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Studying medicine at oxford.

Good afternoon, I desire to study medicine at Oxford university for various reasons and looked at the entry requirement. They were A*AA.:eek:

You have to take chemistry and i will also be hoping to take Biology and psychology with it however, the A* sounds hard let alone A's!

Obviously, i am top in my year and do the extra-curricular activities but how on earth can i get an A* because, what i am taking especially chemistry IS TRES DIFFUCILE . My question is at a state school in Dorset how can i get these grades. At the moment i am about to start year 10 and yes i may be young to worry about such matters but starting sooner is better. Tell me everything i can do at home, in school, hobbies wise...EVERYTHING.

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Reply 1
Original post by Amirh
Good afternoon, I desire to study medicine at Oxford university for various reasons and looked at the entry requirement. They were A*AA.:eek:

You have to take chemistry and i will also be hoping to take Biology and psychology with it however, the A* sounds hard let alone A's!

Obviously, i am top in my year and do the extra-curricular activities but how on earth can i get an A* because, what i am taking especially chemistry IS TRES DIFFUCILE . My question is at a state school in Dorset how can i get these grades. At the moment i am about to start year 10 and yes i may be young to worry about such matters but starting sooner is better. Tell me everything i can do at home, in school, hobbies wise...EVERYTHING.


Get some killer gcse's and try not to make anyone pregnant
It's not quite as difficult as you're making it sound. Just focus on your GCSEs right now and try to get as many A*s as possible in them.
Reply 3
Getting into oxbridge isn't as simple as getting the grades and doing relevant extra-curriculars, nothing is guaranteed even if you do absolutely everything to improve your application. Also getting those grades at a level isn't impossible, I exceeded that and I go to a state school in Dorset :P
Reply 4
Original post by oli_G
Getting into oxbridge isn't as simple as getting the grades and doing relevant extra-curriculars, nothing is guaranteed even if you do absolutely everything to improve your application. Also getting those grades at a level isn't impossible, I exceeded that and I go to a state school in Dorset :P


Wow! Your amazing. I look up to you.
Reply 5
If i get say 6A*s+ then is this going to more than likely get me in to Oxford.
Original post by Amirh
If i get say 6A*s+ then is this going to more than likely get me in to Oxford.


No, it isn't.
Reply 7
Original post by Tronick
Get some killer gcse's and try not to make anyone pregnant


What if they got someone pregnant but then delivered the baby, surely that will stick out in a personal statement?

Note: I have two friends (One for Maths, another for Med) who say nearly everyone in the Oxbridge group at college at around 7/9 A*'s at GCSE. I advise to focus on your GCSE's and at college there should be an oxbridge group / help for students wanting to do Med/Vet since they are really competative. During your summers, read some course related books as well, you'll have to of read some course related books when you apply to Oxbridge, nearly everyone sets themselves a reading list.

Apart from that, good luck with your GCSE's and at college, A*AA is quite nice for Oxford I believe. (Physics at Manchester is A*A*A I think, Thanks Dr Brian Cox.)
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Amirh
If i get say 6A*s+ then is this going to more than likely get me in to Oxford.


Not alone it won't be because getting an interview is based on your A*s at GCSE (with consideration of your school's A*-C rate) and your score on the BMAT which is an entrance exam. Then after that it is predominantly the interview which decides whether or not you will gain a place.


Original post by Sam_Chem
What if they got someone pregnant but then delivered the baby, surely that will stick out in a personal statement?


I doubt it, Oxford don't care much for extra-curriculars :tongue:
Reply 9
Original post by Amirh
Good afternoon, I desire to study medicine at Oxford university for various reasons and looked at the entry requirement. They were A*AA.:eek:

You have to take chemistry and i will also be hoping to take Biology and psychology with it however, the A* sounds hard let alone A's!

Obviously, i am top in my year and do the extra-curricular activities but how on earth can i get an A* because, what i am taking especially chemistry IS TRES DIFFUCILE . My question is at a state school in Dorset how can i get these grades. At the moment i am about to start year 10 and yes i may be young to worry about such matters but starting sooner is better. Tell me everything i can do at home, in school, hobbies wise...EVERYTHING.


I'm in a dorset state school too :smile:

Just saying, if your not up for taking on the challenge of Chemistry then what will happen come Medicine and especially Oxbridge!!
You do not need fancy extra curicular at all for oxbridge, but for medicine you NEED work experience. This does not have to be at a hospital at all, even working in a nursery/special needs school/care home(Popular) is the norm to do.

Just for you to be aware, all medicine schools ask for AAA minimum i believe so there is no easy way around it.
Original post by Amirh
Good afternoon, I desire to study medicine at Oxford university for various reasons and looked at the entry requirement. They were A*AA.:eek:

You have to take chemistry and i will also be hoping to take Biology and psychology with it however, the A* sounds hard let alone A's!

Obviously, i am top in my year and do the extra-curricular activities but how on earth can i get an A* because, what i am taking especially chemistry IS TRES DIFFUCILE . My question is at a state school in Dorset how can i get these grades. At the moment i am about to start year 10 and yes i may be young to worry about such matters but starting sooner is better. Tell me everything i can do at home, in school, hobbies wise...EVERYTHING.


Good afternoon to you too. Let me just say that the Oxford entry requirements of A*AA are the BARE MINIMUM, and many will have much harder offers, and will be entering with A*A*A*A*. Also, if you are finding Chemistry at Year 9 level "tres difficile," then at GCSE you are going to find it much harder, and I dread to think how you would cope with A-level standard. Also how can you be choosing your A-level choices when you haven't even started GCSEs? You don't even know if you like Chemistry or Biology yet! CONCENTRATE ON YOUR GCSES FIRST. And as for wanting to do Medicine... do your GCSEs first, then a whole load of work experience. You will probably find that you don't want to do it anymore, and at your age you are well too ill-informed and naïve to know anyway, especially as you haven't even done GCSEs or A-levels yet. I'm years older than you, have completed several Medicine volunteering/work experience placements, love the sciences and I'm still unsure if I want to go ahead with it. It's great that you are THINKING of ideas of where you want to go and what you want to study, but you just need to keep that as an idea for now. Keep Medicine and Oxford as a thought if you want, but just don't be seriously expecting to do both these things, you're just too young and ill-informed to know seriously what both of these are like. You also seriously need to calm down your "Obviously, i am top in my year" attitude. Things can easily change, and trust me, there are 100s of children your age that are brighter than you in other schools. Thinking your "obviously" the brightest and best is not a good attitude at all for anything in life, and if you keep thinking that way you will be very disappointed in the future. My answer may have seemed a bit harsh, but I can't sugar coat it and say "of course you'll get in honey!" I would be doing you no favours. Please, just enjoy your time in school- you won't be able to get this time back. Just work hard for your GCSEs, do whatever hobbies you feel like, pick your A-levels on what you enjoy/are good at the most, and then you can start to think about the future more seriously. You never know, maybe History or Geography will catch your attention, and you'll want to pursue it further! Good luck. x
Reply 11
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Original post by Alix_js
Good afternoon to you too. Let me just say that the Oxford entry requirements of A*AA are the BARE MINIMUM, and many will have much harder offers, and will be entering with A*A*A*A*.


Not sure if you're ill-informed or just phrased this badly. For Oxford harder offers are not given, A*AA is the standard and everyone (with an offer for medicine as of the current entry requirements) shall receive an offer requiring those grades, no more, no less.


Original post by Alix_js
And as for wanting to do Medicine... do your GCSEs first, then a whole load of work experience. You will probably find that you don't want to do it anymore, and at your age you are well too ill-informed and naïve to know anyway, especially as you haven't even done GCSEs or A-levels yet.


This isn't necessarily true, many people decide that they want to do medicine very early on and stick with that as a career choice.
Reply 13
Original post by Amirh
If i get say 6A*s+ then is this going to more than likely get me in to Oxford.


having 6 A*'s plus is not going to hurt, but it wont make you stand out either. People apply with 11 A*'s at GCSE and they don't even get an interview sometimes, let alone an offer. you say A*AA seems impossible, but Oxford and Cambridge are the top universities in the UK, they need to separate the capable from the not-so-capable. I know it probably seems harsh when you haven't started your A Levels but when you get there you will see there are plenty of people getting straight As, and A*s are not impossible to get, infact the whole system of getting them is pretty reasonable. Just get your head down, work hard, read up around medicine. I would subscribe to BMJ or something, so you're always clued up about what's happening in the medical world. If you're serious about getting into Oxford, care about your grades yes, but it involves so much more than that. You need to be suitable for Oxford, you need to be able to show your dedication for medicine without stating it. You just need to be exceptional really. Good luck, but for now just concentrate on your GCSEs.
The BMAT is quite important when applying to such good unis like this. Initially i found it difficult but after going on a course (called www.bmatcrashcourse.com ) i soon knew what to do then it was just a bit of practicing timing etc before the exam. October half term is a really valuable revision time!
Its A*AA now. By the time you apply it will be A*A*A* for definite. And u would need to aim for 10 A*s at GCSE to even have hope to get an interview. Sorry but im being very realistic :smile:
Reply 16
Original post by Amirh
Good afternoon, I desire to study medicine at Oxford university for various reasons and looked at the entry requirement. They were A*AA.:eek:

You have to take chemistry and i will also be hoping to take Biology and psychology with it however, the A* sounds hard let alone A's!

Obviously, i am top in my year and do the extra-curricular activities but how on earth can i get an A* because, what i am taking especially chemistry IS TRES DIFFUCILE . My question is at a state school in Dorset how can i get these grades. At the moment i am about to start year 10 and yes i may be young to worry about such matters but starting sooner is better. Tell me everything i can do at home, in school, hobbies wise...EVERYTHING.


Just a side-note on the Chem bit, I got an A* at GCSE Chem, but didn't expect how hard it got and got a C at AS. Now looking to retake some modules next year since I need an A for a Chemistry degree. So be careful.
Original post by sachinisgod
Its A*AA now. By the time you apply it will be A*A*A* for definite. And u would need to aim for 10 A*s at GCSE to even have hope to get an interview. Sorry but im being very realistic :smile:


This doesn't seem realistic in the slightest.
Original post by Katie_96
having 6 A*'s plus is not going to hurt, but it wont make you stand out either. People apply with 11 A*'s at GCSE and they don't even get an interview sometimes, let alone an offer. you say A*AA seems impossible, but Oxford and Cambridge are the top universities in the UK, they need to separate the capable from the not-so-capable. I know it probably seems harsh when you haven't started your A Levels but when you get there you will see there are plenty of people getting straight As, and A*s are not impossible to get, infact the whole system of getting them is pretty reasonable. Just get your head down, work hard, read up around medicine. I would subscribe to BMJ or something, so you're always clued up about what's happening in the medical world. If you're serious about getting into Oxford, care about your grades yes, but it involves so much more than that. You need to be suitable for Oxford, you need to be able to show your dedication for medicine without stating it. You just need to be exceptional really. Good luck, but for now just concentrate on your GCSEs.


Hey, what is BMJ?
Thank :biggrin:
Original post by manic_fuzz
This doesn't seem realistic in the slightest.


So are you saying that people who get all A*s for eg over 1500 people last year is not realistic?

Im afraid medical schools lure in applicants with bare minimum requirements but in reality the actual requirement to get an interview will be much higher.

For example 2012 entry to Leicester it stated that u needed Bs in your maths and english around 4 minimum to apply, to get the interview u needed 5/6 A*s to get the minimum score for the interview.

Same with Leeds, they wanted 6Bs but in reality A*s over 5 were a minimum. Also they didnt give interviews out to anyone who had less than 3 months work experience.

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