The Student Room Group

8As at GCSE isn't enough for medicine

I got 8As and 1B at GCSE and most people I meet say u need A*s for medicine .

it's true I don't know someone who got with grades like mine and teachers at my school say that I'm most likely to get Bs and Cs. I'm really disheartened I've wanted to do medicine for ages and I thought my GCSE were good enough but since going to career meetings and getting advice from others everyone's told me I'm better off going for something less hard cos I probably won't make it. help

Scroll to see replies

It's enough.
firstly well done on yr GCSE they are really good:h:
but I'm not too sure if its good for medicine, i mean you obvs meet the requirements but because it is so competitive you will have to make sure you ace your A levels and get loads of work experience
but it is possible, dont give up on your dreams :smile:
Original post by anaighj
I got 8As and 1B at GCSE and most people I meet say u need A*s for medicine .

it's true I don't know someone who got with grades like mine and teachers at my school say that I'm most likely to get Bs and Cs. I'm really disheartened I've wanted to do medicine for ages and I thought my GCSE were good enough but since going to career meetings and getting advice from others everyone's told me I'm better off going for something less hard cos I probably won't make it. help


I think your grades are really good and you should definitely still pursue medicine if you really want to do it! I want to do medicine too and I got 1A* 7A and 6B. :smile:
Original post by JulieWaters
I think your grades are really good and you should definitely still pursue medicine if you really want to do it! I want to do medicine too and I got 1A* 7A and 6B. :smile:


15 GCSE's????
wow lol
Reply 5
Original post by Ishea16
firstly well done on yr GCSE they are really good:h:
but I'm not too sure if its good for medicine, i mean you obvs meet the requirements but because it is so competitive you will have to make sure you ace your A levels and get loads of work experience
but it is possible, dont give up on your dreams :smile:


What the hell, how can you still doubt it. I'm sure it's more than good enough! It's competitive yes, but so are their grades.
Original post by Ishea16
firstly well done on yr GCSE they are really good:h:
but I'm not too sure if its good for medicine, i mean you obvs meet the requirements but because it is so competitive you will have to make sure you ace your A levels and get loads of work experience
but it is possible, dont give up on your dreams :smile:


And punctuation.
Original post by anaighj
I got 8As and 1B at GCSE and most people I meet say u need A*s for medicine .

it's true I don't know someone who got with grades like mine and teachers at my school say that I'm most likely to get Bs and Cs. I'm really disheartened I've wanted to do medicine for ages and I thought my GCSE were good enough but since going to career meetings and getting advice from others everyone's told me I'm better off going for something less hard cos I probably won't make it. help

I'd be far more worried about why your teachers think you are going to do horrible in your A levels. It is the A level grades that are the far more important entrance requirement and B's and C's will sink your application.
Original post by Ishea16
15 GCSE's????
wow lol


Its actually 14 but yh that's a lot


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by 0123456543210
And punctuation.


no thanks:biggrin:
Reply 10
Original post by Oil lamp
No! what the heck! i got 2 As at GCSE and got four interviews for medicine. Don't listen to them, just do really good in your As levels and apply to medicine. Majority of them people are ridiculously uninformed.

You should defo do medicine


really wow!!! if ur being serious congrats how did they go/going??
did ur GCSE every weigh u down??
Original post by anaighj
I got 8As and 1B at GCSE and most people I meet say u need A*s for medicine .

it's true I don't know someone who got with grades like mine and teachers at my school say that I'm most likely to get Bs and Cs. I'm really disheartened I've wanted to do medicine for ages and I thought my GCSE were good enough but since going to career meetings and getting advice from others everyone's told me I'm better off going for something less hard cos I probably won't make it. help


Your GCSEs are fine. However you're going to need to apply strategically as your GCSEs won't meet the requirements and expectations for some medical schools(Oxford, Cardiff, Birmingham etc).
Now what you'll need to do is get A's in your A-levels, gain related work experience and do some volunteering.
Original post by anaighj
really wow!!! if ur being serious congrats how did they go/going??
did ur GCSE every weigh u down??


No my gcse's didn't have an affect at all really, just do well on your AS grades and good A2 predictions and you'll be fine.
They went good :tongue:
Original post by Ishea16
15 GCSE's????
wow lol


Original post by Jeena_hunt5476
Its actually 14 but yh that's a lot


Posted from TSR Mobile


Does this include short course RE because 14 is sort of standard then if you complete all subjects. I have 11 GCSe's, 1 cambridge national certificate (basically BTEC), 1 short course for RE and my final subject was an AS which I didn't do the exam so including short course that comes to 14 subjects.
Reply 14
Original post by Oil lamp
No my gcse's didn't have an affect at all really, just do well on your AS grades and good A2 predictions and you'll be fine.
They went good :tongue:


did you apply to unis that dont look for particularly High gcse??
Original post by anaighj
did you apply to unis that dont look for particularly High gcse??


Well i didn't apply to Oxford, Cardiff, Edinburgh or Birmingham because they need loads of As and A*s.

I applied to my strengths which were personal statement, AS and A2 predictions.
My UKCAT helped and so did BMAT.
It's realistically not good enough to go straight into medicine. You're best bet is to do well at a levels, study bio medical sciences or something then do post grad medicine ...

Posted from TSR Mobile
Well it depends where you want to go. I think it is possible to get in with those GCSE grades but not at any of the top medical schools (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Cardiff, QMUL etc). As long as you're realistic with your choices you will probably be able to get in if you do well in a levels and get high predicted grades. Did you by any chance go to a poorly performing secondary school?
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by ♥Samantha♥
Well it depends where you want to go. I think it is possible to get in with those GCSE grades but not at any of the top medical schools (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Cardiff, QMUL etc). As long as you're realistic with your choices you will probably be able to get in if you do well in a levels and get high predicted grades. Did you buy any chance go to a poorly performing secondary school?

yeah but now I'm at a very good school
Original post by anaighj
I got 8As and 1B at GCSE and most people I meet say u need A*s for medicine .

it's true I don't know someone who got with grades like mine and teachers at my school say that I'm most likely to get Bs and Cs. I'm really disheartened I've wanted to do medicine for ages and I thought my GCSE were good enough but since going to career meetings and getting advice from others everyone's told me I'm better off going for something less hard cos I probably won't make it. help


It is true those grades would be below average for medicine, however I do think it would still be worth applying. You just need to be careful about where you apply, and do your research carefully, so that you apply to medical schools that will not be too bothered by those GCSEs.

Quick Reply

Latest