A level choices for medicine?!?

**House Jr.** · 17-08-2009, 08:52 PM

Yup 2011. And yeah it does suck so much considering they can already whittle it down through GCSE/UKCAT/BMAT/work experience/personal statements and the all important interviews in addition to the current A Levels. One would expect the A* grade to be an unnecessary addition

**Drneuro** · 17-08-2009, 08:58 PM

Yeah, if you think about it at the moment you need 80% for an A right, but they don't know whether you got 100% or were bang on 80! It seems unfair but from a med school's point of view they want to reduce applications.

Problem is what a lot of people forget is medicine isn't just about how good at academic stuff you are, it's the person you are as well. If i'd had to get 90% in my a level electronics i would never have left the house, and done nothing else but study!

That's not the sort of people we want really.

Just keep an eye on the grade stuff after xmas, it should come up then.

I'm lucky, there was no a* when i did my a levels so when i apply again they won't be looked at XD !

Or at least i don't think they will be..

**House Jr.** · 17-08-2009, 09:08 PM

That's true, during my w/e in a GP I got to speak to an F2 student and he said that in the past he saw patients walking away from doctors who were geniuses but simply had a poor personality and couldn't communicate as opposed to the doctor who was excellent at communicating but not as academically able than the other doctor. So it's a worrying prospect that we may have more docors like the first one and less of the second one. Or maybe I'm just exaggerating XD

**Drneuro** · 17-08-2009, 09:20 PM

No you're totally right, i've come across a fair few doctors who are complete prats, god knows how they passed their interview! Your patients will have more confidence in you if you can communicate and deal with them in the right way, if you have no people skills they're not likely to trust you as much. Well that's what I've picked up from placements anyway.

Medicine's such a hard course, you need some form of extra- curricular entertainment to relieve the stress, and enjoy life! You can't spend 2 years in preparation for it cooped up in the library, you need to do different things and grow as a person I think.

**they_call_me_pg** · 17-08-2009, 09:49 PM

Just to clarify something, nobody will ever get an A* at AS level.even if you get 100% in the module you will get an A. At the end of 7th year when the average of all your modules are taken, you will then be scaled into the grade system with the A*. I think you get it if you get an average of 90%+ on all your modules. My chemistry teacher said at the start of my AS year that you need to get over 90% in each module-so even if you got 100% in 5 modules and 89% in one, you would get an A-not an A* which is pretty ridiculous.However he sent in a complaint and the exam board said they would revise it. I guess we wont know how it will work until 2010 results!

Personally I think the A* is a disgrace. As if A levels werent hard enough, theyv made them even harder with a higher grade to aim for! But I do agree that it probably is necessary for medical schools to make the selection process easier.But more than likely it will only be the bigger more "prestigious" medical schools like Cambridge that would be likely to ask for A*s soon. Others (i.e. the majority) will probably take longer to raise the threshold so hopefully those for 2010/2011 entry should be ok.

But then again this is all just speculation at this point as no university has actually said where they stand (to the best of my knowledge anyway)

**Drneuro** · 17-08-2009, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by they_call_me_pg

I think you get it if you get an average of 90%+ on all your modules. My chemistry teacher said at the start of my AS year that you need to get over 90% in each module-so even if you got 100% in 5 modules and 89% in one, you would get an A-not an A* which is pretty ridiculous.

That's interesting, I thought that you'd get the A* if you'd averaged across all modules at above 90%. That is pretty harsh.

Apparently Cambridge have already increased the entry grades for med and vet med to A*AA... Other med schools to follow suit? Bloody hope not for the sakes of the new applicants!

**they_call_me_pg** · 18-08-2009, 02:25 AM

well that was for the N.Ireland exam board CCEA. But they're a pathetic excuse for an exam board anyway and will no doubt copy wat the likes of AQA will do. Yet again even the exam boards seem unclear about how they will approach the A*. But to be fair they have to see how people perform in the exams 1st