Predjudice against good A-level Scores

[chunky.saj]

The university does not discriminate against ppl with good AS grades or Alevel predictions, thats just ludicrous. They want good academics as part of their student body, but they also want ppl who are rounded and by that have good grades, a lot of work experince and voluntary work, a lot of extra curricular activities, and good reasons for choosing medicine. And remember you are in competition with thousands of other applicants and 3/4 of the applications will get rejected without interview, and another 300 - 400 or so will get rejected after interview. So your application must be in the top quater of all applications to get an interview, you may have done everything asked for but if you are not in the top 1100 or so you are not going to get an interview.

[Bambi]

On my letter they say they reject over 80% without interview.

[westy]

I had this opinion about a uni, that I applied to last year. Applicants at the interview with their AAA's and me with a Science Certificate... Felt a bit wrong. But I thought, it's really good they consider people from all backgrounds....

Manchester obviosly, rely heavily on PS then, looking at that stat! - Shesh!

[devilwallride]

Unless you declare your AS levels the universities do not see them anyway so it's irrelevant... so did all of you certificate your AS scores last summer?
I disagree with what you say, I can see where you're coming from but I think Manc just has a fairer system with less emphasis on academia than other unis.

[Libosoulja]

alright, i agree with what some of you are saying, but this is from observation, i c quite a few people with high grades getting rejected without interviw, and prople with lower grades not even making the requirement grades at A/s given offers. The reasoning behind this is unknown in most universities.

To say that A/s grades are mre reflective than predicted grades is not a genuinely correct statment, the better the as scores at A/s the easier it is for a student to achieve them at A2, for instance i managed 2 fluke 300 in maths A/s n i took 2 modules in janurary n droped the subject as that can secure 480. so i tihnk A/s scores are reflective of the predicted A2 score, no teavcher can predict lower, its jsut a case of giving those who havnt achieved it for reasons that are out of thier control sometimes an oppertunity.

Besides that, work experience does count, but no 1s personality can be assesed fully by a piece of paper, other than how much work experience he has done, and how good his or her language skills in portraying how eagarly he wants medicine. It is more of ones personality that needs 2 be assesd via interview rather than assesing the image put across by the student which could or could not be reflective of reality.

In other cases commitment and hard work can be reliably assesd from the refrence, but there is a stong correlation between comitment and good grades. Hence, strengthening the idea that most of the time, a higher scoring student at As and GCSE is more likly to have the other attributes, and according to a chi squared test i found on an article from a questionaire in previous years, the results show that that the grades a student scores and frequency of them getting a place is independant, but in addition the expected value of these applicants is lower than the actual.

[Clarkey]

If people are still getting offers despite not having the required grades at AS then that may be for a number of reasons.

1. Offers are made for A2 levels, if their teacher predicts that they can go from a B/C to an A/B then they are eligable for consideration just like everyone else.

2. Not everyone declares their AS grades so someone with cccc at AS could still apply if they managed to convince someone to predict them highly enough.

3. They may just have been exceptional candiates and the uni wanted them so badly that they were willing to consider them with lower grades.

I can understand that you have received rejections so far and it is demoralising when you have good grades but medical schools do not discriminate against high grades! Try telling that to all the people who have the potential to be good doctors and want to apply to Birmingham but they can't because they have less than 6A*'s at GCSE. Committment is a big factor in doing well, but it is recognised by many that just because someone has AAA at A level doesn't mean they will be a better doctor (or cope with medical school bettter) than someone with ABB. They may find the initial parts easier but at least at my medical school there are many people who did extremely well at A level but struggle with areas of work. Actually find me a person who doesn't struggle with a number of things, regardless of grades. It's a balancing act between being able to do the academics, but also the clinical skills and patient care. Getting into medical school is difficult but i'm so glad they base it on more than just how many A's you have.

[Libosoulja]

Rejection does not demoralise me at all, i am a student of science and i seek knowledge to gain a better understanding of this world. A university is just a facility or an easier route on this journey. I have done my best and i cannot blame my self, ive seen others who are in the same situation as me and they cant blame themselves. 200 hrs work exp, disabled kids, labs, nuffield project, private + nhs hospitals, private clinics, elderly home, head prefect, semi professsional football, organised charity events and still not being considered.

This thread was not about my current situation, as the only rejection i have suffered is from downing apparently because i was 'too talkative in interview' and ' my answers wernt concise' which did wind me up but not demoralise me.

The thread i made was because of current observation from threads from most of the universities. It seems as though the grades or even predicted grades that vary according to how kind 1 teacher is than the other, seems to merly unlock the door to application to medicine, but does not give you any boost in this application what so ever. It seems as though the traveler has an extra burden of having good grades in this journey that will slow them down.

Thus, showing that a school the student is at is the deciding factor on a students application, not thier own achievment. It is the slection of a good college that has 'kind' teachers is what matters in the application for medicine regardless of the university selected, other than oxbridge.

[Ianl87]

Simply put, I think that if someone has exceptional grades, tonnes of work exp, loads of hobbies and all the ideal factors a good doctor should have AND are still not given an interview, they just didnt get that across to the admissions people well enough, or what you wrote wasn't to their liking... happened to me when i applied to Leeds last yr when i was rejected without an interview but the other 3 schools i applied to thought my PS was excellent. Just goes to show how diff schools like diff factors in ppl.

[annie133]

getting into a medical school depends on so much more than grades. I got into manchester this year with straight A's at AS,Alevel and GCSE but ive been rejected from the other 3(2 without an interview) i know how it may seem that you have done everything possible but I think sometimes you just have to accept that you didnt show that you had something that the admissions tutors are looking for. I know how getting in is so tough (despite my straight A predictions last year I got 4rejections without interview) but I also dont think it is fair to say that they discriminate against students with good grades as the criteria involve so much more than just the grades you have. i think that as long as you have the minimum grade requirements, good predicted grades and good GCSEs then you will pass the academic screening and then it just depends on what you have done to make yourself a 'well-rounded person', the fact that you have straight As isnt a deciding factor because this exceeds the grade requirements.

[KatJ]

Bambi, to answer your question I got 7A* 4A at GCSE, and I'm predicted AAA at A2.
I felt the interview went really well, I think i did enough with my PS to get that far, but I genuinely believe that good preparation and an impessive interview got me in.