*MEGATHREAD* - The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread Mk II

Hi,

I know, I know, there are a billion threads similar to this one, floating around on this forum; but I am in dire need of advice and was hoping that some of the more knowledgeable members would be able to offer some help. I'm hoping to gain a place to read Medicine, for 2013 entry, and my academics are as follows:

GCSEs: 2A*s, 10As
AS: AABB (Chemistry, English Literature, Maths and Biology respectively)
A2: A*A*A*A*

The Universities I'm hoping to apply to:

Cambridge University
Imperial
Southampton
Durham

I realise neither my GCSE nor AS grades are particularly impressive, but I was wondering whether my A2 results combined with good BMAT/UKCAT scores would compensate. I'm aware that Cambridge looks at UMS scores for AS results, however, having already achieved my A-levels results, to what extent would my AS results hinder my chances of getting in?

Any help will be much appreciated; congratulations to those with offers for 2012 entry! And good luck to anyone hoping to apply soon!

S.J

Perhaps you should make sure you take the time to write a good statement instead of rushing it. Also ideally your fourth AS subject needs to be at a grade B although some do accept a C. With a D your choices will be restricted. Where did you apply and what were your gcse grades?

Yeah, Thank you. I Know, i hated the subject I could've easily got a C/B in any other. Newcastle/Durham and Southampton dont focus too much on AS. I am aiming for an A* to kinda make up for it.

GCSES: 3 A*'s 5 A's and A Merit in DIDA
So

Unfortunately It doesn't work like that. An A* at A level won't compensate for an absence in a required subject at AS. Newcastle and Durham select applicants for interview based on UKCAT so as long as you are above the cut off (around 670+ but varies each year) you get interviewed. Southampton is very competitive because they don't interview. They only use personal statement and references to sort applicants so they both have to be excellent. What would be your fourth choice?

But i Have AAA in Bio Chem & maths. The D in English lit at AS shouldn't matter too much. Say if i didnt get an A in Biology or Chemistry. That would be worse. Im not too sure about my fourth, Leeds? They have an access scheme,

Yeah as long as you the university you apply to does not require a fourth AS you'll be fine in that aspect. Don't know much about their access scheme but apparently they have around 4000 applications for the five year course and they only interview 400 of those so it's pretty over subscribed.

Do you know any Unis that dont focus on the 4th AS Level?
Some Unis just ask for AAA but many assume you to have a B/C in the fourth AS?
Damn that D in English!!

Hi,

GCSEs: 2A*s, 10As
AS: AABB (Chemistry, English Literature, Maths and Biology respectively)
A2: A*A*A*A*

The Universities I'm hoping to apply to:

Cambridge University
Imperial
Southampton
Durham

I realise neither my GCSE nor AS grades are particularly impressive, but I was wondering whether my A2 results combined with good BMAT/UKCAT scores would compensate.

S.J

Congrats on your results.
Not meaning to have a go but it's not possible to get an A* at A2 with a B at AS?

Congrats on your results.
Not meaning to have a go but it's not possible to get an A* at A2 with a B at AS?

As far as the A* is concerned, anyone with a B or higher at AS is in EXACTLY the same position actually...

I say this because to get an A* you need 90% average at A2, with an overall average (AS & A2 combined) of 80%

If you got a B at AS, you will have gotten at least 70%, at AS.

In that situation, in order to get an A overall for A-level, you would then need 90% in your A2 to give an overall average across AS and A2 of 80% (A2 average of 90% makes up for 70% at AS to give an overall average of 80%)

But in doing so you will have ALSO met the criteria for an A* (90% in A2 and 80% overall AS & A2 average).

In summary, as long as you got *at least* a B at AS, then no matter how many UMS you got at AS, and regardless of the grade (as long as its B or higher), you would need 90% at A2 for an A*.

I tried my best not to be confusing but I hope that helped

I am currently in 6th form and studying 3 as levels: Maths, Chemistry and Biology. I revised really, really hard for my January exams (I revised as soon as we started the courses for a few hours every night) , but my results were awful I only passed Maths and Chemistry and they weren't good passes (E and D).
Now I'm stuck as I've only ever wanted to be a doctor, and I don't think I'll be able to get the grades.
Is there anyone else that's in, or has been in, this situation? I don't really know what to do.
Thanks

Haha thanks. I understand now, i've actually finished my a-levels lol
My teachers always told me you need an A at As and i never actually thought about it.
I guess you could actually get a C at As (60%) and still manage to get an a* at a-level if you managed to ace your A2's completely i.e 100% every module

Your best bet is to resit those modules in June then assess your position after you get the results in August. In reality, if you struggled with the first modules then it's not a good sign and if you don't get aaab or aaaa in the summer modules then I think either reconsider your choice of career or plan a gap year and reapply with your grades. A2 modules are harder than AS modules and the minimum offer you'll get is AAA or A*AB so you need to have good AS grades to make the A Levels. Your teachers will base your predicted grades on your AS results and unis will in turn look at them and if you aren't predicted AT LEAST AAA then there's not much chance of getting in I'm sorry to say.

There are other routes to medicine, Gradate entry or a course which allows you to transfer to medicine after year 1.

I am currently in 6th form and studying 3 as levels: Maths, Chemistry and Biology. I revised really, really hard for my January exams (I revised as soon as we started the courses for a few hours every night) , but my results were awful I only passed Maths and Chemistry and they weren't good passes (E and D).
Now I'm stuck as I've only ever wanted to be a doctor, and I don't think I'll be able to get the grades.
Is there anyone else that's in, or has been in, this situation? I don't really know what to do.
Thanks

Hey I've wanted to be a doctor on and off for about five years now, but I'm really worried that I don't make the cut. Oh, and my situation is a complete mess. The only reason why I've been unsure about medicine is my lack of confidence in my academics.
I went through a really difficult time at the beginning of the school year, in which my old school said I couldn't stay because I was "overqualified" (I went to the worst school in the district) and then was forced by the deputy heads to the local grammar. All of their biology classes were full, and I was forced to make some very tough and quick decisions. At that point, I thought I couldn't do medicine and was forced to think of degrees in chemistry and paramedic training, etc. But no matter what I think of, it still comes back to medicine! I'm in a panic. Do you think any of you could help me, please?

GCSE

A*- maths, chemistry, English Lit
A- biology, physics, English Language
B- RE, history
D- Art

AS Levels

Maths
Further Maths
Chemistry
History

Aiming for As in all of these, apart from History which I think will be a B

Work Experience

Eight weeks volunteering at a unit for severely disabled children under the age of six

Extras

Debating club
Used to be an Anti-Bully Prefect at my old school

Obviously, over the summer I will work a lot harder to get work experience. I'm searching for First Aid courses in my area.
I know that Further Maths isn't counted by a few medical schools as a separate A Level. I wanted to drop it in favour of Biology, but once again I was faced with problems when I found out that there was a clash of timetable between AS Biology and A2 FM, and I couldn't take up Bio unless I dropped Chem or History. However, Chem is compulsory for medics and I want to keep History to keep a diversity of subjects.

What should I do? I'm so confused. Should I take the AS exams in the summer, and then transfer to college to do Biology, Physics, Maths and do Chemistry as a private candidate? Should I carry on as I am and try to get into post-graduate? Or should I just kiss the idea goodbye?

Thanks for your help.

Sam

I mostly agree with Cottrill, however...

I disagree with the idea that you NEED AAAA or AAAB or else you should reconsider your career. I have known people to get medicine with AABC, and I know several to get in with AABB. A friend of mine also got into imperial and kings with a B in AS biology. Having said that, it is of course making life more difficult the worse your grades are, so really do your best (just reading the textbook and making notes isn't enough, its all about exam technique and doing all the past papers and understanding what the mark scheme says). I'd say *below* having 3 ASs at AAB is when it gets unrealistic in terms of getting an offer... but you NEED to get AAA predicted above all else. but with AAB at AS then it shouldn't be much of a problem to get that hopefully.

If you find yourself in the region of AABC/AABB then its going to be harder, but you will need to apply tactically. Your chances in that instance would depend heavily upon your performance in the admissions tests. The people who I know who got in with AABC AABB all had decent performances in them so you wont have the same slack as someone with AAAA. I would recommend places that put a more significant weight on the admissions tests (again, assuming you did well in them which would be a bit of a must if i'm honest, in my opinion), like Kings for example, who as far as I know, love the UKCAT, so if you got a godly score in it, they'd love you i guess haha. Also your personal statement would have to be of a good standard.. there are plenty of resources here on the student room (http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine)

Also, if you find you don't have enough to apply for medicine 2013 entry, then you could always postpone application for a year... IF you find yourself with AAA at the end of your overall A-level then you will be fine for reapplication and with the fact that you would have already achieved AAA in that situation, then the unis would like that even more. If you go down that route, I'd still recommend applying for something else for 2013 entry as a back up, just in case things don't go to plan in terms of AAA in your final a-levels...
There are places which accept people who retake up to AAA after year 13 but many places reject any post-Alevelers who have to retake, so its not an ideal situation to be in...

best wishes sarah