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med uni help please 🙏

Hi, if anyone can answer any questions id appreciate it alot.

i am 19 and im wanting to go into medicine at uni, however im taking an access course (science and maths) in september first to bridge the gap. at the same time im retaking my maths gcse as i absolutely butchered them in school, i didnt revise and hardly sat any of the exams as i was really suicidal in year 11 lol. for my access course the only gcses needed are maths and english passes which i have, as i retook maths as functional skills lvl2 when i turned 17.

the problem is unis, im really wanting to go to bristol or exeter as i dont want to be too far from home which yes i know they both need a higher maths grade. however im worried about my other gcses as i have only got 65433:frown: is this a massive problem? exeter website says nothing about maths but 6 for english and bristol 6 for english and 7 for maths.

im hoping if my ucat score, access course grades are good and i get alot of experience with shadowing doctors and working in a carehome with extracurriculars would be enough to look past my gcse grades?

please help me out i am stressing😭😭

Reply 1

Hi, I applied for medicine this year and I currently have 1 offer so far!

It's all about applying tactically. Those GCSEs are something you need to consider as some universities will score you for them. I applied for Bristol and I know they only really care about the UCAT and predicted A levels (I'm not sure how the access course scoring system works). If you achieve their basic GCSE requirements its probably fine.

I had a look at the Exeter admissions criteria and it looks like they only consider your A level predicted and UCAT (again probably worth finding out how much your access course scoring system is worth). So as long as you meet their basic GCSE requirements you probably have a chance.

Might be worth broadening your horizons as well. Obviously Exeter and Bristol are probably ideal but look for options that don't consider GCSEs and ones that interview a lot of candidates per places. Go to open days and contact admissions teams to try and find out exactly what grades you would need to apply.

Maybe consider widening access routes? See if you are eligible for reduced grades, UCAT cut offs etc. I know Exeter, Bristol and Plymouth run programs for aspiring medics.

If non of these options work out maybe try getting another degree first? I know that if you do a Biomed degree (or any other degree) you can apply for Medicine as a graduate and then your GCSEs probably won't matter.

Hope this helps and good luck!! You seem very determined to go into medicine and they love that in applicants!

Reply 2

Original post
by chewy55555
Hi, I applied for medicine this year and I currently have 1 offer so far!
It's all about applying tactically. Those GCSEs are something you need to consider as some universities will score you for them. I applied for Bristol and I know they only really care about the UCAT and predicted A levels (I'm not sure how the access course scoring system works). If you achieve their basic GCSE requirements its probably fine.
I had a look at the Exeter admissions criteria and it looks like they only consider your A level predicted and UCAT (again probably worth finding out how much your access course scoring system is worth). So as long as you meet their basic GCSE requirements you probably have a chance.
Might be worth broadening your horizons as well. Obviously Exeter and Bristol are probably ideal but look for options that don't consider GCSEs and ones that interview a lot of candidates per places. Go to open days and contact admissions teams to try and find out exactly what grades you would need to apply.
Maybe consider widening access routes? See if you are eligible for reduced grades, UCAT cut offs etc. I know Exeter, Bristol and Plymouth run programs for aspiring medics.
If non of these options work out maybe try getting another degree first? I know that if you do a Biomed degree (or any other degree) you can apply for Medicine as a graduate and then your GCSEs probably won't matter.
Hope this helps and good luck!! You seem very determined to go into medicine and they love that in applicants!


hey thanks so much for all the advice :smile:) ill defo look into other unis , just scared of being far away haha. i did consider biomed as a backup option when it comes to the time of applying.
i hope you get all your offers back !!

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