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Medicine without A level biology

Has anyone gotten into med school without doing A level bio? I know that a handful of unis, including Oxbridge, don't officially require biology (so presumable I could get in with chemistry, maths, FM and physics) but would it hinder my application at all (like would I have to overcompensate in another area and/or justify why I didn't do biology?) Because even if bio isn't technically required I'm a little nervous it might still be preferred, so if another candidate had an identical application to me in every way but did biology instead of physics/FM, they would get in instead of me

Reply 1

Original post
by connorfrancis
Has anyone gotten into med school without doing A level bio? I know that a handful of unis, including Oxbridge, don't officially require biology (so presumable I could get in with chemistry, maths, FM and physics) but would it hinder my application at all (like would I have to overcompensate in another area and/or justify why I didn't do biology?) Because even if bio isn't technically required I'm a little nervous it might still be preferred, so if another candidate had an identical application to me in every way but did biology instead of physics/FM, they would get in instead of me

There are quite a few medical schools that don't require biology. Have a look in the medicine forum for details about the different requirements.

And if a medical school prefers biology it will say so.

Reply 2

Original post
by ageshallnot
There are quite a few medical schools that don't require biology. Have a look in the medicine forum for details about the different requirements.
And if a medical school prefers biology it will say so.

Thank you. I know there are schools that don't require or officially state a preference for biology, I'm just concerned that there will still be some level of implicit preference for biology such that not doing biology might affect my chances of getting in, like if I and another applicant have identical UCAT scores and equally good personal statements, would they be more likely to be accepted just because they do biology even though it's not an official requirement?

Reply 3

Original post
by connorfrancis
Thank you. I know there are schools that don't require or officially state a preference for biology, I'm just concerned that there will still be some level of implicit preference for biology such that not doing biology might affect my chances of getting in, like if I and another applicant have identical UCAT scores and equally good personal statements, would they be more likely to be accepted just because they do biology even though it's not an official requirement?

My points are these:

First, why would a medical school waste their time (and yours) by not stating a preference?

Second, if you want to study medicine then apply. You have the subjects for many universities. Apply strategically to those at which you have the best chance. (Many other applicants apply without chemistry, which is far more limiting.)

Third, read through similar threads in the medicine forum then re-post there in light of what you discover.

Reply 4

Original post
by connorfrancis
Has anyone gotten into med school without doing A level bio? I know that a handful of unis, including Oxbridge, don't officially require biology (so presumable I could get in with chemistry, maths, FM and physics) but would it hinder my application at all (like would I have to overcompensate in another area and/or justify why I didn't do biology?) Because even if bio isn't technically required I'm a little nervous it might still be preferred, so if another candidate had an identical application to me in every way but did biology instead of physics/FM, they would get in instead of me

Unis have to state if they prefer or require a certain subject, there will be no implicit preference for a subject.

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