Extenuating circumstances GCSE

Hi I’m wondering if I have a shot at Oxbridge for medicine or if I should avoid it completely and if there are any unis which don’t judge GCSE harshly
I’m really interested in Exeter and imperial as well
I got 988877776 at GCSE these were by far worse then I probably could have done. I was suffering from my friend had just died of corona virus and I was considered critically vulnerable and this meant I wasn’t allowed into school for very large period of time all of 2020 and until May of 2021. Therefore by the time I took my exams I was by far Ill prepared and not ready.
I hopefully should get 4 A*s and A* EPQ
I reckon I could do really well on the BMAT and UCAT tests and have already started preparing.
I have a lot of supercurriculars and extracurricular.
Is there no point ??
Thank you everyone hope you are all well and healthy

Reply 1

lunariumxo

why have you started preparing for the ucat and bmat already though? you may burn out....

Additionally why were you believed to be vulnerable is this because of your health? and your friends grieving would sadly not be considered as a excruciating circumstance because universities have stated they know covid has effected everyone and so this would not be considered as a excruciating circumstance for one person alone.

Also A-levels are challenging and predicting your self with 4A*s already is a way to motivate yourself but must be realistic.

Oxford are gcse heavy so aim for Cambridge but everyone says they will do the bmat in reality on a veryy small amount of people do it due to how challenging it is :/
You are currently in year 12 and so the pressure has not hit you but please do look after your self and medicine is medicine .... it does not matter where you go everyone gets the same degree so it would be better right now for you to do more work experience and research into the career too

I know Imperial is very BMAT heavy and not sure about exeter.

Reply 2

McGinger

You can apply for extenuating circumstances to be considered - your referee should mention this in your reference and what impact they think it had on your studies. Some Unis have a special form for you and the school to complete (look on each website), others will want a letter from your school. Here is the info for
Bristol : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/after-you-apply/your-application/extenuating-circumstances/
Cambridge : https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/decisions/extenuating-circumstances-form
Just be aware most Unis would still expect you have retaken any vital GCSEs to get the required grades, and that even of your extenuating circumstances are accepted it doesnt guarantee you an offer or acceptance if you then miss that offer, ie. it isnt a free pass.

Reply 3

username5706823

Original post by Elisarialilly

Don't mind me asking but are you the same person who made several threads for this already but never liked the replies they received? Idk this tread and your circumstance is suspiciously similar to those other threads....

Reply 4

Elisarialilly

Original post by summerbirdreads

hey nope not me
If you would direct me to the thread that would be helpful. It would be interesting to see if there was anyone else in my situation haha

Reply 5

Elisarialilly

Original post by lunariumxo

Hi thank you for the advice. It was health related yes. I do have the official hospital letters and such. I have severe asthma and a long history of pneumonia and bronchitis which has left me with an immune deficiency and I was on prescribed steroids for a large part of my life. They believed that steroids may have a even worse effect on corona virus and thus told me to stay in complete isolation where possible for as long as possible despite the easing of restrictions

Reply 6

username5860114

You don't have to start preparing for the BMAT/UCAT this early. Like what someone else mentioned, you can easily burn out if you start now and most people 'peak' at around 4-6 weeks of preparation. I know this from personal experience as I booked my UCAT late and had I did it earlier, my score may have been better. You should spend the time you have now being ahead of your A-Level subjects because during the summer you are likely to fall behind due to these entrance exams/interviews etc.

Reply 7

lunariumxo

Original post by Galaxy2305

i agree, the ucat is such a weird exam i should have done my exam during my peak too but i was in the mindset the more the better and could have probably scored better if it didnt wait that long :/

Reply 8

Muttley79

Original post by Elisarialilly

Why are you taking 4 A levels and an EPQ? This is not sensible ...

Didn't you have online lessons when you were shielding?

Reply 9

AnnaBananana

Universities Forum Helper

Imperial don’t care about gcses - mine were not much different to yours and I’m a third year med student there.

Agree that 4 A levels plus an EPQ is excessive - once the madness of ucas kicks in and entrance tests and interviews. No med school requires or gives extra credit for four A levels and very few take an epq into account. In your shoes I’d drop an A level, maybe keep the epq on if you’ve got a subject you’re passionate about. My boyf (non medic, oxbridge) did an epq and feels that the time and hassle were not worth it.

Cambridge don’t pay much heed to GCSEs. Oxford do, and most successful oxford med applicants have about 10A* equivalents - if you’re seriously considering applying there then maybe call or email and ask about the extenuating circumstances thing before you apply.

One thing that strikes me about your post is that the course structures at Oxford/Cambridge are very different to Imperial and Exeter. Are you wanting to apply to Ox/Cam just because of the perceived kudos, or have you actually looked at the courses in detail? I always wanted ox/cam when I was younger, but looking at the courses, with the essay heavy structure, and no patient contact for three years, I knew that this wouldn’t suit my learning style and that I would be happier with a more integrated course. I do feel that I would have love the collegiate lifestyle, I spend a fair amount of time there anyway. And of course, the ‘kudos’ of oxford/Cambridge isn’t really relevant in medicine.

Lots to think about!

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 10

549