Will my GCSE's hold me back?

[Ozzy91]

I have wanted to do medicine for quite a while now and have applied already but am starting to worry about my rather average GCSE results. I got 4 A's, 3B's and 3 C's in my GCSE's but then went on to get ABBB in my AS's with two A near misses. I have plenty of work experience and am doing an AEA this year. I was wondering if anyone knew how this would affect my chances.

[igorina]

Hey there, are you a sixth former or older student? From what I've gathered, the older you are, the less emphasis is placed on exams you did a while ago.. Even if you are a sixth former, I'm pretty sure that AEA on top of your already good exam results isn't going to disadvantage you..

[xXx H xXx]

dont worry about it!!! u got abbb in u AS so the only thing i would worry about is focusing on ur a levels, just work ur butt off to make sure u get all A's..i got ABBC in my a/s then for my a levels i got AAAa..so im reapplying for medicine and things look promising cos i got an interview next week !!! certainly ur gcse'z arent all shining but for most universities u need to make sure u hav at least a B grade in english, maths and science....make sure u check the universities u applied for coz ther are some like imperial that are really academic oriented whereas others that like work experience like kings....
i hope that helps.

[Ozzy91]

igorina I am currently a sixth former (And I hope I do well in the AEA)
And H, Imperial looks more elitist than Oxford and Cambridge combined so i'm steering well clear Haha
Thanks both of you

[igorina]

No probs. It's the strangest places that bother most about GCSE grades..Georges and HYMS come to mind, I think... Anyway, best of luck!

[Hughman]

Just apply to the unis that don't really care about GCSEs and AS levels grades- that's mainly PBL course and most of the London schools.

Places to avoid include Oxbridge, Imperial, Birmingham, Nottingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Queens Belfast.

[Ernie-The_Doc]

To add to Hughman's list, Liverpool put emphasis on GCSE's as well. You would not make their 15 point cut-off with your current GCSE's. Where have you applied?

[alex89]

hey, i dont really know the education system in britain so just checking:

whats the diff b/w A levels and AS levels?
and whats the diff between A and A*....above 80 or sth???
and what's the diff b/w GSCE and GCE???

i just know that there's GCE O levels and A levels in my country.
and there's no such thing as A*.
and that quicker students do uni level stuff for A levels as an extra bonus.

0.o

sorry, just curious.

[Clairey_Fairy]

Alex ill try and answer your q's

an AS level is sorts of half and A level. As a full A level is made up of to years the AS year and the A2 yesr the grades from these combined make up your A level grade. In most exams the general cut-off for an A is 80% of the marks and for an A* its 90% of the marks (ish) it does vary due to standization. We only have A*'s at GCSE atm but A* are comin in to A levels soon. A GCSE is the highschool/ senior school leaving qualification and a GCE is equivilent to A-levels (so the further education leaving certificate) GCSE stands for general certificate of secondary education and GCE stands for general certificate of education.

Hope this helps

[Kinkerz]

Originally Posted by Ozzy91

I have wanted to do medicine for quite a while now and have applied already but am starting to worry about my rather average GCSE results. I got 4 A's, 3B's and 3 C's in my GCSE's but then went on to get ABBB in my AS's with two A near misses. I have plenty of work experience and am doing an AEA this year. I was wondering if anyone knew how this would affect my chances.

Firstly, the AEA won't aid your application what so ever, so if you're doing it to help your application, don't bother! On the other hand, if you're doing it for interests sake, go for it but make sure you get your A-level grades as they're the ones that'll actually determine whether you get in.

Secondly, these are purely academic aspects of your application. There are others that are equally important such as the PS. Make sure you write a solid PS (the PS helpers on TSR are great!). A good UKCAT score is damn helpful and opens doors for you, but it's not the end of the world if you do poorly (trust me )

Finally, take serious note of Hughman's list (with Liverpool). Make sure you apply to places where you have a genuine chance, but that doesn't go to say you should apply to places you don't want to go, just because you reckon you have a good chance! A combination of you actually wanting to go to that university and one that doesn't rule you out from 'weaknesses' in your application.

All the best.