The Student Room Group

Dentistry?

What advise do you have for someone at the start of their ASs who plans on studying dentistry at uni?

Will biol, chem, history and the Welsh baccalaureate be acceptable or would phys or maths be better than history?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Dippyhippie
What advise do you have for someone at the start of their ASs who plans on studying dentistry at uni?

Will biol, chem, history and the Welsh baccalaureate be acceptable or would phys or maths be better than history?


Oh good God, Welsh bacc. Please tell me that is not an option you chose and it is compulsory for you.
Reply 2
Original post by SomeWelshGuy123
Oh good God, Welsh bacc. Please tell me that is not an option you chose and it is compulsory for you.


If I was given the option between throwing myself in a hot kiln or choosing the Welsh bac, I'd throw myself in the hot kiln and I'd shut the door, but the government made it compulsory. So, any advise?
Original post by Dippyhippie
If I was given the option between throwing myself in a hot kiln or choosing the Welsh bac, I'd throw myself in the hot kiln and I'd shut the door, but the government made it compulsory. So, any advise?


Oh, they've fully implemented the compulsory bit now? My school was a "trial school" for the county when the WJEC first changed in in 2015, so we were the only school that had it as a compulsory subject, and the WJEC enjoyed changing the information every other day. Honestly I wouldn't give a **** about Welsh bacc, focus on the subjects unis will actually care about (ie they won't care about Welsh Bacc) and then try to do half decent on the welsh bacc so you don't look like a moron in interviews. Those subjects should be fine, but check with unis you are interested in.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by SomeWelshGuy123
Oh, they've fully implemented the compulsory bit now? My school was a "trial school" for the county when the WJEC first changed in in 2015, so we were the only school that had it as a compulsory subject, and the WJEC enjoyed changing the information every other day. Honestly I wouldn't give a **** about Welsh bacc, focus on the subjects unis will actually care about (ie they won't care about Welsh Bacc) and then try to do half decent on the welsh bacc so you don't look like a moron in interviews. Those subjects should be fine, but check with unis you are interested in.


Have you done/ plan on doing a degree in dentistry?
Original post by Dippyhippie
Have you done/ plan on doing a degree in dentistry?


No, but I have an uncle who is a dentist and is part of the interview process for several universities in the South of England.
Biology and chemistry are looking good - they're the compulsory subjects so the third subject can be whatever you want: so history is fine. Don't know anything about the Welsh Baccalaureate though, sorry!
For dentistry:
1. Try to do your best academically so try to get AAA in your A Levels (and whatever the highest grade in the welsh bacc is)
2. Make sure you have dentistry work experience (minimum 2 weeks) as this is a must
3. Do some other extra-curriculars such as volunteering, sports, musics, reading around the subject, arts and crafts e.g. Knitting
4. Towards the end of year 12 (more like in the summer holidays) prepare for the ukcat/bmat

Good luck!
Reply 7
Original post by Mesopotamian.
Biology and chemistry are looking good - they're the compulsory subjects so the third subject can be whatever you want: so history is fine. Don't know anything about the Welsh Baccalaureate though, sorry!
For dentistry:
1. Try to do your best academically so try to get AAA in your A Levels (and whatever the highest grade in the welsh bacc is)
2. Make sure you have dentistry work experience (minimum 2 weeks) as this is a must
3. Do some other extra-curriculars such as volunteering, sports, musics, reading around the subject, arts and crafts e.g. Knitting
4. Towards the end of year 12 (more like in the summer holidays) prepare for the ukcat/bmat
Good luck!


Thanks, that was really helpful! Did you study biol and chem at A Level, and if you did, how hard were they and what do you recommend for the higher grades?
Reply 8
Original post by SomeWelshGuy123
No, but I have an uncle who is a dentist and is part of the interview process for several universities in the South of England.


Okay, do you know whether it's best to take 4 AS subjects AND the WBQ or whether the 3AS and the WBQ would suffice? I had to take sociology as opposed to English lit(which is far more academic) because chem and English lit clashed, but I don't really like sociology and was considering dropping it. Do you think it would be best to carry it on or drop it and concentrate on the other 3?
Original post by Dippyhippie
Thanks, that was really helpful! Did you study biol and chem at A Level, and if you did, how hard were they and what do you recommend for the higher grades?


Yeah I studied both at A Level.

In terms of difficulty, I didn't find any topic too disgustingly hard (physics was the killer for me!) however for chemistry they can give you some nasty questions in the exams and for biology as well as the terrible questions (they wanted us to find carbon levels when mixing coffee and cow dung like :confused::confused::confused: ) your answer pretty much needs to match up to the mark scheme - with biology therefore the boundaries are usually quite low as obviously no one is a psychic and can guess the mark scheme.

For higher grades:
1. Do all past papers - even old spec stuff which still have loads of relevant stuff
2. Do the questions in the text books if you have them (especially for Chemistry)
3. I saved all the specimen past papers till the last minute - I recommend you do this too for the most up to date preparation
4. If you have CGP books, use them! Do the questions. The practical bits for chem literally saved my life lol
5. If you're ever stuck on anything, ask your teacher for help even if it's an exam question
6. For chem I did questions by topic throughout the year(mostly for AS so I didn't forget it) which I got from physics and maths tutor.
7. Chemguide and bio ninja are good websites to use

Hope this helps!
Original post by Mesopotamian.
Yeah I studied both at A Level.

In terms of difficulty, I didn't find any topic too disgustingly hard (physics was the killer for me!) however for chemistry they can give you some nasty questions in the exams and for biology as well as the terrible questions (they wanted us to find carbon levels when mixing coffee and cow dung like :confused::confused::confused: ) your answer pretty much needs to match up to the mark scheme - with biology therefore the boundaries are usually quite low as obviously no one is a psychic and can guess the mark scheme.

For higher grades:
1. Do all past papers - even old spec stuff which still have loads of relevant stuff
2. Do the questions in the text books if you have them (especially for Chemistry)
3. I saved all the specimen past papers till the last minute - I recommend you do this too for the most up to date preparation
4. If you have CGP books, use them! Do the questions. The practical bits for chem literally saved my life lol
5. If you're ever stuck on anything, ask your teacher for help even if it's an exam question
6. For chem I did questions by topic throughout the year(mostly for AS so I didn't forget it) which I got from physics and maths tutor.
7. Chemguide and bio ninja are good websites to use

Hope this helps!


Yeah - that was really helpful!! Everyone, including the teachers have been saying that they are virtually impossible to do well in, so I'm worried that I should've done the humanities instead. Sorry I'm such a nag, but the teachers don't tell me anything, but do you know whether it's best to take 4 AS subjects AND the WBQ or whether the 3AS and the WBQ would suffice? I had to take sociology as opposed to English lit (which is far more academic) because chem and English lit clashed, but I don't really like sociology and was considering dropping it. Do you think it would be best to carry it on and get more UCAS points (are they even important anymore?) or drop it and concentrate on the other 3 and [unfortunately] the WBQ?
Original post by Dippyhippie
Yeah - that was really helpful!! Everyone, including the teachers have been saying that they are virtually impossible to do well in, so I'm worried that I should've done the humanities instead. Sorry I'm such a nag, but the teachers don't tell me anything, but do you know whether it's best to take 4 AS subjects AND the WBQ or whether the 3AS and the WBQ would suffice? I had to take sociology as opposed to English lit (which is far more academic) because chem and English lit clashed, but I don't really like sociology and was considering dropping it. Do you think it would be best to carry it on and get more UCAS points (are they even important anymore?) or drop it and concentrate on the other 3 and [unfortunately] the WBQ?


Usually I would recommend taking 4 AS subjects and dropping one at the end if your school does the official AS exams. However since you're doing an additional Welsh Bacc I say that really there's no point doing 4 because:
1. Your putting a lot of pressure and stress on yourself which may affect your grades - and grades for dentistry is really important so it's better to do well in 3 than mediocre in 4
2. Universities only require 3 A Levels and won't really care about a fourth AS
I don't really know much about the Welsh bacc but if it's a full on course thing then I'd say that 3 A Levels is good and will get you into dentistry just fine

Also don't let your teachers and others put you off - it's hard yes but not impossibly so. Just persevere and you can do it by all means :smile:
Original post by Mesopotamian.
Usually I would recommend taking 4 AS subjects and dropping one at the end if your school does the official AS exams. However since you're doing an additional Welsh Bacc I say that really there's no point doing 4 because:
1. Your putting a lot of pressure and stress on yourself which may affect your grades - and grades for dentistry is really important so it's better to do well in 3 than mediocre in 4
2. Universities only require 3 A Levels and won't really care about a fourth AS
I don't really know much about the Welsh bacc but if it's a full on course thing then I'd say that 3 A Levels is good and will get you into dentistry just fine

Also don't let your teachers and others put you off - it's hard yes but not impossibly so. Just persevere and you can do it by all means :smile:


Thanks for the help!! You're one of few that have helped me. One last question, what are the lowest acceptable grades for the sciences AA, AB, BB? If I get BC, CC I think I'll have to rethink my entire future lol.
Original post by Dippyhippie
Thanks for the help!! You're one of few that have helped me. One last question, what are the lowest acceptable grades for the sciences AA, AB, BB? If I get BC, CC I think I'll have to rethink my entire future lol.


To my knowledge I think for most schools the requirement is AAA (so AA in sciences) With some being A*AA (so A*A - this is the highest I've seen). Some universities do like a gateway to dentistry thing where the grade requirements are lowered to like ABB/AAB (I think some Scottish unis go even lower but not sure, may need to check) - however you can only apply to this if you qualify e.g. I think for the Bristol one you need to live within their catchment area ( I didn't so I developed a grudge on them lol :tongue: )

My advice would be to aim for AAA as a minimum just to be on the safe side with A* AA if you want to open more opportunities for yourself.
Original post by Mesopotamian.
To my knowledge I think for most schools the requirement is AAA (so AA in sciences) With some being A*AA (so A*A - this is the highest I've seen). Some universities do like a gateway to dentistry thing where the grade requirements are lowered to like ABB/AAB (I think some Scottish unis go even lower but not sure, may need to check) - however you can only apply to this if you qualify e.g. I think for the Bristol one you need to live within their catchment area ( I didn't so I developed a grudge on them lol :tongue: )

My advice would be to aim for AAA as a minimum just to be on the safe side with A* AA if you want to open more opportunities for yourself.


Sorry, I meant grades for AS Level. Would they require AA (because I'm pretty sure an A is the highest grade at AS) or would they be fine with AB or BB at ASfpr the sciences?
Original post by Dippyhippie
Sorry, I meant grades for AS Level. Would they require AA (because I'm pretty sure an A is the highest grade at AS) or would they be fine with AB or BB at ASfpr the sciences?


Oh right sorry. Well since AS exams are not compulsory for all schools anymore *apparently* universities don't take AS exams into account as it wouldn't be fair for those who don't do it. So following this rule, as long as you do well enough that your teachers predict you the correct grades then you should be okay since there are no AS requirements.
So if your teachers predict one grade up then BB is sufficient. If your teachers are stingy and predict the grades you got then BB would not be good enough.
Ultimately my advice would just be to get AA (with an A in the other subject) but if you don't, it's not the end of the world as:
1. You may be predicted one grade up
2. If not, work your socks off and get the required grades at A Level and then take a gap year and reapply

Moral of the story: no required AS grades (just A Level predictions) but work your hardest anyway to make a more competitive application and maximise your chance.
Original post by Mesopotamian.
Oh right sorry. Well since AS exams are not compulsory for all schools anymore *apparently* universities don't take AS exams into account as it wouldn't be fair for those who don't do it. So following this rule, as long as you do well enough that your teachers predict you the correct grades then you should be okay since there are no AS requirements.
So if your teachers predict one grade up then BB is sufficient. If your teachers are stingy and predict the grades you got then BB would not be good enough.
Ultimately my advice would just be to get AA (with an A in the other subject) but if you don't, it's not the end of the world as:
1. You may be predicted one grade up
2. If not, work your socks off and get the required grades at A Level and then take a gap year and reapply

Moral of the story: no required AS grades (just A Level predictions) but work your hardest anyway to make a more competitive application and maximise your chance.


THANKS a lot for your help. Because I've heard of how hard the sciences are, I was expecting BB for biol and chem decent grades at AS, but obviously A*/AAA for A2. Anyway, you've cleared a lot of things that I wasn't sure on, so thanks!
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Dippyhippie
THANKS a lot for your help. Because I've heard of how hard the sciences are, I was expecting BB for biol and chem decent grades at AS, but obviously A*/AAA for A2. Anyway, you've cleared a lot of things that I wasn't sure on, so thanks!


No problem! I understand, chemistry especially was hyped up in my school with only one person getting an A* (A Level) at my sixth form in 2015 I believe so I thought I could never do it but with *a lot* of hard work and resilience I got there in the end.

I'm one of those people who have to work hard to get somewhere academically, and I think that if you set high goals for yourself and try hard then either:
1. You get there and feel incredibly proud of yourself
2. You may get lower than you wanted but are still proud of yourself as you know you put in 100%. The lower than expected grades may not even be bad anyway since you aimed high in the first place (e.g. Getting AAA instead of A*AA)

Good luck :biggrin:
Idk if im good enough for a dentistr application???

Gcse:
Math a*
bio b
phy b
chem a
urdu a
re b
add math c
spanish a
english lit/lang b/a
history b
food tech b

as: Math b
predicted atm: Abb

ukcat: 653

work exp: Charity shop currently; 3 days at gdp
Original post by Zaib Malik
Idk if im good enough for a dentistr application???

Gcse:
Math a*
bio b
phy b
chem a
urdu a
re b
add math c
spanish a
english lit/lang b/a
history b
food tech b

as: Math b
predicted atm: Abb

ukcat: 653

work exp: Charity shop currently; 3 days at gdp


No dental course in the country will give you an offer with ABB predictions.

Quick Reply

Latest