The Student Room Group

Medicine at Oxford with low GCSES?

My school limited me to 9 GCSES and I only achieved 6 A*'s.
My dream is to apply to Oxford for medicine yet I know its nearly impossible to be shortlisted for an interview without straight 9/8s
My exact grades are 999998777 however I had severe home circumstances during GCSE years which made it extremely difficult for me to revise at home and I was frequently pulled out of lesson to discuss the issue. As a result I underperformed.
I have A level mocks which will determine my predicted grades and i am aiming for A*A*A*. I have also done many extracurriculars as well as being enrolled in an Oxford super-curricular programme. However i know the shortlisting is based off GCSES and UCAT results.

Would I stand a chance applying?

Reply 1

Original post by Anonymous
My school limited me to 9 GCSES and I only achieved 6 A*'s.
My dream is to apply to Oxford for medicine yet I know its nearly impossible to be shortlisted for an interview without straight 9/8s
My exact grades are 999998777 however I had severe home circumstances during GCSE years which made it extremely difficult for me to revise at home and I was frequently pulled out of lesson to discuss the issue. As a result I underperformed.
I have A level mocks which will determine my predicted grades and i am aiming for A*A*A*. I have also done many extracurriculars as well as being enrolled in an Oxford super-curricular programme. However i know the shortlisting is based off GCSES and UCAT results.
Would I stand a chance applying?

I know Cambridge take a holistic approach in reviewing applications however I cannot apply as I don't take maths

Reply 2

Original post by Anonymous
I know Cambridge take a holistic approach in reviewing applications however I cannot apply as I don't take maths
You could always take a gap year and self teach A-Level Maths with the countless YouTube channels perhaps? 🙂

Reply 3

Original post by Anonymous
My school limited me to 9 GCSES and I only achieved 6 A*'s.
My dream is to apply to Oxford for medicine yet I know its nearly impossible to be shortlisted for an interview without straight 9/8s
My exact grades are 999998777 however I had severe home circumstances during GCSE years which made it extremely difficult for me to revise at home and I was frequently pulled out of lesson to discuss the issue. As a result I underperformed.
I have A level mocks which will determine my predicted grades and i am aiming for A*A*A*. I have also done many extracurriculars as well as being enrolled in an Oxford super-curricular programme. However i know the shortlisting is based off GCSES and UCAT results.
Would I stand a chance applying?

Your GCSEs are fine. Pay no attention to the "all 8s and 9s" myth.

What matter now are your predicted sixth form grades, personal statement, reference, performance in the entrance test (UCAT), and interviews.
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 4

Original post by Stiffy Byng
Your GCSEs are fine. Pay no attention to the "all 8s and 9s" myth.
What matter now are your predicted sixth form grades, personal statement, reference, performance in the entrance test (UCAT), and interviews.

OP's GCSEs are not fine. Medicine is the one subject at Oxford where GCSEs "all 8s and 9s" is actually not a myth.

https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/faqs/what-is-the-gcse-cut-off

There is no GCSE cut-off, but most applicants hold a broad range of GCSEs in both sciences and arts subjects. You should have top results - that is, a good proportion of 9s/8s (or A*s) - for your application to be competitive. On average, our applicants hold around 88% of GCSEs passes at grades 8 or 9 (A*) and have 9.0 passes at grades 8 or 9 (A*) - although successful applicants may have a higher proportion than this.

https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics

The mean number of total GCSE qualifications offered (not including short courses or other GCSE-equivalent qualifications) was 10.2.

The mean number of A*/9/8s at GCSE for all applicants was 9.0; this rose to 10.1 for those shortlisted and 10.3 for applicants receiving offers.

The mean proportion of A*/9/8s at GCSE was 0.88; this rose to 0.96 for those shortlisted and was 0.97 for applicants receiving offers.

OP's GCSEs are below that of the average Oxford medicine applicant. I don't know a lot about medicine admissions, but my understanding is that it is extremely competitive - OP might be better off applying for other universities which place less emphasis on GCSEs.

Reply 5

Original post by mishieru07
OP's GCSEs are not fine. Medicine is the one subject at Oxford where GCSEs "all 8s and 9s" is actually not a myth.
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/faqs/what-is-the-gcse-cut-off
There is no GCSE cut-off, but most applicants hold a broad range of GCSEs in both sciences and arts subjects. You should have top results - that is, a good proportion of 9s/8s (or A*s) - for your application to be competitive. On average, our applicants hold around 88% of GCSEs passes at grades 8 or 9 (A*) and have 9.0 passes at grades 8 or 9 (A*) - although successful applicants may have a higher proportion than this.
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics
The mean number of total GCSE qualifications offered (not including short courses or other GCSE-equivalent qualifications) was 10.2.
The mean number of A*/9/8s at GCSE for all applicants was 9.0; this rose to 10.1 for those shortlisted and 10.3 for applicants receiving offers.
The mean proportion of A*/9/8s at GCSE was 0.88; this rose to 0.96 for those shortlisted and was 0.97 for applicants receiving offers.
OP's GCSEs are below that of the average Oxford medicine applicant. I don't know a lot about medicine admissions, but my understanding is that it is extremely competitive - OP might be better off applying for other universities which place less emphasis on GCSEs.

You appear to overlook the words "on average".
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 6

Original post by Anonymous
My school limited me to 9 GCSES and I only achieved 6 A*'s.
My dream is to apply to Oxford for medicine yet I know its nearly impossible to be shortlisted for an interview without straight 9/8s
My exact grades are 999998777 however I had severe home circumstances during GCSE years which made it extremely difficult for me to revise at home and I was frequently pulled out of lesson to discuss the issue. As a result I underperformed.
I have A level mocks which will determine my predicted grades and i am aiming for A*A*A*. I have also done many extracurriculars as well as being enrolled in an Oxford super-curricular programme. However i know the shortlisting is based off GCSES and UCAT results.
Would I stand a chance applying?

OP, if your other academic factors are strong, then you stand a chance, but, of course, be realistic in your expectations. it's generally safest to assume that you won't obtain an offer. If you do obtain one, great. Take care to choose your other target universities so that, whichever you end up at you'll be happy. Good luck!
Original post by Anonymous
My school limited me to 9 GCSES and I only achieved 6 A*'s.
My dream is to apply to Oxford for medicine yet I know its nearly impossible to be shortlisted for an interview without straight 9/8s
My exact grades are 999998777 however I had severe home circumstances during GCSE years which made it extremely difficult for me to revise at home and I was frequently pulled out of lesson to discuss the issue. As a result I underperformed.
I have A level mocks which will determine my predicted grades and i am aiming for A*A*A*. I have also done many extracurriculars as well as being enrolled in an Oxford super-curricular programme. However i know the shortlisting is based off GCSES and UCAT results.

Would I stand a chance applying?

Since medicine is one of the subjects where the uni you go to matters least - as the GMC considers all medical schools equal, and NHS is the only provider of graduate medical training posts and takes the same stance, going so far as to blind recruiters from your medical school to ensure no bias - you should pick medical schools which maximise your chances of getting an interview and hence offer.

In this case you are as noted statistically below average for Oxford and as GCSEs are one of only two factors they consider when shortlisting applicants, you are unlikely to get an interview I imagine. It may be "possible" but given the difficulty in securing a medicine offer in the first place, it would be more pragmatic to choose other medical schools where you have the best chances of getting an interview invite.

Note this isn't to say your GCSEs are bad - they're very good in fact, particularly in the context of the situation you had going on. However you should focus on your goal of becoming a doctor, which means doing any UK medical degree somewhere in the UK, and make the best choices you can to ensure you can achieve that goal :smile:
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 8

Original post by Stiffy Byng
You appear to overlook the words "on average".

If OP were able to apply to an unlimited number of universities, I would absolutely encourage them to give Oxford medicine a shot because there would be no downside to applying. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that UCAS only permits 4 medicine choices (down from the usual 5) and medicine is an extremely competitive subject across all universities. Unlike other subjects (e.g. law), there are no "safe" options where one can be reasonably confident of getting an offer.

https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics/text-version-of-na-9-8-and-pa-at-gcse-2020

For the last admissions cycle, of the 37 applicants who had 6 9s/8s/A*s, 35 were not invited to interview, 1 was invited to interview (but did not receive an offer) and 1 received an offer. Of the 44 candidates who had a pA* of 0.60 - 0.69, 3 were invited to interview (but did not receive an offer) and 3 received offers.

If OP wants to go ahead and apply knowing that their GCSE grades are well below that of the average Oxford medicine applicant/ interview invitee/ offer holder, that's their choice. But they should go in with their eyes wide open.

Reply 9

Original post by mishieru07
If OP were able to apply to an unlimited number of universities, I would absolutely encourage them to give Oxford medicine a shot because there would be no downside to applying. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that UCAS only permits 4 medicine choices (down from the usual 5) and medicine is an extremely competitive subject across all universities. Unlike other subjects (e.g. law), there are no "safe" options where one can be reasonably confident of getting an offer.
https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics/text-version-of-na-9-8-and-pa-at-gcse-2020
For the last admissions cycle, of the 37 applicants who had 6 9s/8s/A*s, 35 were not invited to interview, 1 was invited to interview (but did not receive an offer) and 1 received an offer. Of the 44 candidates who had a pA* of 0.60 - 0.69, 3 were invited to interview (but did not receive an offer) and 3 received offers.
If OP wants to go ahead and apply knowing that their GCSE grades are well below that of the average Oxford medicine applicant/ interview invitee/ offer holder, that's their choice. But they should go in with their eyes wide open.

I agree with that.

Reply 10

Does oxford grad med put heavy emphasise on A levels or on degree and UCAT more?

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