Medicine 2017 entry

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Is there any change of getting accepted into medicine with bad GCSEs grades ( 5a* 1a 3bs) .I got my results and I was so disappointed with them. I'm Predicted AAAA at AS and hopefully a stars at A2 with a good ukcat and personal statement would I have a chance?

Those are definitely good enough! What are the B's in though?

I know for a fact that Manchester University asks for at least 5 A-A* at GCSE, so you should be fine :smile:

Reply 21

MedicalMusical

I'm thinking of applying to medicine
I was wondering whether or not it was worth applying to Oxford for medicine with only 4A*s and the rest As at gcse due to extenuating circumstances. I taking biology, chemistry, maths and geography for AS (the ones i got A* for in GCSE). On their admissions statistics, it says that the majority of applicants have around 10 A*s at gcse.

Reply 22

Gogregg

Original post by Dorae

You may want to email the admissions office to inquire about that, but i think it depends on the magnitude of your circumstances.

However, i would suggest taking a look at your reasons for wanting to apply, it will be very difficult to get in, and if your going there for the wrong reasons, it just doesn't make sense to apply.

Your grades, however are amazing, congratulations!

Reply 23

Moodicrus

Original post by matt9077

Your grades are great dw bout them! You've got a good chance. Im a firm believer of not letting GCSEs hold you back, you'e still got so much going for you!

Reply 24

MedicalMusical

Original post by Gogregg

Yeah i emailed them, they said that they would consider it an extenuating circumstance however I'm not sure to what extent that excuse would make me a competitive applicant.- if u get what i mean

Reply 25

SahraHB

Original post by Moodicrus

Don't worry, just apply smart. Have you thought of any unis you wanna apply to?

Obviously not final but I'm considering Keele, Leicester and the Newcastle/Durham joint thing. I exceed their GCSE requirements and my A Level predictions are good, so its a start I guess.

Reply 26

matt9077

Original post by Gogregg

Those are definitely good enough! What are the B's in though?

I know for a fact that Manchester University asks for at least 5 A-A* at GCSE, so you should be fine :smile:

The b's are in English lit English Lang and drama. Was really shocked i expected so much better :frown:

Reply 27

matt9077

Original post by Moodicrus

Your grades are great dw bout them! You've got a good chance. Im a firm believer of not letting GCSEs hold you back, you'e still got so much going for you!

. Do you know of any unis that are less strict on GCSEs I know to avoid Birmingham but is their any unis which place more emphasis on ukcat and a level results ?

Reply 28

Zedna

Hi guys
I'm hoping to apply to Medicine for 2017!!! I'm really scared though and I have constant doubts about whether I'm a good/confident enough person to be a doctor. My stats thus far are:

GCSEs: 12 A*s
AS - Biology, Chemistry, Maths, History. Targets are 4 A* (even though you can't get A* at AS! Go my school!) I'm aiming just for enough to get me in, i.e. A*AA-AAA depending haha. Unsure whether to drop History or Maths at AS but I guess that'll depend if I mess one of them up at AS. Also Maths is the only modular one so it would seem silly to drop it if I got a high UMS score.
Work Experience - Spent a week at a hospital in the summer, should be getting another hospital week for next summer and hopefully a GP placement.
Volunteering - I do rainbows (YL), about to start volunteering at a hospital, organising a week at disability charity residential next summer. Volunteered in the library over the summer, have started mentoring younger students at my school. Might do a bit in a care home too, we'll see. It's a struggle fitting it all in!
Hobbies - Virtually none which worries me.... I've never been really a sporty/musical/arty kind of person so I'll have to hope unis will be more concerned about other things.

No idea about potential unis yet really, will depend on AS and UKCAT. Though obviously applying to GCSE-heavy places will be to my advantage.

Reply 29

Gogregg

Original post by matt9077

The b's are in English lit English Lang and drama. Was really shocked i expected so much better :frown:

The B in English language may be a problem for some universities, but i think you definitely have a chance, and they are only your GCSEs, if you do well on your AS/A levels, they will generally be forgotten somewhat. You might want to look around university websites to see which you can definitely apply for, and I'm sure there will be still a lot of choices which are open to you :h:

Reply 30

Natasha99

I got 4 A*'s , 7 A's and 3 B's for my GCSEs :frown:

Predicted all A's for AS
My AS Subjects are: Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Spanish and French
Do I have a shot at UCL, Imperial, Kings and Saint Georges?

Reply 31

medicapplicant

Original post by Moodicrus

If anyone is interested, Kings' College London hold regular lectures (cardiology, paediatrics etc) each wednesday designed for KS5 pupils aiming for medicine http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/study/outreach/ks5/index.aspx

Are you going to their work experience work shop on 2 november. If you have been to their other lectures do you know where exactly to go, because all they say is guys campus which i assume is huge.

Reply 32

Moodicrus

Original post by Zedna

Hi guys
I'm hoping to apply to Medicine for 2017!!! I'm really scared though and I have constant doubts about whether I'm a good/confident enough person to be a doctor.

My advice would be to get as much experience as possible in hospitals and other healthcare environments because I know of a few people who really liked the idea of being a doctor but, once they did work experience/volunteering, found out that it wasn't really for them. And that's totally fine! its just finding that its not for you early on saves time and effort :tongue:

On the other hand, if you find out that you do enjoy it, or still love the prospect of becoming a doctor then is provides you with priceless skills that will help you later on and will make you feel more comfortable in the environment. Doing volunteering is not just about having something to put on your personal statement; every week you'll pick up even a little skill and develop communication and social skills that you wouldn't really use outside of the healthcare environment. What I've found is that it is the little things that count, taking the time to speak to patients and building up a rapport allows them to open up to you and let you explore their wellbeing, for me, that is so fulfilling and is a big motivational factor in my ambition to become a doctor: to be able to take a decisive role in the healthcare of patients, to be able to stand in the foreground and take responsibility for someone else's life.

Reply 33

Moodicrus

Original post by medicapplicant

Are you going to their work experience work shop on 2 november. If you have been to their other lectures do you know where exactly to go, because all they say is guys campus which i assume is huge.

So yeah I've been to 2 of them already. Some people don't particularly find them useful but I find that you'll always pick something up; even if it isn't specific to the lecture.E.g. I went to the paediatrics lecture and learned a lot about the different angles on the controversial planned new junior doctors' contracts. It is easy to find once you know where to go, so I would recommend just asking someone once you get to the site because they'll point you in the right direction. I'm trying to attend all of them (apart from the GP one, i really dont wanna be a GP XD) but its difficult because I have to come straight from teaching at a primary school :0

Reply 34

medicapplicant

Original post by Moodicrus

are you going to the one one this monday, the work experience workshop? if so do you know if the work shop will take place in the hodgkin building?

Reply 35

Gogregg

I don't want to vote in the poll yet, I haven't even been on any open-day visits yet! :colondollar:

Reply 36

Moodicrus

Original post by medicapplicant

are you going to the one one this Monday, the work experience workshop? if so do you know if the work shop will take place in the hodgkin building?

I haven't received an email yet, but they usually send them out quite late. A safe bet would be the Hodgkin building as so far they've all been held there but ill message you once I can confirm. Either way it will definitely be on Guy's Campus.

Reply 37

Moodicrus

Original post by Gogregg

I don't want to vote in the poll yet, I haven't even been on any open-day visits yet! :colondollar:

Yeah I wouldn't recommend voting beforehand as picking a uni really is personal choice, but luckily i went to all the open days this year ! :smile:

Reply 38

medicapplicant

Original post by Moodicrus

alright thanks a lot :smile:

Reply 39

violavenisis

Hi, been looking for this thread, glad I finally found it :colondollar:

I'm hoping to apply for Medicine for 2017!! It has been something I've been so indecisive about for years now, but I think that it is the right choice for me (and hopefully getting experience etc will help confirm this).

GCSES: 9 A* 1 A (also have an A in Russian which I took in year 10 and a B in additional maths FSMQ)

A levels: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths, predicted A/Bs for all of them as my school uses a weird system based on national statistics for them, but I'm aiming for four As :smile:

(I have no idea what I'm going to drop at the end of next year, but my school might let me do four subjects at A2, I guess we'll wait and see)

Work Experience/Volunteer Work: I am currently in the process of starting volunteering at a local hospice, and will also hopefully get to do a week of shadowing in the summer in a large hospital near to where I live. It's been quite difficult finding places to find work experience just because I don't have any links with anyone who works in a hospital...

Hobbies: I'm working towards doing my grade 6 ballet exam which I'll hopefully do early next year before exams. I was in the netball team at my old school, and was part of a drama group for 5 years. I'm also part of a project at my school working with an engineering company, which may lead me to be able to apply for the Crest award next year.

In terms of universities, I honestly have no clue. Durham looks lovely, but to be honest, I really need to look into the actual course structures of anything before I form any ideas.

I've been trying to find summer projects which would help me to get more experience and possibly enhance my application (e.g. research projects), but most of what I've been able to find are summer schools at universities, which would still be useful, but I'm more focussed on stuff that would help show my passion for science and medicine :tongue:

Have you guys found/applied for anything along the lines of what I'm talking about?