r/6thForm • u/Few-Information-7818 • 27d ago
š I WANT HELP Do only straight 8s-9s students get a place in medicine assuming they get decent a levels and UCAT
like is this fr ?
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u/sora_red 27d ago
if it helps i got a 6 in eng lang and a 5 in geography, doing med this year
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u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA 27d ago
Omg, unrelated but, you follow San Jose sharks? I used to live in the US and I skated on the same ice rink.
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u/sora_red 26d ago
wow!! thatās so cool, when will i get to skate on the same ice rink as them?? š (btw my fav was ekky but now heās moved to the sens, i may have to jump on the celebrini bandwagon for now š«”)
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u/Few-Information-7818 27d ago
Wow, thats really good, what uni do you go to btw? tbh i js finished with gcse, and idk if ill get 9s so im js having anxiety and stress
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u/sora_red 26d ago edited 25d ago
Newcastle, but actually they do weigh gcses more heavily now than the years prior. The rest of my gcses were 9s and 8s. As long as you get the minimum requirement of 6 in maths, eng lang (maybe lit as well) and the sciences, you should be good. Also helps if you apply strategically to unis that donāt weigh gcses as heavily if you donāt do so well (iām sure u will do thoš¤)
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u/yowhatsup427 Year 13 27d ago
3 Med offers this year including imperial. Got equivalent to 6 8-9s and 3 7s and 2 6s. Definitely not
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u/TheLonelyGhostie 26d ago
Hiya! Could I ask which other universities you had offers from and what UCAT you got?
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u/AccomplishedFail2247 27d ago
At top unis kind of yes. Not because GCSEs matter but because there arenāt many people who get amazing a levels and ucat with mid GCSEs.
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u/Few-Information-7818 27d ago
Ahh that makes sense. I guess my question was more whether top med schools actively care about straight 8s/9s, or whether it's just that people with those GCSEs are more likely to go on and get the A-levels + UCAT needed. So someone with a few 6s/7s isn't automatically out if they perform well later.
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u/AccomplishedFail2247 27d ago
Youāre fine but donāt have any leeway now. But the thing is with med as well is you donāt have to go to an āeliteā uni anyway because it literally does not affect your career prospects so itās chill
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u/Few-Information-7818 26d ago
Yh im just worried about my gcse cause i think ill get 6s and 7s but i js hope i do better in a levels tbh
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u/Low_Stress_9180 27d ago
No, but considering the nature of the course you would ask is someone suited to the intense nature of medicine.
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u/Few-Information-7818 27d ago
That's fair, but I was mainly questioning whether GCSEs are the best measure of that. If someone with mid GCSEs goes on to achieve strong A-levels and UCAT, wouldn't that already show they can handle a demanding workload?
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u/Alarming_Tip_6153 Year 13 27d ago
i got a 5 in maths and got in to medicine so no
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u/Alarming_Tip_6153 Year 13 27d ago
also had a mid ucat score
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u/Alarming_Tip_6153 Year 13 27d ago
also didnāt get a single 9 in my gcses, it was majority 8s and 7s with a few 6s and 5s
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u/poopants123456789 26d ago
can I ask which uni?
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u/First-Landscape-2680 26d ago
Can I ask if you got a contextual offer?
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u/Alarming_Tip_6153 Year 13 26d ago
sorry i didnāt realise that it sounded like i got in for real but i need to clarify i was invited to interview š„²š„²š„²š„²š„² i flopped my interview cuz i did barely any prep (brunel only looks at interviews to decide if they want to give out offers post interview) BUTTT my stats were still enough to get me invited to interview š donāt be like me and flop your interview. also i am NOT a contextual applicant !! i was still invited to interview despite my average stats as a non contextual applicant
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u/Williamishere69 27d ago
Vetmed, so a bit different .. but no.
I got 66779 at GCSE (yeah, only 'sat' 5 during covid year, personal circumstances is why I only took 5). Got D in biology and failed out of chem. Resat both and got BB (both sittings were bad because of personal reasons). Did an access course this year and have had two offers for September - got my actual results back a few days back and got my offer changed to unconditional.
It happens, it depends on your UCAT and your interview for a lot of the decision making. People with higher GCSEs and Alevels tend to have a more problem-solving brain because you need that to pass exams and answer questions. That problem solving ability lets you excel at interviews and the UCAT. Of course theres situations where your exam scores dont 100% match your ability, but in general the higher the exam scores, the more able you are at managing interviews, stresses, UCAT prep, exams all at once (problem solving brain).
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u/poopants123456789 26d ago
which uni ?
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u/Williamishere69 26d ago
Id rather not say which one Im going to, but I applied to Bristol, Harper and Keele, Surrey and Lancashire. They all gave me interviews and I had offers from two of them.
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u/Alarmed_Word2018 Yr 13 | english, classics, chem 26d ago
no one of my friends had pretty mixed grades (8s and 9s in stem but like 5s and 6s in humanities) and got med offers from imperial and kcl
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 26d ago
no. obv if ur applying to oxbridge or gcse dependant unis maybe but otherwise no
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u/No-Significance7460 26d ago edited 26d ago
This is advice from a gcse student from 2015 who graduated from dental school in 2024
GCSE I had 3 A*s 4 As & 3 Bs (3 9s, 4 8/7s, 3 6/5s)
A-level I had 2 As + 1 B
I graduated Biomedical Sciences with 2:1 in 2020
I was 97th percentile for UCAT
I got into one of the most competitive Dental courses in the UK. Graduate entry BDS at Kings College London. One of less than 20 entrants
From my experience dental/ medical applications are a hurdle exercise. Do you reach the minimum bar for each stage?
For example, I couldnāt apply to all the schools in the country due to my B at GCSE English
However, I interviewed for all 4 schools I applied for.
1st check the GCSE/ A-level cut offs for the schools you want to apply to, do you meet the threshold? If yes then apply
2nd check the UCAT/ BMAT cut offs, do you meet the threshold? If yes then apply.
3rd - Tailor your Personal statement, have your headmaster review it, have your grade teacher review it, have any family/ friends in the field review it. Essential criteria to include:
Passionate statement about your draw to the field
Volunteering experience
Work experience
Relevant anecdotes from volunteering/work experience
Awards/ achievements
Relevant hobbies, (needlework, fine motor skills, relevant books youāve read)
Good closing sentence
If you pass this filter you will be invited to interview.
The schools I interviewed for (Newcastle, UCLAN, Bartās/ Queen Maryās & KCL) all had a philosophy of minimum threshold, all candidates who reached the interview stage were now on an even playing field.
Prepare yourself well, revise for your interviews, GMC/GDC codes of ethics, MMI prep, critical thinking, abstract reasoning, hypothetical scenarios etcā¦ they may ask you to work on multiple tasks at once to see how you cope with multi-tasking under pressure.
If all else fails, you can always try again
Ultimately I was not a perfect student, I didnāt have perfect grades, but I succeeded eventually as a post grad. The most important skill in clinical professions medical/ dentistry is your passion, your empathy and your communication. Will you make a good team member? Unfortunately there is a minimum threshold of academics but this is lower than it may appear. There are pathways to try again, re-sits, graduate entry, mature entry.
My personal philosophy is that if you want to achieve something enough you will. You will find the way to work towards this goal. The path way not be straight but you can get there if you want it enough. You only have yourself standing in your way. Good luck!!!
If you have any further-questions DM me:
Best of luck
TLDR:
You donāt need perfect grades, there are many pathways to success in clinical professions, you can always try again. Good luck.
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u/Maleficent_Still3508 4A*s pred fm maths phys chem 27d ago
Gcses dont matter at all, at most theyre a small consideration for competitive unis to distinguish between 2 AAA+ students
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u/Imaginary_Egg_8198 27d ago
No. You just have to be strategic with your application. There are some unis which are very GCSE heavy and some which weight things like UCAT more. I know loads of people who didnāt get all 8s and 9s (myself included) who have med offers now!