Are my A-levels and GCSES appropriate to medicine..?

Hello guys
For my A-levels, I've picked:

Geography
Biology
Chemistry
Use of maths

I may be dropping use of maths after my first year.

For my GCSES I've got

4 A'S and 4 B'S, 1 C (From year 9) and an OCR national qualification in ICT.

Whilst these results are decent, it might help to say that I revised very little to get these grades.

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Reply 1

sophiaaax

Your AS grades and A2 predicteds are much, much more important than GCSEs. Unis only look at GCSE grades if they are trying to differentiate between 2 candidates who are pretty much the same in terms of interview score, BMAT/UKCAT score etc.
Some top unis, like oxbrigde, will look at the number of A*s/ratio of A*s: A's you got

Reply 2

Spratty

A'S : Computer science, Eng (x2) Physics
B's : Geography, Maths, Bio, Chem
C : Core science

Okay, thank you.

I am currently doing AS Bio, and Chemistry, doesn't this count for nothing. Say if I get good grades; then do I have a good chance?

Reply 5

Kitty-meaw

Original post by Spratty

A'S : Computer science, Eng (x2) Physics
B's : Geography, Maths, Bio, Chem
C : Core science

you could always re-sit core science (what i am doing) along with your as levels? and then the next year you could re-sit another gcse subject along with the a levels you chose to do :smile:

Reply 6

Spratty

Original post by Kitty-meaw

you could always re-sit core science (what i am doing) along with your as levels? and then the next year you could re-sit another gcse subject along with the a levels you chose to do :smile:

Is there an age limit to doing GCSES?

Reply 7

RosieEPQ

I had a look at this link:

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

You don't seem to meet the requirements for many med schools...I'm not an expert though so I could be wrong. Perhaps a degree like biomedical sciences would be better? You could also consider graduate medicine if you really want to, but that's apparently seriously competetive.

But if undergrad medicine is your dream, you could consider applying if you get excellent AS grades and good A2 predictions, and do well in BMAT/UKCAT. It seems to me (from my knowledge of friends who've applied from medicine and the link I've posted above) it seems unlikely but not totally impossible for you to get a medicine offer.

Reply 8

Kitty-meaw

Original post by Spratty

Is there an age limit to doing GCSES?

As far as i am aware you don't have an age limit :smile:

What about Pharmacy?

Am I able to do the course? Based off my grades?

Reply 11

Spratty

Well, I've got 2 A'S in English and 1 B in maths.

ew, use of maths

There are other roots into medicine you know...

Reply 14

Exon

Original post by Spratty

A'S : Computer science, Eng (x2) Physics
B's : Geography, Maths, Bio, Chem
C : Core science

It is somewhat alarming that your lowest grades are in the most relevant subjects.

Medicine aside, you're going to have to put in more effort than most to make sure you get good A-level results.

Reply 15

Angelo12231

Graduate Medicine and Medicine with a foundation year.

Reply 16

Angelo12231

Im not talking about you lol, about the OP

Reply 17

Angelo12231

lol why'd you think you might fail?

Reply 18

Angelo12231

You probably wont get rejected if your application has a strong point... And you apply smartly. I dont really know how almost everyone on TSR has 10A*s, but there are plenty of people with lower grades than yours, in my school (apart from me) the person with the highest grades applying for medicine has 6A and 4B at GCSE, and even my teachers told them that those grades would be good enough?! I don't know. You got 10A/A*s which isn't bad, so just do good on your A levels.

Reply 19

Spratty

Original post by Exon

It is somewhat alarming that your lowest grades are in the most relevant subjects.

Medicine aside, you're going to have to put in more effort than most to make sure you get good A-level results.

My science grade is a C because I was put into foundation in year 9..which was waaaay back. For my other grades (bio, chem) I revised the day before the exam, sometimes for 1 hour before the exam, and passed with a B. I know that I will have to work harder, but I can understand scientific concepts that are more advanced than just a grade 'B' at GCSE.