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Medicine at Oxford

Hi, I got my As results on Thursday and got full UMS in all my Biology, Chemistry, French and maths exams (except for C1 maths where I got 98) and I've been thinking about applying to oxford. However, I've been told that you need about 12 A* or more at GCSE to stand a chance of getting in. I got 9 A* and an A in PE, would it be worth applying or should I look elsewhere?
Reply 1
Original post by Liv fair
Hi, I got my As results on Thursday and got full UMS in all my Biology, Chemistry, French and maths exams (except for C1 maths where I got 98) and I've been thinking about applying to oxford. However, I've been told that you need about 12 A* or more at GCSE to stand a chance of getting in. I got 9 A* and an A in PE, would it be worth applying or should I look elsewhere?


You have a good chance. It's worth applying.
Original post by Liv fair
Hi, I got my As results on Thursday and got full UMS in all my Biology, Chemistry, French and maths exams (except for C1 maths where I got 98) and I've been thinking about applying to oxford. However, I've been told that you need about 12 A* or more at GCSE to stand a chance of getting in. I got 9 A* and an A in PE, would it be worth applying or should I look elsewhere?


You are fine in the grades department... as long as you do well in the BMAT and your reference is sound, you'll have a decent chance of getting an interview. If you do well in the interview you'll have a fair chance of getting an offer. :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile
The stats are below. Yes you can apply. You will need a good BMAT and interview, just like everyone else.

https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics

Oxford want to know if you got really good UMS so you should ensure your UMS goes into your teacher's reference. Congrats on some great results!
Original post by Liv fair
Hi, I got my As results on Thursday and got full UMS in all my Biology, Chemistry, French and maths exams (except for C1 maths where I got 98) and I've been thinking about applying to oxford. However, I've been told that you need about 12 A* or more at GCSE to stand a chance of getting in. I got 9 A* and an A in PE, would it be worth applying or should I look elsewhere?


It's absolutely worth applying! Those are a strong set of grades and many offer holders will have more or less your amount of A*s. It states on their website that the average successful applicant has about 90% of their grades at A* so 9/10 works well. Those AS levels are also solid so I would focus on working hard for your A levels and also try and ace the BMAT and the interview and if you did well you would likely get an offer.

Ironically, I can't speak from much experience because I'm still waiting for my GCSE results lol. However, I've read enough about Oxford to have an idea of what calibre of students they are looking for. I would love to study Medicine at Oxford one day but my GCSE results will determine whether I bother to apply or not! Wish you the best of luck!
Go for it! You'll never know unless you apply, and I think GCSE heavy medschools like Oxford want 7A*s at least, which you have surpassed :biggrin:
Reply 6
Original post by SuperiorVenaCava
It's absolutely worth applying! Those are a strong set of grades and many offer holders will have more or less your amount of A*s. It states on their website that the average successful applicant has about 90% of their grades at A* so 9/10 works well. Those AS levels are also solid so I would focus on working hard for your A levels and also try and ace the BMAT and the interview and if you did well you would likely get an offer.

Ironically, I can't speak from much experience because I'm still waiting for my GCSE results lol. However, I've read enough about Oxford to have an idea of what calibre of students they are looking for. I would love to study Medicine at Oxford one day but my GCSE results will determine whether I bother to apply or not! Wish you the best of luck!


Hi, I've just done GCSEs as well and am also looking to apply to Oxford med school in the following year. I'm also curious as to how much focus they put on GCSE grades. Best of luck.
Original post by doped
Hi, I've just done GCSEs as well and am also looking to apply to Oxford med school in the following year. I'm also curious as to how much focus they put on GCSE grades. Best of luck.


Hello to you my fellow yr 11! I believe Oxford place more emphasis on GCSE grades and BMAT scores than Cambridge but I have also heard they can help to make up for one an other for example, you get less than stellar GCSE grades but then have an outstanding BMAT and vice versa. It is, however, important to consider that there are many who will apply with outstanding GCSEs and BMAT scores so my advice would be just to try and aim for good all round grades. What kind of GCSEs are you expecting to get? I am sooooooooo nervous for results day, I've had one too many results day nightmares but that is for a different thread!:afraid::cry:

Good luck for Thursday! :banana2:
high chance of u getting in
Reply 9
Original post by SuperiorVenaCava
Hello to you my fellow yr 11! I believe Oxford place more emphasis on GCSE grades and BMAT scores than Cambridge but I have also heard they can help to make up for one an other for example, you get less than stellar GCSE grades but then have an outstanding BMAT and vice versa. It is, however, important to consider that there are many who will apply with outstanding GCSEs and BMAT scores so my advice would be just to try and aim for good all round grades. What kind of GCSEs are you expecting to get? I am sooooooooo nervous for results day, I've had one too many results day nightmares but that is for a different thread!:afraid::cry:

Good luck for Thursday! :banana2:

Yeah the apparent emphasis on GCSE is the cause of much of our anxiety for results day I suppose... I was predicted 9 in maths, 8 (potentially 9) in both English quals and A* for the rest but predictions mean nilch tbh. What about you?

Best of luck and stress no more - they've been decided.
Original post by doped
Yeah the apparent emphasis on GCSE is the cause of much of our anxiety for results day I suppose... I was predicted 9 in maths, 8 (potentially 9) in both English quals and A* for the rest but predictions mean nilch tbh. What about you?

Best of luck and stress no more - they've been decided.


I hope to get a 9 In English Lit, 8 in Lang and Maths and the rest A*s but I'm not even sure about Maths since it was catastrophic :ashamed:
Well firstly congratulations on your AS grades they are exceptional and you look like a very competitive medical applicant. However, whilst your AS grades are amazing there are some things you should consider

1. In terms of automatic shortlisting for interviews the ONLY things considered are GCSE grades and BMAT scores. No personal statements, no AS grades (nor UMS - which they don't even ask for in the first place) except for marginal cases. this is roughly how it works: Candidates are given some kind of score - based on 50% GCSE (consisting of half number of A*s, half percentage of A*s), 50% BMAT - and ranked by it. Let's say 1000 apply and they want to interview 200. (These numbers are made up) the first 160 are automatically shortlisted. They will then look at those who have some kind of special circumstances, and also the next say 60 applicants immediately below the shortlisted ones, and from these groups they will add another 40, to make the 200.

2. Your GCSEs are a bit below average for shortlisted applicants, which means you are at a reasonably substantial risk of being deselected. HOWEVER a strong BMAT performance can counteract this, but of course you won't know your BMAT score when you apply. Roughly 70% of applicants with 9 A*s are deselected, and roughly 5-10% of applicants go on to get an offer at the end. Also, GCSE scores are adjusted for school performance, so if you go to a poorly performing school that could effectively boost your ranking, improving your chances.

Though this %age is not great, I would say based on your AS performance you definitely have the ability to be in that 5-10% (someone's got to be!) But you're going to have to do well in your BMAT and shine at interview.

How come you are not considering Cambridge? Unlike Oxford they do not have a harsh shortlisting process. Also Cambridge cares a lot more about UMS/AS, which would make you attractive to Cambridge. I hope this hasn't sounded too harsh but I wanted to be helpful. You seem like a promising applicant who could get missed out in the shortlisting process, so if Oxford is definitely where you want to go my only advice is to put absolutely everything into the BMAT.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by SuperiorVenaCava
I hope to get a 9 In English Lit, 8 in Lang and Maths and the rest A*s but I'm not even sure about Maths since it was catastrophic :ashamed:


Most of the year found maths difficult dw
One day to go... god I hate this waiting
Original post by nexttime


Oxford want to know if you got really good UMS so you should ensure your UMS goes into your teacher's reference. Congrats on some great results!


Your thinking of Cambridge, Oxford don't care about UMS, its either raw GCSE, or contextualised together with/without a test.
You even linked something that said as much!
Original post by uniqsummer
Your [sic] thinking of Cambridge, Oxford don't care about UMS, its either raw GCSE, or contextualised together with/without a test.
You even linked something that said as much!


If you could quote the section that says that that'd be great. In the meantime I will refer you to the below.

Oxford University does not require its candidates to disclose information on unit grades. However, where applicants, schools or colleges provide AS module results (grades or marks) within the UCAS application materials, this information will be considered by tutors as part of the overall record of the candidate’s academic attainment to date.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/entrance-requirements?wssl=1
(edited 6 years ago)
my friend got into Oxford Law with "only" 6a* and 5A's so I'm sure you're fine lol
Definitely apply.

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