Cambridge Medicine - is a 4th A level not particularly important

Thanks very much. What was your personal path SF? What do you think of doing FM as a fourth subject but not putting it on ucas form?

I should probably mention that I'm a Cambridge med offer holder, and I applied with Bio, Chem & Maths, with no GCSEs. I know some people that are actually studying the course (in different years), so I can tell you that it's unlikely that FM will be useful in terms of the course content (which is a good point).

I think the time I'd spent reading more med related books was the most helpful towards my whole application, as my PS was really lacking compared to others since I couldn't find work exp, if I'd taken FM, then I probably wouldn't have the time. Don't forget that you also need a pretty high BMAT score (I think you still have to sit that). So it all comes back to the point about balancing quantity and quality

got any tips for the application process? or just getting an offer from cam med in the first place?

got any tips for the application process? or just getting an offer from cam med in the first place?

yes pls let us know!! (congrats btw)

Sure. I spent a lot of time preparing my application, so not sure how much of this will apply to you guys, but I'll try to include as much as possible.

I personally couldn't find in-person work experience, since they're not available where I'm from and I know it's hard in the UK as well. I substituted that with a lot of related reading and online workshops, since Cambridge is more academic focused anyway, I think they just want to know that you've made the effort to understand the field, not so much asking for really practical knowledge.

On that note, I did tailor my application to be more academic, so I included a lot of medical related ideas and insight I got from reading and my extra curriculars, in my personal statement. Though I should mention that I only applied to Cambridge which gave me that flexibility, probably wouldn't recommend going 95% academic if you're applying to other med schools too. Maybe you can use the additional ps space in the My Cambridge Application to do that.

With the BMAT, I actually didn't do as much practice as Id hoped, cuz I was swamped with study for AL, and my BMAT was sandwiched between 2 AL papers on the same day, which definitely affected my performance a bit. I used the study guides and the past papers from the official site, I think that's really all you need. Practice makes perfect, the main thing is to be aware of the time, notice key question types in section 2, be systematic, and don't be stalled by questions that take too much time.

I had 2 online interviews, sorry I can't give out details about them. But actually if you're really keen about your subject, you'll probably do fine. I found my 1st interview really fun, like the interviews were really nice. My 2nd was a bit tougher, I think they were intentionally trying to make me fret a little, but overall I enjoyed both, and I actually learnt a lot from the interviews. Prior to the interviews I watched a lot of the mocks on YT, but don't expect you'll ever be fully prepared, be flexible with your answers, voice out everything you're thinking about, expect to be wrong, and relax.


I know that seems pretty general, but at the end of the day all they want are students that can display their passion for medicine and learning. Hope this helps, and good luck!

I'm going to write all these tips down, thank you for taking the time to write it all out. I am curious as to how you managed to apply without any GCSE grades - I didn't know this was possible!! Any advice about this would be great as well, thanks !!

No problem! Are you in the same position? You're obligated to disclose all your grades from public exams on UCAS, since I self-studied for IAL as a private candidate and wasn't from an international school I didn't have GCSEs, so naturally I just don't have to submit any grades. As far as I know most other unis do take into consideration GCSEs quite a bit, but Cambridge doesn't look at them as much (Unlike Oxford), so it just didn't affect my application as much. I tried to supplement my lack of GCSEs with other aspects of my application.

I self-studied for IGCSES back in 2021 and same! I'm also self-studying my IAL subjects this year (how would you rate your learning experience haha) I suppose I still have to disclose the grades I got. I'm just happy that Cambridge doesn't take them too much into consideration unlike Oxford since I didn't take many subjects at IG...I thought that would put me at a disadvantage but like you said, it's in this case important to strengthen other parts of my application!! (btw are you an international student too? if yes then you give me some hope (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ)

You're right, you're gonna have to disclose them, though there's no harm if it's just Cambridge you're worried about lol. I self-studied while still attending my day school, cuz of lack of planning I only had 1 year to finish studying all 3 subs, so I would definitely say it was almost hell for me. But the exams (esp edexcel IAL) and content weren't actually hard, just that it's a lot to cover, I'm sure with your amount of planning that you'll do great

And yeah, I'm international, I also thought it was impossible, until I got the offer I still thought I was dreaming! Definitely give it your best shot, have you picked out a college yet?

Sure. I spent a lot of time preparing my application, so not sure how much of this will apply to you guys, but I'll try to include as much as possible.

I personally couldn't find in-person work experience, since they're not available where I'm from and I know it's hard in the UK as well. I substituted that with a lot of related reading and online workshops, since Cambridge is more academic focused anyway, I think they just want to know that you've made the effort to understand the field, not so much asking for really practical knowledge.

On that note, I did tailor my application to be more academic, so I included a lot of medical related ideas and insight I got from reading and my extra curriculars, in my personal statement. Though I should mention that I only applied to Cambridge which gave me that flexibility, probably wouldn't recommend going 95% academic if you're applying to other med schools too. Maybe you can use the additional ps space in the My Cambridge Application to do that.

With the BMAT, I actually didn't do as much practice as Id hoped, cuz I was swamped with study for AL, and my BMAT was sandwiched between 2 AL papers on the same day, which definitely affected my performance a bit. I used the study guides and the past papers from the official site, I think that's really all you need. Practice makes perfect, the main thing is to be aware of the time, notice key question types in section 2, be systematic, and don't be stalled by questions that take too much time.

I had 2 online interviews, sorry I can't give out details about them. But actually if you're really keen about your subject, you'll probably do fine. I found my 1st interview really fun, like the interviews were really nice. My 2nd was a bit tougher, I think they were intentionally trying to make me fret a little, but overall I enjoyed both, and I actually learnt a lot from the interviews. Prior to the interviews I watched a lot of the mocks on YT, but don't expect you'll ever be fully prepared, be flexible with your answers, voice out everything you're thinking about, expect to be wrong, and relax.


I know that seems pretty general, but at the end of the day all they want are students that can display their passion for medicine and learning. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Wow props to you!! That must have been hard indeed though you did well !! I agree - edexcel IAL content isn't particularly difficult, I rather like how the textbooks explain things, it makes studying much easier especially if you're studying independently. And yes I hope so haha but thank you I appreciate it!

I'd probably try to pinch myself just to see if I'm dreaming too T_T but no I haven't yet - still doing basic research at the moment that being said, do you have any college recommendations?

you're AMAZING for this. THANK YOU! (also, if you don't mind, which college did you apply to? you don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable!!)

It's really no problem I personally applied to Downing, I was lucky enough to find a college that I liked and had good international application statistics (you can find these for each college for specific subjects on the uni website). Before that I'd thought about Trinity and Churchill, but thought it was too competitive to push my luck, international students have less flexibility when picking a college imo. Would still suggest looking at what the colleges provide 1st before looking at the stats, no use if it turns out you're not going to like the college, plus there's always the pool.

I might not be the best person to advise on this, since I haven't actually been to Cambridge yet lol. But things I looked out for were environment, quality of the rooms, number of ensuites, accommodation facilities (I was told Downing has nice kitchen facilities), college societies, and controversially the research focuses of different fellows. Everyone has different needs, maybe list out yours and rate each one when you're having trouble picking, that's what I did.

At any point if you guys have any specific questions or need any help with ur application that seems to personal to post here, feel free to DM me. I'll try to help out whenever possible.

Thank you so much again, you're a life-saver, truly !! I started browsing the different colleges on the University's website yesterday and am feeling quite drawn to St. John's...any thoughts on the college? So far with some basic information I gathered, it seems like a good choice but I will have to continue my research and make use of your advice for sure!