*MEGATHREAD* - The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread MK III

it really is THAT competitive
2 of my friends with straight A* predictions for 3 and 4 alevels each have been flat out rejected

It is competitive, yes, but there are other factors involved apart from grades. It could be that they didn't apply wisely.

If I'm honest, it seems like the PS is the least important factor in getting into medical school.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to try my hardest to make it reflect well on me, since they are still important from some of the universities, but they seem to be of the least importance for most places I want to apply to.

After careful consideration I have decided to pursue maybe a biomedical science degree for undergraduate and maybe do a graduate entry medicine degree, however will I still need to do the BMAT/UKCAT entry tests if I decide to go down this route?

Are you aware as to why?

After careful consideration I have decided to pursue maybe a biomedical science degree for undergraduate and maybe do a graduate entry medicine degree, however will I still need to do the BMAT/UKCAT entry tests if I decide to go down this route?

Just a warning that GEM is harder to get into and if you do undergraduate after a degree you have to pay your tuition fees as can't get a government loan (speaking as a graduate who is doing medicine next year)

Correct me if I'm wrong, I heard on the news a while back that they may be introducing loans for postgraduates? Is this still the case?

OK guys,

I'm quite worried about my current iGCSE grades. I have achieved 3A* 8As which is nowhere near the recommended for Oxford. However I self-taught these A levels and many of them I completed in 1 year, so is that considered. Presuming I get predicted A*A*AA, and get and a good BMAT score, should I still apply to oxford. Worried because the shortlisting algorithm is based heavily on GCSEs
@usycool1

Your GCSE grades are fab. But unfortunately not enough for Oxford. Your safest bet would be to avoid Cardiff, Oxford and Birmingham. Other than that you should be fine everywhere else.


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Thanks. Isn’t the fact that I was homeschooled and achieved the A* grades at the age of 13 going to put me on a slightly better footing. Do you think I should still not apply for oxford even If I’m confident in my ability to achieve an extremely high BMAT score? Presuming I get a BMAT of 7.0 average, will that counter effect my poor GCSEs.

Being homeschooled isn't generally considered a reason to give special consideration tbh unless there's something else going on. You might get some special consideration sure, but the fact remains that they've published these stats for at least 3 years now, and no one has got in with less than 50%A* in that time.

Getting an amazing BMAT would be your only hope yes. The average for an offer holder is above 6 so just averaging 7 might not be enough, might have to be higher. And if you are confident of getting that... well you'd almost certainly be wrong to be tbh. Everyone who takes that exam has a string of As and A*s. People who have much better grades than you often do poorly. Its difficult to see how you can be so sure you'll do better.

Its up to you but generally speaking: Oxford is 6 years of your life. Medicine is a lifelong career. Ensuring you get in somewhere (bearing in mind that almost 2/3 of applicants fail o do so) will impact your life a lot more than ensuring you get into Oxford.

Thanks for your comprehensive advice. In terms of consideration, the reason for homeschooling was the simple fact that we had to move twice to the Middle East and back due to my parent's work and that interfered with my revision. I doubt that will be considered so I don't know if I should write down as I'm already applying for migrating circumstances for this year due to losing 2 family members, it will seem too apologetic.

If Oxford isn't going to shortlist me, is applying next year with the 4A* at A level going to change anything? Also how different is Cambridge in weighing my IGCSEs. If I'm going to dedicate 6 years of my life I'll want to do it somewhere that I enjoy the structure of the course, hence oxford.

If you're very keen to get into Oxbridge, you'd have a better shot at Cambridge with your stats. They generally place less emphasis on GCSEs, but you'll need a very good BMAT score and good interview performance.

There are other courses with more 'traditional' course structures you should look into if that's an imperative. Imperial, King's and UCL also tend to be more lecture-based (similar to Oxbridge) in the early years from my understanding.

If you're very keen to get into Oxbridge, you'd have a better shot at Cambridge with your stats. They generally place less emphasis on GCSEs, but you'll need a very good BMAT score and good interview performance.

There are other courses with more 'traditional' course structures you should look into if that's an imperative. Imperial, King's and UCL also tend to be more lecture-based (similar to Oxbridge) in the early years from my understanding.