failed AS, can't do medicine. Pls help!

hi all i do gov+politics, bio, chem and maths. I got my results back and got a D in politics and U in Maths. The others I got an A in bio and B in maths.

I don't know what 2 do I'm rlly passionate about med.I feel like a failure. And i don't want to take a gap year either. Can someone help me pls? :frown:

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Reply 1

mygcserevision

it doesnt count- its linear now. resit some maths modules

Reply 2

chipsandbutter

Do a foundation year at uni? Although you'll have to get one of your grades up
Retake year 12
Retake one subject

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

i'm really worried about my predicted grades tho
do you have advice on resitting? what can i do differently?

Original post by mygcserevision

it doesnt count- its linear now. resit some maths modules

Reply 4

Naya104

The best thing to do is to spend this upcoming year, getting your grades up. If you get them, apply to uni next year! 1 year won't make much of a difference

Reply 5

b_lythe

Are you in year 12 and did you get a B or U for maths? What did you get for chemistry?

Reply 6

marlodanvers

I'm in the exact same position

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

If I do, and get the grades, do you think I can call up unis on the day and ask for places?

Original post by Naya104

The best thing to do is to spend this upcoming year, getting your grades up. If you get them, apply to uni next year! 1 year won't make much of a difference

Reply 8

SulTob

You could always study medicine in other countries like bulgaria, the course is a lot easier to get into, lower grade requirements, lower fees and its recognised by gmc so you dont need to do plab but now things may change cos of brexit but it'll take a really long while haha. Worth doing some research on it. Any questions pm me :smile:

Reply 9

K1_grind

You could do biomedical science and work your way up

Reply 10

Anonymous #1

Yes going in to year 13. I got a U in Maths and a B in chemistry.

Original post by b_lythe

Are you in year 12 and did you get a B or U for maths? What did you get for chemistry?

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

Thank you, I will be sure to :smile:

Original post by SulTob

Reply 12

b_lythe

If you really want to study medicine then there are several options you can take. You could apply for biochemistry or biomed and do medicine post grad. Or you could work your butt off in year 13 retaking modules and pulling your grades up and apply the next year post results. Either way I would apply for medicine next year, maybe talk to your teachers who might be lenient about predicted grades, and remember unis place different emphasis or different aspects of the applications. On tsr there is a list which i think is called applying to your strengths listing what unis care about about whether it be work experience, interview, ukcat/bmat or personal statement etc. So don't necessarily be discouraged. It's definitely not over yet. Oh and don't forget access courses which are a year longer for people whose grades aren't quite good enough.

Yes maybe none of these options are ideal to you, you have to ask yourself how badly you want to do medicine.

Reply 13

Anonymous #1

don't give up, we can pull this off hopefully

Original post by marlodanvers

I'm in the exact same position

Reply 14

b_lythe

Original post by Anonymous

Yes going in to year 13. I got a U in Maths and a B in chemistry.

This might not be the smartest thing to do (I have no real knowledge or experience so talk to people who know better) but medicine technically only requires chemistry. From your grades in biology and chemistry you could easily be predicted A*A. And you don't need to declare U's on your UCAS form so you could drop maths and unis would never know. Again please check this, you might be questioned in interviews. So you could carry on with politics and retake those modules instead.

Reply 15

999tigger

Original post by Anonymous

What #13 says. get the grades and apply the following year. Resit the AS if you need to. If you are that passionate then prove it and do what it takes.

Reply 16

999tigger

Original post by b_lythe

They have to declare all grades and all attempts.

Reply 17

mygcserevision

Original post by Anonymous

i'm really worried about my predicted grades tho
do you have advice on resitting? what can i do differently?

What did you do wrong in the beggining? not enough past papers? what came up in the exam you wished you revised more? did you struggle to work out the volumes of blah? idk
predicted grades are based off you-if all year youre a bright student but the exam let you down the teachers will predict u fine but if not then you have to look for an alternative

Reply 18

mikejordan97

I think you should drop the U, so you go to A2 with ABD. I'm not entirely sure about the process with linear A-levels but I think it means that you have to sit your AS and A2 at the end of year 13 anyway? You could get predicted A*AB if you really want to push your subject teacher in which you got a B. If you have to declare the U on your UCAS form, you should try to find a way in which you don't have to declare it. If your heart is truly set on Medicine, you should apply for 2018 entry just as a way to test the waters, since it is unlikely you may be accepted with your A2, but I think there are a few unis out there that do accept A*AB predicted grades.

If you do get an offer, that would be the best situation, but even getting a couple of interviews under your belt is really good for experience. If you don't get an offer, you should go all out to get at least AAA in the 3 subjects you are taking forward to A2. Try and start to cover some material early so you are a bit familiar with it, go through every textbook exercise, get a tutor if you need to. It is highly likely that you may need to take a gap year, in which I would probably suggest you apply for a part-time clerical NHS job (last time I checked in my area, there were quite a lot of vacancies) to earn some money and do some volunteering on the side at a hospice, care home or charity to show you are dedicated. Having a part-time job in the NHS could lead you to learn a lot, and coupling this with volunteering will really strengthen your application and give you points to discuss if you are invited to interview. In my opinion, you could keep this up from maybe September of 2018 to February of 2019, and then you should use the money you accumulated to go traveling, and abroad you could try and gather some extra experience. Note that if you wish to take a gap year and apply with achieved grades, you will have an advantage over predicted grade candidates since they haven't achieved their grades, and you will probably be asked at interview what you plan to do in your gap year, in which you could discuss taking up a part-time NHS clerk job and volunteering for the first 5 or 6 months and your plan to go traveling and garnering experience simultaneously abroad, which would be a big advantage to you - a lot of people have experience at a GP, or hospital. Having experience abroad is really good to make you a stand out candidate.

For sitting the UKCAT, I think you should definitely sit it this time and book it ASAP, whether you plan to apply for Medicine or not. Imo you should sit it quite late (mid to late Sept, maybe even early Oct) to have maximum time to prepare and then purchase the 2 month Medify pass for £45 or so. It is extremely good - first time I sat UKCAT (without Medify prep or any other prep, besides a couple of random online tests) I got 650-odd average and then second time I used Medify (2 month pass) and bought the 1000Q UKCAT book and got 770 average, and I forgot to do any of the mocks on Medify also which probably could have boosted my score more :colonhash:

I think they updated the book with the new section, and it's available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1905812264

I also bought the med school interview book which was invaluable in giving me interview advice, which is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1905812051

Any other advice you need, don't hesitate to shoot me a pm - I believe you can do it, for if you put your mind to it, anything is possible.