Are these sufficient enough to study medicine?

I got 3 A*'s and 7A's. Are these sufficient GCSE's to study medicine at Cambridge - so many people beat that. So is it even worth it becoming a doctor with these grades in terms of employment chances?

Reply 1

Scienceisgood

21

A levels matter more than GCSEs.
So, if you manage to get an A* or two, then you have a good chance. =)

Reply 2

Shamim1

OP

2

Original post by Scienceisgood

A levels matter more than GCSEs.
So, if you manage to get an A* or two, then you have a good chance. =)

And in regards to employment chances?..

Reply 3

Scienceisgood

21

Original post by Shamim1

And in regards to employment chances?..

Tbh, once you have A levels and a degree, your GCSEs are VERY trivial in terms of employing one person over another, especially if they are A grade.

Reply 4

Shamim1

OP

2

Original post by Scienceisgood

Tbh, once you have A levels and a degree, your GCSEs are VERY trivial in terms of employing one person over another, especially if they are A grade.

Interesting response.

Reply 5

theresheglows

12

Original post by Shamim1

I got 3 A*'s and 7A's. Are these sufficient GCSE's to study medicine at Cambridge - so many people beat that. So is it even worth it becoming a doctor with these grades in terms of employment chances?

They are ok for medicine as long as you apply strategically according to your strengths; tbh I don't think Cambridge would be your best bet. But it's difficult to say where you would be best off applying without your AS grades and UKCAT.

In terms of actual employment as a doctor after your degree your GCSEs are not even looked at AFAIK. It's about your degree result (& where you came in your year), any research you have done and your score in the SJT (a national exam all grads have to sit to get into foundation training). Additionally the places you apply to do not even see what uni you went to, so dont worry about cambridge from an employment prospects pov it makes no difference.

Reply 6

mr.purplelambkin

11

Original post by Shamim1

I got 3 A*'s and 7A's. Are these sufficient GCSE's to study medicine at Cambridge - so many people beat that. So is it even worth it becoming a doctor with these grades in terms of employment chances?

Hmmm I don't know how to answer that. I won't say its impossible to get into Cambridge and study medicine but tbh I'd rather give up on that dream already. And I'll tell you why.

I attended two potential Oxbridge candidates conferences so let me tell you that the average student did achieve 6-7 A*s at GCSE level. There were some who achieved 3 but that bar was very small compared to the others on the official bar chart. A lot actually achieved 9 and that's near 8 which i think was the average.

Some people will tell you, "Oh, nobody cares about GCSEs..." but this is only true to every single university out there except Cambridge, and Oxford maybe. To those who disagree with me, I say you're talking *******s. Cambridge will look at your GCSEs; Oxford may look at yours but only really when they're deciding between two potential candidates.

And think of it this way: 1 in 20 applicants actually get accepted into med school and 1 in 20 applicants actually get accepted into Cambridge. You have to be really special if you believe you can get into Cambridge's med school.

You also sound like one of those optimistic 16 year plus who have such high hopes in life and the future and academia blah blah. I laugh at people like you but only because I used to be one of you.

I wanted to get into medicine, once. I took Maths, Chem, Bio and English at AS. I was lazy and messed around in my first year like nearly everyone else. I grew bored of Biology and lost my motivation for medicine.

I signed up for a work observation thing at a specialist hospital, milling around in theatres etc and loved every single minute of it but realised I wanted a life outside my job when I grew up. Even though it all seemed great but I couldn't help but think I didn't belong in such an environment; the patients would tire me out, paperwork seemed boring, walking around all day, always talking to people blah blah

I waited for my grades, ended up with ABBB (A in English) and you need straight As to get into medicine. I told myself that my grades would decide everything and I kind of pretty much gave up on medicine. I have friends who are applying for their UKCAT and all but, gosh, wow meds have to work hard and I just figured I'm a lazy person.

So, yeah. Hopefully going to try to get into Computer Science with Artificial intelligence soon. Honestly, I kind of enjoyed computers more than real people, so, yeah, at least I'm not completely lost!

Besides all of that, I don't understand why you feel the need to go to Cambridge specifically to get into medicine. Your idea sounded so unoriginal -- no offence -- and you can get your degree from whichever crappy med school you choose. The best thing about medicine is that you can practise anywhere you want. For example, I know a friend who took her degree at Leicester, was working as a lung specialist and is now being ?"promoted" to some position in Cambridge. So there.

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Reply 7

Shamim1

OP

2

Original post by theresheglows

They are ok for medicine as long as you apply strategically according to your strengths; tbh I don't think Cambridge would be your best bet. But it's difficult to say where you would be best off applying without your AS grades and UKCAT.

In terms of actual employment as a doctor after your degree your GCSEs are not even looked at AFAIK. It's about your degree result (& where you came in your year), any research you have done and your score in the SJT (a national exam all grads have to sit to get into foundation training). Additionally the places you apply to do not even see what uni you went to, so dont worry about cambridge from an employment prospects pov it makes no difference.

Thanks for that

Reply 8

WannabeDoctor98

11

Original post by Shamim1

I got 3 A*'s and 7A's. Are these sufficient GCSE's to study medicine at Cambridge - so many people beat that. So is it even worth it becoming a doctor with these grades in terms of employment chances?

Cambridge is unrealistic- they are looking for 8+ A*'s (which I know a lot of people who got this year- lucky them 😒). Anyway medicine is the same where ever you study it, they can't have less qualified doctors running around! Of course there's a standard all uni's must have for medicine especially. Becoming a doctor? Yes that's still possible (I only did slightly better with 5 A*'s and 6 A's and looking two get two remarked to get it up to 7 A*'s- and I'm still considering it). If your passionate, and determined you will succeed because you will be willing to put the effort in (and your obviously not dumb your GCSE results show you have the potential)- good luck in whatever you choose

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Reply 9

troubadour.

19

Original post by mr.purplelambkin

Some people will tell you, "Oh, nobody cares about GCSEs..." but this is only true to every single university out there except Cambridge, and Oxford maybe. To those who disagree with me, I say you're talking *******s. Cambridge will look at your GCSEs; Oxford may look at yours but only really when they're deciding between two potential candidates.
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While I generally agreed with your post, the bit in bold is nonsense. Oxford use number of A*s at GCSE, proportion of A* grades at GCSE (plus some contextual data based on school performance) and BMAT scores to decide who to shortlist for interview. No interview = no offer. So yes, they do use it pretty heavily and not just as a tie-breaker. That's one of the main reasons that people with a large number of A*s at GCSE but not so great UMS scores apply for Oxford and not Cambridge. :tongue:

Reply 10

l'insegnante

14

Original post by theresheglows

They are ok for medicine as long as you apply strategically according to your strengths; tbh I don't think Cambridge would be your best bet. But it's difficult to say where you would be best off applying without your AS grades and UKCAT.

In terms of actual employment as a doctor after your degree your GCSEs are not even looked at AFAIK. It's about your degree result (& where you came in your year), any research you have done and your score in the SJT (a national exam all grads have to sit to get into foundation training). Additionally the places you apply to do not even see what uni you went to, so dont worry about cambridge from an employment prospects pov it makes no difference.

Employers know someone from Oxbridge due to Oxbridge awarding two degrees for medicine rather than one

Reply 11

vis break

3

Just go for it. If that's what's gunna keep you motivated to study. A levels are ret4rdedly difficult, start working on your subjects now. Cambridge looks at UMS scores in your subjects, which is the perecentage of marks you actuallly got on the papers.

Reply 12

mr.purplelambkin

11

Original post by Hydeman

While I generally agreed with your post, the bit in bold is nonsense. Oxford use number of A*s at GCSE, proportion of A* grades at GCSE (plus some contextual data based on school performance) and BMAT scores to decide who to shortlist for interview. No interview = no offer. So yes, they do use it pretty heavily and not just as a tie-breaker. That's one of the main reasons that people with a large number of A*s at GCSE but not so great UMS scores apply for Oxford and not Cambridge. :tongue:

Ah okay, you're probably right. Thanks for clearing that up! :colondollar:

Reply 13

theresheglows

12

Original post by l'insegnante

Employers know someone from Oxbridge due to Oxbridge awarding two degrees for medicine rather than one

As do St Andrews, UCL, Nottingham, Imperial, and the all others that intercalate.
When you apply for foundation training the deaneries do not see what university you studied at (& they dont care); they only care what decile you came in in your year at your uni. Having an additional bachelors degree as well as the MBBS is advantageous, but it is not only oxbridge grads who will have one; as well as the other med schools that intercalate there are the graduate entry students who did a degree before they did medicine.

Reply 14

l'insegnante

14

Original post by theresheglows

As do St Andrews, UCL, Nottingham, Imperial, and the all others that intercalate.
When you apply for foundation training the deaneries do not see what university you studied at (& they dont care); they only care what decile you came in in your year at your uni. Having an additional bachelors degree as well as the MBBS is advantageous, but it is not only oxbridge grads who will have one; as well as the other med schools that intercalate there are the graduate entry students who did a degree before they did medicine.

I am not talking about 2 completely separate degrees.
Oxbridge award 2 degrees for what other universities award 1. Rather than having the initial medical degree only be one degree they split it in two allowing employers to know an Oxbridge applicant. It was introduced after employers could no longer see the candidates university.
Unless of course a Cambridge lecturer is lying about it....

Reply 15

theresheglows

12

Original post by l'insegnante

I am not talking about 2 completely separate degrees.
Oxbridge award 2 degrees for what other universities award 1. Rather than having the initial medical degree only be one degree they split it in two allowing employers to know an Oxbridge applicant. It was introduced after employers could no longer see the candidates university.
Unless of course a Cambridge lecturer is lying about it....

An intercalated degree is not 2 separate degrees, there are other universities than oxbridge who run a medical degree 'split' in two so they receive 2 degrees in the 6 years of their medical degree, I already mentioned some of them in the top line of my last post.

If you're referring to the whole Cambridge 'double first' thing - that just means someone has achieved a grade equivalent of a first in 2 sets of examinations belonging to 2 different parts of the tripos they are studying, it is not two degrees. And it is not seen by the FY deanery.