Didn't get into Medical School, what now?

If you still want to be a doctor you have two, maybe 4, options - finish your degree and get a first or drop out, retake Chemistry and get an A* and apply again. You might be able to complete year one and reapply to med school but you'd need a good result in year 1 exams. You could look at european med schools if your parents can fund you (loans not available in the same way). If you have an AS language (even English) malta is worth a look but I dont remember their grade requirement. Both financially and practically the drop out route is difficult so my advice would be stick with the degree and get a bank nursing assistant job in the holidays to remind yourself why you have to study hard. The relatively weak Chemistry is always going to be a problem and you need a first or to improve the A level, ideally both.

Sorry to be unkind but if you can't maintain the motivation to complete your degree you might struggle to persuade a medical school to take you.

Any other degree you could switch to that might motivate you better?

To anyone else who misses their grades - the gap year and retake Chemistry route would have been a better choice immediately post a level..

It's not at all necessary to get a First. Even the universities that want Chemistry A-level from Grad Med applicants aren't going to care that it wasn't an A (except perhaps for the likes of Oxford and Cambridge, who can likely afford to discriminate).

All universities that accept graduate applicants can afford to be very choosy for the graduate programmes - and only marginally less choosy for the undergraduate programmes. Most medicine applicants are very highly qualified. A first isn't an absolute requirement but a B at Chemistry A level and a 2.1 reduce already low chances of a place. There may be the odd person on a grad course with a B in chem A level and a 2.1 but there wont be many. Never much t lose by trying but any sensible person maximises their chances

Getting a 2:1 is a tick box for 90+% of the GEM programmes. A First will do nothing for you. Your A-level grades are also of little importance to many of them. You are simply required to have passed Chemistry/Biology at A2 for some places. Very few care about the grades to any significant degree. UKCAT and GAMSAT are by far the main indicators of whether you will get to interview or not. Please don't spread misinformation.

Since neither of us is involved in admissions at every medical school we cannot be sure what is misinformation and what not but saying a first will do nothing for you is just silly. Getting past automatic sifts is just one hurdle in getting to interview and then offer. Yes UKCAT, GAMSAT (and possibly BMAT if applying for an undergrad course) all matter but again they are part of a wider process. I think you are misguided if you feel the staff dont consider all the information they have, including the A level grades, I agree that other A level grades dont matter much once you have a degree but Chemistry is considered more relevant.

However you are missing the main point - how a young person who is struggling to motivate themself to do a degree can find that motivation. Should they manage to get to a degree they can talk to the staff of different medical schools and form their own view.

All universities that accept graduate applicants can afford to be very choosy for the graduate programmes - and only marginally less choosy for the undergraduate programmes. Most medicine applicants are very highly qualified. A first isn't an absolute requirement but a B at Chemistry A level and a 2.1 reduce already low chances of a place. There may be the odd person on a grad course with a B in chem A level and a 2.1 but there wont be many. Never much t lose by trying but any sensible person maximises their chances

Since neither of us is involved in admissions at every medical school we cannot be sure what is misinformation and what not but saying a first will do nothing for you is just silly. Getting past automatic sifts is just one hurdle in getting to interview and then offer. Yes UKCAT, GAMSAT (and possibly BMAT if applying for an undergrad course) all matter but again they are part of a wider process. I think you are misguided if you feel the staff dont consider all the information they have, including the A level grades, I agree that other A level grades dont matter much once you have a degree but Chemistry is considered more relevant.

60% of people do not get any Medicine offer on their first application.

Lots of people get in the second time round.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/what_to_do_if_you_have_four_medicine_rejections

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/medicine_gap_years

2014 Medicine Re-Applicants

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/medicine_applicants_stalking_page_2014_entry - a healthy proportion of the few offers that have been given so far seem to have been given to re-applicants.

Thank you for such a great reply!