UKAT or BMAT ? - Medicine

Hello !
Im in yr 12, and aspiring to do medicine. Im currently studying; Biology, Chemistry, English literature and History. I want an AAAA in my AS. I dont know whether i should do the UKAT or the BMAT as it is mostly based upon which university i would like to go, yet i actually dont know. Any recommendations ?

It's not either or you know. You should ideally be taking both. If you take the BMAT on its own and apply to four BMAT unis you can do this but the BMAT is known for being very unpredictable and you can easily get low 4s (and a lot of pre-interview rejections) as much as getting 6s. The UKCAT is generally a safer bet as most medical schools use it. You know your results before you apply and you can cater your application to those unis that it suits best. Again, these are stuff that you can easily find out with a bit of research.

You've already gone part way to ****ing yourself by not doing AS Maths and AS physics.

I tried AS maths they werent gonna predict me an A, so i dropped it. I've personally meet lots of students and doctors who actually dont have either maths or physics and are in the top unis, UCL, imperial and kings. Im personally not aiming for Oxford or Cambridge, as they ask for 3 A level sciences. I have also looked up on the requirements needed for medicial school, and all say Chemistry is a must along with another science ideally Biology, with all of your AS grades as AAAA which i believe i will get with the subjects i have chosen, whereas if i had chosen maths i would of done badly, so my medicial application would not look good, therefore actually im not ****ed thank you very much.

Your AS grades do not have to be AAAA. In fact I don't think any medical school is asking for AS grades anymore (there are a few that would prefer a fourth AS if you can but that's it).

I think taking AS maths would have been quite helpful actually, especially if you choose to do the BMAT. There are a lot of people in my chemistry class who are struggling at A2 by the sheer volume of maths involved whereas those that do tend to take maths grab onto the concepts right away.

You've already gone part way to ****ing yourself by not doing AS Maths and AS physics.

Wtf, how?

My point exactly !

I will do both, the UKAT and the BMAT. There is a lot of maths in chemistry, but i feel like i grasp it better, simply because im intersted in chemistry, and i need it essentially. I had asked before, whether i need maths, and they said exactly what u said, that it would help, although its not essential, so i dont know why not having maths or physics is considered a problem, especially as medical schools have not stated that you must have maths, like they would want other subjects such as chemistry and biology.

Also, on your UCAS application, AS grades still count as they are used as a basis for your predicted grades. These predicted grades are whats going to give you offers and interviews, therefore they are considered important

As long as you're prepared to compensate for the lack of maths AS you're fine. AS chemistry isn't the problem, it's the content of A2 that you may struggle to get to terms with, especially when logarithms come in. Just be prepared to put in a lot of time.

That wasn't what I said. AS grades are important if you're taking them, but unis could care less about them on your application unless they specifically say so (only cambridge come to mind). There are a handful that would like to see a B in your fourth AS but otherwise it isn't going to be any factor in getting you shortlisted for interview. Predicted grades in general tend to mean squat for medical schools (exception for Exeter and Cambridge again though). Most tend to have a big emphasis on the UKCAT/BMAT, personal statement or GCSEs. Predicted grades only tend to be for meeting basement requirements. There's very little advantage to having A*A*A* predicted grades or A*AA for example if you look at Birmingham, Edinburgh, King's, Leeds, Imperial, Sheffield, Manchester, Cardiff and many more. They have their own admissions processes and ways they look at an application and unfortunately you're going to have to do the research yourself because sixth forms don't tend to specialise in medical applicants.

If i put the practice and work in for the BMAT and the UKAT, with overall good A level grades, do u think i will have a chance to get into medical school without maths ?

If i put the practice and work in for the BMAT and the UKAT, with overall good A level grades, do u think i will have a chance to get into medical school without maths ?

Yes. The trick with applying to medicine is tackling each hurdle one at a time. Focus on your AS grades this year. Then your UKCAT in the summer. Then tackle your personal statement early in august before starting your prep for the BMAT in september. If you can focus on each section of your application, there should be a good chance for you to get in! Good luck!

You'll be fine. I never did maths at AS or A level and it was my strongest section in the UKCAT.

Im personally not aiming for Oxford or Cambridge, as they ask for 3 A level sciences..

If i put the practice and work in for the BMAT and the UKAT, with overall good A level grades, do u think i will have a chance to get into medical school without maths ?