Be brutally honest, will I get into medical school?

I am in a state school in year 12 doing Biology, Chemistry and Psychology

My main GCSE grades are:
Eng lang + Lit = 8
Physics = 7
Bio, chem and maths = 6
(I was genuinley 1 mark of the next grade for all 3 science - got it remarked and was incredibly unlucky)

It does feel strange doing my lowest grades for A-levels however I've done lots of work experience for medicine (clinical placement + volunteering + opticians clinic + MOOC about history of medicine). Plus, I have a hospital placement next week and I've applied for lots of essay competitions

As well as this I do feel very passionate about medicine even though it doesn't show strongly in my grades.

Universities that say they allow my grades are Hull York, Lancaster, St Georges and Bristol Sussex.
But I am scared that they just say this for the sake of it but no one with 6's actually gets in?
I need some honest advice from people applying for med/ have been in my shoes/ year 13 etc.

Thanks!

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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Reply 2

McGinger

No=one can tell you if you will get an interview for any of these choices - all you can do is cross your fingers and wait. And try not to keep checking your phone - it will drive you nuts.

Reply 3

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by nong_shim

Without your AL predictions and UCAT results it is too early to say. You're clearly motivated and are getting the right kind of work experiences in which many people struggle with. Some unis weigh GCSE's less heavily, so yes, people with grade 6's absolutely do get in.

Original post

by McGinger

No=one can tell you if you will get an interview for any of these choices - all you can do is cross your fingers and wait. And try not to keep checking your phone - it will drive you nuts.

They're in year 12 :smile:

Reply 4

ringi

Many medical schools mostly ignore GCSEs for students who allready have the required A levels. Predicted A level grades are very important if putting applications in before you have A level results. UCAT is very significant for the medical schools who don't demand top GCSEs for candidates who apply with predicted A levels.

UCAT tends to improve for students who take a gap year.

Belfast have reasonable A level requirements, but with your GCSEs would not interview you until you got the A level grades they ask before, they also will automatic exclude anyone who did not include them in their 1st round of application to medical school!

Most medical school don't like A level resits, so you need to ace your A levels as everything else can be fixed with a gap year.

Reply 5

BrainyTrainy

I second what @ringi said

Medical schools such as Imperial and UCL don't look at GCSEs beyond min req of 6 in English and Maths i believe. They rank you entirely on UCAT for interview selection and then use interview performance for selection.

So definitely focus on getting good A level predictions and a great UCAT score during summer

Reply 6

ErasistratusV

If you want into Bristol it's all on UCAT and A level grades. Applying after a year or two of gap year assuming you have some work history in healthcare may also help your application.

Reply 7

DoctorJorts

Original post

by ringi

Many medical schools mostly ignore GCSEs for students who allready have the required A levels. Predicted A level grades are very important if putting applications in before you have A level results. UCAT is very significant for the medical schools who don't demand top GCSEs for candidates who apply with predicted A levels.
UCAT tends to improve for students who take a gap year.
Belfast have reasonable A level requirements, but with your GCSEs would not interview you until you got the A level grades they ask before, they also will automatic exclude anyone who did not include them in their 1st round of application to medical school!
Most medical school don't like A level resits, so you need to ace your A levels as everything else can be fixed with a gap year.

In general this is true but the specifics are definitely worth looking into. So it seems of OP's choices Lancaster and BSMS pretty much do this - use GCSEs as eligibility checks only, then select for interview based on UCAT ranking - but HYMS weigh GCSEs and UCAT fairly evenly when selecting for interview, which makes them a much less strategic choice for OP. St George's on the other hand allegedly interview everyone who is eligible. All of this information is available on each med school's own website - so this is all to say that it's pretty important to research on a case-by-case basis as the answer is often already there.

Reply 8

ringi

The point is a gap year removes many GCSEs problems provided the A levels results are very good, but nothing removes failing to get great A level results on 1st sitting. A gap year can also sort out getting work experience and improving UCAT.