Getting into med school!!!!

I'm applying next year ... providing the UKCAT is alright of course.

Good choice!

Are you going to go for A100 or A101?

Or maybe both?

Yeah, I don't think I could get higher than a C if I took maths, and that's if I work hard...I think AS next year would be okay, just don't know what to choose...there's also the whole doing an AS in gujarati outside of school that would make life much easier! (I just don't know how to go about doing it! )

Yeah I figured the grad med would be a complete last resort if I don't get the grades I need this year (that would require some deathly illness/accident to stop me working and getting the A's) still going to put a biomed course as a fifth option, just in case but I'm hopeful of at least one offer next year!

Also, how would you recommend revising for the BMAT/UKCAT ? I need to ace these to show that I'm a good enough candidate because my GCSEs ar eso rubbish! (they meet the minimum for the uni's I want to apply to, but they are far from good!)

I'm honestly not sure. I'm tempted by A101 but it may be a little risky with my past track record.

I'll be asking you for tips though...if you don't mind.

They're kinda forcing me to drop it...(even at this point when we've practically finished the syllabus) I can get my three A's this year and if I put my all into in, 3 A's next year, also, would I still be able to apply while I'm still doing an AS (talked to QMUL, they said both AS & A2's need to be completed in a 2 year period) would they count it as a fourth AS? I don't think they'll make offers including it (e.g. AAAb or something...)

I'm applying next year ... providing the UKCAT is alright of course.



Hello fellow reapplicant!

Tis weird..an admissions cycle has just ended and we are already thinking about the next. Well, it is called a cycle after all.

I'm currently in the 2011 application cycle so I'm familiar with the type of grades the universities look for in a prospective medical student. I think it's not just a case of if you meet the grade requirements but rather how you rank among your competition. Remember theres hardly been a year where medicine wasn't flooded with candidates, tough decisions need to be made by the admissions team and that means they expect the best of the best (you'll find almost all the med candidates offer this)!! Students I've been competing against I know have had very high GCSE grades and have done at least 4 AS levels. The academics come first, then comes everything else (PS, extra curricular, work exp.) Just something you should think about too .

I'm honestly not sure that grades do make that much difference. The thing is, A level grades don't really mean much at all in the grander scale of things, as you say, they are flooded with candidates, and all those candidates will have good grades. That does not help admissions one bit. What does shine through would be things that show yourself - the way you interview, the way you write a personal statement. First year medicine everywhere rapidly outstrips A levels, so I don't think they are really used as a powerful discriminator. The evidence for my argument is look at how universities and medical schools have introduced their own tests ontop of the A level system, to do exactly this.

I stand by my belief that scoring highly in the acamdemics is the first and foremost accolade. Its the fundamental of receiving an offer in the first place and for reading medicine. Of course other things shine through, I didnt say otherwise. But those are secondary and are judged for the sake of elimination. Oversimplifying the subtext of my statement: without the grades, forget APPLYING for medicine.

and a third statement...could just apply to biomed this year then try grad med?

OK but bear in mind that med schools only accept top 2 people in the class of biomed per university

You need to come top of the class

I say go for both

Yeah I don't mind
Though by october I could be a bit useless about admissions.. especially after/during freshers fortnight

Nah I meant about Barts-The course & Uni. The only reason I didn't apply last year was because my UKCAT score was so low.

I'll have to see after the UKCAT how many choices I have!

Ahh I see

Yeah you show that UKCAT who's boss and I'll try to help out

Where do you think I can apply with 3 AS Levels?

Maybe somewhere like Brighton and Sussrx? or Liverpool perhaps?

Nope, Liverpool want four at a minimum.

What about Brighton and Sussex then, they seem pretty leniant

Where do you think I can apply with 3 AS Levels?

Most standard offers for entry to BSMS are conditional on gaining 360 UCAS points in three A-levels, following the study of at least four subjects to AS-level. These points may be achieved by obtaining AAA or A*AB at A-level, but both Biology and Chemistry must have been studied to A-level and passed with a minimum A grade.

-from their website.