Physiological sciences at Oxford

Hi,

Is anyone studying physiological sciences or applying to do this course? I'm really interested in applying.

My problem is my GCSEs:

maths - A* (B first time June 07, intermediate paper so couldn't get higher, did again as really could always have got better than a B)
english lit - A
english lang - A*
chem - A
bio - A

No physics but am self-teaching physics this year, finish the course June 2010.

I have so few because I was ill and off school from end of year 10. Took one at the end of year 11 (English Lit), did two the next year (English Lang, Maths). The next year was 100% well so worked part time whilst getting my GCSEs up to the five I needed to do A-levels, which at that time was my only goal. Got chem & bio and went on to do A-levels full time.

Have done Chemistry, Biology, Maths, English Literature AS, carrying all four on to A2 and am doing the extended project award. Also as I said, self-teaching GCSE physics.

Cambridge have the special access scheme but from what I understand Oxford scrapped this a few years ago.

I have a letter from my GP saying yes I was ill but am well now (for the last 2.5 years), and a letter from my secondary school saying that they would have expectd me to get all A* and A at GCSE if I had taken them - was doing 9? 10? I forget, it was a long time ago.

Is it worth applying? What would you recommend? Have to do the BMAT for physiological sciences so if I did well on that persumably it would help my case.

I'm still weighing up the possibility of applying for this course as for ages I was set on going straight into medicine. Now I'm thinking I'd rather do a science degree first.

EDIT: I'm really sorry about my appauling use of language in this post. I'm tired.

Reply 1

Huw Davies

11

If your intention is to do medicine, I would apply for that rather than a science degree with a view to graduate entry afterwards - you're exposing yourself to horrendous competition and some financial trickiness.

I would contact for the most accurate possible info - they seem pretty enthusiastic about widening access so it's definitely worth asking. Link from here:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/physiological_sciences/physiological_3.html

Reply 2

Tipareth

5

Explain the situation. They can be very amenable.

Reply 3

lekky

OP

19

Thanks I'm going to ring now.

I did type out a whole load of reasons for why I am weighing up the option of doing a science degree first but I decided that it's more personal that I'd like to put on an internet forum. But whatever I decide I will have thought about it very carefully, it won't be an impulsive decision that I have not researched into.

Reply 4

lekky

OP

19

The woman I talked to was very helpful, I can submit additional information as it is mitigating circumstances - GP letter outlining illness & recovery, letter from old secondary school saying that would have gottan all A* and A grades at GCSE.

The woman also said that I could apply for four medical schools & use Oxford as my 5th, not uncommon apparently? And they don't use personal statements when selecting for interview, it's GCSE scores vs. BMAT score. Suprising I thought I would have to chose :o:

But think she may have just given me a solution!

Think I'm sorted but would still very much like to talk to anyone who is doing or has done physiological sciences... seem to be very few and far between, literally no one on the current students list is doing this subject :o:

Reply 5

username210636

13

Hey, I'm considering Oxford for Physiological Sciences as a fifth choice also! Was going to apply to them for medicine, but am now scared of the competition... I think I will still apply for Medicine at Oxford if I get AAA at A Level though.

Reply 6

lekky

OP

19

Ignoramus

Hey, I'm considering Oxford for Physiological Sciences as a fifth choice also! Was going to apply to them for medicine, but am now scared of the competition... I think I will still apply for Medicine at Oxford if I get AAA at A Level though.

Awesome! I think if you've got a strong GCSE profile & AAA at A Level & good BMAT score you should be ok. They rank you by BMAT score then interview the top 50%. If you love Oxford go for it, otherwise you might spend the rest of your life wondering "what if". This is the principle I take and it's meant I've done some things I probably wouldn't normally :yes:

Do you know anyone thats done this course?

If you got into medicine and into this course which would you take?

Reply 7

Nimbus

12

I think Oxford treats physiological scis in a way that is pretty much the same as the medics!
I.e. When shortlisting for interivew, both GCSEs(% of A*s) and BMAT results are taken into consideration(with the latter weighing up 2/3), as well as prediction of AAA and all that sort of stuff.xD

The good thing about GCSEs is that they don't take into account how many you've done, nor any other grades apart from A*s. However, in your case, I don't think this will work in favour for you.
Nevertheless, don't lose hope as a good BMAT will easily make up for it (plus, the competition isn't as stiff as medicine so they might lower the boundaries!).

Someone from my school applied for physiology a few years ago (with "not so amazing GCSEs, i.e. not a high A* %), but presumably did really well in the BMAT. She got an interview and then a place (St Catz if that helps.xD) so hopefully that shows that it can be achieved! =D

Also, I see you're a hopeful medic, I'd high recommend you to apply for Oxford's medicine course - i.e. don't apply for 4 med schools and physiology at Oxford (it's pretty much a guaranteen that you will NOT get in as youe PS will be clearly for medicine).
So you have to weight it up, it's either all medicine (may be plus a back up, but NOT a course at oxbridge), or physiological sciences at Oxford (plus various other courses).
i.e. oxbridge or medicine?
(and keep in mind that medicine at oxford is VERY competitive, the GCSE/BMAT shortlist will be really tough - you'll have to perform at least in the top 20% in the BMAT probably to get shortlisted).

If I were you, I'd apply for medicine at Oxford( if medicine is what you really want to do at the end of the day). Hopefully that helps!!

Reply 8

username210636

13

lekky

Awesome! I think if you've got a strong GCSE profile & AAA at A Level & good BMAT score you should be ok. They rank you by BMAT score then interview the top 50%. If you love Oxford go for it, otherwise you might spend the rest of your life wondering "what if". This is the principle I take and it's meant I've done some things I probably wouldn't normally :yes:

Do you know anyone thats done this course?

If you got into medicine and into this course which would you take?

I'm considering physiological sciences because I've recently been wondering whether I'm too interested in the scientific basis of medicine, as opposed to being interested in clinical practice (this interests me, but less so). Therefore, I've been considering doing graduate entry to give me an extra three years to consider my options whilst doing something I enjoy, because I know a lot of people who are less interested in the scientific aspect of the course than me but who are more committed to doing medicine at university, rather than physiology etc.

Don't they interview over 85% for physiological sciences? See http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/physiological_sciences/physiological_2.html

I can't help but feel that this means phys applicants aren't treated as strictly as medics when it comes to GCSE/BMAT, though I may be wrong about this. Especially taking the small number of applications into account (if 40% of applications = 22, 100% of applications = 55 people), they seem unlikely to reject many people without an interview, giving candidates a greater chance to prove themselves.

Yup I share your "what if" principle... it's influenced my university application quite a bit! :yes:

I would be stuck if I got offers for this course as well as medicine because whilst I really like the phys course, it would mean possibly competitive graduate entry or further study in neuroscience, both of which are expensive. On the other hand, I also would be really happy studying medicine, and thus am rather confused about what I would do tbh.

Sorry for the long and rambling response! :biggrin:

Reply 9

lekky

OP

19

Nimbus

don't apply for 4 med schools and physiology at Oxford (it's pretty much a guaranteen that you will NOT get in as youe PS will be clearly for medicine)

Hmmm the woman I spoke to actually suggested this to me before I even mentioned saying it wasn't that uncommon & that they don't even use the personal statement to select for interview so I may actually be doing this, nothing to lose as if I wasn't applying for this course I wouldn't be using my 5th choice as I'd turn down anywhere else. If that makes sense...
I don't want to do medicine at Oxford. Well, I have four other Universities I'd rather study medicine at than Oxford.

Also I know my GCSEs aren't amazing but when you consider I was taking 3/5 of them whilst actually on leave from an in-patient hospital admission and no one even expected me to take them ... I'm ok with them (saying a lot considering my perfectionism streak :biggrin:

)

Reply 10

lekky

OP

19

Ignoramus

I'm considering physiological sciences because I've recently been wondering whether I'm too interested in the scientific basis of medicine, as opposed to being interested in clinical practice (this interests me, but less so). Therefore, I've been considering doing graduate entry to give me an extra three years to consider my options whilst doing something I enjoy, because I know a lot of people who are less interested in the scientific aspect of the course than me but who are more committed to doing medicine at university, rather than physiology etc.

Don't they interview over 85% for physiological sciences? See http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/physiological_sciences/physiological_2.html

I can't help but feel that this means phys applicants aren't treated as strictly as medics when it comes to GCSE/BMAT, though I may be wrong about this. Especially taking the small number of applications into account (if 40% of applications = 22, 100% of applications = 55 people), they seem unlikely to reject many people without an interview, giving candidates a greater chance to prove themselves.

Yup I share your "what if" principle... it's influenced my university application quite a bit! :yes:

I would be stuck if I got offers for this course as well as medicine because whilst I really like the phys course, it would mean possibly competitive graduate entry or further study in neuroscience, both of which are expensive. On the other hand, I also would be really happy studying medicine, and thus am rather confused about what I would do tbh.

Sorry for the long and rambling response! :biggrin:

Sounds like we're in the same position :biggrin:

If I got offers from this course and medicine I would be stuck too, wait and see I think, honestly cannot decide right now which one I would go for, suppose it depends where my offer for medicine is from & how much I loved that University.

I think the small number of applicants can't be anything but a positive.. more time to look at applicants, less applicants so more time to look at my mitigating circumstances, etc etc.

I think I'm going to go with my what if principles on this one and see what happeneds.. if I don't get in I haven't lost anything (see above post).

Reply 11

username210636

13

lekky

Sounds like we're in the same position :biggrin:

If I got offers from this course and medicine I would be stuck too, wait and see I think, honestly cannot decide right now which one I would go for, suppose it depends where my offer for medicine is from & how much I loved that University.

I think the small number of applicants can't be anything but a positive.. more time to look at applicants, less applicants so more time to look at my mitigating circumstances, etc etc.

I think I'm going to go with my what if principles on this one and see what happeneds.. if I don't get in I haven't lost anything (see above post).

Yes I would say go for it!

Reply 12

pf1

4

Nimbus

i.e. don't apply for 4 med schools and physiology at Oxford (it's pretty much a guaranteen that you will NOT get in as youe PS will be clearly for medicine).

That's not really true. Physiological Sciences is close enough to Pre-Clinical Medicine that you could write a PS that's coherent for both. And as has been pointed out, the proportion of applicants interviewed is much higher (assuming the application figures don't go through the roof) - most of those not called to interview will be rejected on poor BMAT results.

The PS question is similar to that for applicants applying for Economics & Management at Oxford but Economics sole at other universities - of course, the other institutions could make an educated guess that Oxford E&M is one of your other choices if there's a token one-sentence mention of Management, but it's not in their interests to discriminate on the basis of what you're applying for elsewhere.

Reply 13

lekky

OP

19

pf1

That's not really true. Physiological Sciences is close enough to Pre-Clinical Medicine that you could write a PS that's coherent for both. And as has been pointed out, the proportion of applicants interviewed is much higher (assuming the application figures don't go through the roof) - most of those not called to interview will be rejected on poor BMAT results.

The PS question is similar to that for applicants applying for Economics & Management at Oxford but Economics sole at other universities - of course, the other institutions could make an educated guess that Oxford E&M is one of your other choices if there's a token one-sentence mention of Management, but it's not in their interests to discriminate on the basis of what you're applying for elsewhere.

I do however talk a vast amount about my passion for medicine and the qualities of a good doctor :rolleyes:

However I do also talk about my love of academically stimulating subjects, challenging myself & love of science. If I managed to get an interview will just have to be honest and say yes, medicine is a career I seriously consider & would look to into the future, however still feel that a physiological science degree would be valid due to X, Y, Z. But at the end of the day, I won't be losing anything.

Reply 14

martin101

10

Whilst Ill agree that preclinical medicine at Oxford and Physiology (as we generally refer to it) is pretty much the same - ok they have a bit more weight on experimental stuff and we do a bit more clinical, and have a couple of different subjects, but the overall feel is pretty similar.

In so far as PS goes, its going to be different, because writing about how you want to be a doctor isnt going to help you if youre applying for phys, and will not give you any brownie points with tutors who think youre just using them as a backup. Yes again the feel will be similar in places, but you have to remember its a pure science degree as opposed to an applied/vocational science degree that medicine is, and tutors will expect you to both understand and make this distinction.

I would however advise against going for physiology thinking its the easy route in, as if anything its more competitive as there are bugger all places (30ish? compared to 150 medics). In addition what has been said about getting into graduate entry medicine being a bitch is quite true. If you want to do medicine, just apply for it, youll only end up kicking yourself later.

IF however you really want to do physiology then good on you and I wish you all the best of luck for it.

Reply 15

lekky

OP

19

martin101

Whilst Ill agree that preclinical medicine at Oxford and Physiology (as we generally refer to it) is pretty much the same - ok they have a bit more weight on experimental stuff and we do a bit more clinical, and have a couple of different subjects, but the overall feel is pretty similar.

In so far as PS goes, its going to be different, because writing about how you want to be a doctor isnt going to help you if youre applying for phys, and will not give you any brownie points with tutors who think youre just using them as a backup. Yes again the feel will be similar in places, but you have to remember its a pure science degree as opposed to an applied/vocational science degree that medicine is, and tutors will expect you to both understand and make this distinction.

I would however advise against going for physiology thinking its the easy route in, as if anything its more competitive as there are bugger all places (30ish? compared to 150 medics). In addition what has been said about getting into graduate entry medicine being a bitch is quite true. If you want to do medicine, just apply for it, youll only end up kicking yourself later.

IF however you really want to do physiology then good on you and I wish you all the best of luck for it.

Thank you

I do genuinely think I would very much enjoy physiology & want to do the course. However I have decided not to apply for this course as my ultimately goal is medicine, if I don't get in this year I will simply reapply, much cheaper & easier option.

I go through periods of doubt of my own ability & ability to commit and I made this thread during such a period XD

As I said early, I have four medical schools at which I would rather do medicine than Oxford. I do however really like the physiology course they offer and that is why I was condering applying.

So yup just 4 medical applications for me. How scary.

Physiological sciences at Oxford

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