Medicine

2

Hey there I am planning to apply for medicine at UCL,Leicester,Sheffield and Manchester however I am a little worried as my GCSEs didn’t go as planned and I got 88777777766 however I am likely to be predicted A*AA. Do I still stand any chance applying to these 😭( ik UCL is extremely competitive however I believe they don’t score GCSEs at least that’s what I want to believe 😭😭😭)

Reply 1

mass63

15

Hi
I suggest you the UCAT first before you draw the short list of universities. The score will decide it for you. A score of 2100 plus will put you in good position everywhere.

Reply 2

gayathri_pregi

OP

2

Original post by mass63

Hi
I suggest you the UCAT first before you draw the short list of universities. The score will decide it for you. A score of 2100 plus will put you in good position everywhere.

Thank you!

Reply 3

aneekss23

11

Original post by gayathri_pregi

Hey there I am planning to apply for medicine at UCL,Leicester,Sheffield and Manchester however I am a little worried as my GCSEs didn’t go as planned and I got 88777777766 however I am likely to be predicted A*AA. Do I still stand any chance applying to these 😭( ik UCL is extremely competitive however I believe they don’t score GCSEs at least that’s what I want to believe 😭😭😭)

im in the same boat as you- i literally got the same gcses haha but idk what i'll be predicted yet- from what i've seen and heard it'd be best to drop leicester as they weigh gcses a lot-i spoke to an admissions person asw and she confirmed itt. im also a bit confused on where to apply but ig we can figure it out after UCAT?

Reply 4

gayathri_pregi

OP

2

Original post by aneekss23

im in the same boat as you- i literally got the same gcses haha but idk what i'll be predicted yet- from what i've seen and heard it'd be best to drop leicester as they weigh gcses a lot-i spoke to an admissions person asw and she confirmed itt. im also a bit confused on where to apply but ig we can figure it out after UCAT?

Really wanted this keep Leicester *** but arghh we’ll figure it out !

Reply 5

aneekss23

11

Original post by gayathri_pregi

Really wanted this keep Leicester *** but arghh we’ll figure it out !

yess hopefully!!

Reply 6

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

15

Original post by gayathri_pregi

Hey there I am planning to apply for medicine at UCL,Leicester,Sheffield and Manchester however I am a little worried as my GCSEs didn’t go as planned and I got 88777777766 however I am likely to be predicted A*AA. Do I still stand any chance applying to these 😭( ik UCL is extremely competitive however I believe they don’t score GCSEs at least that’s what I want to believe 😭😭😭)

Hey it's great to hear you're looking to apply to Sheffield for Medicine! I'm in my second year and the course here has been amazing so far!

Sheffield heavily considers your UCAT score for shortlisting to interviews so I would recommend confirming your options after you have sat the exam. There are previous UCAT cut-off scores on the website which can be found with the link I've pasted below, but the cut-off scores vary year to year so I don't recommend using it solely to make your decision. In terms of your GCSE and predicted grades I believe the requirement is to have met the minimum grades which can be found on this page along with further admissions details: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/2026/medicine-mbchb.

Sheffield is a great place to study, especially for Medicine so I would highly recommend applying 🙂 Hope this helps and please let us know if you have any more questions!

Ami [Medicine 2nd Year]

Reply 7

FiBox

11

Definitely focus on UCAT for now (bearing in mind the scores will be different this year as they have dropped abstract reasoning); UCAT is very important for most universities interview cut-offs. Some universities score GCSEs, others just need you to achieve a minimum. There are spreadsheets around that show the different ways different medical schools weight applicants. I recommend choosing at least two realistic ones, one you think is a bit ‘safer’, and no more than one that might be a bit borderline.

Reply 8

MustafaTheCooked

1

Most unis basically look at ur predicted grades and GCSEs to see if you get in or not and then after that they'll rank you based off ucat score and not even look at ur GCSEs again Lmao ur fine bro you could get in UCL with all 6s they look at ucat

Reply 9

UoL Students

Official Rep

15

Original post by gayathri_pregi

Hey there I am planning to apply for medicine at UCL,Leicester,Sheffield and Manchester however I am a little worried as my GCSEs didn’t go as planned and I got 88777777766 however I am likely to be predicted A*AA. Do I still stand any chance applying to these 😭( ik UCL is extremely competitive however I believe they don’t score GCSEs at least that’s what I want to believe 😭😭😭)

Hi!

It's so exciting that you're considering Leicester! I'm a 2nd Year Medic who's really liking the Leicester course so far!
Leicester combines UCAT and GCSE score to invite to interview, with the UCAT making half of your score, so i would recommend focusing on getting your UCAT as strong as possible before making your final decision. Also, your predicted A Levels look great!

Here is the link for 2026 Entry Scoring where you can find the official document with detailed information on the entire process!

Good Luck!

Lindo
2nd Year Medical Student

Reply 10

Deeraj2009

5

Original post by FiBox

Definitely focus on UCAT for now (bearing in mind the scores will be different this year as they have dropped abstract reasoning); UCAT is very important for most universities interview cut-offs. Some universities score GCSEs, others just need you to achieve a minimum. There are spreadsheets around that show the different ways different medical schools weight applicants. I recommend choosing at least two realistic ones, one you think is a bit ‘safer’, and no more than one that might be a bit borderline.

Please can you share the link to the spreadsheets that show the different ways different medical schools weight applicants?

Reply 11

MustafaTheCooked

1

I dont have a sheet with ALL of them, I usually get all my information from the uni website, just go to the entry requirements and look for a link on how they score applicants, you can ask me to go fetch a specific uni if you want

Reply 12

JiyaForensicSci

Official Rep

7

Original post by gayathri_pregi

Hey there I am planning to apply for medicine at UCL,Leicester,Sheffield and Manchester however I am a little worried as my GCSEs didn’t go as planned and I got 88777777766 however I am likely to be predicted A*AA. Do I still stand any chance applying to these 😭( ik UCL is extremely competitive however I believe they don’t score GCSEs at least that’s what I want to believe 😭😭😭)

Hi gayathri_pregi,

Those universities are fantastic choices for medicine & don't beat yourself up too much over your GCSE's. They're still quite good as well as your predicted grades!
I have taken a look at each university's entry requirements & this is what I have found:

UCL: "All candidates must offer GCSE (or IGCSE, O-level, IB or EB equivalent) at grade B/6 or above in both English Language and Mathematics. Candidates may re-sit GCSE subjects in order to meet the GCSE requirements,"

A levels: "We require three A-levels studied at the same time (which must be completed within two years). The examinations for the three A-levels must be sat at the same time. We do not accept qualification re-sits, including re-starting Year 12. A-levels from recognised UK examination boards are the only “advanced levels” accepted. Chemistry and Biology must be studied at A-level. The third subject is the student’s own choice and can be any subject other than General Studies or Critical Thinking.

•

Our standard conditional offer will be grades A*AA to include A*A in Chemistry and Biology, either order.

•

Contextual Offers: please visit the course webpage for further details about our Access UCL scheme.

We would expect any “extra” qualifications that an applicant has undertaken to be completed and passed,"

By the looks of it, you're good for UCL.

Leicester: Their A level requirements are A*AA in Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Physics or Maths.

The GCSE requirements are:
You must have grade 6 or above.

You're good here too.

Sheffield:
You will need AAA in Biology, Chemistry, & another GCSE in Maths, Physics.

Their GCSE requirements are:
You must have GCSE grades of 6 or above in Maths, English Language & one other science subject. They do request that you have 5 GCSE's of grade 7 in your GCSE subjects.

I think you're fine here

Manchester: They accept A levels at AAA but have a typical contextual offer of AAB.

Their GCSE requirements are:
GCSE grades of 7 or 8 with your English language, Maths & at least two science subjects at grade 6 or above. Their dual award for science that they require is 66.

From what I can see, you should be fine. The universities are competitive but do not allow that to put you off.

Do be kind to yourself as you have done exceptionally well & should be incredibly proud of yourself!

Kind regards,
Jiya Mahmood
Forensic Medical Science Year 3
University of Bradford
Student Room Rep
Student Ambassador
PAL Leader (2024/2025)

Medicine

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