GCSE Grades and Medicine

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um, i definitely think A levels are not irrelevant for medicine, they want people who got As and A*s at A level, not GCSE :P The bmat is important, but GCSEs are not more important than A level

The problem is that you don't have your a-level results. When applying to say oxford, they only have your GCSEs and a BMAT score to base it on.
http://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/a100statistics
Take a look there, but the bit that stands out is" For those shortlisted who had taken GCSEs, the mean proportion of A*s at GCSE was 0.94", so basically all A*s and maybe a couple As.

Reply 21

Munrot07

Original post by Acruzen

They have AS and A level predicted though

Reply 22

Acruzen

Original post by Munrot07

They have AS and A level predicted though

They will all be the same tho, 5As at AS and like 3+ predicted A*.

Reply 23

Palindromic

Original post by Acruzen

The reason most people seem to have All A*s is not only due to the fact that better GCSE are advantageous, but also due to the fact that people see oxbridge as 'elite' so naturally only the brightest, most dedicated applicants apply, these applicants are more likely to have worked very hard at school, hence got very good GCSEs. people think you need very high grades to get into oxford, so only those with high gcses apply, regardless of whether you actually need better GCSEs

Reply 24

Palindromic

Original post by Munrot07

Exactly

so A levels are important :P and really A*AA should be a minimum for medicine, all the other stuff are just ways to distinguish candidates :smile:

A*AA should not minimum :rolleyes:

Getting into medicine isnt about being the smartest person!!

the majority of applicants get at least an interview, yet 70% of all applicants get NO OFFERS. this shows that the most important thing is your interview, not your academic record. Most applicants who apply are academically able and meet all the minimum requirements, hence get at least an interview. A*A*A* is irrelevant if you can't talk to an interviewer without freaking out.

Reply 25

Munrot07

Original post by Palindromic

A*AA should not minimum :rolleyes:

I didn't say most important, I didn't say it was about being the smartest and I didn't say A*A*A* either...Universities want someone good in interviews but if you are not good enough for the course they wont want you. They look at your grades and then decide for an interview and if they ask for candidates with A*AA in A levels they wont ask someone for an interview who didn't achieve highly in their A levels and AS levels

Reply 26

SexiestNameEver

Original post by Palindromic

you dont need anywhere near 10!! i have 3 and got into medicine fine (even had some B's and C's, oh god!) depending on where you apply you might need different standards of gcse grades, some just want you to have them all above C (bar science maths and english normally B at least), but some score people on gcses like leicester for example. if youve got all A/A* then you can basically apply anywhere. to get a better estimate of what you need for each medical school, use this link:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements

and this link to show where you should apply if good gcse/bad gcse:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_to_Medical_School_using_your_Strengths

GCSE grades are not an indication of how someone can handle a degree they are genuinely interested in. i had no interest in RE, French or literature and got C's, but then got A* in science and maths (the ones i liked). my relatively bad GCSEs for medicine (3A*,4A,3B,3C) didnt mean i couldnt handle stress, i still managed to do 5 A levels fine! GCSE show very little about anything.

Why did you do 5? What subjects did you do and what did you get in them? :smile:

Reply 27

Zazuwaved

Original post by ismailjan3

I know different universities have different entry requirements, but in general, how many A*s will I need to do medicine at a good university...?

Some people say 5, while others say 10. I'm really confused.

Right now I'm not being predicted more than 5 A*s (though I think I can get more, as I'm not putting in 100% effort)

If I do a lot of medicine related work experience, (and hopefully get more than 5 A*s haha) will I stand a good chance?

To be perfectly honest with you, just try and get as many A*s (putting particular emphasis on the core subjects (Science, Math and English Language). The better the grades you have at GCSE the less of a worry that they'll be once you're into A-Level.

Having about 5A*s is good enough, but try to aim higher. As other people have already mentioned, the emphasis on GCSEs depends variably on the university; where in some places, so long as you meet the minimum requirement then its not looked at again, or at other places where having better GCSEs puts you at an advantage against other candidates.

With regards to work experience, obviously try and get some varied placements not just shadowing, try some hands-on things (don't be afraid to try something out of the ordinary-doesn't have to be medicine related) as these will allow you to demonstrate some characteristics that some unis look favourably upon. Extra-Curricular stuff is also important (try getting some leadership/teamwork roles)

To stress my original point, try focusing on getting as many A*s.

Good luck :biggrin:

Reply 28

Palindromic

Original post by Munrot07

wasnt having a go at you, it wasnt a message for you, was for eveyone on the thread who seems to be a bit misinformed. A*AA isnt the minimum at all, only cambridge and birmingham i think require that. i got an interview with my poor GCSE, abbb at AS level and predicted AABB so. as long as youve got AAA predictions, your safe. focus on ukcat/ bmat and ps

Reply 29

Palindromic

Original post by SexiestNameEver

Why did you do 5? What subjects did you do and what did you get in them? :smile:

i wanted to do 4 originally because Bio and Chem are needed for some places and very relevant anyway so didnt want to drop one, then i wanted to do maths and physics because i like them, so did 4. Also my college forced us to do General studies (doesnt really count) so thats 5. i got AAAB (B in bio) and an E in general (hahahaah didnt go to lessons or see a past paper before the exams, pointless boring subject. many people get As who dont go to lessons or revise but i didnt bother as it was my last exam and was too busy celebrating the end)

Reply 30

Larry31

Original post by Munrot07

um, i definitely think A levels are not irrelevant for medicine, they want people who got As and A*s at A level, not GCSE :P The bmat is important, but GCSEs are not more important than A level

Sadly they are when it comes to getting an interview for Medicine at Oxford :P I know it sounds completely backwards, but the A-Levels are only important for actually meeting the offer once you get one. This is taken directly from the medicine admissions website for Oxford:

'As part of the process to decide which applicants are called to interview, we establish a numerical ranking on the basis of GCSE performance and BMAT results (both quantitative and objective measures). If applicants have not taken GCSEs or IGCSEs more weight is given to the BMAT score. This ranking forms the basis of an initial shortlist.'

So AS-Level scores really don't come into it. It seems stupid considering AS-Levels are a much more recent assessment of ability, but I can assure you that I have been through the process myself and have been told by a couple of Oxford College admissions tutors that GCSEs and BMAT scores are the only data used to shortlist for interview; and then interview performance is the final indicator for who gets offers and who doesn't. Cambridge on the other hand is a COMPLETELY different story and rely very heavily on AS-Level results :smile:

Reply 31

nexttime

Munrot07

Honestly they really don't care as long as they are all As and A*s, oxbridge students (so the best) have on average 5 A*s at GCSE, that means some have a lot more some have a lot less, some have no A*s and get into oxbridge, it is much more about your personal statement and A level grades (and interview if they want one)

Like, every single statement in this post is wrong!

Well done for deleting it once you realised that though. Far too few people do that :top2:

Reply 32

Munrot07

Original post by nexttime

Like, every single statement in this post is wrong!

Well done for deleting it once you realised that though. Far too few people do that :top2:

My post was more about general oxbridge information, not medicine (my mistake, really sorry guys :/ ) but the information is correct regarding normal courses such as biology or law or economics (or at least a Representative of oxbridge told me that...i assume they weren't lying) yet again, really sorry. I only try and leave helpful comments, i failed :P

Reply 33

Larry31

Original post by Munrot07

Hey it's an honest mistake right? :smile:

Medicine is a bit of a special case, so what you said is probably correct for other subjects :smile:

Reply 34

Vian

Original post by Munrot07

They look at your grades and then decide for an interview and if they ask for candidates with A*AA in A levels

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean here. Do you mean someone who's already completed all their A-Levels or someone predicted A*AA?

And either way, what would be the point of asking for A*AA?

Original post by Munrot07

they wont ask someone for an interview who didn't achieve highly in their A levels and AS levels

Most places don't do that anyway.

Reply 35

Mohamed.salem12

If I get a c in maths GCSE but all my other grades are A* to B will get accepted in a medical school?

Reply 36

ForestCat

Original post by Mohamed.salem12

If I get a c in maths GCSE but all my other grades are A* to B will get accepted in a medical school?

It depends on the medical school. If I were you, I would really work hard on getting at least a B, it will leave you with a few more options.

Reply 37

tcameron

Original post by Mohamed.salem12

If I get a c in maths GCSE but all my other grades are A* to B will get accepted in a medical school?

Hard to tell as many uni's for science/maths based courses, including medicine, specifically state they want B in gcse English language and maths.
Aim for at least a B in your maths as a C may disadvantage you