can i do one a level???

i wanted to do medicine this year but im not going to get the grade in maths so im thinking of taking a gap year and doing maths a level as well so by the end of next year hopefully get an A and then have the neccesary grades to do medicine.
my question is i dont think colleges let people enrole who are doing just one a level so how do i get around that as i dont want to do 3, i can be bothered as ive already got two other a levels.
secondly what would be best to do during the gap year that would enhance my chances of getting into medicine?

Reply 1

Unregistered

Med school requires AS chemistry and biology/maths/phyics to apply by UCAS.

You need to have at least A level chemistry and A level biology/maths/physics and one other at grades AAB or ABB depending on what uni you apply for to get into Med school.

If you take a maths course during the gap year and already have chemistry and biology AS level at grade A then you will probably get interview offers from the unis.

I had German A level, Biology AS, Chemistry AS and history AS at grades ABBB respectively and got into Aberdeen university for medicine.

Reply 2

Unregistered

Of course you can do one A level! Contact your local FE college, sixth form college or adult education college and enrol for an evening class. They will be really pleased to see you.

Reply 3

Unregistered

what could i do in my gap yar apart from the one alevel to increase my chances of getting into medicine, i.e work etc

Reply 4

ickle_katy

you could try going to a poor county n doing volentry work with those flying doctor thigs. or just do an hour volentry work in an old peoples home or something like that, my mate got in from doing that.

love Katy ***

Reply 5

Unregistered

how can iu do voloutary work when im not a doctor yet? what sort of work do they do?

Reply 6

ickle_katy

um, im sure they need help doing gernal stuff.

love Katy ***

Reply 7

Ollie

yeah my school has ppl repeating single alevels

Reply 8

Unregistered

In general many medical schools have said that they wont accept any A-level (A2) retakes once youve already sat them like they do for AS levels. They want you to pass on your first time through. I suppose your chances would increase if you took another totally new A level subject to study that was helpful to your medical education but in general i think that it is more helpful for yourself if you do voluntary work (i.e. in an old-age care home or doing community work. In general taking care of little children is not seen as "good" as helping those in old age so its better not to concentrate on that!)

Foreign language courses are also very good as they help you "integrate" into a new community and you even learn a new laguage in the process. You'll be surprised how much you learn in one year in France away from all those english speakers! Nothing at all like slow-learning establishments (think: schools :smile:

)

Its better to take something thats not school related in a gap year than to do just 1 A level and then sit at home or do a boring McDonalds job, in general. Of course some unis may still accept you even if you did sit at home all day in your gap year but obviously thats not making very good use of your time and isnt very impressive at all.

Dan

Reply 9

Unregistered

how about studiying abroad like ireland, how do iget in there?

Reply 10

Unregistered

wow, i'm in hte same boat as the person who posted this thread. i've got 2 medicine offers, but i'm not going to get my maths grades, and very possibly not my chem grade either. does this mean we'll have to reapply all over again?

Reply 11

Unregistered

i am the original poster.
i think we have to look at another course and then if you really commited, do medicine as a graduate entry.
they rarely accept retake students and require AAA which, if we miss by a mark,(more than likely as do you really want to go through a whol year of maths again, id fail p3 if i had the answers in front of me) we'll have wasted a whole year so its not worth the risk.

Reply 12

Unregistered

Hey guys wait a second! (To the two who are worried about missing the grade)

Don't think that missing your offers automatically expels you from medical school. I was made three offers at AAB, and at first I was worried bout missin the maths grade. But then I made a few inquireries. A medical school who has already given you an offer has already read your UCAS form and interviewed you, so they know you. If you miss the grades by a lil bit, there still more likely to accept you than someone from the clearing system who they don't have a clue about and have never met (yes, you can get into medicine through clearing, but you have to be MEGA fast!)

Not many people know that unis get our results five days before we get them, and have that time to sort out who they want from the list of people that dont make the grades. When you have your results, phone up straight away and speak to someone at the uni, and you could easily be pleasently surprised!!

The proof? A good friend of mine in the year above me was offered AAB -- he got in anyway with ABC!! (two grades down!!)

Good luck!!

Liam