Medical Schools which Don't Place a Big Emphasis on GCSEs

Well I was thinking this could be a generic place for people who were wondering, but my GCSEs were 2A*s, 5As, 6Bs and 1C.

How am I supposed to know? Being one of the top unis I assumed they would, I'd rather look an idiot now and get in, rather than not look an idiot and not get in.

Can i just ask something since people commenting in this thread seem to know what they are talking about lol... Can you sit the BMAT and the UKCAT or just the one? And do you sit it before or after you have applied for Uni's? I know differnt Uni's require different exams but i'm a bit confused.

BSMS don't put much emphasis on the UKCAT. From what they said at the open day, providing it's over 600 it's good. They also say bad GCSEs can be overshadowed by decent AS results (according to an admissions tutor, AABB minimum with an A in biology or chemistry). However, because they're so oversubscribed (17 applicants for 1 place) they can afford to be picky. They rate you out of 30 - out of 15 academically, and out of 15 non-academically. You normally need around 26 for an interview. They place a lot of emphasis on personal qualities. So, if you have at least AABB, and a strong PS with lots of work experience and hobbies, it's a good one to apply to. But remember the applicants to places ratio . I'm applying there purely because I live about 20 minutes from Brighton and it's such a gorgeous university... I'm not expecting a place or even an interview!

Can i just ask something since people commenting in this thread seem to know what they are talking about lol... Can you sit the BMAT and the UKCAT or just the one? And do you sit it before or after you have applied for Uni's? I know differnt Uni's require different exams but i'm a bit confused.

You can sit both. The UKCAT you take at any time, but before you apply. The BMAT is taken on the 4th November, which obviously you do after you've sent off your application. The standard entry closing date for the BMAT is the 30th of September, so you need to enter in for it as soon as possible. Most people only apply to 1 or 2 BMAT unis, because you don't know how well you're going to do on it. And if you get a low score, it could lead to a rejection. It's best to do the UKCAT ASAP (I did mine on the 12/8) because different unis put different weightings on it. For example, if you get 600, you'll avoid Sheffield because they have a cut-off of about 670.

Cool, thanks a lot for that. Would you say they are very very PBL based there?

What is it out of? And is there much studying for them both? Do lots of people do both?

From the looks of it, a lot of people who are applying to a BMAT uni will also apply to UKCAT unis as a back-up. However, the majority of applicants will probably have only taken the UKCAT because it's the very top places that want the BMAT.
The UKCAT is out of 900, with the average score being 600. It's an aptitude test, so you can't really do lots of revision for it. But to familiarise yourself with the format it would be best if you bought the 600Q book ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/into-Medical-School-comprehensive-explanations/dp/1905812094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252766596&sr=1-1 ). The BMAT you need to really revise for. Tbh I know bugger-all about it because I'm not taking it, but I've read lots of posts with one big tip: you can never over-prepare for it. Your marks for sections 1 and 2 are converted into points on a nine-point scale, and section 3 is marked out of 15. The average score is 23 out of the maximum 30. This is a good book for both the UKCAT and BMAT: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Passing-Clinical-Aptitude-University-Entrance/dp/1844452840/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252766689&sr=1-4

My grades were 3A*, 4A, 2B and 1 D - I got in.

I should have applied to ucl then, and not failed the maths part of my ukcat!

Basic maths: 9+9+15=33!!
And the average score is no way near 23- it is more like 15-17. 19 is considered a competitive score.

Assuming you did well enough in the BMAT.



For '09 entry only 300 out of (I think) 3000 applicants got the 19 for the automatic interview.

BSMS are quite anti-PBL - they do a systems based course. In fact, at the open day they said it would be 'odd' for someone to apply for both BSMS and somewhere with PBL like PMS.

Assuming you did well enough in the BMAT.

Most med schools don't really care too much about GCSEs - so long as you meet the minimum requirements you're fine. What really sets you apart is a high UKCAT/BMAT score, a decent PS and a solid interview performance.

EDIT - I'll give an example; I had 10A*s 2 As at GCSE didn't even get an interview at Imperial and UCL yet I know so many people who didn't do as well at GCSE but totally annihilated me on the BMAT that got in to both unis. GCSEs mean nothing!