Any hope left?

[Sett]

Hi everyone,

I'm in a very unusual situation; I am certainly not what you would consider the average applicant. So firstly, a little history.

I'm 21 years old. I started my education getting 6 C+'s at GCSE and then studied 3 AS levels in Philosophy, Computing and Psychology. My results there were poor too, bringing in a B (psy) D (comp) E (phil).

I then went on to study a HND in Computer Science and Information systems; aquiring a pass. Then my life was changed by a massive personal hit and I was forced to re-evaluate what I wanted from my career.

After alot of thinking and decision making, I found myself drawn to medicine and as I continued to look into it, it felt more and more right. I went to several conferences, from 1 day events through to multiple overnight stays; and it all felt perfect. Medicine is where I want to go.

As I was attending these course, I also sat AS levels again in Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Today I got my results.

Chemistry E
Biology D
Physics U.

Obviously, this practically destroys an A level route into medicine, and with it seems to close many doors too. Am I left with a single option? For all my looking, I just cant see a route anymore, and each time Im disheartened by another shut door, it becomes another massive personal hit.

Can anyone see any options left for me? Or is medicine truely out of my reach?

Sett

[Shehna]

You could try Clinical sciences foundation year. There are still some places left on this course via clearing:

Clinical Sciences, Undergraduate Prospectus - University of Bradford

and some more information about foundation year clinsci:

Clinical Sciences at University of Bradford

[GT160]

there is one more option left open to you; what you could do is try and take your as with your a2s depending if they let you whereever your studying. But believe me it is not not an easy ride at all and is v.v.v difficult but perfectly possible. You would then have to take a gap year and apply with grades in hand; mininium AAB (pos ABB to PMS). In th emeantime you have to get experience etc and all the other stuff needed for a ucas appplication. Unfortunately even after doing all this there is no guarantee and it is a risk, especially i dont think you can decline AS grades anymore. Was there any reason for the grades can i ask? As one door closes another opens keeping looking a route is there for you, and if not u could try other similar healthcare professions.
Good luck

[zidza]

i think your in a very difficult situation i think it would be best to try teh clinical sciences at bradford proabably a lot easier to get the grades there then to do a hell of a lot of exams because more than likely you will have to resit all ur exams and do A2s which is a massive bulk that what i did but i didnt have to improve my grades so much for my As so i didnt have to concentrate so much on them. If you do the clinical sciences you will effectively cut down the number of exams. There maybe clearing spaces for it??

[toodle]

in addition to other condsiderations , perhaps you could also think of why you're getting the grades at hand.. your will/enthusiasm doesnt doubt me , but perhaps your study methods, circle of friends, current situation etc. you get the drift...

i personally know of people who've dropped out of medical schools because they've failed etc...

on a brighter note , i think once you've addressed this , resit a levels ( if you cant get in a bradford or elsewhere) , and if you do come out with a string of As , thats a remarkable story indeed. not many people know how to turn things around like this. they may try.. not necessarily succeed though.

ultimately , if it still doesnt work , perhaps you've got to accept that as much as you want it, ( this is gonna sound harsh, my apologies in advance , just so you know i gave myself the same speech) you've got to accept that you dont have the aptitude for it , you cant keep wasting money with these exams , pick another less academicly taxing field , something more hands on , and go for it.

[zidza]

i think toodle man makes a fair point here. Because if your best efforts regardless of situations wil not improve ur gradse then maybe you will struggle and they do say it is a big leap from A levels to uni. However, it has been done i moved up 4 grades from As to a2s its not the same but i realised my faults and was able to address them ie i was a dossser and had poor revision technique and time management with reagrds to exams but as toodle says if this can be sorted and u can improve then yeah definitely give it a go but u need to be serious with yourself. if it is as good as it gets. But to end on a high it ussually is revision technique and learnig in classes which is a bit of a problem with most.

[Bambi]

Do an access course.

[Sett]

My reason for such low grades was appauling study skills to be perfectly honest. I didnt have a clue how to get As as it had never been something I needed before. I realised it too late, and didnt have chance to rectify the situation. I also believe my Biology has been marked incorrectly. I spent the entire year getting A's in the mocks, and my coursework was faultless as far as my tutor was concerned; but I got a D overall, and a C for the coursework.

It raises an issue, becuase of the huge cost involved in remarking, and although I would get it back, I still have to fit the bill.

Bradford is unfortunatly not an option for me due to my situation with my family and the extreme distance for me.

Bambi, could you elaborate on the access course? Every access/foundation course I've looked at require A levels as well.

Sett

[heartbeats]

hey every1
gt my A level results 2day........nt 2 good.
btw, i was looking to study biomed (NOT med)
had 2 get ABB but i missed my grades n gt BCC.
i contacted kings college n asked them whether they accept students who resit......n the lady told me it shud be fine.

i only need to sit 3 papers..........1 in each subject to get the grades.
n then i wana reapply in january

have i still gt chances of being accepted in biomed? also, does any uni accept resit students in med or dent???????


PLZ PLZ PZ REPLY

[Bambi]

They might ask for A levels but they will ask for lower grades than medicine courses. So just do your A2s, get the best grades you can and see if you can apply to an access course after that.

There is no guarantee that you would be able to get into a med school near where you live now even if you had 6As at A2. If you can't move now, you prob can't do med now especially if you can't move to the 1 place that might give you a chance (Bradford).