Page 1 of 2

GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:37 am
by nigs
My DC has her sights on studying Medicine at Uni obviously depending on her final AS and A2 results. She has just received her GCSE results - A's in the main subjects she wants to study at sixth form (Chem, Biology, Maths) :) (couldn't find a smilie for "What a relief"), 3 A*s (ICT and Statistics), 6A's, 4 B's and 1C (Music!!). She is looking at taking Geography as her 4th AS subject and also wants to try the Extended Project. She has so far had two weeks' work experience at two GP surgeries, is a member of St John's Ambulance and volunteers in a Demelza charity shop on a Saturday for 3 hours.

My worry at the moment is whether, based on her GCSE results (the B's and C and not many A*), she still has a chance of taking Medicine, She will obviously need to do extra well in her AS and A2. I appreciate she will probably not make the big unis and am not too fussed about that. My own opinion is that you can study Medicine anywhere and with hard work still come out a doctor.

Should she should still make Medicine her goal or would it be best at this stage to start thinking of a Plan B? If she can still go ahead, what unis could she consider?

It is probably very early years to start thinking about all this but it has been the first thing on my mind on waking each morning since results day. I really need to move on. :(

As an aside, is Psychology at AS, with Chem, Biology and Maths considered a soft subject? DD thinks so. As she is not too keen on essay writing, she has opted for Geography rather than RE. Having not taken Geography myself, I am not sure if it requires a fair bit of essay writing. I feel that Psychology would be a better fit with her other three subjects. What do you think? Thanks all. :?

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:48 am
by no_ball
plan B can be to study a loosely related degree and then enter subject to getting a very good first degree.

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:36 pm
by KenR
Hi Nigs

We are in a similar position - my son wants to study Medicine and has just had his GCSE results. Mainly As but not as many A*s as he would like(he had 4) and a couple of Bs in DT and ICT.

The good news is that you just have to be selective with you choices of univ although some are ruled out (B/Ham & Oxford etc).

Take a look at the following web sites which summarise which Medical schools are ok without a huge string of A*s

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Me ... quirements

Also take a look at the following web site:-

http://www.medschoolsonline.co.uk/index.php?pageid=78

Some of the page are a bit out of date but the links to the various medical schools are still valid.

Liverpool, Sheffied, Newcastle, Keele, Peninsula, East Anglia, Brighton & Sussex and Leicester are probably ok

Hope this helps

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:11 pm
by XCRGSMUM
KenR has given you some very good links. When you have narrowed down the med schools on the obvious criteria also consider weather they want the UKAT or any other specific tests and get your daughter to do the practice questions. When you have some idea of her likely score you will be able to decide weather to apply to med schools wanting one of these.

Also look carefully at Newcastle Uni, St Georges, Brighton and Bradford Unis. All offer courses with a degree of transferability on to medicine. This is not an easy option as competition is fierce.

All unis are looking for a good personal statement too, demonstrating all the 'extra`s' (like the work experience) that would help make a good doctor.

I know of several students very well qualified, academically and personally, who have not received offers from med schools recently. My eldest sons partner has just qualified as a doctor and those few years back when she first started ABB along with the good PS was adequate. Now you need 3 A`s as the very minimum (despite what might be said in the information)and some are demanding the A stars. It is always worth a phone call to med schools admissions officers (at a not too busy time of year) to find out what they really want.

My youngest did not get any offers for medicine but had an unconditional from Bradford and will be starting there in September. He hopes to transfer into yr 2 at Leeds med school.

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:43 pm
by Belinda
.

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:41 pm
by nigs
Hi all

Thank you so much for your advice and kind wishes. It is such a relief to know that all is not yet lost and that hard work from now is going to be key especially in getting very good AS predictions, very good AS results, very good A2 results and all the other bits and pieces like UKCAT results, personal statements and work experience.

I will show this thread to DD and she can take it from there with regards to working very hard when she starts sixth form.

KenR, thank you for the links to the Student Room, (a great wealth of information), on which I also found this excellent Excel program where you can input your GCSE grades, AS and A level grades and UKCAT/BMAT scores (you can put imaginary grades for AS and A as your son has not yet taken these exams) (reasonable UKCAT scores I believe have been averaging at about 620). The program will then let you know which Unis would consider you based on your grades. On a separate tab on that same sheet, the program lets you know the minimum UKCAT score each uni will accept. The program may not be 100% perfect but it does act as a very good guide.

It is at:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthr ... ?t=1713208" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Use the Excel spreadsheet rather than the internet link which I found does not work as well.

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:49 pm
by KenR
Hi Nigs

Thanks for the link to the excel spreadsheet - it's very good someone has spent quite a lot of time.

Worth getting hold of a copy of the latest Trotman Guide for Univ Medicine Applications at some time - wealth of information

Make sure your son get his head down on AS work as you can no longer retake these exams

Regards

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:32 pm
by Looking for help
KenR wrote:
Make sure your son get his head down on AS work as you can no longer retake these exams

Regards
Is this specific to medicine, or is it all round, Ken, do you think ?

Thanks,

LFH

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:54 am
by Guest55
LFH,

Universities are increasingly saying they won't consider anyone with retakes - I have heard that UCL want an A in every module in Maths A level for their Maths degrees!

However you can still retake, just check what the Unversity position is before doing so.

Re: GCSE Results and Medicine

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:53 am
by solimum
Universities (especially for popular courses) are having to be very "choosy" in advance as they literally cannot afford to have too many students. Better to make an extremely strict offer which fewer than necessary will achieve automatically and then let in the extras that they really want (for whatever reason) who just miss out

Whether this will change once the new rules about removing the cap on extra students with "top grades" (AAB or better) come in remains to be seen. An awful lot of uncertainty for our DC entering year 13 next week....