Advice on applying to study medicine at Cambridge for September 2025

Hello, I am a student living in Northern Ireland, currently studying A2 at year 14 (Y13 England). For context, it has always been my dream to study at Newnham College in Cambridge. Not only is it a beautiful college, but I also love the medicine course at Cambridge. I like the traditional teaching style (I am a person that always likes to know their theory before walking into a practical), their research opportunities and a big reason is the tutorials. I like a place where I am not spoon fed, but still provided with lots of support. Pick Cambridge because of the name, or the fact that it is one of the top universities is a very minute reason why I considered applying.
I attend a secondary school that is grammar but is free, though I did have to take an admissions test to be accepted. For GCSE I got 5A* and 6A (99999888888) which was one of the top 20 in my school (out of around 250 in the year). In Northern Ireland we complete our AS modules in year 13 (Y12 England) and then our A2 modules in year 14 (Y13 England) instead of doing both in one year, which provides the opportunities to repeat a module at the end of year 14. For AS, I studied chemistry, biology, maths and psychology. I did do some self teaching of further mathematics (which wasn't offered in my school), but by the time I was halfway through the AS, my school said they wouldn't be able to accommodate the exam. At the end of AS I got AAAB (A in chemistry, maths and psychology and a B in biology0. I was 3 marks off of an A in biology and I requested for a remark to see if I can be granted those 3 marks, but if not I am more than willing to repeat the exam. I dropped psychology after completing the AS to guarantee the highest grades possible for chemistry, biology, maths. I am predicted A*A*A*a overall.
Unfortunately, I didn't do as well as I hoped in The UCAT, though I am very grateful for my result. I got 2650 SJT B2 (VR 590, DM 660, QR 650, AR 780). I don't think there was any way where I could've done better, it was a genuine painful experience that was very unpleasant.
Because of my UCAT I am a bit hesitant to apply. My parents have been very supportive of every decision I took, and were very supportive when I first told them I wanted to go to Cambridge when I started my GCSEs. My mum was also willing to take me to the open day and we went. I personally never felt a strong feeling of belonging before, and on that day I had a strong gut feeling that Cambridge was the place for me. But ever since I got my UCAT result, my parents have been very worried about my persistency to apply to Cambridge. They are both consultants in the hospital and they believe that I am not being realistic or rational, and that I have a tunnelled view on Cambridge, which is a bit true. It is not that I am ignorant or dismissive, but I just don't want to give up on everything that I built, I know at the end of the day all medical schools are the same, and at the end of the day everyone gets their GMC registration, but I still want Cambridge. My parents have done more research on universities than me, I know it sounds very careless of me, but I was very worried about my predicted grades and wanted to only focus on my work until I got them, which was on Friday. They have reached out to so many people and asked about universities that it feels like these decisions are up to them even though they tell me that I am free to decide on whatever I want. Last week we went to the Queens University Belfast open day. Queens only consider your GCSEs and UCAT scores, nothing else. They have a point system dedicated to this. Usually the points before covid were around 30-33, but because of covid they had risen a lot to 37-39. This year the score to be guaranteed an interview was 37 if you scored a band 1 or band 2 at SJT. But they said that the score might decrease since the students who started this year were the last cohort to get predicted GCSEs but they said that they can't guarantee it. My parents don't mind where I go to university, but ever since the open day they have been more biased towards queens, saying that if I were to apply to 1 risky option (which I only want to apply to 1 risky option) then it should be queens instead of Cambridge.
This has led to so many heated arguments and fights because I feel like now I am losing everything. I feel like it sounds dramatic but when your heart is so set on something and has been for years then it is so hard to let go. At the end of the day I don't want to disappoint them because they're my biggest inspirations and I love them more than anything. They have been with me through every step and I don't want to lose them when we are one step away from the finish line. I don't know which gamble to take. I would really appreciate it if someone could just tell me to my face that I am no good for Cambridge so that I can forget about it and make my parents happy and satisfied.

Hello, I am a student living in Northern Ireland, currently studying A2 at year 14 (Y13 England). For context, it has always been my dream to study at Newnham College in Cambridge. Not only is it a beautiful college, but I also love the medicine course at Cambridge. I like the traditional teaching style (I am a person that always likes to know their theory before walking into a practical), their research opportunities and a big reason is the tutorials. I like a place where I am not spoon fed, but still provided with lots of support. Pick Cambridge because of the name, or the fact that it is one of the top universities is a very minute reason why I considered applying.
I attend a secondary school that is grammar but is free, though I did have to take an admissions test to be accepted. For GCSE I got 5A* and 6A (99999888888) which was one of the top 20 in my school (out of around 250 in the year). In Northern Ireland we complete our AS modules in year 13 (Y12 England) and then our A2 modules in year 14 (Y13 England) instead of doing both in one year, which provides the opportunities to repeat a module at the end of year 14. For AS, I studied chemistry, biology, maths and psychology. I did do some self teaching of further mathematics (which wasn't offered in my school), but by the time I was halfway through the AS, my school said they wouldn't be able to accommodate the exam. At the end of AS I got AAAB (A in chemistry, maths and psychology and a B in biology0. I was 3 marks off of an A in biology and I requested for a remark to see if I can be granted those 3 marks, but if not I am more than willing to repeat the exam. I dropped psychology after completing the AS to guarantee the highest grades possible for chemistry, biology, maths. I am predicted A*A*A*a overall.
Unfortunately, I didn't do as well as I hoped in The UCAT, though I am very grateful for my result. I got 2650 SJT B2 (VR 590, DM 660, QR 650, AR 780). I don't think there was any way where I could've done better, it was a genuine painful experience that was very unpleasant.
Because of my UCAT I am a bit hesitant to apply. My parents have been very supportive of every decision I took, and were very supportive when I first told them I wanted to go to Cambridge when I started my GCSEs. My mum was also willing to take me to the open day and we went. I personally never felt a strong feeling of belonging before, and on that day I had a strong gut feeling that Cambridge was the place for me. But ever since I got my UCAT result, my parents have been very worried about my persistency to apply to Cambridge. They are both consultants in the hospital and they believe that I am not being realistic or rational, and that I have a tunnelled view on Cambridge, which is a bit true. It is not that I am ignorant or dismissive, but I just don't want to give up on everything that I built, I know at the end of the day all medical schools are the same, and at the end of the day everyone gets their GMC registration, but I still want Cambridge. My parents have done more research on universities than me, I know it sounds very careless of me, but I was very worried about my predicted grades and wanted to only focus on my work until I got them, which was on Friday. They have reached out to so many people and asked about universities that it feels like these decisions are up to them even though they tell me that I am free to decide on whatever I want. Last week we went to the Queens University Belfast open day. Queens only consider your GCSEs and UCAT scores, nothing else. They have a point system dedicated to this. Usually the points before covid were around 30-33, but because of covid they had risen a lot to 37-39. This year the score to be guaranteed an interview was 37 if you scored a band 1 or band 2 at SJT. But they said that the score might decrease since the students who started this year were the last cohort to get predicted GCSEs but they said that they can't guarantee it. My parents don't mind where I go to university, but ever since the open day they have been more biased towards queens, saying that if I were to apply to 1 risky option (which I only want to apply to 1 risky option) then it should be queens instead of Cambridge.
This has led to so many heated arguments and fights because I feel like now I am losing everything. I feel like it sounds dramatic but when your heart is so set on something and has been for years then it is so hard to let go. At the end of the day I don't want to disappoint them because they're my biggest inspirations and I love them more than anything. They have been with me through every step and I don't want to lose them when we are one step away from the finish line. I don't know which gamble to take. I would really appreciate it if someone could just tell me to my face that I am no good for Cambridge so that I can forget about it and make my parents happy and satisfied.