at Cambridge [the only uni I found recognising that so far]. Says so on the admissions page + on the Open Days.

Reply 17

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

Maths and F. Maths weren't counted as separate subjects for me, but this was in 2002/2003. I took Maths, F. Maths, Physics and Chemistry at A2, plus Critical Thinking at AS. I needed As in Maths OR F. Maths and also in Physics and Chemistry.

Reply 18

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

NSiky

Yeah, but do you really think that the standard of education at Oxbridge is so much higher than other medschools as to warrant such rediculous entry requirements? Medschools are all of a high quality, or they wouldn't be GMC approved.

I know people at other medical schools and I can confidently say you do work a lot harder at Cambridge than at your average medical school in the UK. That's not to say you won't become a competent doctor if you train somewhere else, but it's important to recognise that GMC accreditation is only there to ensure that minimum standards are met. Admittedly, these minimum standards are made pretty high to ensure patient safety.

I seriously doubt that Oxbridge are massively better than anywhere else.

It really depends what makes a course better for you personally. Oxbridge provide a very thorough grounding in the medical sciences that few medical courses can match. This is more work but many people, including myself, think it is worth it. Other courses may be better in other ways, for instance by adopting a greater range of modern teaching methods. The important thing is that the training at all UK medical schools is comprehensive enough and of a high enough quality to produce doctors who are fully prepared for the Foundation years - this is the only real requirement, as far as the GMC is concerned.

Reply 19

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

-42-

I don't think so either, a lot of people get really hyper up thinking that Oxbridge provides so much better quality of teaching than everywhere else. I don't think Oxbridge is actually the most competitive to get in is it (in terms of applicatant :tongue:

laces ratio), although I guess the majority of applicants will all be AAA students. To be honest I just think the main difference is the style - I'm attracted to the course because I'd enjoy the strong scientific content at the start really.

--42

Oxbridge are not the most competitive to get into for any subject in terms of applicants :tongue:

laces ratios, but this is obviously quite misleading. You only have to look at the average tariff scores in the Times league table (points given for A-level grades), in which Cambridge comes top. This implies that Oxbridge are in fact the most competitive to get into, although you could argue that Oxbridge may place less emphasis on extracurricular activities and work experience, which for many people might be the stumbling block for their application (hence making Oxbridge easier to get into for these people).

Cambridge for medicine

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