ABBC at AS --> AAA*A at A2. AMA.

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I applied to Glasgow, Hull York, Barts and Manchester for Medicine, and Newcastle for a dual honours in Maths and Psychology. I was rejected from Manchester pretty much immediately, made offers without an interview from Newcastle and Hull York, and was interviewed by Glasgow and Barts. Barts put me on a waiting list post-interview but Glasgow made me an offer :smile:

shouldve taken a gap year and re applied

Reply 41

juliam

Original post by sih97

Firsty, congrats on your amazing results! I see you did English Lit, I'm also going to be starting English Literature in September, and I'm aiming for an A/A* grade. For those who got the grade, I'm wondering what *extra* measures did you put in, compared to the rest of the class (seeing as you were behind), which got you the top grade?
I also want to try out these revision methods and I'm wondering if you could give me some feedback on how effective they would be in getting me to succeed.
1) List all the words that could replace common words for more complex words, e.g. a thesaurus, in my notebook, so I can use them in writing later on.
2) Combine a list of all literacy techniques, divided into style/genre/characters
3) Memorise the critical vocabulary.

I'm hoping to do all 3^ in the summer so I'm a little bit prepared in September. Any feedback would be appreciated, and I'm also wondering what you would do, looking back now, for summer preparation.

The best thing to do is obviously to read the books you're going to be examined on as many times as possible - starting in the summer if you know what they're going to be. At A level, I wouldn't use more complex words where a simple one would do the job, as the marks are given for your ideas, and you want them to be simply and effectively conveyed to the examiner - your essays will flow better with words you feel comfortable with! Literary techniques are great things to know though, divide them into style/genre etc. sounds a really good idea, and so is memorising the critical vocab.

Reply 42

juliam

Original post by Hellokiddies

ah ok so you got conditional based on your predicted grades...which uni accepted you? also what did you get for your ukcat if you don't mind me asking?

I was given offers by Glasgow and Hull York and put on Barts' waiting list. I got 3280 in my UKCAT :biggrin:

Reply 43

juliam

Original post by Maura Kat

oh hi Julian.
you're really lucky.

i think you misunderstood?

i'm from outside of the UK.
i juggle between two jobs to pay for my school fees, exams and books.

Sorry, I did misunderstand. That sounds really hard. I printed out lots of past papers, I think that's the best way to revise. In the UK, exams and fees and things like that are free up to 18. I think resits are free too, if you have lower than a C in that paper from the first time you did it.

Reply 44

juliam

Original post by DickDastardly

shouldve taken a gap year and re applied

Why, because I chose Glasgow? Hull York would have had me as well :biggrin:

Reply 45

Ladymusiclover

Omgsh you got the same AS grades as me. I want to get into medicine but I feel my grades have let me down. Going to get them remarked. I'm considering taking a gap year and then reapplying if the remark fails. Wow how did you do so well in your A2??

Reply 46

Hellokiddies

Original post by juliam

I was given offers by Glasgow and Hull York and put on Barts' waiting list. I got 3280 in my UKCAT :biggrin:

Thats great well done-how did you revise for ukcat and for how long?

Reply 47

juliam

Original post by Ladymusiclover

1. Lots of past papers! I think this is really the key. I did every paper possible, for each unit I sat, twice (with about a week in between). This seemed to work for me! I was sitting 10 units in the summer (=140ish past papers). I started at Easter, and did about a two papers a day in the holidays, a paper a day in termtime and a few spurts of effort at weekends. Obviously I also had a few days off!
2. For Bio and Chem: know the spec. Read through the bullet points and highlight in different colours what you are really confident with, what you know but don't understand properly yet, and what you really, really don't know well (I did traffic light system: Green, Yellow, Red). Anything yellow, ask about. Anything red, rote learn, read the appropriate part of the textbook a few times, then ask about. Anything green, pat yourself on the back. Repeat this process every month or so between Spring half-term and the exams.
3. Use your teachers! Aim to ask a question starting with 'What if...' as often as you can, especially in Chemistry. You'll understand the topics better, which means you have less to remember.

Good luck! And remember, only Sheffield and Oxbridge care about AS results! (Although always check admissions policies - can be found on each med school's website).

Reply 48

dpm1996

I got BCC at AS and went up to A star A A and an A in my epq! I was one mark off an A star in one of my A's and in my EPQ! Diligence pays off my friends!

Reply 49

shrn

Original post by Handles

Which subjects did you do? And how did you cope with revising for the resits? I'm looking to improve my AS results of AAABC (taking ABC though, and these results include an A in Critical Thinking) to at least A*AA (excluding EPQ).

Just wondering, is EPQ considered a subject on its own?

Reply 50

shrn

Original post by juliam

HOYLYLLSHT im an international student as well, following the British curriculum . EXAM FEES ARE SO EXPENSIVE (compared to the fact that you get it for free)
My exam board is Edexcel and exams can cost from anything to 360-760 pounds in total. depending on subject and course GCSE/ AS/ A2. Retakes and remarks cost a crap load too.
I just don't expect certain subjects like art to cost me 150 pounds (copared to physics 76) especially when they aren't marking any papers and just looking at a bunch of work you did. They typically just take the teachers grade anyways when the invigilators come into school to randomly select a few to check.

Reply 51

Komodo dragon

Congratulations! Very inspiring as I'm applying to Medicine too! I got similar AS results to you, which I was over the moon with as I thought I had done worse, after being so unprepared for my exams. I left revision way too late, ignored bits I didn't understand, and often left past past papers to the night before. I have learnt my lesson now and couldn't be more motivated for my A2s. Bring on the hard work! :biggrin:

Reply 52

Handles

Original post by shrn

Just wondering, is EPQ considered a subject on its own?

Not really. I only specified "excluding EPQ" because some people will say, for example, "I got three A*s," but one of those might be in the EPQ or General Studies. It's considered an extra qualification, but very few universities require it or include it in their offers, however sometimes it can be nice to have provided the EPQ you're doing is relevant to the degree you wish to study.

Reply 53

shrn

Original post by Handles

Oh right just wondering because I took it too, but Im not sure if it counts.

Reply 54

SwaggyMcBuckets

Original post by dpm1996

I got BCC at AS and went up to A star A A and an A in my epq! I was one mark off an A star in one of my A's and in my EPQ! Diligence pays off my friends!