What to do to get accepted to Cambridge University for undergrad medicine?

<p>Hi! I'm really interested in Cambridge University but I know that it is very hard to get accepted into their undergrad medicine program...especially as an American.
I would like to know what I can do to gain qualifications for admission. Do you know of anyone who has recently been admitted for medicine from the US?</p>

<p>What grade are you currently in high school/college?
Did you take the BMAT?</p>

<p>Im in 11th grade. Im taking the following APs : chemistry, physics,calculus AB, english, and US history. Ive heard that AP Chem is a must to apply. I just want to be sure that I’m on the right track so that next year I will have a competetive application. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)</p>

<p>You will not get into Cambridge for medicine out of highschool as an American, Period</p>

<p>Prestigious UK universities think APs are a step down from A-level and IB especially in the sciences.
So unless you’re doing either A-level or IB (more likely in the states),
your chance of getting into a science based program at a prestigious UK university is close to zero.</p>

<p>At least this is what the LSE and Imperial reps who came to my school last year told me.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, Brunhein and bv123 are probably right. UK universities don’t view science APs as having enough depth to allow students to go straight into science degrees. </p>

<p>Also, UK universities are very strictly controlled as to the number of international students permitted to take medical degrees. This is because the government allocates universities a certain number of places depending on how many doctors they think will be needed in 5+ years time. When I was at Oxford, there were about 150 new medical students every year. Only 7 (seven) new international students were allowed to attend.</p>

<p>Agreed. I’ve talked to admissions tutors from different universities, and most of them will not accept APs for entrance to undergrad medicine.</p>

<p>Oh wow that stinks : / oh well thanks for the info everyone : )</p>

<p>Are people confusing undergrad medicine (what in the States would be called pre-med) with a UK Medical Program (that allows graduates practice medicine)? Plenty of US students are studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics in Cambridge/Oxford?St/.Andrews. They then can apply to Medical Schools in the US. For the Medical Program, which graduates doctors in the EU, but is not acceptable to practice medicine in the US – the info is correct, US students are not accepted into that.</p>

<p>I’m an American, and I did get an offer to study medicine at Cambridge. It’s not impossible, just quite difficult. They do value IBs higher than APs, but you can get in with just APs. I took 8 APs (bio, chem, physics B, environmental science, U.S. gov, European and U.S. history, and macroeconomics), and 2 IBs (ToK sl, bio hl). If you manage to get fives on all of your APs you’ve got a shot.</p>

<p>(You do mean the 6 year medical program, don’t you?)</p>

<p>Guys I have the same question, but in my case Im from Armenia… The high school that i have graduated in 2008 entered to the IB diploma program in 2011… If I had graduated now, not in 2008 I would have 42 IB points … Also I have 2 bronze medal from International Chemistry Olympiad and many other achievements in national science Olympiads. Even if i get very high grades from IELTS and BMAT what are my chances?</p>

<p>The medical program in UK allows one to go directly after high school into medicine. As Laylah mentioned, the seats in each school are restricted by the British Government and from what I understood, it is capped at 10% with a worldwide applicant pool. I was talking to a rep from University of Edinburgh a couple of months ago and he said they have 20 seats (200 total) for non UK pool and it is very highly competitive. He did mention the IB Chemistry requirement and also that it needs to be HL. He said it is a requirement but depending on other parts, it won’t automatically eliminate your application. However, one thing that was shocking was that there was a single person admitted from North America and he was from Canada. It sounded like they get a lot of competitive applications from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.</p>

<p>Hi. I’m looking for the same answers concerning the application to Cambridge med school (the six years programme). I’m from Portugal, where’s really difficult to be accepted to a medicine course because fifty percent of our grades to college are based in 3 national exams (I believe they’re like the American SAT’s) in which we have to get over 90% right answers if we expect to enter medicine. That turns getting into a good university almost unlikely, although I have straight A’s in every single subject, including maths, chemistry, physics, biology, geology, English, philosophy, etc… Therefore, I would like to keep some other options, like going to study abroad. The problem is, I can’t figure out which are really the requirements for foreign students, but I know there are some differences between US and EU students. So please, could anyone tell what I must do to apply? Also, if I have any chance at all of being accepted at all. thank you…</p>

<p>Well, the idea of getting into Cambridge would be easier than getting into a good Portuguese university is somewhat weird, have to say… (On the other hand, however, I know there are some crazy national universities, such as the IIT-s, with acceptance rates around 1-2%. Needless to say, this do not make them renowned universities - maybe in their home countries, but nowhere else.) </p>

<p>As EU student, you have a certain advantage, as Cambridge would not cost more to you than to a student from the UK. At an A-level, Cambridge might also request A*-s.
BTW, you can find every info on the admissions websites, such as this [Undergraduate</a> Admissions: Cambridge Admissions Office - Medicine](<a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge)</p>

<p>Hey guys i realize im still young but if i want to get in to Biochemistry in Cambridge would i have a better chance if i move from the states to the UK??
(Also i have a 4.0gpa and ive never gotten in trouble and on top of that i do comunity service. So would i have a good chance of getting in for right now???)
Thanks</p>

<p>@BugaBugZ - if your parents can afford to send you to Cambridge (NB there is NO FA available from within the UK for international students - you exist to subsidise the university, not the other way around), then you will be better off staying in the US, because your higher fees make you more attractive. </p>

<p>However, you will have to have a stellar academic record, lots of AP grade 5s and a demonstrable passion for your subject. </p>

<p>In the UK, community service is something that a judge sentences a petty criminal to do, so you would be better off calling it volunteering. However, Cambridge (and other UK universities) doesn’t really care about ECs that are not directly relevant to your subject. </p>

<p>Finally, don’t forget that Oxford & Cambridge are not the be-all and end-all of UK higher education. Just as Harvard is not the only good US university, O&C are not the only good UK universities.</p>

<p>Lol yes, if you say you did community service, in the UK they will ask you what you were doing the time for! </p>

<p>You understand that medicine is usually an undergraduate course (though graduate courses do exist) in the UK ? There is no such thing as ‘pre-med’.</p>

<p>Thanks boomtings. But im only 13 so what are AP’s??
And cupcake i dont want to study medicine i wanna study biochemistry</p>

<p>APs are standardised tests that you can take in high school on specific subjects. They’re meant to be college level equivalents - which is helpful because the work that UK high school students do in their last two years at high school (16-18) is the equivalent of American college first year in terms of academic rigour.</p>

<p>Sent from my GT-I8160 using CC</p>

<p>Do SAT subject tests equate to AP tests when being considered for acceptance to Oxford or Cambridge for Medicine?</p>