Thinking of restarting my AS year to do different subjects to get into medical school

Hi everyone!

I've been researching the Internet for the past week and I can't find the right answer, so I've decided to come here for help.

I've just finished my AS year in which I took economics, business, maths and geography - and I'm expected to get straight Bs. Initially I wanted to do nursing at university but I've changed my mind and now want to do medicine.

I've spoken with my teacher about the possibility of starting all over again with my a levels and doing maths, chemistry and biology - but what's bothering me is if medicine schools will accept me because I restarted? And if all of this is worth it? It says on the majority of the websites about retaking subjects after A2 but I'm only retaking after AS so does that make a difference?

I also don't know if the personal issues I have classifies as an extreme circumstance that universities would understand.

Please help!

I have a lot of work experience and I'm a very ambitious person who hasn't slacked off or anything.

If you have any questions that will help you answer my question please don't refrain from asking :smile:

Reply 1

mwu13

I think you have some misunderstanding about what the universities' mean by retaking after A2, they mean that they do not consider applicants who resit modules of a subject after the usual two years study of that A level subject. So if you want to take a different subject after you complete your AS exams, it should be fine!

I actually met a guy when i did my volunteering who was pretty much in the same situation as you!

I think he took Law, maths and something else (can't remember clearly, but he definitely didn't do chemistry) in his first year of college, then he realised that he wanted to do medicine after finishing AS, so he begged the head of his college to give him another two years at the college to complete the A-level subjects required by medical schools. (And he did really well in all the subjects, all A*s and A's)

And he emailed the unis about his situation before he applied last year, the unis said that although he has spent three years overall at college, the actual time he spent studying each A-level subject was still two years, he would be considered equally as other applicants. He then got interviews from both Imperial and Leeds, not sure what happened after that though since I stopped volunteering there...

So I would advise you to email directly to the universities you are interested in and ask them about your situation!! And you need to work harder to get A's in Maths, Chemistry and Biology as you will need at least 3 A's to get into a medical school in the UK!! Your school may not be willing to give you 3 A's for predicted grades if you only have Bs at AS.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

insert-username

look into medical schools that offer foundation year entry too. its specifically for applicants that took wrong subjects, you apply directly for mdicine like everyone else and just means theres an extra year in your degree. (six year mbchb instead of 5 yr)

https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/medicine/study/undergraduate/medicine-mbchb-foundation-year/

repeating As is also a good option, both have pros and cons.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

Mutmit287

Original post by samantha2107

A lot of people will have different ideas about this, but from what I have heard most medical schools want you to have completed a set of Alevels in 2 years, which if you retake you may have done, but because you changed your mind after the first year, some may count that as 3 years. Be aware that if you change to bio and chem but keep say geography and maths, this will class as you doing Alevels over 3 years, hence you will most likely have to completely change every subject. You will need to email medical schools about your situation and ask if they would accept you, its no good asking here.

As for other options, you could keep your current Alevels and apply for foundation programmes in medicine which do not require chemistry and biology, so have a look at those as well.

One worry here is your prediction of BBBB at AS, for medicine you will need AAA at A2 so you will need to work hard.

Reply 4

samantha2107

So what if I did A2 maths next year as well as AS biology and chemistry, would that classify as completing each A Level within 2 years?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thinking of restarting my AS year to do different subjects to get into medical school

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you