WWYD my average grade teenager has decided she'd like to do medicine!!

[mosschops30]

Would you wholly support their decision even if you knew that academically they werent up to it?

Dd is a bright girl, but doesnt woek to herfull potental. She is aiming for c's in most of her gcses and may get an A/B in a couple of subjects.

She always wanted to do teachin which is well within her capabilities, but now shes got her heart set on medicine and knows she has to really raise her game at gcse and then get 3 A's minimum to get into university.

I am supporting her, and would be proud whatever she does, but should i discuss with her the possibility that it may not happen?

Does it really matter what she wants to be? The kid has aspiration, encourage it, embrace it, cherish it. So many teenagers I know have no aspirations at all. It may well be a bit of a long shot, but if it means she ups her game, surely its a good thing.

Marking place as ds is v keen on medicine. He's doing GCSEs soon, & then Chem, Bio, English and History at A level, hopefully.

Will look into the shadowing schemes at hospitals.

The think that worries me is even assuming he gets brilliant grades, if he doesn't get an offer of med school, is it too late for him to look at a different course (eg history) or would he have to atake a gap year.

I don't know where you live but quite a few places do an extra foundation year if you do not have the right A levels or sometimes the grades . Each course has very specific criteria for entry and like getting into 5 year MBBS's are hugely competitive. Southampton run one for students who may not get top grades and also meet some income criteria. Kings run one for students from inner London schools and I think Bristol has one for students who have not got the required Chemistry A level. You can check these out on the internet etc by googling 6 year MBBS.

It is hugely competitive to get into medicine now.Often students with all A's are rejected on the basis of their GCSE's (e.g. birmingham want a minimum of 8 A* GCSE's) many places also make you sit a BMAT or UKCAT test before entry and also you really must get some voluntary work.
There are a lot of archive threads about getting into Med school and the Student Room website is fantastic for following threads and asking questions. Some Uni's run short (3-5day)taster style courses for those interested in doing medicine (usually in year 12)or AimHigher courses (if your daughter is eligible - ask the school)

My DD also wanted to medicine (and although we were not convinced it was right for her we supported her fully)and did tasters, lots of open days etc, voluntary work -but then come UCas application time she changed her mind. She was angry she had spent all summer on voluntary work and revising for the UKcat test etc but I think it was all good experience and helped her focus on getting good A level grades. Teens do change their minds and I think even though my DD switched she made a good decision by realising that although all her friends and teachers were telling her she was lucky to be able to apply that she could recognise that it wasn't right for her.

Mumblechum - they can only apply for 4 med school places on the UCAS form so that leaves a fifth choice spare.
The universities don't know what other places have been applied for so your DS wouldn't be harming his chances at all by applying for History.

It is going to be difficult writing a convincing personal statement though!

My DD never wavered for a moment about medicine. She has wanted to be a doctor all her life despite having no medics in the family. It worried me because I felt she hadn't considered anything else and I feared that she had a romantic view of it but she loved work experience so much that it became obvious that it was right for her.

Then of course I worried that she wouldn't get a place and would be completely unable to decide on anything else. She applied for Biochemistry as her fifth choice and got an offer immediately for that. She was cheered to have one offer in the bag but then there was a long, long wait while the med schools decided who to interview and it became clear that she wouldn't settle for Biochem.

A lot of nails were bitten but she got what she wanted. It settled my mind when she got three offers after interview. By that stage it means that the academic credentials are right so the interview is really about aptitude. I slept easy after I knew that three separate sets of interviewers felt she had what it takes. They're the experts: I'm just an anxious mum.

Mumblechum and mosschops -
I meant to also say that TSR is teeming with people who failed to get into a medical school first time round.

Many of them succeed the following year when they know their actual results, spend some time doing extra work experience and consider the application strategy more carefully.

There's no point wasting one of those 4 precious choices on a university that wants something you haven't got. But another one might be ready to snap you up.

Mosschops, very similar to our situtation. It's all my DD has wanted to do and up until recently it seemed like a possibility. Just had AS module results and unless my DD eats, drinks and sleeps studying in the next 2 months when she has to sit more modules and do retakes it's looking unlikely she will get 3A's.

I am still supporting her but she knows herself now that she may have to rethink her future. The annoying thing is that myself and her teachers think she has the intelligence but I cannot sit her exams for her and it is up to them in the end.

Btw some of the unis's we've looked at place great emphasis on GCSE results as well as A levels. A/A*=2 B=1 C=0 and want applicants coming from school to have a minimum of 15 points from their best 9. They also have UKCAT to score in and these tests are horrendous.

adamschick - remember the snow January 2010 during the A level modules? DD had a struggle to get to school for exams and her Chem practical went badly, badly wrong. She had also flopped in her German speaking exam.

She made it. But she worked very, very hard.

Tell your DD not to give up.

Oh to have a child with those sort of aspirations. Please don't stop her trying. However, DS1 currently doing an extra A level in chemistry and the A2 part is quite 'mathsy', if her maths is weak she might find this hard going.
Nothing wrong with her pulling out all the stops to get there. Even if she doesn't make it she will have done the best she can and many other doors will be open to her.
Be ready for the huge jump in sciences between GCSE and A level! It is usually us mothers left to pick up the pieces and ensure their self-confidence is not totally destroyed.

Unitarian, I am really trying to get her to work. I really hope she doesn't give up. Well done to your DD for pulling it back.

Lazymum totally empathise with your post. The jump is massive but do-able with enough work. We have even resorted to paying for a one to one tutor in maths for DD, just started this week, as she has 3 exams in Maths alone in 2 months time.

There is a similar gap between GCSE and A level in many, if not most subjects!
I would commend her for her high aspirations and support her in "upping the game" for her GCSEs. Unfortunately medecine is extremely competitive. There are many other medical related careers which could be a back up choice if she doesn't have the natural ability in Science to get top grades at A level (pharmacy perhaps? I don't know anything about the entry grades though.)

adamschic - she's is Y12, yes?
That leaves her three lots of modules to pull up her marks. She especially needs to strive to get A* in Chemistry but she might get away with As in the rest. Depends where she applies to so choose carefully. Make sure the school's predicted grades don't drop.

Fortunately DD's poorer marks were in the Y13 January modules and she had offers by March (though getting to interviews through the snow was not fun) so she had the incentive to work her socks off. She knew exactly what she had to do by summer to get the right grades. She has the staying-power of a camel and seems to thrive on adversity.

Fish oil capsules help!