What do i do?

Hello all,

I’m planning to take a gap year (mostly because of my UCAT) and reapply for medicine this September. However, I got a 5 in GCSE English Language, so I should resit it because a 5 is not really the ideal grade for medicine I’m not sure how to go about it, and I’d really appreciate some advice.

So here’s my situation:

I’ll be applying for medicine in September 2025, but I know most GCSE retakes are done in november and the results are released around December or January i think.

Is there any way to retake GCSE English earlier (like in June/July) and get results in time for my application? Also that's when i have to do my alevels :frown:

Would universities accept my application if I include a pending GCSE result?

For context, my UCAT score was 2510 (Band 3), and my GCSEs are 8-7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5.

Reply 1

bibachu

Original post

by zoro-da

Hello all,
I’m planning to take a gap year (mostly because of my UCAT) and reapply for medicine this September. However, I got a 5 in GCSE English Language, so I should resit it because a 5 is not really the ideal grade for medicine I’m not sure how to go about it, and I’d really appreciate some advice.
So here’s my situation:
I’ll be applying for medicine in September 2025, but I know most GCSE retakes are done in november and the results are released around December or January i think.
Is there any way to retake GCSE English earlier (like in June/July) and get results in time for my application? Also that's when i have to do my alevels :frown:

Would universities accept my application if I include a pending GCSE result?
For context, my UCAT score was 2510 (Band 3), and my GCSEs are 8-7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5.

The only way that you would be able to apply with all your grades in hand in time for the October 2025 deadline (for 2026 entry) would be by resitting in May/June of this year. This would mean that you would have to do your A levels and your resits at the same time, which may add a lot of pressure to an already high workload during the exam period. Universities would accept resits pending results for GCSEs in exactly the same way they would A levels. If you do not meet the GCSE conditions of an offer they make to you, you would lose your place. The safest option here would be to apply for maybe 2 or 3 med schools that only require a 5 in English language and 1 or 2 that require a 6 or higher. Depending on how confident you are that you will achieve the 6, you may choose to take more of a risk with your choices. Of course, the grades you’ll be applying with A level wise, along with your GCSEs and UCAT will also have an impact on the choices you make.

Reply 2

stilllearning123

Original post

by zoro-da

Hello all,
I’m planning to take a gap year (mostly because of my UCAT) and reapply for medicine this September. However, I got a 5 in GCSE English Language, so I should resit it because a 5 is not really the ideal grade for medicine I’m not sure how to go about it, and I’d really appreciate some advice.
So here’s my situation:
I’ll be applying for medicine in September 2025, but I know most GCSE retakes are done in november and the results are released around December or January i think.
Is there any way to retake GCSE English earlier (like in June/July) and get results in time for my application? Also that's when i have to do my alevels :frown:

Would universities accept my application if I include a pending GCSE result?
For context, my UCAT score was 2510 (Band 3), and my GCSEs are 8-7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5.

Like the above comment, resit in summer time and see if you get higher. If you sit the UCAT again and get a below-average score again, you might want to consider gateway entry to medicine, or maybe even graduate entry to medicine. Almost everyone that applies to medicine has all A's and at least an average UCAT, so why should they accept the ones that don't have these?
Best of luck to you.