Thanks for the advice, I’ll look more into the pre-med requirements. I still hope to attend Cambridge given its leading status in biology. I also believe that my transcript is more suited for British universities, while I will probably achieve a gpa of 4.4 and 3.8, I had a few b’s and one c in sophmore year, all in extremely difficult APs though. I understand that Cambridge looks only at ap test scores and other test scores along with looking for applicants who have already decided on a major. Given these circumstances, I believe that my transcript is most suited for British Universities
Well, the thing is, what are you looking for? When it comes to lab and research resources and faculty, some of the US publics match Oxbridge/Ivies. For aiming for an MD/PhD program, a good honors program may help you reach your goal.
What state are you in?
I attend a top public school in California
Have you looked at the course content? Cambridge don’t offer biology, only natural sciences (you choose either chem/bio or phys/chem). Oxford do offer single subject sciences.
Yes you’d have a strong application, but Oxbridge is not a good choice for US pre-meds. It is a good choice if your objective is to do a research PhD in sciences and become an academic or industry researcher. So saying your objective is “doctor/professor” is not very helpful.
They you’d have a lot of terrific public options as well. Have you calculated your UC GPA?
Thanks for all the advice guys, my gpa would put me at the top of my school considering that I’m taking all APs this year and I have A’s in all of them, that being said, I still have a C and a few B’s plaguing my 3rd quarter sophomore year as explained above. While my gpa could technically allow me to qualify for almost every school in California, I still have that C that sticks out. To clarify my earlier response, my main goal is to be able to become a professor leading a team of scientists as the PI. From what I know, many colleges offer dual MD PHD programs which makes the process of becoming a professor easier. At the end of the day, the MD is optional, it is a means to an end for me, as long as I can get a position as an associate/assistant/legit professor. Oxford and Cambridge are interchangeable to me, both are great schools, but Cambridge is ranked higher for bio sciences and has a higher acceptance rate.
They’re really not interchangeable in an important way. Aat Oxford you would just do biology, at Cambridge you would have to do Natural Sciences, meaning at least one more science subject in depth. take A close look at the websites of the respective universities and departments to get a clearer picture of how the degrees are structured.
higher acceptance rates are a bit illusory. They just reflect numbers of applicants per place, rather than the actual difficulty of getting in.
Thank you so much for the advice! I was originally a bit confused about what it meant by Natural Sciences, me not having someone to consult just thought it meant that I would have to choose one of several science classes. Knowing this, I would probably now lean more toward Oxford. Thanks guys.
The full description of all the required and optional courses is on the website, because there is far less flexibility than in the US. You need to understand and be comfortable with the list of courses you would be taking. So for example don’t expect to have the choice of taking computational biology before the third or fourth year.
There are incredibly detailed admission statistics, example entrance tests and all sorts of other information on the website. You should read it.
A pre med student would be more able to take all the required pre-med claaases.in a natsci program than in straight biology at Oxford. But it would still be difficult.
I was actually planning on just staying in the UK if I got in, given that the time required to earn a PHD is less, the only reason I would like to move back to the US for grad school or med school is for sentimental purposes, all in all, back to the main question, do you think I’ll be able to get into Oxbridge?
I’ve also heard about the interview and the TSA, and I’ve been going through past TSA’s
There is nothing which would disqualify you from getting a place, but since the admission decision is entirely dependent on the interview, it is impossible to say whether you would get in. It is reasonable to assume that your chances are likely better than your chances of getting into Stanford, assuming you don’t have any major hooks, and worse than your chances of getting into Berkeley L&S. However if you give the impression that Oxbridge is a backup to top US schools (for example by saying you’d like to become a doctor), then that would be viewed negatively (i.e. they really hate to be turned down). Remember that the yield for domestic UK applicants who meet their offer is something like 99%.
And read the statistics. They state the proportion of applicants each year who were admitted by subject and TSA score. Indeed looking on The Student Room you can find the full spreadsheets of admissions data by candidate (anonymized) released under the UK’s freedom of information act.
@VickiSoCal, I’m pretty certain that pre-med requirements also require a humanities component. I know some pre-health majors have that.
@KingDward, note that while American MD-PhD and STEM PhD programs (which you enter straight from undergrad) are funded, UK grad programs generally are not (unless you win scholarships).
@PurpleTitan most med schools reuire
Most medical schools require the following courses:
One year of Biology with lab.
One year of General Chemistry with lab.
One year of Organic Chemistry with lab.
One semester of Biochemistry.
One year of Physics with lab.
One year of English.
I think the right NatSci combo could get those in except the English, but you could take that over the summer back home.
Thanks for the list VickiSoCal, just to clarify, this is for UK med schools right? And I also noticed that you put down Organic Chemistry and Physics as a requirement. I am actually planning on taking organic chemistry and physics 3 senior year (both are college courses offered at my school), will this affect anything? Does this allow me to skip these classes if I do pursue higher education in Britain?
No. That is for US med schools.
UK Med school is direct entry after A levels.
I am very confused as to what your goals/plan are.
American med schools would want to see your transcripts from all colleges (but classes taught at a HS won’t count). You won’t be able to get out of any required classes at Cambridge. They often let you choose from a list of classes to fill some slots, however.
- Most US medical schools will only accept the pre-reqs if they are taken at a US or Canadian university.
- Biology (or Biochemistry) at Oxford does not have an admissions test. There is no need to be studying the TSA.
- Medical school in the UK is direct admissions from secondary school and is *exceptionally* difficult for US students. With the exception of 1 private program (which is brand new), every UK uni has a cap on the number of international students they can take. Oxford is allowed 12-13 international students for medicine; they typically take about 6.
- In the UK, your Master's is typically done by staying on for 1-2 years at the same university, and you pay for it. You apply for PhDs, where the fit between your research and the interests of the place you apply is crucial. Funding exists, but is not as certain (and not always as complete/generous) as in the US.
- For Oxbridge, nobody can tell you more than that your stats (+ a decent PS & rec) should get you an interview. After that, all bets are off.
- Why aren't you looking at Imperial?