Chances at Imperial College, UCL, Cambridge, and Oxford

[ameer91]

My son is in grade 11 right now in Canada and some marks are low. At the end of the year, if things go as they are, these will be his grades:

IB Biology predicted 6 or 7
AP Chemistry 95%
Grade 12 Chemistry 97%
Grade 12 Physics 98%
High School Calculus 95%
World Geography 98%
Grade 11 English 88%
Grade 12 English 86%
Peer Mentoring(required course) 93%


Since some of his marks are low, he is planning to self study some AP courses and just taking the exams at the end of the year. He is expecting a 5 on each of AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Chemistry and maybe AP Biology. He is also planning to take SAT for physics, chemistry, biology, and math for which hes planning 750+. If he can do this, can he get into a good medical school considering some of his marks are bad in the high school diploma.

Last year he did the following courses and the overall average was 96:

Grade 11 Physics 98%
Grade 11 Chemistry 100%
Grade 10 Math 99%
Grade 11 Math 99%
Grade 12 math 100%
Grade 10 Science 97%
Grade 10 English 88%
Grade 11 Writing 84%
Grade 10 History 98%


Next year, in grade 12, he is planning to take some university courses at his local university. These include Calculus based physics, calculus, organic chemistry, cellular biology or biochemistry. He is also planning to take these and possibly get a A grade which corresponds to 4.0 gpa at our university. He is planning on doing a lot of work and volunteer in the medical field including science fair and summer research programs. He is also planning on getting certification in various medical courses such as first aid. He is also thinking of joining a retired home to volunteer. He is also planning to attend various medical events and join the animal shelter. He recently joined 4 clubs at school and is a lifeguard certified. Considering he gets a 4.0 gpa in university courses in grade 12, 5 on all his AP courses, 750+ on all SAT, and 2100+ on SAT 1; do you think he has a chance at these 4 universities. What more should he do, he is not big on ECs and he is planning to do all of these since he is now interested.

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[Doudline]

Uh?

Your son is not getting into UK universities for medicine unless he's got residency/citizenship status there.
And you're definitely on the wrong forum...

 

[Winged Scapula]

1) there is no need to cross post this since you posted essentially the same question in the hSDN forum;
2) this is an American website; we know very little about UK medical colleges
3) his marks are not low
4) I'll move this to the UK forum where perhaps others can let you know whether he would be considered at any of the other Commonwealth country medical schools
5) I'd also suggest that your son is old enough to register on SDN and ask these questions himself

 

[syma]

He cannot apply to both Cambridge and Oxford, so he will need to pick one.

Each of those schools require BMAT.

And your best bet is to have him email each of the schools because the requirements are different for international students. But all of this information is available online.

 

[Medstart108]

Very difficult, Oxford accepts 1-3 internationals a year, Cambridge accepts more up to 22. Otherwise you'll need to write the BMAT for all those schools. You'll also need to get him involved in volunteering, extracurriculars etc. PM me if you want more information. All 4 schools declare they want IB or A-levels, but exceptions may be made. If you want to get into the UK, the best option is to apply to other UK medical schools, its clear to me you are interested in "prestige" however the truth is it doesn't matter at all for medical schools and what you really want to do is get in. When you apply to the UK you are only allowed to choose 4 medical schools, so you need to make wise choices.

Please note that if you go abroad your chance of coming back home for residency is low. Most specialities do not have any available spots for international medical graduates which your son will be if he leave North America.

Your son will be able to stay in the UK however he needs to be willing to make what will be a very permanent move to another country for 10+ years essentially. He may be able to return to Canada via the US as well, but that option may get more difficult in a few years as more and more medical schools are opening up in the US and the number of IMGs they accept will drop.