HELP!!!! Medicine uni!!!!

HELP!!! I'm currently in year 12 and managed to pass my GCSEs considering secondary was not a great time anyway so I got into my sixth form and I'm currently doing law, Sociology and psychology. Since around the start of year 11 I decided the only fitting career I could actually see myself going into was medicine with hopefully becoming a doctor in the future whether that be a GP or surgeon I wouldn’t know. QUESTION!!!! so my question is I was highly considering doing biology a level separate from my current school ones and register for the exams privately to hopefully get into one of the foundation medicine courses seeing as i fit a lot of the non-academic requirements (i know a lot ask for chemistry but there are a few who don't require) BIGGGG QUESTION!!! so is this worth is would I stand a chance if I managed to get high grades ???? PLSSS HELPPPP!!!!! Is it worth me doing the extra alevel ???

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

10

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

The Medicine forum gets a high volume of questions being posted, and some of these are already answered by the resources and Megathreads that members of the community and volunteers have created. This is an automatic post which is designed to highlight these resources. Below is a list of threads and articles that could answer your question (you should be looking in the original post of the megathreads). If one of the below threads is a more relevant place to ask your question, please post a reply in that thread to ask your question. If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked below, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Megathreads
(Please read the first post, before then posting any further questions you have within that thread.)
The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread
Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

2023 Applicants:
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2023 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2023 Entry
Medicine 2023 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2023 Entry
Medicine Interview discussion 2023 Entry
2023 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Index of Individual Medical School Applicants' threads 2023 Entry

2024 Applicants :
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2024 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
GAMSAT 2024 / 2025 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2024 Entry Discussions Megathread

Other application years:
Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2025 Entry

Useful Articles:
GCSE Requirements for Medicine
Everything you need to know about the BMAT
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
Interview Frequently Asked Questions
MMI Medicine Interview Tips
What to do after an unsuccessful first application

If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked above, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Reply 2

Grthlntn

1

Original post by lemonade.lolly

HELP!!! I'm currently in year 12 and managed to pass my GCSEs considering secondary was not a great time anyway so I got into my sixth form and I'm currently doing law, Sociology and psychology. Since around the start of year 11 I decided the only fitting career I could actually see myself going into was medicine with hopefully becoming a doctor in the future whether that be a GP or surgeon I wouldn’t know. QUESTION!!!! so my question is I was highly considering doing biology a level separate from my current school ones and register for the exams privately to hopefully get into one of the foundation medicine courses seeing as i fit a lot of the non-academic requirements (i know a lot ask for chemistry but there are a few who don't require) BIGGGG QUESTION!!! so is this worth is would I stand a chance if I managed to get high grades ???? PLSSS HELPPPP!!!!! Is it worth me doing the extra alevel ???

Hey, As far as I’m aware I believe you need to meet more than just grade requirements for foundation courses eg. Very low income family or being a carer to a family member. I would look at the universities that don’t need chemistry and see if you meet there requirements and if so I think you would have a good shot.

Reply 3

philo_pastry

5

Original post by lemonade.lolly

HELP!!! I'm currently in year 12 and managed to pass my GCSEs considering secondary was not a great time anyway so I got into my sixth form and I'm currently doing law, Sociology and psychology. Since around the start of year 11 I decided the only fitting career I could actually see myself going into was medicine with hopefully becoming a doctor in the future whether that be a GP or surgeon I wouldn’t know. QUESTION!!!! so my question is I was highly considering doing biology a level separate from my current school ones and register for the exams privately to hopefully get into one of the foundation medicine courses seeing as i fit a lot of the non-academic requirements (i know a lot ask for chemistry but there are a few who don't require) BIGGGG QUESTION!!! so is this worth is would I stand a chance if I managed to get high grades ???? PLSSS HELPPPP!!!!! Is it worth me doing the extra alevel ???

From what you've described about your situation, it would be very difficult to get into medical school, even with high grades in A Level Biology. You might want to consider taking a gap year and focusing on one or two science A Levels, or you might want to consider going the Graduate Entry Medicine route, which would be more competitive but you'd meet the entry requirements a lot easier at that point.

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 4

JP_1967

6

Original post by lemonade.lolly

HELP!!! I'm currently in year 12 and managed to pass my GCSEs considering secondary was not a great time anyway so I got into my sixth form and I'm currently doing law, Sociology and psychology. Since around the start of year 11 I decided the only fitting career I could actually see myself going into was medicine with hopefully becoming a doctor in the future whether that be a GP or surgeon I wouldn’t know. QUESTION!!!! so my question is I was highly considering doing biology a level separate from my current school ones and register for the exams privately to hopefully get into one of the foundation medicine courses seeing as i fit a lot of the non-academic requirements (i know a lot ask for chemistry but there are a few who don't require) BIGGGG QUESTION!!! so is this worth is would I stand a chance if I managed to get high grades ???? PLSSS HELPPPP!!!!! Is it worth me doing the extra alevel ???

You're really limiting your choices by not doing chem and or bio. Getting interviews is purely tactical applying. I would strongly suggest you change A-level subjects if that's possible.

Reply 5

bibachu

11

Original post by lemonade.lolly

HELP!!! I'm currently in year 12 and managed to pass my GCSEs considering secondary was not a great time anyway so I got into my sixth form and I'm currently doing law, Sociology and psychology. Since around the start of year 11 I decided the only fitting career I could actually see myself going into was medicine with hopefully becoming a doctor in the future whether that be a GP or surgeon I wouldn’t know. QUESTION!!!! so my question is I was highly considering doing biology a level separate from my current school ones and register for the exams privately to hopefully get into one of the foundation medicine courses seeing as i fit a lot of the non-academic requirements (i know a lot ask for chemistry but there are a few who don't require) BIGGGG QUESTION!!! so is this worth is would I stand a chance if I managed to get high grades ???? PLSSS HELPPPP!!!!! Is it worth me doing the extra alevel ???

As someone who contemplated medicine after picking non-stem A levels too, I'll be honest, you're best chance is to take a gap year and do biology and chemistry during that or start Year 12 again if you're desperate to go to med school. While most medical schools require chemistry at A level, there are a small handful that only require biology, but as you can imagine, there are likely hundreds or thousands of applicants in your position who did not pick chemistry and will be applying with just biology, so competition is a lot higher. If you aren't very desperate to go to medical school, then you could always study a different degree and go into post-graduate medicine at a university that does not require a stem degree.

If you are desperate, there is only one medical school in the UK that has no subject requirements for A level and that's Newcastle University, however you would probably need an impressively high UCAT score - likely high end of Band 2 or Band 1, to get an interview without doing chemistry and biology. There are foundation courses available, but they are mainly available to people who have extenuating circumstances around their A level exams and have done the appropriate subjects, but missed their grades for standard entry medical school. The only university I know of that allows people from non-stem A levels to apply to their foundation degree is the University of Manchester, however they do require an incredibly strong GCSE profile.

If I were you, I wouldn't attempt to sit biology privately. Not only will it be a lot on top of your other A levels, it is highly unlikely that you'll be able to fit that in alongside sitting the UCAT and trying to get medical work experience. I would strongly recommend restarting your A levels now (or switching if your school will allow it) and doing biology and chemistry or taking a gap year and working in a clinical setting for the work experience, while doing biology and chemistry A level privately. This way, you can maximise your chances at getting into medical school.

Please remember that medicine is not the 'be all end all'. I've personally done work experience shadowing surgeons in general surgery and a lot of them discourage people from becoming a doctor unless you truly have a passion for it and could see your self doing nothing else. You mentioned wanting to become a surgeon or a GP - just to let you know, after your 5-6 years of med school and 2 years of foundation years, in order to become a GP you will have to apply for HST (higher specialist training) and that will take 3 years to qualify as a GP, but for surgery, it will take 8 years of training to become a consultant and that is for all disciplines. If this is something you're 100% certain on, then definitely try and maximise your chances, but if you even have the slightest doubt, you might want to reconsider graduate entry medicine. But to answer your question again, no, I would not recommend privately sitting biology.

(edited 1 month ago)

HELP!!!! Medicine uni!!!!

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