Can I still do Medicine?

olivia1998

Hi, I only got a C in english language at GCSE and a B in core science. Can I still get into a good university to study medicine?
I got 6 A's, 1 A* a B and 2 C's at GCSE. Additional science was an A.
At AS level I do biology, geography, law, economics and world development, and I'm dropping economics next year and replacing it with AS chemistry while I do my A2 in biology, law and geography. I plan on getting AAA in my A levels and hopefully and A in chemistry as well. I really want to study medicine but only if its at a good/respectable university.
Should I take the risk of rejection from all my medical school choices or do a degree in biomedicine or biology or something?

p.s I'm really unsure how university works as nobody in my family has ever been before and Im not sure what I'm doing really. Also does it matter than my current school is under performing and quite bad even if I get good grades? (sorry for all the questions) :smile:

Reply 1

russellwallace

8

Original post by olivia1998

Hi, I only got a C in english language at GCSE and a B in core science. Can I still get into a good university to study medicine?
I got 6 A's, 1 A* a B and 2 C's at GCSE. Additional science was an A.
At AS level I do biology, geography, law, economics and world development, and I'm dropping economics next year and replacing it with AS chemistry while I do my A2 in biology, law and geography. I plan on getting AAA in my A levels and hopefully and A in chemistry as well. I really want to study medicine but only if its at a good/respectable university.
Should I take the risk of rejection from all my medical school choices or do a degree in biomedicine or biology or something?

p.s I'm really unsure how university works as nobody in my family has ever been before and Im not sure what I'm doing really. Also does it matter than my current school is under performing and quite bad even if I get good grades? (sorry for all the questions) :smile:

You need to go through the admissions requirements for all 32 medical schools and see which ones fit your qualifications. Your GCSEs will not suit the high GCSE places, your C in English will rule out others. The B in core science will not matter as long as you have the Additional Science grade A. Your lack of A2 Chemistry is going to restrict you more.

There are no bad medical schools so forget about the "good university to study medicine" or the "good/respectable university". You need to find one that will consider your particular set of qualifications.

You need to do your research on the med schools. You will need good voluntary work and, if possible, work experience.

Reply 2

Helenia

20

Original post by olivia1998

Hi, I only got a C in english language at GCSE and a B in core science. Can I still get into a good university to study medicine?
I got 6 A's, 1 A* a B and 2 C's at GCSE. Additional science was an A.
At AS level I do biology, geography, law, economics and world development, and I'm dropping economics next year and replacing it with AS chemistry while I do my A2 in biology, law and geography. I plan on getting AAA in my A levels and hopefully and A in chemistry as well. I really want to study medicine but only if its at a good/respectable university.
Should I take the risk of rejection from all my medical school choices or do a degree in biomedicine or biology or something?

p.s I'm really unsure how university works as nobody in my family has ever been before and Im not sure what I'm doing really. Also does it matter than my current school is under performing and quite bad even if I get good grades? (sorry for all the questions) :smile:

First of all, you need to get the idea of a "good/respectable" uni out of your head. All UK medical schools will give you a degree that will allow you to practice anywhere and if you want to stay in the UK there is no advantage to going somewhere more "prestigious." You are also at a disadvantage with your grades, which are below average for medicine, and by not having A2 Chemistry, which will rule you out of a lot of places. If you really want to do medicine, then you will have to work out which universities will accept your current grade and subject combinations and apply for those. Do you have any work experience/voluntary work?

You are going to need to do a fair bit of research into how applications work, in order to be in with a realistic shot. Your school should be able to help you out with the general UCAS application stuff, but may not know loads about applying to medicine specifically. Have a look at the TSR wiki to give you an idea of all the things you need to be thinking about. Good luck!

Reply 3

Mutleybm1996

19

Original post by Helenia

First of all, you need to get the idea of a "good/respectable" uni out of your head. All UK medical schools will give you a degree that will allow you to practice anywhere and if you want to stay in the UK there is no advantage to going somewhere more "prestigious." You are also at a disadvantage with your grades, which are below average for medicine, and by not having A2 Chemistry, which will rule you out of a lot of places. If you really want to do medicine, then you will have to work out which universities will accept your current grade and subject combinations and apply for those. Do you have any work experience/voluntary work?

You are going to need to do a fair bit of research into how applications work, in order to be in with a realistic shot. Your school should be able to help you out with the general UCAS application stuff, but may not know loads about applying to medicine specifically. Have a look at the TSR wiki to give you an idea of all the things you need to be thinking about. Good luck!

No A2 chemistry will rule them out of 96% of med schools

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 4

olivia1998

OP

Thankyou! I will look into it, but I think maybe medicine may be too much of a risky degree, as its likely that I will get rejected. Thank you for your answer, its helped me make a decision about what I want to do in the future! :smile:

Reply 5

Zorg

18

if you do attend a poor school then consider the widening participation pathways or foundation medicine degree. In any case you'd need to take Chemistry to A2, doable in a year but quite difficult.

Reply 6

Ronove

18

Original post by olivia1998

Thankyou! I will look into it, but I think maybe medicine may be too much of a risky degree, as its likely that I will get rejected. Thank you for your answer, its helped me make a decision about what I want to do in the future! :smile:

UCAS don't hunt you down and shoot you if you happen to get four/five rejections in an application cycle, you know. The only 'risk' is that you'll have to either take your backup choice or reapply while on a gap year (which is a route many people take when applying for Medicine).

Some of the Medicine with a Foundation Year programmes are open to people who have done the 'wrong' subjects, so you might want to look into that before you go taking AS Chemistry (many of them stipulate that applicants mustn't have taken more than one science, and not Chemistry - or something like that anyway, it's been a while since I looked).

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

olivia1998

OP

Original post by Ronove

UCAS don't hunt you down and shoot you if you happen to get four/five rejections in an application cycle, you know. The only 'risk' is that you'll have to either take your backup choice or reapply while on a gap year (which is a route many people take when applying for Medicine).

Some of the Medicine with a Foundation Year programmes are open to people who have done the 'wrong' subjects, so you might want to look into that before you go taking AS Chemistry (many of them stipulate that applicants mustn't have taken more than one science, and not Chemistry - or something like that anyway, it's been a while since I looked).

Oh right ok, so is geography classed as a science subject? (as some universities say in their prospectus that geography can be included when applying) because a university I have looked at has specifically requested that only one science subject is taken.

Reply 8

Ronove

18

Original post by olivia1998

Oh right ok, so is geography classed as a science subject? (as some universities say in their prospectus that geography can be included when applying) because a university I have looked at has specifically requested that only one science subject is taken.

Nope, the 'science' subjects are Chemistry, Biology, Physics and (potentially) Maths/Further Maths.

Reply 9

olivia1998

OP

Original post by Ronove

Nope, the 'science' subjects are Chemistry, Biology, Physics and (potentially) Maths/Further Maths.

Ok, thankyou! :smile:

Reply 10

HotCoco.

17

Your C in English language is a problem, as most if not all medical schools require a B minimum.

Also the majority of medical schools want chemistry to A2 level. I'm going to be fair and honest to you, but with so many other applicants your chances of getting a place are slim. Like someone said, I would definitely start researching foundation year medicine programmes as you may have a better shot.

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Reply 11

olivia1998

OP

Original post by HotCoco.

Your C in English language is a problem, as most if not all medical schools require a B minimum.

Also the majority of medical schools want chemistry to A2 level. I'm going to be fair and honest to you, but with so many other applicants your chances of getting a place are slim. Like someone said, I would definitely start researching foundation year medicine programmes as you may have a better shot.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk