Good A-Level Subjects for Medicine and My Birthday!

Hey guys! Hope you've all had a great back to school/Sixth Form/College :D

Okay so most of you will have already started your new subjects, but I still thought I should do a post on what sort of A-Levels are best, and basically what's required for most Uni's, you can always change it's early!!
I'm HOPING it won't be as long as my last post cause it's my birthday day in 16 minutes!! :)

So basically pretty much all of them need 2 A-Level subjects in Maths/ the Sciences (this excludes Psychology and AS Levels), and one of those 2 HAS to be Chemistry, there is no getting around this, there are very few Universities not require Chemistry A-level, and you would be restricting your application severely.

Most of them would like you to have at least AS Biology, and if not you must have a achieved a very good pass at GCSE. I would suggest taking Biology to A2 though, as medicine is a pretty Biology-intensive subject; if you don't like Biology you won't enjoy medicine. Also some Universities do have A-Level Biology as a requirement, so you might as well cover all your bases.

Maths is a good one as well, especially for the quantitative calculations and stats analysis you'll encounter in your degree. However I would advise you NOT to take Further Maths, quite a few Universities do not accept Further Maths, and it will add unnecessary stress to your application. 

Physics is pretty impressive and also a good substitute if your not much of a Biologist or if Maths brings up tortured memories. It is handy for understanding the instruments used for imaging, and just generally improving you as a scientist.
But remember you still need to comfortable with all these subjects cause they will feature in any Medicine degree!

NOTE OF CAUTION: Be careful when choosing a "softer" subject for your 3rd/4th A-level - Universities have been known to discriminate against people with subjects such as business studies, film studies, textiles etc. Oxbridge published a list at one point of which subjects were acceptable, and the University of Birmingham, for example, expects 4 A's at AS if a subjects such as Psychology, PE or Sports science is being taken with Biology.
Some Universities now even have written on their website "call us if you are unsure about the unsuitability of a subject", so just ask! 

Now some Universities prefer students to be very specialised, for example Cambridge is known for preferring mainly sciences from it's Medicine students, with some colleges even requesting 3 science/Maths subjects at A-Level, and 97% of their applications of their applicants have all 3 (as of 2012).
Only problem with using this system is that Universities obviously don't advertise this on their prospectus' or website! (Apart from UCL, which I think now actually puts in its prospectus "Students with a language of arts A-level will be looked upon favourably").

It's all by word of mouth, and this can be fairly difficult to find if the University you're interested in is not-very well known, so I recommend either looking at the requirements and making an educated guess, (e.g. "We like students with many talents who are well-rounded" = Range of subjects) and ("We prefer candidates to have a exceptional knowledge in the science they are not providing at A2" = Specialised).

Often this can't be done, and in that case make sure you've got at least your 2 including Chemistry, and then just do stuff you like :).

Okay I know this is fairly short and specific to University (some like certain subjects and Scottish Universities can be a little fussy because they do a different Qualification up there), buttttt it's officially my birthday :) and I think I should go to bed/read/be very happy/make a futile attempt to wipe the grin of my face :D
See ya laters peeps!!!!!!
I'M 17!!!!!
xxxxx
P.S. I may do a longer more comprehensive version later, and I will soon be doing a post about applying for volunteering posts, but for now, I'm gonna enjoy Florence & The Machine while being 17 ;)

GCSE Results and University Requirements for Medicine

*UPDATED FOR 2012 ENTRY*

IF YOU ARE UNSURE IF YOU HAVE "GOOD" ENOUGH GCSE'S - SEE THIS POST: http://youngwannabedoctor.blogspot.com/2012/01/bad-gcse-results-and-getting-into.html

Well many 16 year olds (or possibly 15 year olds if you are one of the unlucky few born very late in August) will have recently received their GCSE results.
Mine are pretty damn good, YAY!!

However as this a blog about all things needed for getting into medical school, I'll give you guys a heads up about what you will have needed to get into different Medical Schools.

Okay so the best of the best require mainly A*'s, this includes Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bristol (obviously others are good, they just haven't specified GCSE grades). However not everyone is pumping out straight A*'s and many Universities don't see them as a requirement, so I'll do it in alphabetical order.

Aberdeen = All A/B passes expected, especially in the Sciences. C passes in English and Maths. Biology and Physics as seperate subjects are looked upon favourably.
Barts = Minimum requirement of AAABBB in Maths, science and English.
Birmingham = At least 8 A*'s (notice the "at least" meaning your competition will probably have more than 8) This year (2011 entry) most of the applicants who received offers had 9/10 A*'s
Brighton and Sussex = High grades expected with B's in English and Maths, however candidates with low grades are considered if your AS's results are very good
Bristol = 5 subjects at grade A/A* including Maths, English and 2 sciences
Cambridge = lots of A*'s... need I say more? However if your AS UMS marks are exceptional, your GCSE grades matter less

Cardiff = A minimum of 9 grade B's. B's needed in English and Maths, AA needed in additional science, and AAB for separate sciences
Dundee = A good pass in Biology... I assume this too mean an A or above, Dundee is one of the top medical schools, so even though they don't specify on GCSE results, you can bet your competition will have a lot of A*'s

Durham = A minimum of 5 subjects at grade C, to include Maths, English and the sciences
East Anglia = 6 subjects with at least grade A including the core subjects (core subjects = English and Maths)
Edinburgh = 8-11 A*'s, with at least B's in core subjects (average applicant has 6 A*'s - the ones who get in have above 8 A*'s)
Glasgow = A's in English and the sciences
Hull York = At least 6 subjects at grade C, A's in the Maths and English, B's in the sciences
Imperial = AAABBB in Maths, English and the sciences
Keele = Grade A in a minimum of 4 subjects, and B's in English, Maths and the sciences

Kings College London = Grade B in English and Maths if not offered at AS/A2 level

Lancaster = A minimum of 9 GCSE's at grade C. Lancaster has a points based system, with A*/A = 2 and a B=1, you need at least 15 points - which essentially translates to AAAAAABBB. Maths, English and the sciences need to all be at grade B.
Leeds = B's in English, Maths and the sciences with a range of good grades, this presumably means nothing below a B and certainly no fail grades
Leicester = GCSE requirements are not specified but are "taken into consideration" - aim high
Liverpool = At least B's in the core subjects and sciences, and a scoring system. A*/A = 2 and B = 1, in this scoring system you need at least 15 points. Which works out as mainly A/B's in all subjects (AAAAAABBB)
Manchester = At least 7 subjects at grade C or above, at least 5 at A/A*. A minimum of B for English language. A minimum of grade C for Physics and Biology
Newcastle = A's in the sciences, and a minimum of 5 passes (I'm quite surprised by the relatively low grades, seeing as Newcastle is another good Medical school, so do expect most other applicants to have higher grades than this)
Nottingham = Grade A in the sciences and at least 6 subjects
Oxford = Minimum Grade A in the sciences, minimum 8A*'s
Peninsula = Grade C in at least 7 subjects
Queen's Belfast = Uses a point scoring system, 4 points for an A*, 3 for an A etc. Makes competition quite high because all GCSE results are taken into account in the final point adding
RFUCMS = B's in core subjects and from 2012 a language will be required
Sheffield = At least 6 A grades required and B's in core subjects

Southampton = Minimum of B in 7 subjects, including Maths, English and the sciences
St. Andrews = B's in core subjects and the sciences
St. Georges = Minimum of 8 subjects. A's in maths, English and the sciences. A B is needed for English language.

UCL = Minimum requirements are a B in English and Maths, and a modern foreign language for 2012 entry - however UCL uses GCSE's as an indicator of academic abilities, so most applicants will have a high percentage of A*'s

Anyway I hope everyone did great and that the above information is helpful rather than depressing!!

Good Luck with Sixth Form!