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Poor GCSE's but good A levels, any hope for medicine?

I attained 1A*, 3As , 7Bs and 1C for GCSE's, which I am disappointed about as I did last minute revision.

I am on track for AAAA for Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics AS.

I also do not have much work experience or volunteering as I'm struggling to find any.

If I smash my interviews, personal statement and UKCAT/BMAT, and also my A levels, do I have a chance to get into UCL/Kings/Imperial/Barts
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Avatar for AliR--00
AliR--00
5
The 4 A predictions is a fantastic achievement- make sure you get them! As for medicine, you will be at a massive disadvantage without sufficient work experience and volunteering, so try to get that sorted now. GCSE's don't mean a lot, so you should be fine as long as you can sort out volunteering and extra- curricular activities now.
GCSE's don't really count for anything when going to uni, they normally just ask for 5 C's which you obviously have and maybe a B in maths or science, which you probably have. To be fair all that really matters are your A- levels and work experience. That's the most important, my friend is applying for paramedic science and has loads of work experience and volunteering, somerelated and some not. It just looks good, whether it be volunteering for a charity, working in a shop or shadowing someone, all good experience and makes you stand out.
Original post by ilovefruit
GCSE's don't really count for anything when going to uni, they normally just ask for 5 C's which you obviously have and maybe a B in maths or science, which you probably have. To be fair all that really matters are your A- levels and work experience. That's the most important, my friend is applying for paramedic science and has loads of work experience and volunteering, somerelated and some not. It just looks good, whether it be volunteering for a charity, working in a shop or shadowing someone, all good experience and makes you stand out.

GCSEs count a lot for medicine depending on what uni you want to go to actually.

Personally, for King's or Barts I'd wait after the UKCAT to decide. If it's competitive enough (fingers crossed!) then go for it! Avoid places like Birmingham, Edinburgh, Oxford or Cardiff as they have a very large emphasis on 7-8A*s+ at GCSE
Original post by studentsixth
GCSEs count a lot for medicine depending on what uni you want to go to actually.

Personally, for King's or Barts I'd wait after the UKCAT to decide. If it's competitive enough (fingers crossed!) then go for it! Avoid places like Birmingham, Edinburgh, Oxford or Cardiff as they have a very large emphasis on 7-8A*s+ at GCSE


How much emphasis do unis like UCL and Imperial place on GCSE and entrance
exams?
Original post by AliR--00
The 4 A predictions is a fantastic achievement- make sure you get them! As for medicine, you will be at a massive disadvantage without sufficient work experience and volunteering, so try to get that sorted now. GCSE's don't mean a lot, so you should be fine as long as you can sort out volunteering and extra- curricular activities now.



Do you think if i smash my A levels, UKCAT/BMAT, Interview and get a lot of work
experience and volunteering, i would have a good chance of getting into UCL or Imperial as i hear they dont consider GCSE too much
Original post by Shadow Killer
How much emphasis do unis like UCL and Imperial place on GCSE and entrance
exams?


I've just looked on Imperial and they have no specific requirements for GCSE's and UCL says English language and maths B grade
Original post by ilovefruit
I've just looked on Imperial and they have no specific requirements for GCSE's and UCL says English language and maths B grade


Thanks, I hope i get into UCL or Imperial.

If i get an A*A*A* at A2 do you think cambridge would be an option or is that a bit of a stretch considering my GCSEs
Original post by Shadow Killer
How much emphasis do unis like UCL and Imperial place on GCSE and entrance
exams?

UCL are very holistic - smash your PS and you should be fine.

Imperial is completely based on BMAT performance. As long as you hit the cut-off score in EACH section of the exam you are going to be looked at for interview calls. Be aware that some people end up with amazing BMAT scores but sometimes end up with their essays or S1 scores not hitting the cut-off and just for that they get automatically rejected.
Original post by ilovefruit
I've just looked on Imperial and they have no specific requirements for GCSE's and UCL says English language and maths B grade


There is no requirements for UCL per se because their application process is completely holistic but stronger performance at GCSE will make it more likely for you to get an interview. Again this is only one aspect of what they look at.
Original post by Shadow Killer
Thanks, I hope i get into UCL or Imperial.

If i get an A*A*A* at A2 do you think cambridge would be an option or is that a bit of a stretch considering my GCSEs


Canbridges entry requirements regarding GCSE's simply says C grade in science. I think your main focus needs to be volunteering and work experience, after all you can't change your GCSE's but there's plenty of time to get experience in. Saying that A-levels need to be your priority, but there's no reason why you can't get into Cambridge if you really try , good luck!
Original post by Shadow Killer
Thanks, I hope i get into UCL or Imperial.

If i get an A*A*A* at A2 do you think cambridge would be an option or is that a bit of a stretch considering my GCSEs


Focus on getting your AS level scores as high as possible. GCSEs aren't looked at that heavily, especially if your AS come out incredibly but the average is 6A*s. Again that's just an average and my school has seen a few people get offers from Cambridge with not so great GCSEs at all.

Just as a frame of reference, if you want to look at how competitive your application is for a particular university, don't just read the entry requirements as they will often be very general and don't express what they really look for! Try and find some sort of admissions criteria which will tell you the emphasis on GCSEs, PS, BMAT for example. I say this because it often gets underlooked and it is a key when applying to uni
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Shadow Killer
Thanks, I hope i get into UCL or Imperial.

If i get an A*A*A* at A2 do you think cambridge would be an option or is that a bit of a stretch considering my GCSEs

Seems a bit odd that you're obsessed with the big boy unis.

Look at each course and pick the ones that suit you, plus the medical schools whose criteria most closely match the strengths of your application.

As far as I know (1st year medic so maybe someone can correct me), the medical school you go to isn't even recorded when it comes to foundation year applications.
Original post by respiringmedic
Seems a bit odd that you're obsessed with the big boy unis.

Look at each course and pick the ones that suit you, plus the medical schools whose criteria most closely match the strengths of your application.

As far as I know (1st year medic so maybe someone can correct me), the medical school you go to isn't even recorded when it comes to foundation year applications.


Yeah maybe applying to both UCL and Imperial is a bit of a risk? Especially considering the BMAT can be very unpredictable (even the smartest people do not always fare well in it!).

King's is also GCSE heavy but a very strong UKCAT will offset this btw.

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