Helped i missed my grades - What now?

[Clarkey]

Hello fair forum users.

With it being results day, some of you will be in the unfortunate position of having missed your grades. You may have expected it, or it may have come completely out of the blue. However with everyone celebrating and talking about uni it can be hard to figure out what to do next.

This thread is mainly for people to gain support from other people who are, and who have been in the same position.

If you have acheived the grades you required then fantastic! Please have some sensitivity towards those who aren´t in your position and limit yourself to one of the main threads aimed at yourselves.

I was intending this post to be longer and hopefully i´ll add to it, but i´m on holiday at the moment and the time difference means i should be somewhere else!

Options: Here are a few options you may consider

1. Obtaining a remark of your paper if you believe it to be marked wrongly

2. Taking a gap year to retake your A level(s) if you think you would be considered favourably by medical schools second time round

3. Accepting a place at your non medical insurance or going through clearing to find another course which you are interested in.


This forum is a great place for support, i was in the same position myself 3/4 years ago and i remember how stressful it was.

Please make use of the thread, hopefully someone will be able to give better advice than me!

[Maryam M]

Hi guys.....

I really hope im not the only one!
I was perdicted AAB and got BBBD ( i think all the thanks for that is due to the 4th A level)!
Now i have absolutley no idea what to do...i mean eveyone is telling me that theyre not bad grades and that i could do almost anything (at UWE ) but thats not what i want to do.....
Ive been working to become a doctor since well before my year 6 SATS....as you can probably imagine i cant even begin to contemplate doing anything else.. I was holding a firm offer with Barts and naturally they rejected me..so as far as im concered there are 3 things i could do....

1) Retake my A levels and get AAA
Problem with that is whos gna even look at me if i retake (ie unis) and whats the garuntee ill ge6t a place anywhere in 2008?! then ill be stuk!

2) Grad medicine
problem with that is i dont know if i have that kinda patience left in me...4 yrs doing a degree i dnt wanna...and the expense!

3) Quit while im ahead
Problem with that is its my parents favourite and whatever happens i am not gna give up yet.

This is, well my take- after a whole day of phonecalls and tears yesterday...
this is how it looks in the morning..

now guys id be really grateful for a bit of help in which one you think is best...

would be eternally grateful for any help/ advive from people in similar situations whose schools actually help them! or from people who have been through it before...
or from anyone else who rekons they know!

Thanks for reading my confused dribble...hope it makes sense..

Maryam xxx

[mussed]

I'm really sorry. As someone just going into grad medicine though - it really doesn't have to take that long. I spent three years on my BA and will graduate from my GEM at 24, and elsewhere on this forum there's a girl who missed her grades first time around and is now starting GEM following her BSc. You may well decide to spend six years at medical school anyway. It is more expensive, but at the moment not prohibitively so because you get more help with your fees. But, don't rush into anything - take time to work out what you want to do, and if that involves a gap year it's really not wasted time. Best of luck.

[Maryam M]

Thankyou!
Yeh i think Graduate entry may be the safest route to go down...with retaking noone is garunteed to accept me as i have no extenuating circs and there is no garuntee i will get 3 A's..
Am holding an offer at UWE for biomed...so all is not lost...
Thanks again!
xx

[ads]

hey maryam
I have sum friends in exactly the same position and there are many positive possibilities. There are universities that will goive you a fair chance provided you do get AAA. But if you don't want to do that then i suggest you accept a biomed place. Many unsuccessful medical candidates really enjoy the course for its similarities to the medicine course and at the end of that you will be more mature and prepared for gettinig in through graduate entry. I probably just repeated what otheres said!! but anyway i hope that helps and good luck!

[Fried_Rice]

Just to echo the opinion of everyone else. I think without extenuating circumstances, graduate entry will be the best way to go. Once you have a degree your A level results will pale in comparison so many more options will be open to you, compared to the limited selection of unis which accept se-sits.

Don't feel too down by your results, this sort of thing happens to the best of people sometimes! *virtual hugs*


ps. There are certain biomed courses that offer people the chance of transferring after year 1 into medicine - Newcastle is one of those. However, this is also ridiculously competitive, but if it was one of the universities you were considering either way, it could be worth considering as it does give you that one extra chance at medicine.

[sal3469]

Originally Posted by Maryam M

Thankyou!
Yeh i think Graduate entry may be the safest route to go down...with retaking noone is garunteed to accept me as i have no extenuating circs and there is no garuntee i will get 3 A's..
Am holding an offer at UWE for biomed...so all is not lost...
Thanks again!
xx

hey maryam,
Theres another option. Univ of Bradford offer a 'clinical sciences' course. Its a 3yr degree, with the option to transfer into yr 2 of medicine at Leeds. Thats conditional upon getting 60% in your first yr exams and subject to interview etc.Every yr Leeds keep a number of places open for the clinical sciences students. Its worth a try. If you dont make it into leeds, the course allows you to switch to a degree such as biomed.
That was one of my back up options- and it was for many of my friends too. They have places available in clearing.
All the best.

[Muffin2]

Univ of Bradford offer a 'clinical sciences' course. Thats conditional upon getting 60% in your first yr exams and subject to interview etc.

Hi just to say this is what i did and i got in. i'm now going to leeds in september. Just so you know the grade boundary is going up to 65%. I'd go for it if i were you. Taking a yr out and resisting is not a good idea as most university's won't take resist candidates, and if they do they'll want 3 A's.
I urge you to go for bradford clin sci, ring them asap, its a fantastic course and if you don't get in, stay on clin sci and do post grad.
good luck

[ksmith19]

Hey i really feel for you i was in your position last year. i needed AAb to get into manchester but got ABB. you need to take time to decide what is right for you dont be pressured by teachers or family to go into something your not 100%. the clinical science option at bradford is something you definately should apply for i did last year and they offered me a place. It is definately a good idea if you cant face resisting your A-levels. For me though clearing was too manic a rushed i decided to leave it until next year so i was sure i ended up doing something i would enjoy what i actually did is went back to six form and re-sat and it was the right decision for me i got my results yesterday AAA and i am going to manchester in september. although this will be a hard week for you and feel like its the end of the world it really isnt keep your chin up and there is always next year. Everyone told me to give up on medicine too and just take another course but i couldnt do it like you it is something i really wanted and had to give it another chance.
Good luck with it all
katie x

[NV05]

Resitting is a very viable option: I was in exactly the same position as Katie, resat and reapplied and got in.

Other than Bradford, there are numerous other foundation courses offered at Lincoln and St Georges, but I believe there are some certain circumstances you need to be in to get on those courses.