University choice for medicine

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

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

Original post by meganbooker

I got 5A*s and 6 As at GCSEs and I'm predicted for 4 As at AS level. Which universities would I have a higher chance of getting into for Medicine with these grades and which should I avoid?

Reply 3

Original post by meganbooker

I got 5A*s and 6 As at GCSEs and I'm predicted for 4 As at AS level. Which universities would I have a higher chance of getting into for Medicine with these grades and which should I avoid?

Your GCSEs are amazing however in the ridiculous world of medical admissions they are not 'up there' enough to depend upon :frown:

Don't apply to Cardiff (they don't look at AS results only GCSEs and/or A levels) so your GCSEs won't be good enough on their point system to get an interview (we worked out you needed 6 A*s to be certain for 2014 entry and things have only got worse since then).
Don't apply to Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Birmingham or any of the other bigwig unis - they can't imagine life beyond 7/8/9A*s.
Consider Leeds (they are in the early stages of demanding the BMAT which is a disadvantage (tough test) however their pre-existing admissions process is such that AAAA at AS gives you 100% academics so GCSEs aren't then looked at).
Consider Keele - they have a basic GCSE academic threshold and then choose who to interview based on PS (they have a phenomenally good section on how to write the PS on their website).
Consider Exeter or Plymouth - both assess your application on predicted A levels and UKCAT so GCSEs and PS don't rank. You need at least A*AA predicted for Plymouth and A*A*A predicted for Exeter (these could possibly go up again next year).
Consider Leicester - depending on subjects, your GCSEs would probably give you full academic points (provided you get AAAA at AS) so you just need a great UKCAT score to secure an interview.
Consider Liverpool - you would have full academic ranking there too just from your GCSEs after which they rely on PS to select for interview.
Consider UEA - they have a fairly basic academic GCSE /UKCAT requirement and then rely on PS.
Consider BSMS - they have fairly straightforward GCSE requirements. They now demand the BMAT (Although there is a suspicion that they don't consider it to be a major deciding factor). They look for extension to your academic portfolio (perhaps an EPQ or 4th A-level) or something really special in your PS.

I'm sure there are loads of others to consider but even with your fantastic results you will need to be very strategic if you want to secure an interview (or 4)...

Good luck!

Reply 4

meganbooker

OP

3

Original post by Dr Gin

Your GCSEs are amazing however in the ridiculous world of medical admissions they are not 'up there' enough to depend upon :frown:

Don't apply to Cardiff (they don't look at AS results only GCSEs and/or A levels) so your GCSEs won't be good enough on their point system to get an interview (we worked out you needed 6 A*s to be certain for 2014 entry and things have only got worse since then).
Don't apply to Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Birmingham or any of the other bigwig unis - they can't imagine life beyond 7/8/9A*s.
Consider Leeds (they are in the early stages of demanding the BMAT which is a disadvantage (tough test) however their pre-existing admissions process is such that AAAA at AS gives you 100% academics so GCSEs aren't then looked at).
Consider Keele - they have a basic GCSE academic threshold and then choose who to interview based on PS (they have a phenomenally good section on how to write the PS on their website).
Consider Exeter or Plymouth - both assess your application on predicted A levels and UKCAT so GCSEs and PS don't rank. You need at least A*AA predicted for Plymouth and A*A*A predicted for Exeter (these could possibly go up again next year).
Consider Leicester - depending on subjects, your GCSEs would probably give you full academic points (provided you get AAAA at AS) so you just need a great UKCAT score to secure an interview.
Consider Liverpool - you would have full academic ranking there too just from your GCSEs after which they rely on PS to select for interview.
Consider UEA - they have a fairly basic academic GCSE /UKCAT requirement and then rely on PS.
Consider BSMS - they have fairly straightforward GCSE requirements. They now demand the BMAT (Although there is a suspicion that they don't consider it to be a major deciding factor). They look for extension to your academic portfolio (perhaps an EPQ or 4th A-level) or something really special in your PS.

I'm sure there are loads of others to consider but even with your fantastic results you will need to be very strategic if you want to secure an interview (or 4)...

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. Would UCL be included in the 'bigwig' Unis?

Reply 5

Gnomes&Knights

All Medical Schools are highly competitive to get into. It wouldn't matter which Medical School you graduate from because you will have equal chance of getting a job as other Med graduates. I highly recommend St George's. Avoid Birmingham.

Reply 6

Original post by meganbooker

Thank you for your reply. Would UCL be included in the 'bigwig' Unis?

Deffo!

Reply 7

Original post by meganbooker

Thank you for your reply. Would UCL be included in the 'bigwig' Unis?

You need to do your own research (eg by looking at the links I posted, for a start) as opposed to relying on what one poster tells you on a forum. Eg. successful applicants to Cambridge may generally have an insane number of A*s but until now they have selected on the basis of AS UMS and BMAT, not GCSE scores, so the stuff Dr Gin is saying is not necessarily correct in any way.

Reply 8

Original post by Ronove

You need to do your own research (eg by looking at the links I posted, for a start) as opposed to relying on what one poster tells you on a forum. Eg. successful applicants to Cambridge may generally have an insane number of A*s but until now they have selected on the basis of AS UMS and BMAT, not GCSE scores, so the stuff Dr Gin is saying is not necessarily correct in any way.

Ouch. OK, my apologies for wrongly including Cambridge in my list. I agree that everyone needs to do their own research but feel that you are being a little scathing here. I have done 2 years of research (7 med schools applied to over 2 years) to support my daughter who has very similar GCSE results and I am only trying to help. Much of the research I have done has involved reading the opinions and ideas of TSR users on multiple threads; this has been a great starting point for more in-depth research (for example attending open days or contacting admissions teams direct with specific questions) and has been incredibly helpful. I thought that the whole point of TSR was to share experience and support one another; I didn't realise that we were only allowed to post specific 'approved' links..?

Reply 9

futuremedic19

16

Original post by meganbooker

I got 5A*s and 6 As at GCSEs and I'm predicted for 4 As at AS level. Which universities would I have a higher chance of getting into for Medicine with these grades and which should I avoid?

Hi. I'm applying for the 2nd time now so I have a fairly good idea of different med schools selection procedures.

First of all congratz on your amazing GCSEs. Don't believe anyone that says you need 10A*s to get into Medicine lol.
Your GCSEs definitely won't hold you back but just remember A levels are really hard and you need to work incredibly hard to actually get those 4A grades at AS.

The trouble is that for medicine GCSEs only form a small part of the whole picture. Lots of Med schools use aptitude tests like the ukcat, so your score on that will decide whether or not you can apply to certain med schools as some are very ukcat heavy.

Some med schools look very much into your AS grades. E.g UCL and Cambridge. Cambridge ask for your UMS marks and ideally you'd want to averaging out to 90% ums + to stand a chance.

Some med schools are very Personal statement heavy. I.e Bristol/Lancaster/Liverpool. And they tend to be extremely competitive due to people with low ukcat scores applying there and they tend to be really strict when assessing your personal statement.

However based on your current GCSEs you should have no problem applying to 80% of med schools.

The ones you might be at a disadvantage and should avoid are :

Cardiff (last year (probs this year aswell) they only considered you if you had 8A*s +)

Birmingham (Absolutely crazy about GCSEs)

Oxford (again use GCSEs for selection and ideally you need 90% of your gcses at a*)

QUB (similar to Cardiff and GCSEs play a major role in interview selection)

Cambridge (Most people there have got 7-8 A*s however if you have amazing UMS accross Chem/Bio and Maths go for it)

Edinburgh (I think I read somewhere that most offer holders have 8-11A*s)

Apart from those above your GCSEs are more than enough for all other med schools so well done !!!! :smile:

But again it's difficult to give you advice on where to apply solely based on your GCSEs as your AS grades/A2 predictions/Personal statement and UKCAT score play a much greater role in selection.

Feel free to PM me about A levels/ the whole med application process anytime :smile:

Reply 10

Original post by Dr Gin

Ouch. OK, my apologies for wrongly including Cambridge in my list. I agree that everyone needs to do their own research but feel that you are being a little scathing here. I have done 2 years of research (7 med schools applied to over 2 years) to support my daughter who has very similar GCSE results and I am only trying to help. Much of the research I have done has involved reading the opinions and ideas of TSR users on multiple threads; this has been a great starting point for more in-depth research (for example attending open days or contacting admissions teams direct with specific questions) and has been incredibly helpful. I thought that the whole point of TSR was to share experience and support one another; I didn't realise that we were only allowed to post specific 'approved' links..?

Cambridge was an example. Don't disingenuously suggest that I've implied the rest was accurate. The fact that you seem to think there's a clear correlation between something you call 'bigwig' unis and GCSE requirements suggests that there's a whole load of further errors in your posts that I haven't bothered to scrutinise. Someone else has already pointed out that there's no such thing as 'bigwig' unis in the context of medical school. Oxford and Cambridge retain their prestige no matter what the facts are but that's the extent of it.

My post is a little scathing because it's generally a bit of a faux pas to see that someone has pointedly provided some links, as a suggestion to the OP that they're going to need to develop some initiative in order to get into med school and not rely on everyone else to do their own, person-specific research for them, and then go ahead and give the OP what they were hoping for - donkey work and easy answers. The fact that they don't appear to be terribly accurate answers just makes it worse (but might teach the OP a lesson eventually).

You say you've been here for two years and have read what other TSR users have written etc - what do you think the rest of us are doing here?

Reply 11

Chief Wiggum

Original post by Ronove

You need to do your own research (eg by looking at the links I posted, for a start) as opposed to relying on what one poster tells you on a forum. Eg. successful applicants to Cambridge may generally have an insane number of A*s but until now they have selected on the basis of AS UMS and BMAT, not GCSE scores, so the stuff Dr Gin is saying is not necessarily correct in any way.

GCSEs are used in selection for medicine at Cambridge, AFAIK. Not in a strict way like Oxford, but I'm pretty sure they're considered alongside everything else.

Reply 12

I just feel I should clarify my use of the term 'bigwig' regarding med schools: in no way am I suggesting that 'bigwig' unis are better than the 'little wig' ones, in fact, just the opposite. Sometimes young people are lured by the prestige of the 'big' names and could actually have a much better time and educational experience in a more 'down-to-earth' educational establishment. At the end of the day everyone will have the same status as a FY doc no matter where they train (lots of things affect this status and therefore your employability but not the actual uni itself). According to the GMC's latest 'Tomorrow's Doctors' update currently the most confident/prepared graduates come from UEA & Keele; the least prepared come from Cambridge. Everyone needs to form their own opinion as to what kind of education they would enjoy but, in my humble experience (25 years in the medical profession and 2 years on this, the steepest learning-curve of my life) the medical school chooses you rather than the other way around. You need to apply to the med schools that are looking for people like you with your academic and personal strengths...

Reply 13

Original post by Chief Wiggum

GCSEs are used in selection for medicine at Cambridge, AFAIK. Not in a strict way like Oxford, but I'm pretty sure they're considered alongside everything else.

I've seen nothing to suggest that is the case and plenty to suggest it isn't, but hey ho. It could change now that the A-level system is changing, anyway.

Reply 14

Chief Wiggum

Original post by Ronove

I've seen nothing to suggest that is the case and plenty to suggest it isn't, but hey ho. It could change now that the A-level system is changing, anyway.

What have you seen to suggest that it isn't the case?

Reply 15

Original post by Chief Wiggum

What have you seen to suggest that it isn't the case?

The links I provided (in their various versions over time), the discussions surrounding applicants' chances at Cambridge on here, including official documents showing statistics and the discussions on here around them (and around the need to understand correlation does not imply causation, etc). The consensus has always been that your GCSEs aren't what is looked at, but that if you get the AS UMS and the BMAT results required to get an offer then you in all likelihood have 8/9/10 A*s at GCSE anyway.

Reply 16

nexttime

22

Original post by Dr Gin

According to the GMC's latest 'Tomorrow's Doctors' update currently the most confident/prepared graduates come from UEA & Keele; the least prepared come from Cambridge.

Source? Entirely true of course, i'm just surprised the GMC have put it in writing.

Reply 17

Original post by nexttime

Source? Entirely true of course, i'm just surprised the GMC have put it in writing.

My thoughts exactly...

http://www.gmc-uk.org/SoMEP_chapter_3.pdf_58053779.pdf

Reply 18

nexttime

22

Original post by Dr Gin

My thoughts exactly...

http://www.gmc-uk.org/SoMEP_chapter_3.pdf_58053779.pdf

Ok so its a survey about self-reported confidence rather than the official statement i thought you were referring to. Interesting that there's a big difference between Oxford and Cambridge though. Only Cambridge students understand the ****storm they signed up for? :tongue:

I.. already knew this but its nice to see up to date figures: Oxbridge graduates under half as likely to sign up to be GPs compared to the average, with no other med school even close to that figure. How interesting.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 19

Chief Wiggum