The Student Room Group

Can I get into Oxbridge medicine?

Hello,
Is it still possible to get into Oxbridge for medicine if I got mostly 6s and 7s at GCSEs, but 9s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths - and I'm predicted 3 A*s at A-Level (Bio, Chem, Maths), aiming for a really strong UCAT score, and I have lots of wex, volunteering, extra/super curriculars?
I'm feeling unsure about applying as I have seen people with 12/13 grade 9s at gcse, and it's making me think that I might not stand a chance. I know that for medicine it doesn't really matter where you study it, but it has always been a personal aim of mine to study at Oxbridge.

Thank you.

Reply 1

Original post
by Sakk2000
Hello,
Is it still possible to get into Oxbridge for medicine if I got mostly 6s and 7s at GCSEs, but 9s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths - and I'm predicted 3 A*s at A-Level (Bio, Chem, Maths), aiming for a really strong UCAT score, and I have lots of wex, volunteering, extra/super curriculars?
I'm feeling unsure about applying as I have seen people with 12/13 grade 9s at gcse, and it's making me think that I might not stand a chance. I know that for medicine it doesn't really matter where you study it, but it has always been a personal aim of mine to study at Oxbridge.
Thank you.
Yes, you should apply.

Make sure to manage your expectations because Oxbridge is extremely competitive.
Original post
by Sakk2000
Hello,
Is it still possible to get into Oxbridge for medicine if I got mostly 6s and 7s at GCSEs, but 9s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths - and I'm predicted 3 A*s at A-Level (Bio, Chem, Maths), aiming for a really strong UCAT score, and I have lots of wex, volunteering, extra/super curriculars?
I'm feeling unsure about applying as I have seen people with 12/13 grade 9s at gcse, and it's making me think that I might not stand a chance. I know that for medicine it doesn't really matter where you study it, but it has always been a personal aim of mine to study at Oxbridge.
Thank you.

Just to note that Medicine is very competitive everywhere and the GMC is blind to which medical school you went to. It is better to ensure that you get into at least one than risking not getting into any.

Reply 3

Original post
by Sakk2000
Hello,
Is it still possible to get into Oxbridge for medicine if I got mostly 6s and 7s at GCSEs, but 9s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths - and I'm predicted 3 A*s at A-Level (Bio, Chem, Maths), aiming for a really strong UCAT score, and I have lots of wex, volunteering, extra/super curriculars?
I'm feeling unsure about applying as I have seen people with 12/13 grade 9s at gcse, and it's making me think that I might not stand a chance. I know that for medicine it doesn't really matter where you study it, but it has always been a personal aim of mine to study at Oxbridge.
Thank you.


Yes, but definitely apply to Cambridge instead of Oxford. Oxford weights GCSEs a lot for medicine.

Reply 4

Original post
by Sakk2000
Hello,
Is it still possible to get into Oxbridge for medicine if I got mostly 6s and 7s at GCSEs, but 9s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths - and I'm predicted 3 A*s at A-Level (Bio, Chem, Maths), aiming for a really strong UCAT score, and I have lots of wex, volunteering, extra/super curriculars?
I'm feeling unsure about applying as I have seen people with 12/13 grade 9s at gcse, and it's making me think that I might not stand a chance. I know that for medicine it doesn't really matter where you study it, but it has always been a personal aim of mine to study at Oxbridge.
Thank you.

i was rejected from oxford with only 8s and 9s in GCSEs, 4A* predicted, and a 98th percentile UCAT. make sure to apply to cambridge if you dont have especially strong GCSEs, was a blunder on my part

Reply 5

Original post
by jeminotorror2
i was rejected from oxford with only 8s and 9s in GCSEs, 4A* predicted, and a 98th percentile UCAT. make sure to apply to cambridge if you dont have especially strong GCSEs, was a blunder on my part


Yes but cambridge still care a lot about GCSEs, especially for medicine. While applying to cambridge instead of oxford may be advantageous, OP should still manage his expectations and not make oxbridge everything because its extremely competitive, and in all honesty his grades will disadvantage him (not saying he shouldn’t apply but just being realistic)

Reply 6

Original post
by isaac123444566
Yes but cambridge still care a lot about GCSEs, especially for medicine. While applying to cambridge instead of oxford may be advantageous, OP should still manage his expectations and not make oxbridge everything because its extremely competitive, and in all honesty his grades will disadvantage him (not saying he shouldn’t apply but just being realistic)

i agree, i know for oxford they weigh your GCSEs 50% and UCAT 50% to select people for interview, idk how cambridge weighs GCSEs though

Reply 7

Original post
by jeminotorror2
i agree, i know for oxford they weigh your GCSEs 50% and UCAT 50% to select people for interview, idk how cambridge weighs GCSEs though


They haven’t got any explicit statements about it, but from their acceptance stats its clear GCSEs are important

Reply 8

I wouldn’t overthink it, you have a chance at either university, and it’s not all about grades, you’ve got to be the right fit too and be open to learning.
Choose from the two and put it on your UCAS application.
Done.

Reply 9

For Oxford this year:

GCSEs are considered in the context of your school’s performance and “number of A*/9/8 and mean proportion of A*/9/8 used in the automatic shortlisting stage.”

“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.”

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

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