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Good enough for medicine?

Hi yall, so last week I found out I got 6a*s and 4as in my GCSEs! Of course I am over the moon with my achievements but I'm kind of worried that my results won't be good enough when it comes to applying to medical schools.
I've seen how other students wanting to do medicine on here have achieved much higher results than me and still stuggle to get into the schools they want. Obviously my grades aren't Oxford level but I was kind of thinking about Barts or Imperial, but then again London med is also really competitive. Should I be worried or should I just concentrate on getting As in my AS results? Am I over reacting? (I mean, I haven't even started a levels lol) Should I apply strategically/ safely and go for the likes of Liverpool med?
Plus I'm sorry if I come across as spoilt or unsatisfied with my results, I just tend to doubt myself a lot no matter how well I do hahah
xxxxx
Reply 1
It's about comparison. If you're grades are above average for your school year, then that's great. If not, it doesn't matter - those grades are fantastic, even for Oxford. What is more important are good A-Levels.......
Original post by rolaah
It's about comparison. If you're grades are above average for your school year, then that's great. If not, it doesn't matter - those grades are fantastic, even for Oxford. What is more important are good A-Levels.......


Its true that their grades are amazing, however they are not good enough for Oxford med, the average successful applicant has 10.3 A*s at GCSE,
Reply 3
Original post by ellentheweeb
Hi yall, so last week I found out I got 6a*s and 4as in my GCSEs! Of course I am over the moon with my achievements but I'm kind of worried that my results won't be good enough when it comes to applying to medical schools.
I've seen how other students wanting to do medicine on here have achieved much higher results than me and still stuggle to get into the schools they want. Obviously my grades aren't Oxford level but I was kind of thinking about Barts or Imperial, but then again London med is also really competitive. Should I be worried or should I just concentrate on getting As in my AS results? Am I over reacting? (I mean, I haven't even started a levels lol) Should I apply strategically/ safely and go for the likes of Liverpool med?
Plus I'm sorry if I come across as spoilt or unsatisfied with my results, I just tend to doubt myself a lot no matter how well I do hahah
xxxxx

I wouldn't say those GCSEs are 'fantastic' for Oxford, looking at application stats, but they certainly aren't awful and shouldn't stop you from applying there. But yes, you really shouldn't worry, or if you do, channel that into smashing year 12 and getting your wider reading, work experience etc done, and you'd have a good chance at any medical school. Medicine is competitive yes, but you're clearly intelligent and hopefully can rise to the challenge
Wow! That's amazing, you SHOULD be proud of yourself. However medicine is very competitive. I think your going on the right track however A levels are very difficult, so please keep on working hard. I know you are a hard worker by the looks of your results but believe me I've seen people treat A levels as a time to relax because they've got Good GCSE. You need to continue working hard on your A levels.
You need to take Chemistry, Biology. The third is your choice but I'd recommend something you like so you find it enjoyable. Already I can say your good enough to apply for unis like Nottingham and Leicester if you had AAA or above at A levels.
Remember you need work experience and a good UKAT score as well.

So simple answer. Yes you are Good enough but make sure you do well in your A levels. I'm sorry to say they won't like anything below AAA.

Good luck. And again. Well done!
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by HopelessMedic
Its true that their grades are amazing, however they are not good enough for Oxford med, the average successful applicant has 10.3 A*s at GCSE,


No it's all relative. Admissions tutors from Oxford have told us that you just need above average grades to be in contention. Of course it's better to have higher grades, but if you're from a **** school and get 3A*s, that's better than going to a really good private school and getting 10 A*s. Also average med student has 7A*s at oxford:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUCiBjdiWO0&ab_channel=SimonOxfPhys
Reply 6
Original post by rolaah
No it's all relative. Admissions tutors from Oxford have told us that you just need above average grades to be in contention. Of course it's better to have higher grades, but if you're from a **** school and get 3A*s, that's better than going to a really good private school and getting 10 A*s. Also average med student has 7A*s at oxford:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUCiBjdiWO0&ab_channel=SimonOxfPhys


You're correct to say that contextual data is taken into account, especially in the sense that one will be 'highly recommended' for interview if they meet all other criteria but flag up on two of a number of contextual data points e.g postcode, school performance etc..
However, saying the average medical student at Oxford has 7A*s isn't correct - the average (mean) that HopelessMedic stated was indeed the correct one. To quote from Oxford themselves ( https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics ) -
"For those with an offer of a place who had taken GCSEs, the mean number of A*s at GCSE was 10.4 and the mean proportion of A* at GCSE was 0.94."

In reference to the OP though, your GCSE grades are strong, even for the GCSE heavy universities. From the statistics quoted above, we can see one or two people were successful to receive an offer for Oxford with 6 A*s, so don't let your GCSEs deter you from applying to Oxford. However, Cambridge may be a better option depending on how you perform in ASs. - It's all about applying to your strengths which you have plenty of time to research about!
Original post by Kozmo
You're correct to say that contextual data is taken into account, especially in the sense that one will be 'highly recommended' for interview if they meet all other criteria but flag up on two of a number of contextual data points e.g postcode, school performance etc..
However, saying the average medical student at Oxford has 7A*s isn't correct - the average (mean) that HopelessMedic stated was indeed the correct one. To quote from Oxford themselves ( https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics ) -
"For those with an offer of a place who had taken GCSEs, the mean number of A*s at GCSE was 10.4 and the mean proportion of A* at GCSE was 0.94."

In reference to the OP though, your GCSE grades are strong, even for the GCSE heavy universities. From the statistics quoted above, we can see one or two people were successful to receive an offer for Oxford with 6 A*s, so don't let your GCSEs deter you from applying to Oxford. However, Cambridge may be a better option depending on how you perform in ASs. - It's all about applying to your strengths which you have plenty of time to research about!

Thankyou for this!! I have been researching about different schools and looking into Cambridge (I think it would be a better choice because they aren't as 'gcse heavy' like Oxford and they look at your background when taking gcses into account). I'm just gonna work super hard in my AS and see where it takes me!! :smile:

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