My IB Subject Combination for Medicine?

[7yearsbadluck]

i was wondering if anyone knew if my subject combination is good enough for medicine? i am hoping to maybe apply to oxbridge, but also in general is it okay (in terms of Maths SL rather than Maths HL), also how do you think i can compete against a level people doing maths and the 3 sciences?

HL: english history chemistry biology

SL: maths spanish ab initio

thank you 

[IB`NOT`ez]

For UK Universities, they generally don't care whether you take 4 or 3 HL subjects (it might demonstrate you taking advantage of the education opportunities presented to you, but usually only for US Universities). Hence, I suggest dropping HL English to maximise your scores, leaving you with one of the most rigorous 3 HL combos. 

There's not a lot of people doing 3 sciences – usually people doing it as an irregular diploma – and for UK Institutions, it's not necessarily something that's of an advantage. How you'll compete in university though, is another matter entirely (would probably depend on the uni's curriculum) – but there are a great deal lot of people entering medicine with Maths SL that it shouldn't be a problem. I know a junior who's planning to apply to Oxbridge, and as an IB Diploma student, she doesn't take a 3rd science subject, although she also takes Maths SL. If you look through this forums, I think there were several people in the past accepted into Biochemistry/Biomedical Science/Medicine to top tier UK institutions without a 3rd science subject nor Maths HL.

At this stage, I think the priority would be keeping your grades up and keeping tabs with your teachers as to how you can maximise your predicted grades, which is arguably the most important academic component of your application. As it's medicine after all, you'd want a predicted score of at least 41 for a decent fighting chance. Whilst an even higher score is preferable (making estimated guesses here, but a 43/45 would probably put you in the 70th percentile of applications or even higher), keep in mind that your UKCAT & BMAT, personal statement, and interview will also be very significant factors – there's a crap ton of people applying with superb academic qualifications that you'll need to really impress those universities with those other aspects of your application.

Good luck with your application!

Edited December 20, 2016 by IB`ez

[Guest]

Hey there! I basically completely agree with IB'ez but just have something to add about Cambridge. Personally, I applied to Oxford with very similar subjects to yours (which you can see below) though I was torn between the two unis. However, something that I noted (though I don't know if I overthought it) was the following:

Quote

AS and A Levels

• Applicants must have AS or A Level passes in Chemistry and two of Biology/Human Biology, Physics, Mathematics. At least one pass must be at A Level.
• Most applicants for Medicine at Cambridge have at least three science/mathematics A Levels and some Colleges require this and/or particular subjects. See individual College websites for details.

Although some Colleges consider applicants offering only two science/mathematics subjects at A Level (or equivalent), please note that the success rate of such applicants is much lower.

In the past three admissions rounds, 97 per cent of applicants for Medicine (A100) offered three or more science/mathematics A Levels and, of these, 26 per cent were successful in obtaining a place. Of the three per cent of applicants who offered only two science/mathematics A Levels, just nine per cent were successful in gaining a place. 

I'm not 100% sure if Maths SL counts as A/AS Maths, which you might want to check in the case of Cambridge (I mean, I presumed it was, especially since I read somewhere that Cambridge considered it 90% of an AS level) but it was certainly something that put me off applying there out of the uncertainty. Then again, you always have the option of Oxford

Other than that, 100% agree with @IB`ez

[7yearsbadluck]

On 20 December 2016 at 0:12 AM, IB`ez said:

For UK Universities, they generally don't care whether you take 4 or 3 HL subjects (it might demonstrate you taking advantage of the education opportunities presented to you, but usually only for US Universities). Hence, I suggest dropping HL English to maximise your scores, leaving you with one of the most rigorous 3 HL combos. 

There's not a lot of people doing 3 sciences – usually people doing it as an irregular diploma – and for UK Institutions, it's not necessarily something that's of an advantage. How you'll compete in university though, is another matter entirely (would probably depend on the uni's curriculum) – but there are a great deal lot of people entering medicine with Maths SL that it shouldn't be a problem. I know a junior who's planning to apply to Oxbridge, and as an IB Diploma student, she doesn't take a 3rd science subject, although she also takes Maths SL. If you look through this forums, I think there were several people in the past accepted into Biochemistry/Biomedical Science/Medicine to top tier UK institutions without a 3rd science subject nor Maths HL.

At this stage, I think the priority would be keeping your grades up and keeping tabs with your teachers as to how you can maximise your predicted grades, which is arguably the most important academic component of your application. As it's medicine after all, you'd want a predicted score of at least 41 for a decent fighting chance. Whilst an even higher score is preferable (making estimated guesses here, but a 43/45 would probably put you in the 70th percentile of applications or even higher), keep in mind that your UKCAT & BMAT, personal statement, and interview will also be very significant factors – there's a crap ton of people applying with superb academic qualifications that you'll need to really impress those universities with those other aspects of your application.

Good luck with your application!

 

On 20 December 2016 at 1:19 AM, apoello said:

Hey there! I basically completely agree with IB'ez but just have something to add about Cambridge. Personally, I applied to Oxford with very similar subjects to yours (which you can see below) though I was torn between the two unis. However, something that I noted (though I don't know if I overthought it) was the following:

I'm not 100% sure if Maths SL counts as A/AS Maths, which you might want to check in the case of Cambridge (I mean, I presumed it was, especially since I read somewhere that Cambridge considered it 90% of an AS level) but it was certainly something that put me off applying there out of the uncertainty. Then again, you always have the option of Oxford

Other than that, 100% agree with @IB`ez

Thank you both very much!!

yeah i think I'm orientated towards oxford anyway as they take into account GCSEs more and i got 9A*s and 1A so hopefully that's good enough for them. 

[Befuddled]

Hi!

Sort of taking a little advantage here!

So I'm planning on doing medicine as well, and I have taken the following subjects:

HL: Biology, Chemistry, Geography

SL: Maths, French B, English

Originally, my intention was to take Maths at HL, but after some research into Unis most seemed to accept SL Maths at preferably L7. I don't know if I regret it though, because I only came across 1 uni (UCC) that required HL Maths. What do you guys think?

Also, I am not too keen on UK universities as they seem to be costly, I am looking for an inexpensive uni in perhaps Canada or even the USA that might offer scholarships. 

A last question is that, when do you have to take exams such as the MCAT or UKCAT?

All feedback is greatly appreciated! 

 

[IB`NOT`ez]

1 hour ago, Befuddled said:

Hi!

Sort of taking a little advantage here!

So I'm planning on doing medicine as well, and I have taken the following subjects:

HL: Biology, Chemistry, Geography

SL: Maths, French B, English

Originally, my intention was to take Maths at HL, but after some research into Unis most seemed to accept SL Maths at preferably L7. I don't know if I regret it though, because I only came across 1 uni (UCC) that required HL Maths. What do you guys think?

Also, I am not too keen on UK universities as they seem to be costly, I am looking for an inexpensive uni in perhaps Canada or even the USA that might offer scholarships. 

A last question is that, when do you have to take exams such as the MCAT or UKCAT?

All feedback is greatly appreciated! 

 

Not taking HL Maths shouldn't be much of a problem except for Cambridge as @apoello highlighted. A senior from my school 2 years back got into UCL Biomedical Science with Maths SL, and BioChemistry HL. There are too many factors taken into account from one application that it'd rarely come down towards taking or not taking Maths HL as the winning factor for deciding which student is better than another. 

Generally it takes longer time to be a full fledged medical doctor by studying in US/Canada (approx. 8 years needed). In the UK, 6 years is usually the amount of time needed to get an MD. It might be more expensive monetarily, but cheaper time-wise. Something to take into account.

You take the MCAT for graduate-level medicine entry for US Schools, once you've finished undergraduate education and received your Bachelors.

You'll need to take UKCAT in the very near future to apply for undergraduate medicine in the UK. Also, it's noteworthy that upon finishing a 6-year programme in medicine in the UK, you won't need to take the MCAT or any other tests anymore. It's just 1-2 more years of working at a clinic for experience and you're set. 

Personally, if I plan to go to medicine, I'd choose the UK if mostly because it's a faster route. However, there's no backing out – it's going to be painful if you're 2 years into the program and realise medicine isn't something you want to do. The U.S. gives you more freedom – most people take a biological science/mathematics/chemistry as their undergraduate major that can be applicable to other fields and should they still want to pursue medicine, can then take the MCAT to apply for graduate medical schools.

If you're interested in the US, John Hopkin's Biomedical Engineering Program is the unparalleled pre-med program in the US – upon graduating, it'll be much easier for you to gain entry into its graduate medical school, which is arguably the best in the entire world (assuming your MCAT, GPA, and outside leadership activities are solid as well). Any other high-ranking graduate medical school e.g. MIT/Stanford/Harvard/UCSF will also be less painful to get in as the prestige derived from graduating JHU's BME is just so WOW. And should you decide you no longer want to pursue, well that's fine, 'cause you have a degree in arguably the most difficult scientific field from the most rigorous and prestigious program for it that finding a job in engineering/pharmaceuticals/research will be relatively easier.

Edit: think thread just went off topic

Edited December 23, 2016 by IB`ez

[Befuddled]

On 23/12/2016 at 9:47 PM, IB`ez said:

Not taking HL Maths shouldn't be much of a problem except for Cambridge as @apoello highlighted. A senior from my school 2 years back got into UCL Biomedical Science with Maths SL, and BioChemistry HL. There are too many factors taken into account from one application that it'd rarely come down towards taking or not taking Maths HL as the winning factor for deciding which student is better than another. 

Generally it takes longer time to be a full fledged medical doctor by studying in US/Canada (approx. 8 years needed). In the UK, 6 years is usually the amount of time needed to get an MD. It might be more expensive monetarily, but cheaper time-wise. Something to take into account.

You take the MCAT for graduate-level medicine entry for US Schools, once you've finished undergraduate education and received your Bachelors.

You'll need to take UKCAT in the very near future to apply for undergraduate medicine in the UK. Also, it's noteworthy that upon finishing a 6-year programme in medicine in the UK, you won't need to take the MCAT or any other tests anymore. It's just 1-2 more years of working at a clinic for experience and you're set. 

Personally, if I plan to go to medicine, I'd choose the UK if mostly because it's a faster route. However, there's no backing out – it's going to be painful if you're 2 years into the program and realise medicine isn't something you want to do. The U.S. gives you more freedom – most people take a biological science/mathematics/chemistry as their undergraduate major that can be applicable to other fields and should they still want to pursue medicine, can then take the MCAT to apply for graduate medical schools.

If you're interested in the US, John Hopkin's Biomedical Engineering Program is the unparalleled pre-med program in the US – upon graduating, it'll be much easier for you to gain entry into its graduate medical school, which is arguably the best in the entire world (assuming your MCAT, GPA, and outside leadership activities are solid as well). Any other high-ranking graduate medical school e.g. MIT/Stanford/Harvard/UCSF will also be less painful to get in as the prestige derived from graduating JHU's BME is just so WOW. And should you decide you no longer want to pursue, well that's fine, 'cause you have a degree in arguably the most difficult scientific field from the most rigorous and prestigious program for it that finding a job in engineering/pharmaceuticals/research will be relatively easier.

Edit: think thread just went off topic

Thank you!! You're such a tremendous help!

Honestly, I sometimes (very rarely) have doubts whether I really want to pursue Medicine. It's just I'm not a completely mathematical/language-related/humanities-related kind of person. But definitely a science -> biology person. So I think medicine is the best fit - and I do have interest in medicine. Just I doubt my ability at times.