*CLOSED* - The Ultimate &#x27;Am I Good Enough For Medicine?&#x27; Angst Thread MK IV

Original post by Famzz02

I just got my GCSE results and I'm unsure whether I'll be able to take medicine at Uni. I got 2 Grade 9s, 1 Grade 8, 2 Grade 7s, 2 Grade 6s, a Grade 5 and a Grade 4 (Spanish). I got a Grade 5 in English Language so I plan on resitting in november but I'm unsure how that will affect my Uni application.I would also appreciate any advice on what parts of my uni application i should focus on for medicine as i go into college. Any advice given would be much appreciated :smile:

What are the different grades in?

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Mutmit287

22

Original post by TantalizingGoals

I was wondering if 8A*s and 1A at IGCSE/GCSE would be competitive enough as an international applicant? I wouldn't ask if I was of Home/EU fee status, but I've heard that the competition is insane between internationals as there are less seats available and many, many talented applicants. Thanks for all the help! :smile:

absolutely - you are right saying that there is a much greater amount of competition between international students as there are fewer places.

I would say you have a competitive application, I have found that entrance exams and extra curricular activities make a lot more difference for international applicants due to the competition, so it's hard to say based on those grades alone.

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Famzz02

4

Original post by Sososnake

What are the different grades in?

2 Grade 9s in Combined Science (Edexcel)
Grade 8 in Maths (Edexcel)
Grade 7 in Computer Science (OCR) and Religious Studies (WJEC/Eduqas)
Grade 6 in Geography (AQA) and English Literature (AQA)
Grade 5 in English Language (AQA) which i plan on getting remarked (since i wasn't far off a Grade 6) or resitting
Grade 4 in Spanish (AQA)

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Original post by Sososnake

You should be fine, just stay away from gcse heavy universities like Leeds, Cardiff, Birmingham etc

Answer honestly when I ask this, but are my gcses competitive for medicine? You mentioned to stay away from "gcse heavy uni's" but what actually counts as good gcses? I definitely think mine could be better

(edited 4 years ago)

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Original post by Huckipity

Answer honestly when I ask this, but are my gcses competitive for medicine? You mentioned to stay away from "gcse heavy uni's" but what actually counts as good gcses? I definitely think mine could be better, but surely 4A*s, 3 As and 2 Bs puts me in a fairly decent spot in terms of gcses so that I could apply for gcse heavy uni's. I could totally be wrong, I'm just a bit unsure.

Without sugar coating it, they are a bit below average for medicine. You have to remember that you’re up against people with straight 9’s. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get in but you have to apply strategically. I have to apply this October and I have 7 A*s and 4A’s at gcse, but after looking into it I would be unlikely to receive an interview from gcse heavy unis (not trying to brag just putting it into perspective how competitive medicine is). Hope this helps :smile:

I’m sure you’ll get in

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Original post by Famzz02

2 Grade 9s in Combined Science (Edexcel)
Grade 8 in Maths (Edexcel)
Grade 7 in Computer Science (OCR) and Religious Studies (WJEC/Eduqas)
Grade 6 in Geography (AQA) and English Literature (AQA)
Grade 5 in English Language (AQA) which i plan on getting remarked (since i wasn't far off a Grade 6) or resitting
Grade 4 in Spanish (AQA)

Should be fine once you get a 6+ in English language

Reply 1147

Famzz02

4

Original post by Sososnake

Should be fine once you get a 6+ in English language

What kind of universities do you think i should apply to when the time comes? Can you give any named examples and what parts of my uni application i should focus on? Thanks for your advice :smile:

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Original post by Famzz02

What kind of universities do you think i should apply to when the time comes? Can you give any named examples and what parts of my uni application i should focus on? Thanks for your advice :smile:

I’m not amazing at this as I haven’t looked at loads of unis. I think that you meet the gcse requirements for Bristol and Sheffield, but these two are very ucat heavy so you’d be looking for a very high ucat score to apply here

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Original post by Sososnake

Without sugar coating it, they are a bit below average for medicine. You have to remember that you’re up against people with straight 9’s. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get in but you have to apply strategically. I have to apply this October and I have 7 A*s and 4A’s at gcse, but after looking into it I would be unlikely to receive an interview from gcse heavy unis (not trying to brag just putting it into perspective how competitive medicine is). Hope this helps :smile:

I’m sure you’ll get in

Ah ok, thanks! So how do you know which uni's weight gcses by a great extent? I looked at the requirements of all med schools and I met the requirements of every single one of them

Reply 1150

Famzz02

4

Original post by Sososnake

I’m not amazing at this as I haven’t looked at loads of unis. I think that you meet the gcse requirements for Bristol and Sheffield, but these two are very ucat heavy so you’d be looking for a very high ucat score to apply here

Thank you once again for your advice :smile:

I hope you get in to the uni you want

Reply 1151

Mutmit287

22

Original post by Huckipity

Answer honestly when I ask this, but are my gcses competitive for medicine? You mentioned to stay away from "gcse heavy uni's" but what actually counts as good gcses? I definitely think mine could be better, but surely 4A*s, 3 As and 2 Bs puts me in a fairly decent spot in terms of gcses so that I could apply for gcse heavy uni's. I could totally be wrong, I'm just a bit unsure.

I would say your average medical school applicant will have all A/A* grades (and typically have taken more GCSEs than standard).

your grades are below average for medicine, and to put it bluntly, without any contextual flags, you would not get an interview at universities placing a lot of emphasis on GCSE grades.

perspective here: I go to Cardiff, a notoriously GCSE heavy medical school. I got 9A* and 1A at GCSE, and my GCSE score (26/27) was the cutoff for an interview that year. everyone in my class has amazing GCSE grades (many have 10A*s or more). the only ones with lower GCSEs are the Welsh contextual applicants, and even then they have amazing GCSEs.

you will be able to get into medical school, you will just need a really good UCAT score and will need to apply strategically to schools which don't place a lot of emphasis on your GCSEs.

Reply 1152

Original post by Huckipity

Ah ok, thanks! So how do you know which uni's weight gcses by a great extent? I looked at the requirements of all med schools and I met the requirements of every single one of them

Look into them in greater detail. Most people will meet the minimum requirements but as you look into their scoring process you’ll see. For example to get an interview at Cardiff last year you would have needed 8A*s and an A

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Original post by Famzz02

Thank you once again for your advice :smile:

I hope you get in to the uni you want

No worries and thanks, you too!

Reply 1154

Mutmit287

22

Original post by Huckipity

Ah ok, thanks! So how do you know which uni's weight gcses by a great extent? I looked at the requirements of all med schools and I met the requirements of every single one of them

you may meet the minimum requirements, but you need to look at how they select for interview. for example cardiff (one you should avoid), score GCSEs (best 9 including core subjects with 9\8 getting 3 points, 7 getting 2 and 6 getting 1) and the highest scoring applicants get interviews.

I would say avoid Oxford, Cardiff and Leeds, but I no longer have the knowledge of the entry requirements I used to, so best looking up entry criteria and pre-interview selection criteria.

Reply 1155

username3822514

17

Original post by Famzz02

What kind of universities do you think i should apply to when the time comes? Can you give any named examples and what parts of my uni application i should focus on? Thanks for your advice :smile:

Maybe avoid Birmingham. You could look at Newcastle but would need a good UCAT. Perhaps see Plymouth but I can’t remember

Reply 1156

GANFYD

18

Original post by Famzz02

What kind of universities do you think i should apply to when the time comes? Can you give any named examples and what parts of my uni application i should focus on? Thanks for your advice :smile:

Focus on your UCAT and/or BMAT as good scores in these will open lots of doors

Reply 1157

Original post by Mutmit287

I would say your average medical school applicant will have all A/A* grades (and typically have taken more GCSEs than standard).

your grades are below average for medicine, and to put it bluntly, without any contextual flags, you would not get an interview at universities placing a lot of emphasis on GCSE grades.

perspective here: I go to Cardiff, a notoriously GCSE heavy medical school. I got 9A* and 1A at GCSE, and my GCSE score (26/27) was the cutoff for an interview that year. everyone in my class has amazing GCSE grades (many have 10A*s or more). the only ones with lower GCSEs are the Welsh contextual applicants, and even then they have amazing GCSEs.

you will be able to get into medical school, you will just need a really good UCAT score and will need to apply strategically to schools which don't place a lot of emphasis on your GCSEs.

Thanks, that was really informative and I commend you for getting into med school!. Just a few things that I'm not too sure on, how do you find out the requirements for an interview such as the "cutoff score" you mentioned? Finally, have I limited my options greatly already in terms of med schools I can apply to, or are there only a few Uni's that weight gcses heavily which I obviously can't apply to?

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