GCSE results and medicine

These are my GCSEs results
Chemistry - A
Biology - A
Physics - A*
Maths - AA
Geography - A
ICT - A
English Literature - A
English Language - B
Spanish - B
Art -

In summary: 1A* 7A's 3B's
I am studying A - levels in Chemistry, Biology, Maths and psychology.
Will these grades be enough to allow me to study medicine?

Also which 3 subjects should I continue to A2? And what can I do during year 12 to improve my application?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

cheesedrew

check here for your uni of choice
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/content.php?r=15897-medical-school-gcse-requirements

From my understanding, you meet the minimum requirements for many of the medicine courses in terms of GCSEs

Reply 2

troubadour.

Original post by Helpmeoutplease

As the person above said, you meet the requirements for most medicine courses (who tend to focus more on A-level anyway). However, there are a number of universities who use your GCSE results to decide whether to call you for interview and you'll need to avoid these as people with 6+ A*s will be applying to these as well. Examples of such universities would include Cardiff, QUB, and Oxford.

In addition to the link above, also see http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Applying_to_Medical_School_using_your_Strengths to see which medical schools use GCSEs a lot and which don't. This should allow you to apply strategically to give yourself the best chance of getting in. :smile:

Reply 3

Helpmeoutplease

Original post by cheesedrew

Yes, having 8 A/A* grades is above most minimum requirements however I doubt myself getting in due to high competition.

Reply 4

Helpmeoutplease

Original post by Hydeman

Thanks for the link and advice

Reply 5

cheesedrew

Original post by Helpmeoutplease

Yes, having 8 A/A* grades is above most minimum requirements however I doubt myself getting in due to high competition.

Well, I know of someone who got into med through clearing. Just apply if you have the passion and see what happens. Most successful med students think they were really lucky and probably doubted themselves too.

Reply 6

troubadour.

Original post by cheesedrew

You know somebody who got into medicine through Clearing? How? O.o Was this recent or a few years ago?

Reply 7

Helpmeoutplease

Original post by klegend02

I was told I'd be 'very unlikely' to get offers with < 7 A*s, but maybe that's because I go to a private school, which I think some unis do consider - so if your results are good compared to your cohort, you should be fine. Still avoid certain unis though - find out which ones contextualise your GCSEs with your school.

My school had 47% of students achieving the standard of 5 C grades, so I wouldn't say my school is the best

Reply 8

Helpmeoutplease

Original post by klegend02

That's pretty meh. So your results are fine. If you get very high AS UMS, Cambridge is a good shout as they contextualise GCSEs and focus more on AS. Are you still doing AS Levels (as in, doing exams and getting qualifications at the end of Year 12?)?

No, they are linear so when I begin A2 my AS results will be gone and I do all my AS and A2 exams at the end of year 13, except the subject I drop at the end of year 12 of course