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Grades increased....

I looked at Uni's last year whilst sitting my GCSE's and the top 3 (Manchester, Bath, Notts) said you needed around ABB (Confirmed by E-mail). Now most are asking for AAB-ABB with priority on the AAB (Confirmed by e-mail). My question is who is going to study for around 5 years including the 1 year placement gaining grades of AAB and study Pharmacy ? With AAB you could be a doctor or do nearly anything. I really wanted to do Pharmacy at Uni, done my work experience, worked hard but now I'm seriously doubting if doing Pharmacy is worth it at all, the grades are getting ridiculous. 5 years ago you needed BBB. I'm perhaps just going to do Zoology, Chem, Biology etc. now. What's your opinions on these higher grades ?

Reply 1

ahmadjan3

it may be because it is getting more competitive. :eek:

if i had AAB i would have applied for medicine :rolleyes:

i dont think i can get AAB so i am not :frown:

Reply 2

Irrelevance

Medicine and Pharmacy are two completely different fields - one involves knowing pathology, surgery etc and the other is specialising in drug effects, administration, synthesis etc. It's what you want to do in the end, not about how high you can get with your grades.

If you think about it, the uni's you've mentioned are over subscribed even after cutting out X number of applicants - was told Bath had 145 hopefuls for 140 places. Now, if their offer was BBB, they would probably have 250 candidates for 140 places - "bugger", the admin will be probably thinking. In other words, some sort of selection process *has* to be layed down in order to distinguish themselves from less demanding universities and to narrow down the numbers they can take for their course. Last point is, raising grades, in theory, raises the standard of students which enter therefore raising the standard of graduate, leading to a raise in the standard of healthcare.

Reply 3

Kater Murr

Oh, come on. You have it seriously easy as it is. Think about english students - the job prospects aren't as good as Pharmacy and yet we have to get AAA to get anywhere! Jesus, it's not that high. Just do the subject you want to do.

Reply 4

vesi

So if not pharmacy what other rewarding and nicely paid job would you want. Or in other words what would you like to study if not pharmacy then?
I agree that money is not always everything but to live a normal and a comfortable life you need lots of ₤₤₤. That's the reality. And pharmacy can up to a point secure your living BUT is there another job you think with this grades for uni will leave you with the same satisfaction with little more time for you with slightly more money?
AAB is a requirement for dentistry courses for example or at least the minimum at the unis I have checked. Lots of other courses .... but still...

Reply 5

Danielle89

I think the grades have gone up because pharmacists, as health care professionals, are gaining more and more responsibilities with their job title. Im up in Scotland, where pharmacists will soon be able to prescribe more and more medication. Sure, its not as responsible a job as say, a GP, but in effect we are going to be doctors of a sort - even if it is only small-time things such as cold/hayfever medication and other over-the-counter "minor ailments" medication.

Reply 6

joan_mumby

What a rubbish thread. It's only in the UK that pharmacy isn't as strong as say canada or Usa. There you need same grades. Secondly a pharmacist can earn more than a doctor and vice versa. If you are interested in doing something, then why would you think about grades? you just go for it.

Reply 7

joan_mumby

vesi

In my opinion, dentistry, pharmacy and medicine have same value. After that other health care jobs such as optometry and physiotherapy.

Most importantly though, pharmacy is the only health care profession where no one is unemployed - fact!

Reply 8

Warrior King

joan_mumby

Depends on what you specialise in but general I think the money is better in Medicine (not for the first two years) and Dentistry.

Reply 9

Warrior King

X7502

Typically the offer is ABB but as you have mentioned preference is given to those offering AAB.

If you really want to follow this career path then the reality is you're just going to have to work hard and get the grades. The same would be for Medicine and Dentistry. These are selective courses so you need to prove yourself academically in order to get in.

The fact the number of applications for these courses are rising and as a result the admissions requirements have gone up in order for the admissions tutors to select the best candidates for their courses.

And it would seem that AAB may no longer be good enough for Medicine as several universities are now beginning to up their requirements to AAA. In reality most students admitted to medical schools in UK (and dental schools) tend to have grades in the range of AAA, and sometimes above.

So if you really want to study pharmacy then put your fist to the grindstone and work hard. If not then do something else.

Reply 10

nikki14

Maybe they didnt like you and offered you high grades so you wouldnt get them and not get in. All my offers are BBB and ABB, one of thems BBC

I no that sounds horrible and arrogant but hey, im in one of those moods.

Reply 11

Warrior King

nikki14

So very true. Pharmacy schools are free to make offers higher or lower as they please. When I did pharmacy at manc I got a place through "clearing". Not clearing as such because pharmacy is quite popular so doesn't advertise in the ucas listings during clearing but I do think it was down to my grades I got given a place more than anything else.

If they really like you they will snap your hand off. High grades means you're more than likely to get an offer from the top pharmacy schools. I got offers from Manc, LSOP, Bath and Nottingham without the need for an interview (except for Nottingham).

There are a range of pharm schools out there with some of the newer ones making offers as low as DDD or CC or something and the ones at the top end making offers of ABB or rarely AAB (usually to re-sit students or candidates they are unsure of).

If you are predicted at least ABB and have decent enough work experience and do something other than reading Lett's A-level chemistry study guides, you stand a pretty good chance of getting offers from most if not all your pharm choices.

I know for a fact though there are people at manc who got in with grades like BBB, ABC, one person I knew had BBC. This could be due to mitigating circumstances or maybe they had very good AS level grades and were given lower offers. Pharmacy tends be a bit more flexible in its admissions compared to say Medicine or Dentistry. Maybe because Pharmacy schools aren't limited on strict quotas as say medical schools are.

Just study study study damn it!

Reply 12

nikki14

Warrior King

thats really good to hear about manchester, its my first choice at the moment and im really unsure of getting the grades lol but i really really wana get in!

what uni did you end up going to? x

Reply 13

Mustard-man

X7502

5 years ago you needed BBB. I'm perhaps just going to do Zoology, Chem, Biology etc. now. What's your opinions on these higher grades ?

4 years ago you could get into HYMS or BSM (to name a few) Medicine with ABB. What's your point?

It's down to competition. A-level students seem to be getting better and better results each year. Pharmacy is one of those lovely courses where employability isn't a issue when you graduate with MPharm. The same applies with Dentistry and (vet-)Medicine. These courses have seen rising demand over the past few years, to the extent where grade requirements have had to increase, and admission tests (like BMAT, UKCAT) have been introduced. Also due to intense competition medicine, with some not getting offers at all, Pharmacy may seem like a suitable substitute for them, so many do put it as a back up choice.

Yes, you can, like you said, do "Zoology, Chem, Biology", but they don't have as high guarantee for employment, especially if the university isn't highly ranked. It's really up to the person in the end, as to how much weight they put into employment prospects when looking at a degree.

Reply 14

lil'p

you really shouldnt compare med to pharmacy

ITS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yes you can do medicine with AAB ( but saying that i know at least 15 phamacists who got AAA but never got admission )

grades increased only to differ the best from the good (if you know what i mean)

Reply 15

Danielle89

I was talking to a friend in the republic of ireland who says that the maximum points you can get in their scheme is 160, and you need 150 to get into pharmacy apparently, and only about 5-7 more to get on a medical course.

I wouldnt say medicine and pharmacy are TOTALLY different though - they both are centred on the human body, the only difference being medicine takes a more practical approach, whereas pharmacists have to understand the mechanisms of action of medication.