Hey guys I'm wondering do you guys think there any chance for me to be a doctor with these grades. English 7 Math 9 Language 6 Re 5 Geography 5 Spanish 7 Combined science 9/9 Bio chem and Italian a levels A* A*A*
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I'd avoid GCSE heavy medical schools (e.g. Oxford, Cardiff) and probably recommend skewing towards those with just minimum GCSE requirements (e.g. Imperial, UCL) or that only score a subset of your GCSEs which favour your strengths (I think Birmingham do this...?). But provided you apply strategically as such you should be fine
I'd avoid GCSE heavy medical schools (e.g. Oxford, Cardiff) and probably recommend skewing towards those with just minimum GCSE requirements (e.g. Imperial, UCL) or that only score a subset of your GCSEs which favour your strengths (I think Birmingham do this...?). But provided you apply strategically as such you should be fine
Thank you so much, yh I didn't think of going into any big unis to be honest I was thinking of Aston or Birmingham
Thank you so much, yh I didn't think of going into any big unis to be honest I was thinking of Aston or Birmingham
There's no such thing as a "big uni" for medicine aside from the literal number of students attending. All medical schools are similarly competitive to get into (and in fact many of the "new" medical schools like Aston are much more competitive than "old" medical schools like Cambridge), and you need to dispel any preconceived notions of "prestige" and associations of that with "competitiveness" because that's simply not how medical school admissions or even medicine in general works.
Firstly, "prestige" is not something to consider whatsoever because it doesn't matter which medical school you go to as the NHS blinds specialty recruitment from your medical school to ensure there is no bias, and the GMC accredits all medical schools to the same standard and considers them equal. Every medical school is interchangeable.
Secondly, "competitiveness" is not associated with "prestige" in any event, since often people self select out of applying to those "prestigious" medical schools due to misconceptions like this, or self select into applying to "new" medical schools because they think it will be "easier". This as noted in many cases causes a reversal of the assumptions.
You should be choosing medical schools on the basis of how they shortlist for interviews and you should be applying strategically on that basis regardless of which medical school it is. Therefore based on last year's cutoffs, you would not even make the cutoff for Aston if you got 3400 or more in the UCAT, unless applying with achieved A-level grades of A*A*A*. Also while I noted Birmingham as an example of one that only scores some GCSEs, looking at their scoring system, even without knowing the scaling they apply I suspect you probably wouldn't be competitive there either.
This is why you need to carefully research the entry requirements for any medical schools you consider. In this case Birmingham and Aston would've been worse choices than UCL or Imperial for your profile, since Imperial and UCL don't score GCSEs...
There's no such thing as a "big uni" for medicine aside from the literal number of students attending. All medical schools are similarly competitive to get into (and in fact many of the "new" medical schools like Aston are much more competitive than "old" medical schools like Cambridge), and you need to dispel any preconceived notions of "prestige" and associations of that with "competitiveness" because that's simply not how medical school admissions or even medicine in general works. Firstly, "prestige" is not something to consider whatsoever because it doesn't matter which medical school you go to as the NHS blinds specialty recruitment from your medical school to ensure there is no bias, and the GMC accredits all medical schools to the same standard and considers them equal. Every medical school is interchangeable. Secondly, "competitiveness" is not associated with "prestige" in any event, since often people self select out of applying to those "prestigious" medical schools due to misconceptions like this, or self select into applying to "new" medical schools because they think it will be "easier". This as noted in many cases causes a reversal of the assumptions. You should be choosing medical schools on the basis of how they shortlist for interviews and you should be applying strategically on that basis regardless of which medical school it is. Therefore based on last year's cutoffs, you would not even make the cutoff for Aston if you got 3400 or more in the UCAT, unless applying with achieved A-level grades of A*A*A*. Also while I noted Birmingham as an example of one that only scores some GCSEs, looking at their scoring system, even without knowing the scaling they apply I suspect you probably wouldn't be competitive there either. This is why you need to carefully research the entry requirements for any medical schools you consider. In this case Birmingham and Aston would've been worse choices than UCL or Imperial for your profile, since Imperial and UCL don't score GCSEs...
Thank you so much for the reply, I will have a look at more unis that don't score gces grades, however do you think there's any small chance for me to get into Aston, they gces requirements are low with a 6 and above in math ,, science and English language. My GCSEs score for Aston is 22 and the maximum is 24. Also my ucat score is predicted to be 2900 , and I have done lots of work experience in hospitals, gp , followed a day of work of a doctor ,and worked in pharmacies, I also did some virtual work experience.
Thank you so much for the reply, I will have a look at more unis that don't score gces grades, however do you think there's any small chance for me to get into Aston, they gces requirements are low with a 6 and above in math ,, science and English language. My GCSEs score for Aston is 22 and the maximum is 24. Also my ucat score is predicted to be 2900 , and I have done lots of work experience in hospitals, gp , followed a day of work of a doctor ,and worked in pharmacies, I also did some virtual work experience.
I think when I worked out your GCSE score for Aston it was 18 or 20 and so you'd need 3400(+..?) in the UCAT to meet their overall cutoff from last year (which of course may change year on year but I don't think that drastically usually...).
It's not just about meeting minimum requirements for Aston and other unis that score GCSEs, you also need to score enough to be invited to interview which I don't think you would be there. Bear in mind you can't substitute an English literature grade for an English language grade if they are specifically scoring English language.
Work experience won't change whether you'd be invited to interview, it's not scored by any medical school for shortlisting I believe - my understanding is it's just a requirement and once you tick the box they consider it further through your reflections at interview if you are invited to interview. Therefore you need to maximise your chances of being invited to interview.
I think when I worked out your GCSE score for Aston it was 18 or 20 and so you'd need 3400(+..?) in the UCAT to meet their overall cutoff from last year (which of course may change year on year but I don't think that drastically usually...). It's not just about meeting minimum requirements for Aston and other unis that score GCSEs, you also need to score enough to be invited to interview which I don't think you would be there. Bear in mind you can't substitute an English literature grade for an English language grade if they are specifically scoring English language. Work experience won't change whether you'd be invited to interview, it's not scored by any medical school for shortlisting I believe - my understanding is it's just a requirement and once you tick the box they consider it further through your reflections at interview if you are invited to interview. Therefore you need to maximise your chances of being invited to interview.
Yeah, that true and understandable, what university do you think I could get into, please tell me if I can get in any of the 5 university in Birmingham. Also, do you think I could get into Aston if I redue my science gces and instead do triple science to increase my gces score.
Yeah, that true and understandable, what university do you think I could get into, please tell me if I can get in any of the 5 university in Birmingham. Also, do you think I could get into Aston if I redue my science gces and instead do triple science to increase my gces score.
Just apply to any of the 40 odd medical schools across the country elsewhere which you would potentially be a competitive applicant for.
Hey guys I'm wondering do you guys think there any chance for me to be a doctor with these grades. English 7 Math 9 Language 6 Re 5 Geography 5 Spanish 7 Combined science 9/9 Bio chem and Italian a levels A* A*A*
Have you done your UCAT at all? As you mentioned predicted UCAT 2900?????