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Am I doomed to never do medicine?

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Reply 20
Original post by Hydeman
It's plenty. xD It's way more than I have in any case. I'm trying to get placements in September, which is kinda difficult to fit in with my UKCAT but it has to be done (I'm a gap year applicant so I'm off school in September).


Ahh, thank you! Good luck, btw. :smile: How's UKCAT prep going? :biggrin: At least you're not at school whilst you're preparing for it. :wink:
Reply 21
Original post by cacra
I got ABDD in my first year and finished with A*A*B in A2 (and I dropped the subject I got an A in in AS.)

Definitely possible to improve, I'm still really pissed I only got a B in Economics, I felt sure I was going to get an A*.

You may find it hard to get accepted into decent unis though, I got accepted into Cardiff with Lancaster as my insurance for economics which isn't bad, but my A2 grades were good enough for almost anywhere.

(They weren't easy subjects either; Maths, History and Economics, but they aren't as hard as yours.)



Wow, congratulations! Those are so good. :biggrin: If you don't mind me asking, why did you drop the subject you got an A in? :smile: Ahhh, I'm really glad there is some hope. I'm just going to have to work really hard this year.
Original post by Sammy9898
Ahh, thank you! Good luck, btw. :smile: How's UKCAT prep going? :biggrin: At least you're not at school whilst you're preparing for it. :wink:


I'm procrastinating on it. :wink: I've had some problems with the 600-question book I ordered at first because it had misprints and missing pages all over the place so I ordered a new one and I've come to the conclusion that this is one book that I'll just have to write in despite my aversion to writing in textbooks. :/ It's impossible to use otherwise in timed conditions because you end up spending too much time fidgeting, trying to keep it from slamming shut etc.

I also intend to get a two-week Medify subscription before my test as others have as a lot of high-scoring people have recommended doing so on the official UKCAT thread.

And thanks, that is a bonus of applying in a gap year. Good luck to you as well. :smile:
Definitely don't want to be a damper on the thread, but you will have to consider other options to enter medicine. A2 Chemistry really is no joke, and the work you have for Biology requires so much time. There's a step up in difficulty from AS, you might be able to retake a couple other individual units, but any more than that and you'll be distracted from A2. With BCDD, unless there were extenuating circumstances, there is a reason for that. Be it poor time management, not revising in the right way etc. Your teachers will know this and aren't gonna predict very nicely. I got A(Bio)A(German)A(Classics)B(Chem) at AS, hoping to do medicine (as maths fortunately isn't essential). Predicted grades of AAB (dropping classics). Even though I had around 180hours of work experience and a better than average UKCAT, I wasn't offered an interview, let alone a place (fortunately I have a good alternative route in). The fact is that Med Schools don't need to waste a second more time on someone without the predicted grades. They look for any excuse not to take you thanks to course popularity.

Even if you somehow manage to retake every exam and succeed and get AAA next year (bear in mind it will make your year more than twice as hard as you found AS), you won't have an offer. That means you'll have to do a gap year, which, if you aren't doing something useful in the medical field, looks bad in the eyes of the Admission.

As others have said you can apply abroad (which I am doing and can give advice on if you need), or you can go post-grad. You'd probably have an easier time with the latter if you aren't bilingual. Find a course you can comfortably do for three years, and then apply to medicine once you have qualified. It will be expensive and you'll have a load of debt, but if you want it badly enough it'll be worth it. Sorry I can't find a way of sugar coating this for you.
Reply 24
Original post by Sammy9898
Wow, congratulations! Those are so good. :biggrin: If you don't mind me asking, why did you drop the subject you got an A in? :smile: Ahhh, I'm really glad there is some hope. I'm just going to have to work really hard this year.


It was physics and i didnt need it for uni.

I spent abiut 10 hours a day in Plymouth uni library for three months before my exams; doing 3 A Lrvels effectively in one year requires dedication.

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