Birmingham Entry 2010 - 8A*'s Required

[raihyou]

Hey Everyone

This is my first post in the forum but since I've been leeching off the forum for a while (much appreciated you guys for the great help! ) I thought I would give something back.

I was thinking about applying to Birmingham for Medicine but since it says 7A*'s on the website, I wasn't sure if applying with a GCSE in RS Short Course would count (giving me 6.5A*'s and 3A's) so I emailed the admission tutor just in case.

Unfortunately, the reply I got was that 8A*'s are required to reach the interview stage

Before people start flaming me I've got the email attached showing the reply I got

[piece_by_piece]

I doubt that many/if any universities would regard half an A* as a full A*. That would be unfair on applicants who achieved an A* in a full course. I went to the open day at Birmingham and it was openly said that this year individuals with 8A*s were invited to interview because the standard was so high in general.

[2009?]

well.. that message cant be entirely truthful... as i only have 6 full a stars and 2 half a stars.. and got an offer this year... if u count the halves as halves id only have 7 which is lower than the 8 mentioned above.. and if u count them as full ones i wud have the 8 which was said to be the miniumum requirement but it would be inconsistent with the 6.5 raihyou has been said to have in the reply

[piece_by_piece]

well.. that message cant be entirely truthful... as i only have 6 full a stars and 2 half a stars.. and got an offer this year... if u count the halves as halves id only have 7 which is lower than the 8 mentioned above.. and if u count them as full ones i wud have the 8 which was said to be the miniumum requirement but it would be inconsistent with the 6.5 raihyou has been said to have in the reply

To be fair, during the open day it was said that generally only applicants with 8A*s were considered; however, those with 7A*s who had a good non-academic side to their application were also invited to interview

[2009?]

really? i have spoken to a few other people who are going in september and quite a few also had 7 a stars too.. that could be a coincidence i spose... last year at the open day before the people in my year applied.. they said that up until that point the minimum requirement had been 7 a stars for a few years but that it could increase to 8 at any point depding on the applicants... seems from that email and what you mentioned about the open day that this year could be that year?

[BASE]

Back when I applied they wanted 6 A*s and I only had 5 yet here I am.

I don't understand Birminghams obsession with A*s, fair enough its a way of getting the numbers down, but I think that a blanket policy on A*s like that you are probably losing a lot of people who would make much better doctors than those with all A*s. Medicine isn't all academic, you definitely don't need 8 A*s to cope with the course, so why have it as a requirement? Seems strange to me.

[redhotbarbie]

Don't waste your choices though, so many people I know didnt get any offers for med school. I only got one out of four. And I do think I'm very lucky to get one at all.
I should have looked further into the med schools i apply for.

THe admissions tutor has said your chances are unlikely, that should be a sign
Good Luck
Bristol is a GCSE lover too

[Bolt_700]

i don't think it matters. A*s are not based purely on the number of marks you achieve in a test but how they compare to all other candidates and are then rewarded based on overall scores. i think a short course grade should be the equivalent to any other GCSE .

[Bananagirl]

They changed the GCSE requirement this year. 2009 entry was 7A*s, 2010 entry is 8 A*s.
In the open day last June they said that they were sticking with the 7 A*s, but this month a friend of mine enquired about their requirements and they said it's most like 8A*s now, so I guess we can't waste choices now, spesh if we're borderline? Like I have 7.5A*s and am questioning my chances of getting in!

[Mia x]

umm hi, i got 7.5 A*'s and 2 A's at GCSE
and AAAA at A Level (Biology, Chemistry, Maths, History)
do you reckon its worth me applying here????
HELPPPP