Medicine with good but not perfect GCSEs query

[Mafaldaweasley]

Hi,
My dd has been interested in medicine for a while but been a bit reticent to publicly declare this as she was not confident about grades (neither was I to be honest - late diagnosis of dyslexia, and English language very borderline for ages!)

She has done, for her, amazingly in GCSEs, far better than we expected - 999888775 (5 in French; one of the 9s very unexpectedly in English language). One of the 8s was a mark off a 9 and going back for a review so we will see. She had 9s in chemistry and physics and 8 in biology. Good state comprehensive so doesn't hit any contextual markers.

I am aware that on paper she now has grades which may be good enough to realistically apply, but I have told her there are no guarantees and the process is arduous so she needs to be sure. I know that technically GCSE requirements are generally 7x7s which she now has, but in reality it may be higher due to competition. Also that some medical schools weight GCSEs more.

I just wondered if anyone has experience of a successful medical application with this kind of grade profile, and where would be good places to consider applying? Does anyone know how GCSEs are weighted - is it the top
8, as I think I have read somewhere (would be great if French could be discounted!!)

She is doing chemistry, biology and psychology for A level (not maths as she got a 7, so think this would be a bad idea). I know the UCAT carries a lot of weight too.

Any advice really appreciated.

Ah, ok, great - thanks!

Just done to all this this year. Those are easily good enough GCSE's. All they want is Sciences plus English & Maths at 6 or above. Then it's 3 A-Levels (almost all want Chemistry, most want Biology plus 1 other) plus UCAT score.

In the case of several we visited that was literally it. They actively declared that they would not be reading the Personal Statement or look at employment history when selecting for interview - as both reinforce class advantages (good schools & school/family contacts give some candidates great advantages in both). They did say that employment / work experience is good to be able to talk about in the interviews but they don't need to be hospital jobs - any job dealing with the public is good.

12 don't need Chemistry.

@Mafaldaweasley I just wanted to say don't worry overly about the dyslexia. I have a relative who is the head of a hospital dept who has severe dyslexia and had to have accommodations during GCSEs (O levels I think they still were). It has not stopped them and they have not made mistakes as a result of it.

Thanks @1stWorldProblems, that's helpful
to know - hope your dc was successful!
It's a bit annoying in a way that universities apparently don't bother much with the personal statement but schools put so much focus on it, and I imagine it is just another source of stress - although I guess it does help
prepare the ground for interview.

@ClearFoundation also good to know - I guess my main concern now might be how dyslexia could impact UCAT though I presume she will be entitled to extra time, which she had in exams.

@Mafaldaweasley you need to apply for UCATsen which gives 25% extra time. You need to send the same information that school send to the JCQ for exam extra time to qualify.

Thanks @mumsneedwine, just checked the dates for application so can be prepared!

We tried to see the personal statement (now the questions) as an opportunity to work through why she wanted to do medicine, which is important to crystallise for interviews, also to think through the supra curricular activities.

It is also a chance to sell yourself to the few universities which do look at the personal statement. For example Sheffield always said that they don't look at the PS at all, great opportunity therefore to write about your love of surfing knowing that Sheffield are not going to sit there thinking that Sheffield is miles from the surf.

Thanks @Unexpecteddrivinginstructor, yes I can see there is some value in writing it for that reason, and to get thoughts in order for interviews. Interesting that some look at it and some don't - just another thing to try and find out!

Chemistry A level isn’t needed but it does increase choice of university you can apply to so I would recommend it if you are at all inclined to it. UCAT, academics and other criteria (eg how far you want to travel, preference for city etc) will narrow down your choice anyway - your GCSEs are good enough generally but a few universities will be excluded because of them.

Newcastle might not need any science A levels, but unless your were keen on humanities then decided medicine halfway through studying history, French and geography, it would be a risky strategy not to take any and just apply to Newcastle!

My daughter came to me at 15 and said ….. mum you don’t need straight A’s to be a doctor but you do to get in, what can I do ! She knew she might struggle.
Honest to goodness all the extra curricular extra stuff is HUGE and they notice !
She was giving out flu leaflets at 15 every year (all the surgery could allow), volunteering to serve teas and coffees every Sunday morning at the local cottage hospital…. Learnt so much doing this ! Worked as an HCA throughout her higher education . Gold D of E. Volunteering abroad AND fundraising to fund herself to work in an orphanage for teenagers with facial deformities in the third world. Work experience ++ although I was able to support there as work in NHS myself.
She did the entry level Clinical Sciences at Bradford which transfers to medicine if you make the grade …. Completed the whole degree and then did another 5 years medicine .
She is currently training to be a local GP and nailed her medical degree She was not the best academically but she recognised this and prepared well but you have to really really want it.

I'm afraid this is wrong. They really don't care about extra curricular. Most don't even read the PS. It's UCAT and grades for 99%.

UCAT is tough for dyslexics, and for those who were educated in the Welsh medium and others who process slowly in English.

It is essentially a speed test and is long. The dyslexic will have had to concentrate, probably more than others, through the main time and will be pretty brain dead by the end of normal time.

My advice is to treat it like training for a marathon. Start practicing early using every format available and build up the time spent. so that you recognise questions quickly and are better able to pace yourself.

We knew someone, not dyslexic, who started at Christmas, practicing daily and who ended up in the top second percentile. A bit extreme, but UCAT really is key and a few extra points will make a huge difference.

On work experience, one idea might be to ask your local leisure centre if there are any disabled sports groups and see if they need volunteers. DD wound up volunteering with a local swimming group. One on one, working with some who were quite anxious, using hoists etc. Great as the session was an hour so easy to fit into her schedule, good experience to talk about at interview, with extra brownie points for having persuaded her school to donate funds from the school fete and to point future would be medics in their direction.

Another idea, perhaps for those more rural, might be to ask if elderly neighbours need support. Obvious things like help with the garden, but also to accompany on hospital visits etc. It would do no harm to understand more about the challenges faced by the elderly in the community.

Thanks @Needmoresleep, this is my worry about the UCAT with dyslexia too - definitely impacts processing speed, and may not be entirely compensated for with extra time. Not really looked in detail yet at what is involved but it is a good tip to start early with practicing and build up.

My ds with bad dyslexia did well in the gamsat for graduate entry - best he had ever done in an exam. He did loads and loads of practice and got not just extra time but a short break as well - may be worth asking about this?

Thanks @Copperas, she has never had breaks, but extra time has made a big difference. I think the key thing might be to start practicing early too, so will pass that on to her!

My DD got 9999888776 in her GCSE’s so very similar to yours! She took bio, chem and maths and achieved Astar A A. She had some medical work experience in hospitals and GP practice but the most useful thing for her was her part time job as a waitress and her volunteering for our local brownie pack and at a care home. She got top decile UCAT Band 1 after 6 weeks of very hard work and applied strategically to Sheffield, Newcastle, HYMS and UEA. She for 4 interviews and 4 offers and is about to head into 2nd at Sheffield.
Definitely worth your DD giving medicine a try - it’s tough but mine is loving her course. Happy to answer any questions.

Hi @Randomactofkindness, that's good
to know, thanks - these are some of the universities was vaguely thinking about so really great to know she got so many offer (sounds like she did brilliantly in UCAT though!)

Yes she did well - I didn’t put her actual
score as UCAT has changed this year but without AR she got 2170 so likely to be still
high. She did what you definitely shouldn’t do and feel in love with Sheffield - was really hoping to apply there so knew she needed a high UCAT. We never expected her to get all offers - she used the Medical School Interviews book by Oliver Picard and had some mock interviews arranged by school which really helped.

Thanks for the tip re the interview book, that's really helpful - there is so much to know about and so many hoops to jump through, seems exhausting even thinking about it!

English Lang
English Lit
History
Maths
Religious Studies
Triple Science

English Lang
English Lit
History
Maths
Religious Studies
Triple Science

I only know about medicine through second hand information from DC’s friends. I think a lot of the time the same universities are mentioned and popular for obvious reasons, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds and so may overlook other places which offer brilliant training and the same qualification. I wouldn’t overlook places like Edge Hill for example. I know I would rather be treated by DS’s friend who went to Sunderland than his friend who went to Kings… I also know people who ended up doing biochemistry at one of the more popular universities rather than going to somewhere else to do medicine which makes me question how much they wanted to be doctor.