is anyone going to do medical biochem and try and transfer??

[Bups]

but those are not bad at all! certainly not bad enough to negatively affect your application, unless you applied to Bham as they specify 5A* or something, but apart from that there shouldnt be too much of a problem as you fulfill the requirements? surely those grades wont matter at all in light of your (hopefully dazzling ) A2 grades.

by the way, I agree the biomed route is a very bad idea if you can avoid it at all. for a start theres the cost (of the first degree, and all the gbrants etc you wont be eligible for when you actually do medicine), theres the time it takes, theres the fact you may well not enjoy a lot of the degree content at all since its not what you really want to do, and theres also the fact that in a way it is damaging to your application! because transfer is virtualy impossible, and applying for graduate entry is way more competitive than undergraduate, and undergraduate is bad enough! surely its better just to try and get the grades, and if you miss them this year honestly the best option is to resit if your grades were nearly there, which if your bright enough (which you are ) they should be. admittedly you have to be careful which unis to apply to as a resitter, but its a much easier, more logical route. alternatively theres access courses or ones such as the lincoln foundation year which gets you directly to nottingham

[denu]

yh i think my gcse were not as bad as i think they are i think my ps and ref were not as good as they could have been. my mums not so cool abt gap yr, wat if i dont get in next yr then its like ive wasted 2 yrs. i dont mind taking a gap yr personally i think i cud get in next yr but i dont wanna take the risk and then again if i dont get in after biomed at least i wud have some sort of qualification instead of saying that i have 1 or 2 or even 3 gap yrs.

[kiya]

Nothing wrong with your GCSEs! At least not from where I'm standing!

If you really want to do medicine, there is nothing wrong in having a gap year. You can use the extra time to think of other careers you might like to pursue, so that you can include courses for them in the final two slots on your application form.

In the end, if you believe you can improve your application (and I don't see why you can't), then trying next year has to be better than starting a degree on the off-chance you might be able to transfer. You can also use a gap year to improve work experience, which will improve your PS.

My mum thought a gap year was a great idea for me. I didn't want one, ended up doing one because I was unwell, but it was the best thing ever. It's worth going to uni with a prospective other than the school-leaver one.

Anyhow, good luck with whatever you decide.

[eek]

Denu, I don't really understand why you would accept the route of a 3yr degree if you still want to do medicine afterwards...Especially since its seems like your GCSE (and presumably) A-level grades are fine, ps and references are definetly areas that can be easily improved upon and you would be able to clock up the work experience needed during your gap year (unless you already have that)...Could you give us some more details about your application - what exactly were the problems? Do you have the necessary predicted grades? What was so bad about your reference?

Are you asian/have traditional (academic/money minded) parents? Are you girl? I only ask because as an asian girl myself I completely understand parents who were dead set against a gap year and/or travelling. So I understand why that doesn't seem like a valid option to you. Have you tried to talk to your folks about considerably strengthening your application with work experience during a gap year? Parents are so much more pliable when there are solid reasons.

I don't mean to sound preachy and I'm probably just projecting, lol... I just hope you have researched/thought about/explored ALL your options.

[Gizmo says -]

yep talk to your folks.

explain that your priority is to treat patients rite, not getting into medicine. that will mek them feel proud.
therefore you want to get into medicine for the rite reasons and they will be all the more behind u, becos a son who sets out to do the rite fing is worth a undred sons who sets out for his own personal gain (goodie points from parents) if you get me.
they probably dont want you to gap cos they feel you will discover other fings you want to do and get pulled away from uni/medicine.

u may need to talk to em afore they get this point of view mind.

[frenchtoast]

you know you want to be a doctor right?
If you want to be one, then go for it again. One year extra is nothing compared to the rest of your life doing something you dont want to do. If you aren't sure, then do do something else, as you can come back to it. Alot of ppl want to be docs for bad or vague reasons. Make sure you arent one of them!
Btw- RE Gap year, more work experience is always good!!! You will change and improve in so many ways that you will be able to outrank everything you produced this year. MV register ALL your work experience btw.

Dunno how to be polite about this, but ignore your mum, it's not her life. Parents don't actually have a frigging clue about uni etc most of the time! Do what YOU want! I know the pressure is probably relentless but just stick up for what YOU decide to do. I did a degree that I have resolutely hated for four years because I didn't really know what else to do and most ppl thought it was an ok idea. Bad plan! I am now finally doing medicine (YAY) but its a bitch and a half doing it this way. THe poverty, the boredom..... If only Id known when I was 18!!!

Anyhow, good luck, I am sure that you will get in next year if you focus yourself. Get focused, get networking, and be prepared to cough up for some serious PS help! not cheating stuff, but certainly get the expert advice in. My school joined me up to ISCO which was a seven year career thing, and theyve really been worth it. Use all the threads on this site too, absolute MINE of info out there for you.

[Shehan]

8As!!! How are those bad man. Those are amazing seriously, if you really wanted to do medicine, get the AAA and just take the gap year, its by far the most likely way youl get into medicine. (he says this with AAA and no place lol)

[squidgey]

8 A's meets the requirements of most unis except those like birmingham who want 6 A*s but you dont even need to get 3 A's unless you want to apply to newcastle and edinburgh or any other uni that wants 3 A's. You just need AAB for most unis if you are sitting your A'levels within 2 years