Can i get i to Oxford with 2 Bs/6s?

Probs not pal

A friend of mine got rejected (didn’t even make it to interview) last year with 7 A*s at GCSE and A-level predicted grades of A*A*A*A because their grades were ‘below average’ for medicine.

I got an offer for biochem with 10 A*s and A*A*A* predicted.

Take from that what you will but I would probably say if you didn’t have extenuating circumstances, they might consider your grades below average. You could try for it though, you never know.

A friend of mine got rejected (didn’t even make it to interview) last year with 7 A*s at GCSE and A-level predicted grades of A*A*A*A because their grades were ‘below average’ for medicine.

I got an offer for biochem with 10 A*s and A*A*A* predicted.

Take from that what you will but I would probably say if you didn’t have extenuating circumstances, they might consider your grades below average. You could try for it though, you never know.

Ah thanks 😂

Oxford medicine only assess number and proportion of A*s for GCSEs - they only use that and the BMAT score. They do however consider the context of the grades received, so will consider your schools average performance for GCSEs as well as any other relevant contextual factors.

You have only 50% proportion A*s and only 6 in total, which is well below the average on both counts for that course. The fact they are Bs is less of an issue than that they are not A*s - even if they were As you would still be in the same position. Of course, averages are just averages, and there will be people above and below the mean, but even if you did excellently on the BMAT you would probably still be a bit borderline unless you are attending an under-performing school and/or in a deprived area of low progression to HE.

You may want to consider Cambridge instead, since they weigh GCSEs much less than Oxford for Medicine. However, you need to be taking 3 STEM subjects, and be predicted A*A*A for Cambridge (as opposed to just 2 STEM subjects and A*AA for Oxford).

@nexttime may be able to advise more, as well as point out any inaccuracies in the above though

I've heard the BMATS and interviews matter most, it could be why your friend got rejected due to BMAT scores(?). Is it possible to make up for that with my BMAT and volunteering and such?

Ah thanks, it's a harsh reality. I am doing 4 stem so i should be fine for cambridge hopefully, you sound a lot like a teacher as well which makes it even better😂. I do come from a random public school so I got a bit of an extenuating factor. I'll try for a russel group uni for medicine.

Ah thanks, it's a harsh reality.

I'll try for a russel group uni for medicine.

Cambridge sounds like a better option than Oxford, out of the pair of them, for you.

Russell Group or not is irrelevant, both in general and especially for medicine. In general, the RG is a research consortium (which actually grew out of a lobbying group). It has no bearing on undergraduate teaching, it is just indicative of graduate research funding and, supposedly, quality. For medicine it's even less relevant because all GMC accredited courses are equal as far as getting a foundation post and going on to specialty (or GP) training.

You should choose the medical schools you apply to, realistically, on the basis of how likely you are to be interviewed and get an offer from them. You need to research the different entry criteria and shortlisting methodologies, as well as interview formats, used by each medical school. There are only 31 as I recall, so it's not like there are very many to go through (1 fewer if you rule out Oxford). You need to be making the decision of which to apply to based on the actual facts and data available, rather than vague notions based on hearsay, myth, and rumour. Look at the methodologies used by each medical school, see which ones you will score highest on the basis of your stats so far (i.e. avoid GCSE heavy universities) and focus on those.

Also "random public school" does not mean "underperforming or in a deprived area or in an area of low progression to HE". Look at the POLAR and ACORN categories of your area, and how your school performs on average compared to the rest of the country (I forget where you can find this latter data or what it's called, I think @04MR17 had a link to it on the gov.uk site, which also had data on how many students qualified for free school lunches?). As above, it's not about vague notions of whether you are in a disadvantaged area or not - universities use concrete data. You should too.

You only get 4 choices for medicine, so you need to make them count.

Here are two relevant links in terms of GCSE stats.

https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a100_medicine_admissions_statist_3



Try to focus more on the course structure, the location, and whether you stand a chance of getting in. Medicine is a long course, varies a LOT by uni and does not consider university when applying for jobs.

Could be, but the same friend managed to get into Imperial for medicine so I doubt that.

Just read through the whole microsoft PowerPoint, yeah I'm not getting in😂. How are you not gonna accept a guy with 5 A*s in their A levels?