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Cambridge Medicine Students and Applicants

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Original post by ThatFrog
I'll give you some insight into me, and what I did, etc.

I'm not quite in the same situation as you, but I did Chemistry, Maths, Biology and English Lit for AS, dropped English Lit for A2 so I could focus on sciences more and have a stronger approach to being dedicated to medicine.

I think in some ways physics replaces maths, but having said that, I think maybe you should drop English at A2 and pick up maths at AS. That way they'd know you're not incompetent at maths :smile:

For GCSEs I got 6A*s, 5As, 2Bs (music and drama :biggrin:), I don't think they take GCSEs much into account, as long as they're semi decent, should be okay. Post them and we'll be able to further advise you?

But look, medicine is tough to get into anywhere, as long as you're determined, you get As this year and you do well in the BMAT, you should be in with a fair chance.

I'm a crap candidate in terms of grades etc compared to others, but I improved at AS even though my school had classes of around 20-25 students in each :s-smilie: just show them you're determined!


Thank you very much ThatFrog :smile: I was considering to take maths next year but was wondering how they work as a combination at A2 in terms of intensity?


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Reply 1841
Original post by Helenia
Your GCSEs are fine. You need to get >90% in all of your AS levels to be in with a decent chance at Cambridge. There's no need to do further maths next year unless you're really keen on it.


Thank you! Would you not recommend further maths to AS then? I'm doing the majority of maths A level this year and will only have 2 exams next year in maths so I thought further maths might make me stand out a bit more?!
Guys, I am in Year 12 (first year of A levels) and I got 7 A*, 4 A and 1 B at GCSE. I am finding AS okay. I do have an extenuating circumstance - my father had a brain tumour when i was in Year 9 and he has been in and out of hospital which had significantly affected my revision for GCSE.

He had an operation in march last year, which meant I only had April and a week in May to revise for the exams. I got the highest grades in my school for GCSE. My school is very bad - it is a foundation school. But for my A levels I am attending a grammar school. So should I bother applying to Oxbridge or not? If yes, where - Cambridge or Oxford and why there?

Your help is appreciated.
Original post by MrOxbridge
Guys, I am in Year 12 (first year of A levels) and I got 7 A*, 4 A and 1 B at GCSE. I am finding AS okay. I do have an extenuating circumstance - my father had a brain tumour when i was in Year 9 and he has been in and out of hospital which had significantly affected my revision for GCSE.

He had an operation in march last year, which meant I only had April and a week in May to revise for the exams. I got the highest grades in my school for GCSE. My school is very bad - it is a foundation school. But for my A levels I am attending a grammar school. So should I bother applying to Oxbridge or not? If yes, where - Cambridge or Oxford and why there?

Your help is appreciated.


Cambridge don't care that much about GCSEs and they would accept the extenuating circumstances so yeah go for it! I would recommend Cambridge but as this is the CAMBRIDGE medicine thread I think everyone on here will be biased towards Cambridge :biggrin:


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Original post by MrOxbridge
Guys, I am in Year 12 (first year of A levels) and I got 7 A*, 4 A and 1 B at GCSE. I am finding AS okay. I do have an extenuating circumstance - my father had a brain tumour when i was in Year 9 and he has been in and out of hospital which had significantly affected my revision for GCSE.

He had an operation in march last year, which meant I only had April and a week in May to revise for the exams. I got the highest grades in my school for GCSE. My school is very bad - it is a foundation school. But for my A levels I am attending a grammar school. So should I bother applying to Oxbridge or not? If yes, where - Cambridge or Oxford and why there?

Your help is appreciated.


Hey :smile:. I'm very sorry to hear about your circumstances! Firstly I'd say your GCSEs are good enough, without the extenuating circumstances, so the fact you had extenuating circumstances puts you at an even better advantage. Also your GCSEs are looked at in comparision to your schools average so that is another advantage for you.
Also a school being a foundation school doesn't mean it's bad, my school, which is a grammar school is classified as a foundation school (state-funded).

And for Cambridge vs. Oxford, look at their criteria, Cambridge like high AS UMS, Oxford like high A* GCSE % and BMAT scores. Look at both courses, and perhaps visit each city - don't take our word for which university would be best for you! :smile:
Original post by hallie.m
Thank you! Would you not recommend further maths to AS then? I'm doing the majority of maths A level this year and will only have 2 exams next year in maths so I thought further maths might make me stand out a bit more?!


If you're already doing 4 A-levels, not really. And most medical schools will not count it as a separate subject to Maths - so I'd not do it and allow yourself to enjoy U6th a bit more!

MrOxbridge
Guys, I am in Year 12 (first year of A levels) and I got 7 A*, 4 A and 1 B at GCSE. I am finding AS okay. I do have an extenuating circumstance - my father had a brain tumour when i was in Year 9 and he has been in and out of hospital which had significantly affected my revision for GCSE.

He had an operation in march last year, which meant I only had April and a week in May to revise for the exams. I got the highest grades in my school for GCSE. My school is very bad - it is a foundation school. But for my A levels I am attending a grammar school. So should I bother applying to Oxbridge or not? If yes, where - Cambridge or Oxford and why there?

Your help is appreciated.

Tbh, those grades are fine for Cambridge without extenuating circumstances, though it can't hurt to apply with them anyway. The most important thing is to get really high UMS in your AS levels, and then to do well in the BMAT.
Reply 1846
Original post by Future_medic :)
Thank you very much ThatFrog :smile: I was considering to take maths next year but was wondering how they work as a combination at A2 in terms of intensity?


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Well, English lit at A2 is very intense, that's probably why I dropped it tbh. I didn't feel like maths AS was that bad but it depends on how good you are at maths, how you'll be after missing a year out from doing it. Everyone I know says physics is crazy, they're all finding it a pain. Chemistry is okay, I have crap teachers for biology so a lot of the work has to be done at home, etc.

Having said all this, it all comes down to how much YOU can handle not others, you could always take up maths AS at the beginning of the next academic year, see if the first few weeks are ok and drop if not :biggrin:
Original post by Future_medic :)
Hey, I'm currently in year 12 and looking to study medicine (preferably at Cambridge) and I have quite a few questions and minor concerns that hopefully some current medical students, year 13 students etc could answer and clarify for me :smile: (apologies if I may have repeated what may have already been discussed....please bear with me :s-smilie: )

^ slightly long winded but any-who. So I am taking chemistry, biology, physics and English literature and was wondering if any current med students/medics had this combination of as levels. I am also hoping to continue with these next year and was wondering if this combination will be beneficial for a prospective med student (specifically taking English lit. as opposed to maths), and weather taking all four would also put me at a grater or even a slight advantage in terms of competition. I am more that determined to work ten times harder to achieve a minimum of one a* and 4a's at A2 :smile:

I would also like to know what the lowest GCSE grades have been achieved by current cambridge students. I wouldn't say I have achieved the lowest ;I didn't get all c's or b's, but I achieved the best I could without full or any guidance and/or support form my secondary teachers (I would post my results, but having seen how many students have said "I got such average results" yet achieved like 7a*'s and 3a's, I would rather not :/ )
Although my secondary school is apparently "the best in the borough", I never did get the same encouragement that other student did; I was never pushed to achieve a*s so had to teach myself in many cases, but by Gods grace I've been placed at a great sixth form that have been pushing me from the very start :biggrin: so sorry to waffle on, but would just like to give you full picture.

Long story short, I have done my research prior but are GCSEs at any point of the application process at cambridge taken into account?

Thanks in advance for any contribution, and apologies one again for the length :biggrin:


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Hi I've recently recieved an offer for medicine from cambridge, so here are a few
pointers.

I applied to King's and I was speaking to a professor on an open
day, and I told her my A levels (maths, furthermaths As Biology Chemistry
Music) and at the music she said "oh good an essay subject". King's
may be exceptional in taking a large account of essays as they also ask that
you complete an essay in an hour at interview, but there it is. As for GCSE's I
think that they do matter but are by no means as important as As grades/marks.
One of the things that they are looking for is the imporovement from GCSE to A
level, (practically a quote from admissions) however I hear (not as reliable by
half) that many applicants have around 6 a*. I had 7 a* and an a (as my school
is a music school we only could do 8 so that included double science). Cambridge
ask for the individual modular marks for your As units and a figure of 95% is
heard a lot (I got slightly lower than this, it is only an average after all,
UMS marks thank god!), so this is important to bear in mind. I did however do
well in the BMAT. I have a friend who got in for medicine as well her As marks
were pretty awesome but her BMAT was excatly average (slightly above). What I'm
getting at is if there are weaknesses in your application then strengths in
other parts will counterbalance this. By account of your GCSE experience I
doubt that they would take this much into account (opinion here, (but probably
accurate)).

Finally a personal note to you (and many other oxbridge applicants
for medicine) you are (fairly) obviously very committed to getting into
cambridge, and for medicine. Do you really want to go to Cambridge or is it a
holy grail of personal achievement/for the quedos (old question but a very good
one to think through (I know it partly was for me))? Secondly relax, it is just
a university, the most important thing is that you are happy where you go.
Thirdly there is an element (you can never be sure how large or small it is) of
luck, there may well have been many others who would cope with the demands of
the course (possibly to a greater extent than me) who just didn't have the
luck. It is possible to inundate yourself with piles of admissions politics (social
backgroung etc.), and rely on some esoteric part of your cv, not a good idea
keep your eyes on the place! Finally there is no need to be
shy/embarrassed/stressed about results, it dosen't help! Sorry to
lecture/ramble (try that for long winded :smile: ) I know that I would have found it
useful to think through some of these points as it can be easy to loose
perspective/become fixated (or mabey I've become too philosophical in my old
age :P ). The best advice you can recieve (and probably the most unwelcome) is
work hard! If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask me, and good
luck

Aidan
Reply 1848
Anyone got the DBS form? Do we have to send originals of id to them or are copies ok?


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Original post by Rory_M
Anyone got the DBS form? Do we have to send originals of id to them or are copies ok?


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I have and I'm wondering the same thing, probably best to ring up and ask :smile:


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Reply 1850
Original post by Rory_M
Anyone got the DBS form? Do we have to send originals of id to them or are copies ok?


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Original post by WenlockRhys
I have and I'm wondering the same thing, probably best to ring up and ask :smile:


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Definitely originals! It says on their website in bold:
Photocopies WILL NOT be accepted. ALWAYS send original documentation.
(edited 10 years ago)
So were entrusting passports etc to Royal Mail?


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Reply 1852
Original post by WenlockRhys
So were entrusting passports etc to Royal Mail?


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They have a special delivery service which costs arounnd £5 i think but they get it there the next day and it's signed for. I sent. My drivers license instead of passport because i thought that was a safer option but that was fine and my college returned it the same way.
Reply 1853
Original post by WenlockRhys
So were entrusting passports etc to Royal Mail?


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Original post by VaVe
They have a special delivery service which costs arounnd £5 i think but they get it there the next day and it's signed for. I sent. My drivers license instead of passport because i thought that was a safer option but that was fine and my college returned it the same way.

Sending via recorded delivery should be okay, just make sure you don't need your passport for any time in the next 1-2 months :smile:
Original post by aidanhaslam
Hi I've recently recieved an offer for medicine from cambridge, so here are a few
pointers.

I applied to King's and I was speaking to a professor on an open
day, and I told her my A levels (maths, furthermaths As Biology Chemistry
Music) and at the music she said "oh good an essay subject". King's
may be exceptional in taking a large account of essays as they also ask that
you complete an essay in an hour at interview, but there it is. As for GCSE's I
think that they do matter but are by no means as important as As grades/marks.
One of the things that they are looking for is the imporovement from GCSE to A
level, (practically a quote from admissions) however I hear (not as reliable by
half) that many applicants have around 6 a*. I had 7 a* and an a (as my school
is a music school we only could do 8 so that included double science). Cambridge
ask for the individual modular marks for your As units and a figure of 95% is
heard a lot (I got slightly lower than this, it is only an average after all,
UMS marks thank god!), so this is important to bear in mind. I did however do
well in the BMAT. I have a friend who got in for medicine as well her As marks
were pretty awesome but her BMAT was excatly average (slightly above). What I'm
getting at is if there are weaknesses in your application then strengths in
other parts will counterbalance this. By account of your GCSE experience I
doubt that they would take this much into account (opinion here, (but probably
accurate)).

Finally a personal note to you (and many other oxbridge applicants
for medicine) you are (fairly) obviously very committed to getting into
cambridge, and for medicine. Do you really want to go to Cambridge or is it a
holy grail of personal achievement/for the quedos (old question but a very good
one to think through (I know it partly was for me))? Secondly relax, it is just
a university, the most important thing is that you are happy where you go.
Thirdly there is an element (you can never be sure how large or small it is) of
luck, there may well have been many others who would cope with the demands of
the course (possibly to a greater extent than me) who just didn't have the
luck. It is possible to inundate yourself with piles of admissions politics (social
backgroung etc.), and rely on some esoteric part of your cv, not a good idea
keep your eyes on the place! Finally there is no need to be
shy/embarrassed/stressed about results, it dosen't help! Sorry to
lecture/ramble (try that for long winded :smile: ) I know that I would have found it
useful to think through some of these points as it can be easy to loose
perspective/become fixated (or mabey I've become too philosophical in my old
age :P ). The best advice you can recieve (and probably the most unwelcome) is
work hard! If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask me, and good
luck

Aidano



Thank you so so much Adian, this has really put it all in perspective for me :smile: and congratulations!

Regarding the GCSEs, I did well to get to the sixth form that I'm at now but really wish that I was pushed by my teachers (when ever I said I wanted I achieve an a* they would give a look as if to say "good luck with that") I only achieved 2As 5Bs and 4Cs :/ I know that I could have done much better if I was given any guidance but oh well, I just that God that I've been put in a great school :smile:

Initially I was more or less intimidated by applying for Oxbridge so didn't see it as much as a personal achievement, but having looked at what they had to offer in terms of course structure, the traditional method of teaching and the provisions, and the fact that the first three years consist of pure science and experiments behind medicine; I have been drawn more and more to cambridge as many other universities do not have this unique structure and method of learning and I guess it's a great start for a career in which I'll be learning constantly probably even after retirement :smile: I just have a huge thirst for knowledge with medicine and I know that cambridge will really fulfil this, and the fact that you'll be taught by leading professors and be able to have a one to one or two to one with them just gets me every time :')

Thank you once again Aidan, I really appreciate your advice :biggrin: and good luck with your alevels too!



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Reply 1855
Hi, I'm not sure if this belongs in this thread, but I am applying to Cambridge for Medicine and I was wondering which other universities people are going to apply for other than Cambridge???

I was thinking Kings, Imperial and St Andrews? I quite like traditional universities (:
Original post by hallie.m
Hi, I'm not sure if this belongs in this thread, but I am applying to Cambridge for Medicine and I was wondering which other universities people are going to apply for other than Cambridge???

I was thinking Kings, Imperial and St Andrews? I quite like traditional universities (:


Good luck, I applied this year and applied to Cambridge, Kings, UCL and Newcastle - giving me a mix of ukcat and bmat unis :smile:



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Hi!
Just a quick question: Everyone seems to be talking about high UMS grades for AS, so how will Cambridge judge you if you're taking Pre-Us and therefore only have predicted grades?
Thanks:smile:
Original post by hallie.m
Hi, I'm not sure if this belongs in this thread, but I am applying to Cambridge for Medicine and I was wondering which other universities people are going to apply for other than Cambridge???

I was thinking Kings, Imperial and St Andrews? I quite like traditional universities (:


Hey I'm applying in 2014 so my choices are in no way final but I was thinking Cambridge, UCL, Bristol and Southampton. I like trad too but I know someone who loves it in Southampton. And my parents met in Bristol :colondollar:
What do you think of my combo?
Reply 1859
Original post by natlynn96
Hey I'm applying in 2014 so my choices are in no way final but I was thinking Cambridge, UCL, Bristol and Southampton. I like trad too but I know someone who loves it in Southampton. And my parents met in Bristol :colondollar:
What do you think of my combo?

I think they're a good combination :smile: I applied to three of the same as you! Cambridge and UCL take the BMAT into account and Southampton take UKCAT. So if your UKCAT went badly (you'd know before you applied) then perhaps rethink Southampton. But if you have a good UKCAT and good personal statement then Southampton is a good choice as they currently don't interview for the 5 year undergrad course :smile: And if all your admissions tests go badly (hopefully not) then Bristol doesn't take any admissions tests into account :smile: Sorry if I've confused you with the whole admissions test thing, feel free to ask if you have no idea what I'm on about. But basically, I think your choices are a good combo :smile:

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