What subjects to choose?

What course do you want to do at university first of all? Those are some really strict entry requirements.

If you want to do this course then realistically your only option is to continue with National 5 (N5), getting B's in most of your prelims is a good sign though and its likely that if you continue studying as you are now you will pass your final exams.

You are right in saying that your subject choices in S5 and S6 are very important. The requirements do not refer to level A, they say that you have to get either 5 Highers (H) at A grade, or 4 As and 2 Bs. Crashing a higher is where you studying a Higher without completing the relevant National 5 course, in your case crashing Higher Chemistry without taking it at N5. I haven't taken Chemistry at Higher or N5 so I don't know what the course is like so I'll leave it to someone else to answer that one for you.

In order to pass the entry requirements for the course you mentioned, you would need to take 5 Highers in S5, 3 of those would have to be Chemistry, Biology and either Maths or Physics. You would then need to take 2 Advanced Highers (AH) in S6, with no requirements on what you take at AH, but schools generally only allow you to take AH when you have completed the equivalent Higher course, for example you would need Higher Chemistry to do Advanced Higher Chemistry.

You could get away with doing National 4 English this year and then doing National 5 is S6, not ideal because if you did N4 this year you would progress to N5 in S5 however the requirements state that you need to have 5 As or 4 As and 2 Bs all at Higher. You only need National 5 English to enter the course you mentioned.

If you have any more questions then please don't hesitate to ask.
(Sorry if that was quite long)

Reply 2

OP

Hi,

sorry for the late reply and thank you for clearing things for me. The course may sound unrealistic, but it doesn't hurt for me to at least try. It is Medicine. And this is quoted from the University of Glasgow requirements. Since I am new, this and Edinburgh are the only universities I have heard of. I checked in other universities, but I can't seem to find a Medicine course in them.

Until now I thought that this years grades are not important. My point is that until now I wasn't studying at all or very little, but for the next few weeks I will try to improve on English and pass with C at least. This is part of my question also. Does universities look at grades from Nat 5? Or better said - do they matter in some way?

Also can I take a few subjects as higher in S5 if I haven't got a Nat 5 award at them? I know I can crash Chemistry, but can I do it for more subjects, like take Chemistry and Computing and something else or am I allowed to take only one crash subject?

Also at my native country the school in which you have been studying mattered if you will get in specific university. The "worse and poorer" your school was - the lower your chance of getting in was. Is here the same? Hypothetically said if I don't study in the best school, but get the required grades is there chance I that I will get rejected because of the school I have been in? In school a lot of people often mention that it is "the worst school", "very poor" and other things like this. That is why I am asking.

Again sorry for all these question, but I really can't seem to get enough information from my teachers at school. Thanks!

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

Universities rarely look at National 5s, they are usually only seen as a stepping stone to your Highers, apart from in certain cases like this one where they have set the minimum requirement for English to be National 5. Try as hard as you can with English, and if you pass with a B or more this year maybe consider returning to it at Higher in S6, it might not be essential but the university may look more favourably on someone who exceeds the requirements than those that just matches them. National 5s are important to get to Higher, but are by no means the most important qualification.

You can 'crash Higher' in S5 (attempting a Higher without the associated N5), but most schools do not recommend it, crash highers are usually done in S6 as people try and grab more qualifications. Most schools also only let you do one crash higher per year. For the course you want to do I would focus on getting the grades you need before looking at other qualifications like Computing, especially as you would have to get at least a B in each crash higher you would do. Maybe look at where you're at by the end of S5.

Universities in Scotland are not biased against what school you go to, they are actually meant to recognise those who have gotten great qualifications from 'worse' schools. The only problem being in "the worst school" can have is how well they teach you. If you get the required grades and your application (personal statement, etc.) looks good then there's little reason why they would decline you.

I'm never been interested in medicine myself so I'm not sure where else offer it but Glasgow, Edinburgh or possibly St Andrews if they offer it are probably your best bet.

If you're still unsure then again don't hesitate to ask.

Reply 4

OP

I just researched St Andrews and the requirements there look even better, but on the picture you can see I have circled first year. And the required grades are only highers. And in the second picture you can see that there is also a second year entry which has advanced highers. Does this mean the first course where it says only "Medicine" I don' have to do any Advanced Highers to get in? If this is true can I actually get in from S5 having the required grades without doing S6?

And in the second picture where it says "Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry" am I right that I can get in after S5 and with only 4 Highers? Or they mean that I need 4 Highers and 2 more advanced highers from next year? Or, third option, I can get in from S6 with only 2 Advanced Highers? :^_^:

Sorry for this question...

Thanks.

(edited 8 years ago)

s5 or s6.png362.8KB

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Reply 5

You can start university at the end of S5 if you achieve the required grades if you want. Advanced Highers basically follow 1st year university content and therefore allow you to start university in the second year, where courses allow, which is what the 2 AH requirement is for.

The entry requirements you have found seem to differ from the requirements I found for St Andrews. The School of Medicine at St Andrews require at least AAAAB grades at Higher in S5 (Chemistry at A required, and either Biology, Maths or Physics) and to be predicted BBB grades at H/AH in S6. I found the entry requirements here: http://medicine.st-andrews.ac.uk/prospectus/#

These should be checked against those listed for the courses listed on the UCAS website, which is also a useful tool for finding other universities that offer medicine.

Reply 6

OP

Hi,

I just wanted to ask you about the number of highers. I realised that I am doing 5 subjects at Nat 5 now, but if I crash Chemistry replacing Physics, which I am currently doing, at Nat 5 and if I pass English at Nat 5 and drop it, I am left with only 4 Highers. You said I can't crash more than one subject and the requirements say that I need 5 highers, but I will be left with only 4. What are my options? Talk with my teacher and move from Nat 4 to Nat 5 in any subject? Or take English at higher? Thanks.

Reply 7

You could talk to your teachers about doing crash Higher chemistry, or you could do Higher English.
It's probably a little late to move up from N4 to N5 considering that there is now only around 1.5-2 months teaching time before final exams.
What subjects are you doing at N5 right now then if you only have 5 because you listed 7 subjects in your original post.

Reply 8

OP

I am doing the previously mentioned 7 subjects and am doing: Maths, English, Biology, Physics, Music Tech at Nat 5 level. I do Geography and Computing at Nat 4.

I was thinking to crash Chemistry replacing Physics, because 3 sciences, I think, may be too hard to do. And I was thinking about dropping English since they are not requiring higher English in neither university (and it's probably not the best choice for me since it is not my first language).

So in this situation I don't know what to do. What do you think is my best option? Thanks.

Reply 9

Well you need to get 5 Highers next year in order to meet part of the requirements set by either uni. I would suggest doing higher chemistry, maths, biology, physics and either music or do an easier crash higher like graphic communication (easy but really really dull).
Three sciences I realise will be tough especially with one of those being a crash higher, however I think this is probably the easiest way unless you have any other subjects you want to crash instead of physics.

Reply 10

Yammy

15

Original post by Yandex

I am doing the previously mentioned 7 subjects and am doing: Maths, English, Biology, Physics, Music Tech at Nat 5 level. I do Geography and Computing at Nat 4.

I was thinking to crash Chemistry replacing Physics, because 3 sciences, I think, may be too hard to do. And I was thinking about dropping English since they are not requiring higher English in neither university (and it's probably not the best choice for me since it is not my first language).

So in this situation I don't know what to do. What do you think is my best option? Thanks.

Hi, I'm a medicine applicant so ill try help out. First of all, there are 5 medical schools in Scotland:
Glasgow
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
Dundee
St Andrews
and you can also apply to English unis if you want. Med schools don't really look at nat 5s. So just try your best at Maths and English and get at least grade B in both.

For Highers, you should really try to do 3 sciences in 5th year. Remember maths is a science, so maths, chemistry, biology +2 other subjects would be fine. You need AAAAB for most scottish unis except Glasgow.

Also, you don't need higher English if you don't want to sit it, its not an requirement for Scottish med schools at Higher (I didn't do it)

Also remember that grades aren't the only requirements for medicine, you need to do the UKCAT and have interviews so be prepared for those when the time comes :biggrin:

Reply 11

OP

Original post by muchensmile

Hi, I'm a medicine applicant so ill try help out. First of all, there are 5 medical schools in Scotland:
Glasgow
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
Dundee
St Andrews
and you can also apply to English unis if you want. Med schools don't really look at nat 5s. So just try your best at Maths and English and get at least grade B in both.

For Highers, you should really try to do 3 sciences in 5th year. Remember maths is a science, so maths, chemistry, biology +2 other subjects would be fine. You need AAAAB for most scottish unis except Glasgow.

Also, you don't need higher English if you don't want to sit it, its not an requirement for Scottish med schools at Higher (I didn't do it)

Also remember that grades aren't the only requirements for medicine, you need to do the UKCAT and have interviews so be prepared for those when the time comes :biggrin:

Hi, thank you. Well if Maths counts as science I will be doing 4 sciences. Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry. And Music Tech as the fifth higher. Also I can take the UKCAT whenever I want after school right? And I can take it more than once I think.

When are you applying? How hard is to actually get the required grades and in my situation it will be even harder with four sciences... Thanks.

Edit: I looked at English universities, but they have high fees if I remember right and since I am from Europe it is going to be free for me in Scotland. Or at least that is what I have heard.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12

Yammy

15

Original post by Yandex

Hi, thank you. Well if Maths counts as science I will be doing 4 sciences. Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry. And Music Tech as the fifth higher. Also I can take the UKCAT whenever I want after school right? And I can take it more than once I think.

When are you applying? How hard is to actually get the required grades and in my situation it will be even harder with four sciences... Thanks.

Edit: I looked at English universities, but they have high fees if I remember right and since I am from Europe it is going to be free for me in Scotland. Or at least that is what I have heard.

Yeah medical schools really just want a solid foundation on biology and chemistry, so you can choose between physics or maths. Unless you want to do both then its your choice (probably good to keep your options open for other careers) :biggrin:

I've applied this year and expecting to hear back in March (I'm a 6th year student now)

As for how hard to get required grades, it just depends on whether you are good with the sciences. If you dislike maths/physics then its probably better to drop one of them and replace with an easier higher, since if you get a B in one of your subjects you may be disadvantaged.

And yes, Scottish unis are free for EU students :biggrin:

Reply 13

alana_p

National 5s don't matter for unis, but you obviously do want to do your best in them so you can pick some of them up at higher level

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Reply 14

OP

Hello,

So I think I have a problem. In Monday or Tuesday I have to choose my subject for next year, but today I asked my teacher and she said that my school doesn't allow crashing higher in S5... Is this possible? I told her that I need it for university, but she said I can do it in S6. The requirements, however, strictly say that I need higher Chemistry in S5 or at least most medical universities in Scotland require Chemistry at higher in S5.

Does this mean I am pretty much screwed by my school? I still have 5 subject that I do at Nat 5 and can progress to higher, but Chemistry just is not one of them. I take Biology, but again universities want Chemistry... I have taken Chemistry in my previous country, but I choose to take it this year because I thought it isn't important at this stage.

Also lets make sure that I correctly understand the term "crash". Is this when I don't have any awards (Nat 4, Nat 5) in Chemistry and decide to take it at higher level as new subject?

Anyway. What is my best option now? Thanks.

Reply 15

Yes that is exactly what crash means, you take a higher without completing any previous qualifications (N4/5).

Not being able to crash any highers in S5 at your school is more than likely going to be an issue for you, not least because of the requirement for chemistry.

It is worrying that your teacher doesn't seem to understand a course's entry requirements. Double check with your year head/guidance teacher/head of house if these people are different to the teacher you've already asked. It might also be a good idea to check with a chemistry or biology teacher and to see what they suggest.

I'll leave it to those who do medicine/are wanting to do medicine to see what ideas they come up with to help you get round this issue, and what steps to take as they'll know more about preferred qualifications and skills for medicine than I do :smile:

Reply 16

OP

So in your opinion is it normal that my school doesn't allow my to crash in S5? I mean are most schools like mine, (not allowing to crash) or they normally allow this if you need it for university? I ask because I know that rules vary between schools, and I am not familiar with any other school than mine.

Still it doesn't really make sense, because I am sure I am not the only one in this position right now and it would be very useful if they were allowing it... I will talk with the head of S4 and hopefully they can solve this issue. Thanks.

Reply 17

alana_p

Can you not just do those subjects in 6th year and go to uni then?

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Reply 18

I believe in my school it varies between departments, with the principal teacher of the department getting final say in who is accepted into what class and who is presented for what qualification. Like yourself I'm not sure what policies other schools have but I believe most allow pupils to crash higher - even if some only allow it under extreme circumstances.

The main reasons I can think of for not allowing any crash highers in S5 is that it can significantly increase your workload which teachers don't like for various reasons and that there may be a higher dropout rate for crash higher pupils again for various reasons, which teachers don't like because it wastes money, teaching & learing time and the possibility that the space could have been taken by other pupils wanting to take the course.

Reply 19

OP