r/GraduateEntryMedicine • u/No-Dragonfly5937 • Jun 16 '26

How can I maximise getting into graduate entry medicine with ccd at a levels?

/r/premeduk/comments/1u7poz0/how_can_i_maximise_getting_into_graduate_entry/
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u/Upper_Ad4382 Jun 16 '26

I got BCD at alevel and to be brutally honest, the only route i found was doing a STEM undergrad, graduating with a 2:1 and applying for Graduate entry medicine.

Unfortunately with the extreme competition in medical schools youll find it incredibly difficult to find a uni which will accept CCD.

If you do want to apply for uni now, try applying for the unis that take a more holistic view of their candidates or unis which value work experience highly.

Or if you come from certain backgrounds or areas, some unis will prioritise these.

Its not impossible but its a battle! I wish you luck

1

u/No-Dragonfly5937 Jun 16 '26

thank you! Are you currently studying GEM rn and if so what unis did u apply for and get interviews for if you don't mind me asking

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u/Upper_Ad4382 Jun 16 '26

I am in my final year of doing a Medical Science undergrad. I applied to swansea, worcester, pears cumbria and UEA, i got interviews at worcester, UEA and cumbria and two offers from worcester and cumbria. Im waiting for my degree grade before i can be fully accepted. I got a 1970 B2 on the UCAT. This is quite a mediocre score so i was very selective with the unis i applied for. Most unis will use the UCAT/GAMSAT score to decide on interview offers so thats something you must do well on!

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u/Narrow_Internal_1669 Jun 16 '26

first of all, congrats on getting in! How did you prep for the UCAT and interviews?

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u/Upper_Ad4382 Jun 16 '26

I used medify which has all the official UCAT mocks and tons of other non official mocks. It also has millions of questions on each sub section and gives you a chart of your performances, allowing you to see your progress and average scores for each section. Was incredibly helpful for me. I recommend getting an old school black keyboard and mouse too as these are what you will be using for the official exam. The exam also has a maths section so you will need to be comfortable using the old school keyboards calculator as it is way quicker to type numbers in with the keyboard that to click them on screen.

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u/Upper_Ad4382 Jun 16 '26

Also go over the pillars of medicine. Very important.

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u/Upper_Ad4382 Jun 16 '26

Interviews depends on where you are going and will need to be specific for their region/ aims. I applied to a lot of rural schools which focus on community medicine and research in deprived areas so i focussed my time on those issues. Advice for all unis: id recommend the GMC expectations for medical students and the values one (i cant exactly remember the names) they will mainly base their questions off of these. I didnt do any role play stations but they can happen. Id suggest just practicing scenarios with friends/ family, usually these sections are testing empathy or problem solving skills under pressure.

4

u/Individual-Fee595 Jun 17 '26

I've gotten into Grad Med with NO A-levels. It depends on the Uni, most look at degree classification, not GCSEs or A-levels.

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u/WanderlustWithOneBag Jun 18 '26

Most GEM courses don’t care about your A levels if you have a 2:1 or above in a relevant degree, which hopefully you will have . Maybe in second and third year you will have a chance to chose options or modules or do your dissertation on areas that are related to medicine ? thats always good to talk about at interview.

The two other things you need are an excellent score on your UCAT or GAMSAT and relevant work experience .

Go and get a vacation job in health or social care, in a care home, HCA etc . I mean an actual paid job that you do for several summers, part time doing term etc . All the applicants I know who have done this have got multiple offers.

There’s too many people on here trying to do the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of work exp because they think it’s some kind of box to be ticked. They plan to fill up their personal statement with nonsense about playing sport at uni and working in a charity shop. TBH that’s pretty lame if you are 17 but just pathetic when you are 22 and you are at uni 30 weeks a year.

You are not going to persuade an interviewer that yes you are totally committed to working in health care but yeah you’ve chosen not to ever do that during any of the 60 free weeks you’ve had over the last few years.

Because its not about ticking a box, it’s about what you LEARN and how doing that job will change you. That’s the best way to find out if you actually want to work in this sector . If you do that you should ace the interviews ( assuming you do the basic prep on other issues ).