Applying for Medicine 2016

Hey everyone,

Quick question; I'm sitting the new A-Levels in which the exams you sit at the end of Year 1 don't count at all towards your final A-Level grade (however, am still being made to do them). If I were to get, say ABB/AAB this August for AS (my fourth subject is postponing its AS exam till next year) however, my predicted grades for next year were still AAA/A*AA, would the AS grades have any impact on my uni offers? Or (and this is an absolute worst case scenario) if I were to get a C in a subject at AS? I'm just slightly worried as I don't think I've done as well on an exam or two as I wanted to have done.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

Kozmo

Refer to this page by the Medic Portal for information regarding which Universities will take into account AS results:
https://www.themedicportal.com/medical-schools-as-levels-2017-entry/

Hope this is of use.

Reply 2

abbievictoria

Different unis look for different things. One friend of mine got Cs at AS but because his personal statement and reference were so good he got an interview and then smashed his interview and got the offer he wanted. But some unis will want As and Bs minimum at AS. It's different for each uni but Cs shouldn't be the end for you if that is what happens

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Reply 3

username2627005

Original post by Kozmo

This is rather vague and doesn't quite answer the question. Based off this, I could get CCCC at AS, be predicted AAA and not have it affect my chances?

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Reply 4

Kozmo

Original post by RasputinReborn

This is rather vague and doesn't quite answer the question. Based off this, I could get CCCC at AS, be predicted AAA and not have it affect my chances?

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I don't see how it's vague at all. That page entirely answers OP's question. Yes, theoretically (dependent on the University you apply to) not passing a single AS level wouldn't hinder your chances in the slightest.

Reply 5

greys-anatomy

Original post by abbievictoria

What university was this? giving me hope hahaha

Reply 6

username2627005

Original post by Kozmo

That's the problem you see, theoretically yes, but in practice, no one really knows; that's what makes it somewhat vague.

Reply 7

Kozmo

Original post by RasputinReborn

That's the problem you see, theoretically yes, but in practice, no one really knows; that's what makes it somewhat vague.

Erm, no, such information is publicly available - I know. For example, Birmingham university, among others, have published on their website that they will not be taking AS grades into account and thus my previous statement holds true.

If you, like I originally said, refer to the post from The Medic Portal they also note which universities will take them into account. I assume they have actually contacted the university admissions department and asked for such information - I doubt they have plucked it out of nowhere.

So I reiterate, I don't see anything which is vague.

OP, based upon the current state of information we have been fed by universities through their websites and third party sources (The Medic Portal) as 2017 entry applicants we could get away with poor AS grades if we apply strategically. But, of course, that's not to say we can take it easy.

Reply 8

IIA7867

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the replies! I found The Medic Portal especially helpful and followed up by looking at the websites of the unis I'm hoping to apply to (UCL, Imperial, Kings and Barts). All of them say that they no longer take into account AS grades but of course, as many of you have said, that isn't an excuse to slack off. I've been revising for months now, but sometimes when an exam doesn't go your way, there's not much you can do about it afterwards except revise harder for the next one! I had pretty good GCSE grades (5 As and 7 A*s) and my predicted grades for this year were all As so fingers crossed I guess. I'll just have to wait till August 😁 Good luck to you all and thanks again for the quick replies!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 9

IIA7867

Sorry everyone, one last thing.

As mentioned in the original post, my fourth subject (psychology) isn't offering an AS exam at the end of this year due to complications on the schools behalf (there was no psychology teacher for half of the year so we were unable to finish the course in time). Therefore, all students taking this subject are required to take the AS exam at the end of next year, even if they were hoping to drop it after Year 1, as I was (if that makes any sense). However, many Medicine courses require an AS grade at grade B or above at the time of application. Of course, I'll hopefully be getting that, but not until the end of next year. I'm assuming this is something I should mention on my UCAS statement (i.e. something along the lines of "I was unable to sit the exam for my fourth AS this year due to complications blah blah blah...")?

Thanks all.

Reply 10

irfan_blue

The medic portal thing was very useful but I don't get one thing. Those of you who are taking AS this year, if you don't pass or even get a C, how can you be expected to be predicted an A for UCAS unless your school is extremely lenient! So, I'm sure everyone has to do decent to ensure their UCAS predictions are Medicine standard which is 3 A's or some even want one A*!

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Reply 11

sciencemad1999

I am in the same situation as you looking at similar universities e.g. kings and imperial. I know that at Leicester they require a C in an AS. Its probably best to wait till August and see what your results are and plan something else as a back up just incase.

Original post by IIA7867