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Average GCSEs, A* A* A* A-levels, enough for oxbridge medicine??

This is my story:
( I appreciate that this is long and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read it)


I studied year 12 and got BCD in the AS exams.
Then, I moved houses and the new sixth form suggested that I should retake year 12. They said that it would not hinder my application. I am currently re-doing year 12.
For GCSEs, I got Maths 7, eng lang 6, eng lit 7, geography 7, 9-8 combined science, 9 citizenship and 6 Design and Technology, Pass2 for two BTEC subjects.

I do Chemistry, Biology and Psychology. Predicted grades are A* A* A* ( I do EPQ as well).

If I were to have losts of work experience, extracurricular, an excellent UKAT score , 4 A*s (including the EPQ) and a excellent personal statement , do you think I would get into oxbidge medicine, despite average GCSEs and the fact that I repeated year 12 ?

Thank Youuuuuu
Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum. :biggrin:

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Medicine A-Level subjects queries
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Reply 2
Original post by Dalinar
This is my story:
( I appreciate that this is long and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read it)


I studied year 12 and got BCD in the AS exams.
Then, I moved houses and the new sixth form suggested that I should retake year 12. They said that it would not hinder my application. I am currently re-doing year 12.
For GCSEs, I got Maths 7, eng lang 6, eng lit 7, geography 7, 9-8 combined science, 9 citizenship and 6 Design and Technology, Pass2 for two BTEC subjects.

I do Chemistry, Biology and Psychology. Predicted grades are A* A* A* ( I do EPQ as well).

If I were to have losts of work experience, extracurricular, an excellent UKAT score , 4 A*s (including the EPQ) and a excellent personal statement , do you think I would get into oxbidge medicine, despite average GCSEs and the fact that I repeated year 12 ?

Thank Youuuuuu


For most med schools, restarting Yr 12 with the same subjects falls under their resit policy and neither Oxford nor Cambridge routinely accept resits, though both do if you have extenuating circumstances that are accepted by the unis
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/faqs/i-have-taken-a-levels-outside-the-usual-2-year-frame-am-i-eligible-to-apply
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/how/disrupted-studies

You would also have an issue with your GCSEs, if applying to Oxford, as they use GCSEs for 50% of scoring and expect both a high number and high percentage of A* equivalents
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics/text-version-of-na-9-8-and-pa-at-gcse-2020

Cambridge do not use GCSEs for shortlisting for interview, but do look at the whole application when it comes to decisions about an offer. They also generally need 3 STEM subjects at A level and do not count Psychology as a science in this situation. Acceptance rates for those without 3 sciences are very low.
Reply 3
Original post by GANFYD
For most med schools, restarting Yr 12 with the same subjects falls under their resit policy and neither Oxford nor Cambridge routinely accept resits, though both do if you have extenuating circumstances that are accepted by the unis
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/faqs/i-have-taken-a-levels-outside-the-usual-2-year-frame-am-i-eligible-to-apply
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/how/disrupted-studies

You would also have an issue with your GCSEs, if applying to Oxford, as they use GCSEs for 50% of scoring and expect both a high number and high percentage of A* equivalents
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics/text-version-of-na-9-8-and-pa-at-gcse-2020

Cambridge do not use GCSEs for shortlisting for interview, but do look at the whole application when it comes to decisions about an offer. They also generally need 3 STEM subjects at A level and do not count Psychology as a science in this situation. Acceptance rates for those without 3 sciences are very low.

Thank you so much for the amazing reply.

How about getting into imperial College London?
Reply 4
Original post by Dalinar
Thank you so much for the amazing reply.

How about getting into imperial College London?


Imperial currently just ask for a 6 in Eng Lang and A*AA at A level, then shortlist on BMAT. They are using UCAT from next year, so it is not clear whether that will change, but your academics look fine, as things stand :smile:

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