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Imperial College London

London

Medicine application, do you think I'll get in?

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and this site is really cool.
I just want to knwo abour application to imperial: do they look at your As UMS mark? I just got my As results on thursday and although I am pleased with my results, I don't know where I'll stand in the application purely because imperial is very good and medicine is so competitive.

Here is what I got: chemistry: A: 270 ,Biology: A: 268, Sports studies:A:298, psychology:A: 257

I'm going to drop psychology next year as well. so I'll just do chem, bio, and sports studies.

I've got some work experiences in different places and will go to medlink this december.

And in terms of extra-curricular, I play badminton and represents England in many internatonal tournament, got my JSLA award, represents school teams, volunteering work etc

Anyone with opinions please? I want honest opinions so I know where I stand. Thank you all!!!
And congratulations to those of you who also got grades you wanted!!!

Reply 1

The Caretaker

you should be fine! definitely got more stuff in your favour than i did! you do know about BMAT though dont you? you should do some preparation for that. also for volunteering they want to see commitent so a once a week job at a care home will be better than a whole weeks work experience with some doc. also read up on medicine. but not in a crazy learn-the-course-before-you-come sort of way, just know whats happening in the news and the big medical issues so you're clued up at interview.

Imperial College London

London

Reply 2

mcdeltaT

Hey, thanks! Yeah i know about the BMAT thing. I've got this new UKCAT things coming up in september aswell. I think they'll be quite hard and hope I'll do what I need in it.

Do you know on average what medics get in the bMAT / or even the UKCAT test?

Reply 3

The Caretaker

well UCL want at least a total of 19 but they sometimes go lower. i think this is unfair as it stressed the essay part too much. i think a score of 5, 5, 6 should get you in (that's the average, i think) but really depends on other things too (like work experience and extra curricluars).

Reply 4

mcdeltaT

right i c
Does imperial stress what marks they want. and what's the full marks?

I also heard this rumour, don't know if it's true: does bristol favours private school students?

Reply 5

The Caretaker

imperial does not stress what marks they want only UCL does this as far as I know. full marks are 9, 9, 15

and i've no idea about the bristol rumour, sorry.

Reply 6

Big Fat Mel

The Caretaker

imperial does not stress what marks they want only UCL does this as far as I know. full marks are 9, 9, 15

and i've no idea about the bristol rumour, sorry.

Whilst that is true in terms of getting an automatic interview from UCL, as long as your PS is good and your a good chap, don't worry. ICL might have the same kinds of requirements in terms of BMAT, they just don't tell people like UCL do.

My advice is: why do medlink? You will pay an inordinate sum of money to get out less than a quality work experience placement and you will not satnd out from every other medlinker who pops it into their PS to try and prove that they have medical experience whilst their only real work in a hospital involved shadowing a SHO for two days and helping with paperwork. Quality of Work Experience is imperative - as is its clear effect on your opinions on medicine.

Of course, that's just my opinion - I'm no admissions tutor, but I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the ol' medlinky side of things - especially as you'll not be able to talk about it in your PS if its in December.

Reply 7

Mangaroo

thats should be enough to step 1, then you need to have a pretty good, at least above average BMAT (the average is 15, you might get an interview below 15, but it will be rare) and you also need a good personal statement, then you need to do well in the interview good luck! {the grades are only a tiny bit of it :biggrin:

}

Reply 8

Pratik_thakkar

Hey, im really worried that i wont get into medicine
I've done a lot of volunteering and work observations at the leicester Royal.
I play a lot of sports.
i got my results the other day and this is it:
Maths A level: A
Biology AS level: b
Chemistry AS level: b
Computing AS level: b
General studies AS level: c (meh)

The subjects im taking up for A levels are: Further Maths, Chemistry and Biology

My GCSE grades are:
Maths: A*
Electronics: A*
Chemistry: A*
Biology:A
Physics: A
Economics: A
ICT: A
French: A
RE: A
English Language: B
English Literature: B
Spanish: D (sat it in year 10)

I was thinking of applying to:
Imperial :smile:

, Queen Mary, St Georges and ive got a spare place.

I REALLY want to go to imperial!

do u ppl think thats good enough to get in?

Reply 9

cramnotes

Hey,
I think the minimum entry requirements are AAB at A levels, so make sure your predicted grades are a bit higher.

Reply 10

prince32

Pratik_thakkar i want to save u a lot of time and pain, with ABBB at AS i wouldnt get ur hopes up nd epronsally id think about any other course u may want to do such as dentistry which tho very hard to get into it is statisically more chance, if u do however continue to want to do medicine DO NOT paply to Imperial unless ur prepared to waste one of ur 4 ucas apps

Reply 11

tahngarth

isn't it 6 Ucas apps?

Reply 12

kpg

prince32

Get a grip.

If you're predicted A2 grades are AAB then grades-wise, your application is suitable. You may want to retake a couple of modules from chem, bio or computing to convert the Bs into As but if they were all A/B borderline there may not be any need. Talk with your teachers about that. There are so many other factors about getting a place though it's impossible for anyone on here to say whether you'll get in or not.

Reply 13

prince32

Get a grip

do u speak form experience? because i do nd theres nothing worse than ebing told u have a "great chance" wen u dont, with ABBB at AS id be surprisedif u got even an interview at the (not namming any unis in particular) lowest rated medschool in the country elt laone the top, if u really want medicine i suggest u apply to the very lowest rated medschools and rili get sum work experincce in im talkin months worth, work as an HCA break ur back in the name of medicine. if u want medicine AND to go to a high rate duni then ur only real choice im sorry is to reject the two grade B subjects u were continuin wid nd redo the entire yr in both of them this may require u to take a yr out to do this or if ur determined enough i know plenty of ppl hu did AS and A2 in one yr. also ar eu taking maths at A2 u didnt state u only stated further math which quite often isnt counted as an A2 by majority of univesits wen applying to medicine

Reply 14

Pratik_thakkar

Hey, thanks for the feedback everyone, any critisism is accepted.
Firstly, Prince32, I have already done my maths A level and am going to do furthermaths A level this year. Also, ive done shed loads of voluntary work and experience and i think, to be exact, it would add up to about a months load.

Also, kpg, thanks for the positive reply. In computing, i was 2 marks away from an A, so im going to get it remarked and may resit a module to gain those two beads. :rolleyes:

In chemistry, im going to resit my organic module as i know i could do better this time and that should be enough to push it up to a solid A. And in Biology, i was with a high B, only 7 marks off the A, so im going to resit a module in that. (it will also help me revise for my synoptic). :redface:

I am very commited to go into medicine.

Im going to be predicted AAA in Futher maths, Chem and Biology. Ive already acheived an A in A level Maths so thats 1 grade... :smile:

i also rang stgeorges the other day and i told them my situation and they said that they would call me for an interview next year, Based on my GRADES! ... so fingers crossed ><

Anyway, thanks for all the replies.

Reply 15

Xordan

I don't see why Imperial wouldn't give you an interview with those grades and personal statement, assuming you do well on the BMAT.

Reply 16

simb39

if u got As AND Bs in your GCSES..bt mostly B's is there a chance that id be able to do medicene.what if you do better in AS/A2 levels? will they reject me if i apply?

Reply 17

pkchips

Pratik_thakkar

I am very commited to go into medicine.

Im going to be predicted AAA in Futher maths, Chem and Biology. Ive already acheived an A in A level Maths so thats 1 grade... :smile:

You definitely stand a chance :smile:

.

EDIT: just realised i was talking crap in the rest of the post :smile:

But still, you can drop further maths from a utilitarian point of view because it's unnecessary and almost all med schools don't look at it as a separate A2 to your A2 maths.

Reply 18

flyaway

I know most of you guys are asking about AS-levels. I just got my GCSEs and I really want to do medicine but I got an A in chemistry but the rest A*s. The fact I got an A in chemistry really worries me because of its importance in medicine. Therefore do you think I stand a chance of getting in that is if I do really well in my AS-levels particularly chemistry. :frown:

Reply 19

kpg

animefreak

You got all A* and are worried about your A in chemistry holding you back? I think someone needs to slap you on the face with a big fat wet fish. Relaaaaaaaax..!

do u speak form experience?

Yes. My AS Grades were ABBB (predicted A level AAB) and got 3 interviews (imperial, liverpool, leicester)

if u really want medicine i suggest u apply to the very lowest rated medschools

Which would be....? Oxbridge can be harder, but all med schools in the country are difficult to get into and look for different things. There's no such thing as a lowest rated medical school and applying to them won't give you a hugely improved chance of getting in. There are some univerisites that have a higher applications :tongue:

laces ratio but that doesn't mean it's impossible to get in unless you're some kind of genius or have done months and months of work experience.

if u want medicine AND to go to a high rate duni then ur only real choice im sorry is to reject the two grade B subjects u were continuin wid nd redo the entire yr in both of them this may require u to take a yr out to do this

That's crazy talk. There's absolutely no point in redoing a whole year with AS grades of ABBB, especially considering he already has an A LEVEL in Maths and is predicted AAA in the subjects continued into A2. Retake a paper or two yes, but retaking the whole year is utterly pointless.

Like I said, talk it over with your teachers first. Remember that AS and A2 contribute 50% to your overall marks so it's very possible to push a B from AS to an A in A2. I got a B at AS Chemistry and was contemplating retaking some papers but thought I'd give A2 a shot first and give it a real good go (you can always retake AS modules in the summer of A2 aswell) and see how I did in January, where i did very well and basically had no need to retake anything. It's all well and good thinking about retaking x, y and z but largely you get very little help from your teachers and you'll have to concentrate on the A2 modules without the distraction of past modules hanging over you.