Birmingham A100 2020 Entry

Original post by Adithya2002

Thank you for your reply. But am doing IB where 7 is highest grade possible. For IB most unis need only 7 6 6 or even 6 6 6 in HL subjects

OK, don't know anything about non-UK applicants/qualifications, I'm afraid. Just telling you what the situation has been with their offer calculator previously - it has tended to over-estimate a person's chances of an offer

Reply 22

tireddoc

Can I apply for medicine and dentistry in Birmingham at the same cycle while my PS is for medicine?

Reply 23

Polkadot2018

10

Confused. Been sat googling during free period (!) and I came across two FOI Birmingham responses which seem to contradict. One from July this year gives minimum cut off score for interview as 8.1 for 2017 and 2018 but another request dated November 2018 states cut off application scores as 7.5 for 2017 and 6.7 for 2018. Tables clearly says this for HomeEu applicants not grads or WP. Other info looks reliable including deciles etc for UCAT. GANFYD?

Reply 24

Original post by Samski10

I already have my A levels - A*AA in bio, chem and maths. Gcse's 7A*s and 3 As. UCAT 678 Band 2. When I put my details into Birmingham offer calculator it says likely for interview but I think my score only adds up to 7.722 from what I can tell. I thought you needed over 8 for an interview? Am I calculating wrong or are Birmingham just getting me to apply anyway? I'm trying to find Med school where achieved A level grades might give me a bit of an advantage. Does anyone know if anyone looks at achieved grades rather than predicted? I've only seen Cardiff and Exeter so far. Thanks.

Leicester will guarantee you an interview with achieved grades and they score extra points at Aberdeen

Reply 25

Original post by Polkadot2018

Confused. Been sat googling during free period (!) and I came across two FOI Birmingham responses which seem to contradict. One from July this year gives minimum cut off score for interview as 8.1 for 2017 and 2018 but another request dated November 2018 states cut off application scores as 7.5 for 2017 and 6.7 for 2018. Tables clearly says this for HomeEu applicants not grads or WP. Other info looks reliable including deciles etc for UCAT. GANFYD?

Did the question about the lower score actually ask them to exclude WP applicants? As otherwise you will just get the lowest score any UK applicant achieved an interview with, regardless of any flags

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 26

username4342852

17

Is this medical schools one of the few who are really picky on GCSE'S ?

Reply 27

Original post by dontevenknow2

Is this medical schools one of the few who are really picky on GCSE'S ?

Depends what you mean by really picky? They are specific about which GCSEs they will score, but many of the Med schools that score GCSEs are too

Reply 28

username4342852

17

Original post by GANFYD

Depends what you mean by really picky? They are specific about which GCSEs they will score, but many of the Med schools that score GCSEs are too

Some said they got 7 A*s would that be enough? I mean I've seen many meds school's only require like a 6 in english language or maths or something like that. about from oxbridge ofcourse but I am not talking about that

Reply 29

Polkadot2018

10

Original post by GANFYD

That has the lower score actually asked them to exclude WP applicants? As otherwise you will just get the lowest score any UK applicant achieved an interview with, regardless of any flags

So is their table incorrect? As it actually states in the Column beside the scores ‘Cut-off application score: applies to Home/EU applicants who are not graduates and not classified as Widening Participation’. It then states 7.5 (2017) and 6.7 (2018). Same explanation for the column below which has UKCAT deciles and scores.

Reply 30

Original post by Polkadot2018

So is their table incorrect? As it actually states in the Column beside the scores ‘Cut-off application score: applies to Home/EU applicants who are not graduates and not classified as Widening Participation’. It then states 7.5 (2017) and 6.7 (2018). Same explanation for the column below which has UKCAT deciles and scores.

I have no idea. I just know they gave responses to FOIs stating the cut off was 8.12 for 2017 entry and 8.02 (I think) for 2018 entry. There were also lots of people with scores lower (and a few higher) than this who were rejected on the threads.
During the time I have been doing this, Birmingham have done their best to keep information for applicants to a minimum but I have no idea what their actual cut off was or why they have given different answers to the same questions.
Link the FOI you are looking at and I’ll have a look later (currently caught up in the day job!!)

Reply 31

Original post by dontevenknow2

Some said they got 7 A*s would that be enough? I mean I've seen many meds school's only require like a 6 in english language or maths or something like that. about from oxbridge ofcourse but I am not talking about that

Cambridge have literally no GCSE requirements.
All Med schools select applicants in different ways, some use GCSES, some A levels, some UCAT and some a mix of the above. A couple even use something similar to the PS. Birmingham are not the only Med school requiring high GCSEs

Reply 32

IBstudent27

8

Original post by GANFYD

In the past, Birmingham tend to overdo things with who they would give interviews too on their Offer Calculator, telling all those with a score over 7 it was "likely" despite knowing a score over 8 had been needed for 2 years! Do not know whether they have now amended its accuracy, sorry

Let's hope the threshold drops by 1 point because of the 60-40 weighting!

Reply 33

Original post by zamanh

Let's hope the threshold drops by 1 point because of the 60-40 weighting!

If you put in the stats that would have score just over 8 on the old weighting, it came out at around 7.8, so I don't think the change in weighting is going to be the thing that drops it that far, but I am guessing it may have dropped for 2019 entry by the fact that Birmingham have dropped their A level requirements to AAA, which may mean they did not get the level of applicants they were hoping for last year.....

Reply 34

debbiebee

What are the realistic gcse requirements for Birmingham? Just started a levels and beginning to explore universities but the situation regarding GCSEs seems very unclear. Thanks for any info.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 35

tireddoc

Original post by debbiebee

What are the realistic gcse requirements for Birmingham? Just started a levels and beginning to explore universities but the situation regarding GCSEs seems very unclear. Thanks for any info.

This will be based on the GCSE grades for all the cohort applied to Birmingham plus the UCAT. So for example if the highest score for GCSE for students applied was 4/6.
And the highest score for UCAT for the same students applied was 3/4. So the score would be 4+3= 7/10, the other students will be scored in the same way and the university will rank the students and invite the number they need on the top. What I gave is just an example. The score may be higher or lower according to the grades and the UCAT of the students applied. So, no one can know the required grades even the uni itself.
Remember that English, Maths, Biology and Chemistry should be not less than grade 6

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 36

A_J_B

19

IGCSE scores: A*A*A*A*A*A*A*AA
A levels: A*A*A (obtained)
UCAT: 697.5 BAND 2
Should I risk applying to Birmingham? The offer calculator tells me I may be considered for interview but I can't make out my exact score. Any help would be really aprreciated.

Reply 37

tireddoc

Original post by A_J_B

IGCSE scores: A*A*A*A*A*A*A*AA
A levels: A*A*A (obtained)
UCAT: 697.5 BAND 2
Should I risk applying to Birmingham? The offer calculator tells me I may be considered for interview but I can't make out my exact score. Any help would be really aprreciated.

As you already obtained the grades, and with these high grades, definitely you will be invited. But as you were in a gap year., your personal statement must leave them in no doubt that you were engaged fully in significant activity

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 38

Original post by debbiebee

What are the realistic gcse requirements for Birmingham? Just started a levels and beginning to explore universities but the situation regarding GCSEs seems very unclear. Thanks for any info.

Birmingham say:
"GCSE
Each application will receive a score for academic achievement based on GCSE (or equivalent) results. The subjects that will be scored are: English (both English Language and English Literature), Mathematics (or one, but not both, of Methods in Mathematics and Applications of Mathematics), Biology and Chemistry (or dual award science), plus two additional GCSEs in any subject.

For the subjects specified above a minimum of grade B/6 must be offered and the scores allocated to the different grades are as follows:

A*/8 or 9 = 4

A/7 = 2

B/6 = 1

For each of the two unspecified subjects, a score of 2 will be allocated when an A*/8 grade has been obtained. Lower grades will not receive a score.

The total GCSE score will be scaled to a maximum of 6.0.

Because we rank applicants according to a total score, we cannot define a GCSE grade profile that will be acceptable."

As explained in the post above, a strong UCAT can make up for weaker GCSEs and vice versa, but Birmingham have historically required around as a score for interview and there are only 4 points total available for UCAT, so realistically a score of 4 is likely to be required to even stand a chance of an interview

Reply 39

debbiebee