Medical School

Well, i have a friend who like u aspires to be a doctor however her grades are poorer than yours to be frank and she determined to be a doctor. So i think with determination and a passion to help people, along with good A Levels you'll be accepted onto a medical course!

Reply 2

calcium878

18

Why not check the websites of med schools you like and see if you have what they are looking for? :smile:

Reply 3

OP

Thanks guys, i have checked the websites; but this often confuses me, many schools appear to set minimum requirments of B's. So why the %*@# are teachers discouraging pupils from persuing a career in medicine, when the schools seem to invite this level of potential (stupid state schools)!

I cant encapsulate how much i want this, i jus need some reasurance from somebody with experience in the field to tell me that i can fulfill my dream !

Reply 4

calcium878

18

It's possible, but you'll need As and Bs at AS definitely. Make sure you don't go astray next year :smile:

Reply 5

OP

Next year, im putting in some hard work, i mean seriously hard! But by taking sciences, i am minimising the field of work in which i am qualified to do! So if my GCSE results are too poor, id prefer somebody to inform me of this now, before i sign my life away:P :biggrin:

Reply 6

K!&R@N

I think you need motivation, determination and passion as well as good GCSE grades and A Level grades and from what i've read you definately have the first three. Also, don't forget A's and B's at GCSE are very good results and you should be proud if you get those! Furthermore, as you said you're going to work seriously hard next year and if you do get straight A's in your A Levels most, if not all, universities will be thrilled! So my advice is too continue with your aspirations of med school and if you're still unsure, take a fourth A Level such as English or History to leave your options open!

Reply 7

OP

Thakyou for that last reply, someitmes i just need that little push. You see, the competition often intimidates me (comming from a state school) its hard to compete with this straight A* private school students

Reply 8

K!&R@N

Yeah tell me about it most of my friends are straight A* students! However, do bare in mind that some of the top unis want a lot of A*'s at GCSE however i'm positive most universities which IMO are just as good, want normal GCSE grades! But remember, do your research that's my advice! Good Luck by the way!

Reply 9

OP

Yeah, thanks alot for your time and encouragment. And good luck to you also!

Reply 10

Depends where you apply tbh. If your GCSE grades are not great - don't apply to the following:

Oxford
Cambridge
St George's
Birmingham
Queen's Belfast
Edinburgh
Southampton
Imperial

These med schools either have high GCSE requirements or give a lot of weighting to GCSE results. For all other med schools tho, check their websites - if you meet the minimum grades you've usually got just as much chance as anyone else. However, at A-level you will need to be looking at getting at least AAB including chemistry and biology (this isn't essential everywhere but keeps your options open).

Academia isn't a particularly important factor in how med schools select candidates - it's just a discriminator i.e. if you meet the minimum requirements, they will look at your personal statement, if you don't meet the requirements, they'll put your application in the bin.

Reply 11

OP

Thanks for the post :wink:

ummm, im thinking of peninsula? do you have knoledge of this school?

Reply 12

JordanSHowarth

Thanks for the post :wink:

ummm, im thinking of peninsula? do you have knoledge of this school?

People will kill me for saying this, but Peninsula is maybe slightly less acadmically selective than other med schools :wink:

For example, they are the only med school that routinely give AAB offers. Also they are one of only a few med schools that will accept applications from graduates who got a 3rd class degree.

Otherwise, it's one of the newest medical schools in the country (it opened about 7 years ago I think). The course is heavily based on PBL (problem-based learning). Also the med school is quite spread out geographically - part of it is in Truro and part of it is in exeter.

As a warning tho, just because they are not as academically selective - it doesn't mean you're more likely to get in i.e. they get just as many applicants per place as other med schools.

Reply 13

OP

O.k. so are you sugesting this may be a good target for me to continue my academic studies? :wink:

and can you explain the differences in learning methods, between medical schools :s-smilie:

Reply 14

OP

p.s. are you at medical school and which, if so

Reply 15

kthx

Im in the same situation. A humble B student trying to compete in an A grade society.

Dont worry about it, as long as you have the determination and the resilience then you'll make it. Be an optimist and work hard at A levels and you will be fine :smile:

Reply 16

JjrShah

I think they asf for high grades because Medicine is one of the most demanding couses at uni and requires a LOT of work, and you have to show that you're capable of keeping up, even at GCSE level.

My brother goes to Birmingham doing medicine and the amount of work he has to do is incredible. (He got 5As and 5A*s at GCSE :frown:

)

Reply 17

Hippysnake

19

Hey guys.

Let me put it like this, at A-Levels, you need 3 A's to get into Medicine, although 4 is now the requirement as everybody is getting it. Aside from that, you need good consistent grades in GCSE's. 6 A*'s would be good, but a varyation is all right as well!

But the one thing that will cement your place in a medicine course is EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE.
Learn it.
I'm in my second year following around a consultant, so...I've got enough... :biggrin:

Reply 18

Hippysnake

Hey guys.

Let me put it like this, at A-Levels, you need 3 A's to get into Medicine, although 4 is now the requirement as everybody is getting it. Aside from that, you need good consistent grades in GCSE's. 6 A*'s would be good, but a varyation is all right as well!

But the one thing that will cement your place in a medicine course is EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE.
Learn it.
I'm in my second year following around a consultant, so...I've got enough... :biggrin:

You do not need 4 As at A-level, you don't even need 3 As at A-level - AAB is fine. It will help to have good GCSEs e.g. a mixture of A and B grades, but you definitely do not need lots of A* unless you're applying to Oxbridge or Birmingham.

Work experience is important as is long-term voluntary work. Although having work experience will help your application (tbh you must have some), it does not "cement your place on a medicine course". Virtually everyone who applies has some, so it just gives you as much chance as them. As with everything to do with applying to medicine, you need to be able to show how your work experience and voluntary work have given you the ability to know what a medical career is like and an opportuntiy to develop your personal skills to enable you to become a good doctor.

Medicine is different to most other courses. They're not looking for the geeks who got straight A* at GCSE and umpteen As at A-level. They want reasonably intelligent people who have the passion and personality for a medical career.
There's a myth that medicine is one of the most intellectually challenging degrees. In reality, it's not as difficult as most of the pure science degrees, but it does have a much higher workload.

Reply 19