If you have GCSEs or A Levels(the achieved ones) that can't fulfil what most Medical schools need it would be quite silly to take a gap year, however, if you have not gotten an offer because of a lack of experience, poor interview skills or a weak personal statement, take a year out, work on strengthening your application and then reapply!
For those who think that their GCSEs/achieved A levels results aren't good enough(by this i mean, getting less than 5As at GCSEs and less than AAA at A levels) here are some route you may want to consider:
1.Apply to another course that allows for you to transfer to their medicine course after your first year(provided you have really awesome grades) Form what I know, an example of a university like this would be Newcastle where you are allowed to transfer to medicine from Biomedical Sciences. Here is a link on TSR that may help:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Access_to_Medicine
Please always call up the admissions team of respective universities to find out about the course you are applying for so you know what you are in for.
2.Graduate Medicine
Do bear in mind that this route is definitely the harder route ! It takes a whole lot of determination and focus and its definitely more competitive!
3. Do an undergraduate course and then apply for undergraduate medicine
I had a friend who did this and she has gotten quite a few offers. the offer would be given based on your degree so your GCSEs/A Level may be able to be made up for by that. This route would take a much longer time and it needs a lot of determination and perseverance to be able to do an undergraduate degree only to do another undergraduate degree! So think carefully!
4. Consider a private medical school
If your family is able to afford it then go ahead! RCSI and University of Malta are some examples. I have not really read much about them but from what i know RCSI even offers ABB for A Levels!
An alternative would be to apply for medical schools that look ONLY at your strong points, for example, if you have a fantastic UKCAT score(>700) you may want to consider universities that only look at your UKCAT score.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements
This link tells you the minimum requirements of the medical schools. I don't want to be a wet blanket but I must remind you that most applicants would usually have GCSEs that are more than the minimum requirement.
All the best for your applications!
Showing posts with label GCSEs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GCSEs. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Things I fussed over but later found to be useless
1.Looking at other Personal Statements
I even bought a book for it! In the end, it just makes you feel so stressed because you will be wondering if your experiences can match up with what other applicants have! Sure, read some personal statements to get some idea of the structure and what you should include, after that, don't mull over it and stress yourself up! Your personal statement has to show you and your passion, channel all your energy into doing that and you'll be fine!
2.Looking at the stats of others(How much work/volunteering experience they had, how many A*s they got at GCSEs, what extra curricular activities they did, etc;)
Doing this just made me so so stressed and i kept comparing myself to them! Especially on TSR where i compared what i have done to people who had applied in past years and have been successful! Even those who had been unsuccessful had a whole list of work experiences!!!Do not waste your time doing this, and just focus on what you can do , because ultimately, your application would be compared against those applying with you and never forget that people on TSR are usually over-achievers(not all though><) Just do your best for your own application!
3.Cramming my summer with work experience
I must say that I was really fortunate to have gotten so many work experiences but in the end, I could not even fit some of them into my personal statement and I could have used some of that time preparing for my UKCAT or doing up my Personal statement. However, in a way, although i find it useless, I do not regret having had all of them because from there I have really come to understand that medicine is something that I really am interested in and am serious about!
4.The need to call every university and ask what they look for in an application
It's all stated in the admissions policy of each university and on their websites!! Calling up the different universities would just be a waste if time unless you have a question that can't be answered by the websites
I even bought a book for it! In the end, it just makes you feel so stressed because you will be wondering if your experiences can match up with what other applicants have! Sure, read some personal statements to get some idea of the structure and what you should include, after that, don't mull over it and stress yourself up! Your personal statement has to show you and your passion, channel all your energy into doing that and you'll be fine!
2.Looking at the stats of others(How much work/volunteering experience they had, how many A*s they got at GCSEs, what extra curricular activities they did, etc;)
Doing this just made me so so stressed and i kept comparing myself to them! Especially on TSR where i compared what i have done to people who had applied in past years and have been successful! Even those who had been unsuccessful had a whole list of work experiences!!!Do not waste your time doing this, and just focus on what you can do , because ultimately, your application would be compared against those applying with you and never forget that people on TSR are usually over-achievers(not all though><) Just do your best for your own application!
3.Cramming my summer with work experience
I must say that I was really fortunate to have gotten so many work experiences but in the end, I could not even fit some of them into my personal statement and I could have used some of that time preparing for my UKCAT or doing up my Personal statement. However, in a way, although i find it useless, I do not regret having had all of them because from there I have really come to understand that medicine is something that I really am interested in and am serious about!
4.The need to call every university and ask what they look for in an application
It's all stated in the admissions policy of each university and on their websites!! Calling up the different universities would just be a waste if time unless you have a question that can't be answered by the websites
Thursday, 14 March 2013
What GCSE grades do I need for medical school?
Well, to be honest , the answer is : it depends on which medical school you are applying to
In other words,
If you have good GCSEs, you have the option of applying to places that have stated that they place an emphasis on your GCSEs(eg: a specified number of As/A*s)
If you have average/below average GCSEs , just make sure to ring up /email the different med schools to ensure that you are not disadvantaged(much)
If you are still doing your GCSEs, study hard ! If you are done with them, there's nothing that can be done now so use then to your advantage and apply strategically !!
All the best to everyone applying / intending to apply!(:
In other words,
If you have good GCSEs, you have the option of applying to places that have stated that they place an emphasis on your GCSEs(eg: a specified number of As/A*s)
If you have average/below average GCSEs , just make sure to ring up /email the different med schools to ensure that you are not disadvantaged(much)
If you are still doing your GCSEs, study hard ! If you are done with them, there's nothing that can be done now so use then to your advantage and apply strategically !!
All the best to everyone applying / intending to apply!(:
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements play a huge role in helping you decide which medical school to apply to. Here are the main aspects of it:
1.GCSE(O Levels)
2.Predicted/Achieved Grades @ A level/IB/Scottish Highers/Etc;
3.UKCAT
4.BMAT
5.UCAS Tariff(http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/ please refer to this website for the exact information, from what i know, Queen Mary is an example of a medical school that uses this)
Different medical schools place different emphasis on different parts of your academics.
GCSEs:
Some schools require a minimum number of As/A*s(Eg: Cardiff, Birminghan,Belfast) while some use it as part of their 'scoring system' (Eg; Leicester) While some consider it only when there is a tie breaker (Eg; Dundee)
These school may change their admissions policy from year to year so please make sure you check on their websites!(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements gives an extremely clear guide as to what is needed for each medical school)
Predicted/Achieved grades:
Since I only did A Levels, I can only speak for those taking their A levels.
Generally , your predicted grades should be at least AAA and a predicted A* would not usually matter unless you have already achieved your A*(My friend applied to Bristol and got an interview which he believes he got mainly because of his achieved A*)
If you are a gap year student, AAA would be the minimum grade that you need!
UKCAT
Just as how the GCSEs are used differently by different medical schools, the UKCAT is used in varying ways. Some use it as part of their 'scoring' method(eg:Leicester), some use it to decide who get an interview by ranking their UKCAT scores(Newcastle/Durham), some use it as a cut off, in the sense where if you have an average score about the threshold they set, your UKCAT would no longer matter(Eg; for 2013 Entry, the cut off for Sheffield was 600)
Please note that all these are based on the 2013 application cycle and may vary from year to year.
BMAT
There are only a handful of medical schools in the UK that require you to take the BMAT, unfortunately I am not really clear on it as I chose not to take it and apply to the schools that require it. I would hate to be misleading so I would suggest you read up about it on TSR to get a clear idea on how it is used and what it is about
This is about all that I have to say about this really ! Please note(again), that all these are based on what I have heard/learnt about the medical schools from this year's application cycle and may vary from year to year! So please do your own research and ensure you are clear of your chances of getting an interview before applying!
Best of luck to you! Feel free to contact me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com !
1.GCSE(O Levels)
2.Predicted/Achieved Grades @ A level/IB/Scottish Highers/Etc;
3.UKCAT
4.BMAT
5.UCAS Tariff(http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/ please refer to this website for the exact information, from what i know, Queen Mary is an example of a medical school that uses this)
Different medical schools place different emphasis on different parts of your academics.
GCSEs:
Some schools require a minimum number of As/A*s(Eg: Cardiff, Birminghan,Belfast) while some use it as part of their 'scoring system' (Eg; Leicester) While some consider it only when there is a tie breaker (Eg; Dundee)
These school may change their admissions policy from year to year so please make sure you check on their websites!(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements gives an extremely clear guide as to what is needed for each medical school)
Predicted/Achieved grades:
Since I only did A Levels, I can only speak for those taking their A levels.
Generally , your predicted grades should be at least AAA and a predicted A* would not usually matter unless you have already achieved your A*(My friend applied to Bristol and got an interview which he believes he got mainly because of his achieved A*)
If you are a gap year student, AAA would be the minimum grade that you need!
UKCAT
Just as how the GCSEs are used differently by different medical schools, the UKCAT is used in varying ways. Some use it as part of their 'scoring' method(eg:Leicester), some use it to decide who get an interview by ranking their UKCAT scores(Newcastle/Durham), some use it as a cut off, in the sense where if you have an average score about the threshold they set, your UKCAT would no longer matter(Eg; for 2013 Entry, the cut off for Sheffield was 600)
Please note that all these are based on the 2013 application cycle and may vary from year to year.
BMAT
There are only a handful of medical schools in the UK that require you to take the BMAT, unfortunately I am not really clear on it as I chose not to take it and apply to the schools that require it. I would hate to be misleading so I would suggest you read up about it on TSR to get a clear idea on how it is used and what it is about
This is about all that I have to say about this really ! Please note(again), that all these are based on what I have heard/learnt about the medical schools from this year's application cycle and may vary from year to year! So please do your own research and ensure you are clear of your chances of getting an interview before applying!
Best of luck to you! Feel free to contact me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)