"GCSE Nazis" - Which Med School are they?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 20

Rascacielos

Original post by SabreT

That may be true for other subjects, but for medicine, Durham don't really place GCSEs high on their importance list.

Ah , apologies. I was always under the impression that Durham were all-round GCSE Nazis.

Reply 21

rohitbd

I do not understand why birmingham put such an emphasis on gcse's and not AS, when I was 16 I didn't know what I wanted to do, thank god for uni's that look for ukcat :smile:

Reply 22

notepad

Original post by rohitbd

I do not understand why birmingham put such an emphasis on gcse's and not AS, when I was 16 I didn't know what I wanted to do, thank god for uni's that look for ukcat :smile:

King's to an extent - they rank #A* GCSEs and UKCAT score. So, if you don't have many A* you need a very good UKCAT score, whereas if you have 100%A* you can afford to have a lower score etc.

Reply 23

noneoftheabove

Thanks to everyone who replied - this is really interesting.

There seems to be so much that you should be aware of before you make those four choices of university.

Thanks again.

Reply 24

nexttime

Original post by rohitbd

I do not understand why birmingham put such an emphasis on gcse's and not AS, when I was 16 I didn't know what I wanted to do, thank god for uni's that look for ukcat :smile:

At Oxford (and i'm guessing for Birmingham too), the reason is that almost everyone applying has straight As. Placing high emphasis on this will not do anything other than eliminate a few AAB candidates, which others will argue is harsh (especially if the B is in an unrelated subject).

Reply 25

Lord Jon

Original post by SabreT

That may be true for other subjects, but for medicine, Durham don't really place GCSEs high on their importance list.

Say what??? A lot of people put me off Durham as I was told they want a whole load of A and A* Grades , despite thier requirements saying they accept C grades. :lolwut:

Reply 26

areyousure?

Oxford, Birmingham, Edinburgh, King's College London, Cardiff, Bristol...among others all want high GCSE grades.

Reply 27

SabreT

Original post by Agent Smirnoff

Say what??? A lot of people put me off Durham as I was told they want a whole load of A and A* Grades , despite thier requirements saying they accept C grades. :lolwut:

I guess having loads of Cs might put you at a disadvantage, but this year all they seemingly did was make sure you meet the a level predictions and meet the UKCAT cut-off and then you'd be guaranteed an interview. They pretty much use the same shortlisting process as Newcastle. The UKCAT is probably the most important factor in getting interviewed.

Reply 28

Lord Jon

I see thanks. :yy:

Original post by SabreT

Reply 29

noneoftheabove

Original post by nexttime

Well apart from 'you should do well at GCSE', not really.

I think there is though... Everyone's got a different profile and all of these universities select for interview on slightly different criteria and people want to apply wisely to the places where they are most likely to get an interview.

It's useful to know which unis place high emphasis on GCSEs if you don't feel that you did yourself justice, so that you can avoid them but also really useful if you did well. If you did really well at GCSE (10 A*s) but are worried that you can't predict how well you'll do in your UKCAT, you'd want to know which unis value GCSEs results highly so, in the worst way (and you don't do well in the UKCAT) you could apply where you still might get an interview.

The UKCAT is a worry but at least you can do it before you apply and find out how well or otherwise you did and make your selections accordingly. The BMAT's even more concerning - you send your UCAS form off mid-October THEN sit your BMAT. It's a risk...

Thanks again to everyone who's contributed.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 30

nexttime

Original post by noneoftheabove

I think there is though... Everyone's got a different profile and all of these universities select for interview on slightly different criteria and people want to apply wisely to the places where they are most likely to get an interview.

If you did really well at GCSE (10.5 A*s) but are worried that you can't predict how well you'll do in your UKCAT, you'd want to know which unis value GCSEs results highly so, in the worst way (and you don't do well in the UKCAT) you could apply where you still might get an interview.

The UKCAT is a worry but at least you can do it before you apply and find out how well or otherwise you did and make your selections accordingly. The BMAT's even more concerning - you send your UCAS form off mid-October THEN sit your BMAT. It's a risk...

Thanks again to everyone who's contributed.

Sorry - misread. Yes there are lots of factors to consider. Will delete my comment.

Reply 31

Straight up G

Original post by Beska

Depends on the university. Oxford look at the %, while Birmingham look at the raw number.

What's the percentage that Oxford look for?

Reply 32

Beska

Original post by Straight up G

What's the percentage that Oxford look for?

It's balanced against BMAT score - the lower the score in one, the higher % you need in the other (and vice versa). According to stats, if I recall applicants have an average % A* of 70% while those who are successful and receive offers have 80%. That should give you a ballpark idea of what you're looking for - but of course, it depends on BMAT score.

Reply 33

Straight up G

Original post by Beska

Well my GCSEs are 80%, so I'd need an high BMAT score (average for a successful applicant, which is undoubtedly pretty high, and an impressive interview performance).

Reply 34

noneoftheabove

I hadn't realised that Oxford weigh up GCSEs and the BMAT - so if you do brilliantly in one area, it can balance out an average performance in the other?

The same way that Kings (apparantly) do with GCSEs and the UKCAT?

Reply 35

noneoftheabove

Original post by nexttime

Sorry - misread. Yes there are lots of factors to consider. Will delete my comment.

No worries.

Reply 36

nexttime

Original post by Straight up G

What's the percentage that Oxford look for?

Original post by noneoftheabove

Well bear in mind that the average interviewee has 89%A*. Getting 100% won't gain you much! You could excel in the BMAT and make it easier for yourself yes, but very few people do as its a hard test! The stats are here

Original post by Beska

According to stats, if I recall applicants have an average % A* of 70% while those who are successful and receive offers have 80%.

In 2010, average for applicants was 73% and average for those interviewed was 89%. Figures are not given for those that got offers, but i'd assume >89%.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 37

Beska

Original post by nexttime

In 2010, average for applicants was 73% and average for those interviewed was 89%. Figures are not given for those that got offers, but i'd assume >89%.

Ah sorry, I was quoting from memory and was a bit off. :o:

Reply 38

Deebles

Barts are very lenient on this one. From the 2012 prospectus:

"For students who have undertaken GCSE qualifications, our minimum requirements are grades AAABBB or above (in any order) to include Biology (or Human Biology), Chemistry, English Language and Mathematics (or additional Mathematics or Statistics). The Science double award may substitute all sciences at GCSE."

Reply 39

Andrii

Birmingham!! Just in case this point hasn't been emphasised enough :tongue:

Also: Oxford, Cardiff, Kings & Edinburgh I believe...although Oxford, as other have mentioned, look at the percentage of A*s rather than the raw number & balance it against the BMAT. The same could be said for Kings who seem to balance number of A*s against UKCAT score (high UKCAT=less emphasis on A* % at GCSE). Edinburgh operate a points system- I can't remember the exact details though.