GCSEs

[a51f]

so i did my GCSEs and am now doing A-level, because i want to go into medicine i don't think my GCSEs are good enough my tutor thinks the same too. Where do i go to resit them? Will the uni's found out i re-sat them and will it be used against me? I found that i need v.good GCSEs to get into the top unis and to be honest i didnt try hard in my GCSEs coz i thought they weren't worth it and i am now regrettin it. I got three C's and 2B's the rest wor A's + 1A*. I've sorted out my volunteering position and work expereince and my A-levels are running smoothly too, it's just my GCSEs.

If i did resit them would i have to do it in a school or can it be private? will i have to attend sessions? and can they be done after my AS exams?

my parents and my brother seem to be against me resitting they think that i am just wasting my time and it is pointless are they right?

sorry about asking too much

[Fried_Rice]

Your GCSEs are certainly fine to apply to Newcastle, who say that you only need 5 passes at C or above and very, very little weight is placed on them too, so long as you meet the maximum, which you do. (They call to interview by UKCAT score).

I think your GCSEs are enough to get you into medicine, but you would have to choose where you apply a bit more carefully than other applicants and avoid places that call to interview on an academic score which will be based on GCSEs (or at least in part based on GCSEs).

Don't re-sit unless you have your heart set on a really academic place, focus on getting the best A-levels you can instead, and do all your volunteering too!

[a51f]

hi
thanks for the reply, i would like to add that i am aiming for a high uni place so would it be worth resitting my GCSEs then? can anyone give me information an resitting then?

[giella]

Well if you're aiming high, then maybe that would be the best option. What were the As in? Maths and English, that would be fine. Can't really give any advice until I see that. Your school or college ought to be able to sort you out with resits.
However, if you want to compete and you don't want to take time out from A level revision to resit GCSEs, why don't you just wait until after you get your A level grades? With the exception of Maths and English, GCSEs are really just an indicator for universities to see what you're capable of and a means of discriminating against those applicants in order to trim their numbers. As you've not performed as well as you potentially could, your GCSEs don't put you in a competitive category. You get three As at A level under your belt, and then apply, then you're a huge step ahead of everyone else in your age group. You'll have your grades, you'll be able to say to the universities "Hey, look what I have that 90% of your other applicants don't." Take a gap year, strengthen your application even more, maybe take that time to resit Maths or English and then you're set. Yes it's another year, but it's one year. Some people don't apply to medicine until they're in their 20s and 30s, so you're not disadvantaging yourself. You would just be giving yourself the best possible start. Think about it. There's no shame in pacing yourself.

[rjm]

hi
thanks for the reply, i would like to add that i am aiming for a high uni place so would it be worth resitting my GCSEs then? can anyone give me information an resitting then?

What exactly is a "high" uni place?

[Diya]

I would go for the unis that dont place much importance on GCSEs...i.e you should definitely not apply to Birmingham. I'm sure there are some 'high' uni places that would pay more attention to UKCAT scores so maybe work extra hard to get amazing UKCAT score(s)?

[Kensei90]

Are Imperial and UCL 'high' GCSE places, i.e. do they put a lot of emphasis on GCSEs?

[Diya]

The best place to find the answer to that is the university's website. Alternatively, go onto the forum for the particular med sch you're interested in. There's bound to be a thread about interviews and offers and you can look and see the sorts of grades that are getting offers

[dsn]

hi
thanks for the reply, i would like to add that i am aiming for a high uni place so would it be worth resitting my GCSEs then? can anyone give me information an resitting then?

I'm not sure many universities would accept retaken GCSEs and would just look at the original results. It's definitely worth checking with whatever medical school you want to apply to first as otherwise you might end up just wasting time, effort etc.

[dsn]

I got three C's and 2B's the rest wor A's + 1A*.

PS your results might rule out somewhere like Birmingham or Cardiff that look at number of A*s, but your results are reasonably good as they are and should be fine for a lot of medical schools that don't look at A*s...

There's no harm in applying while you're in year 13... if you don't get in you can take a gap year and reapply. If you get in (as you hopefully would), it saves you a year of not doing all that much. What have you got to lose by trying?