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Reply 40

NathanM

dreamy_girl

Argh... I bet I'll forget...

i'll remind you :biggrin:

Reply 41

Liz150888

alright troops well im just posting here to offer my services. i too came out of the medical school selection process 2006 in one piece and am going to cambridge this october (feels weird to be able to say it now!) any questions etc (i applied to dundee, edin and ggow as well) feel free to ask.

im going to girton college, wasnt my first choice (was pooled) but im in love with it now. dont overlook it (as i did) because its so far out. i can vouch for sidney being a lovely college tho as i have a friend there who loves it and who is a scot from a state school etc and hasnt had any discrimination at all because of it as far as i can tell. (altho i imagine there are very few colleges where these sorts of things would be an issue).

the bmat was horrible i thought. really probably one of the worst days of my life. im not really sure how u can best prepare for it. best thing to do is a) console urself that u wont have done has badly as u think (i thought i had done awfully but in the end my marks were not bad) b) if u think it defo isnt going to go well think about camb rather than oxford because they (ox) place quite a heavy emphasis on it (heavier than cambo anyway) and award interviews partly on the basis of it c) do not go back to school after it. i did and it wasnt pretty.

i cant remember who is it thats going to ghana sorry lol but u will love it out there. im just back from rwanda and twas an amazing experience. hoping to go to africa again next year too.

Reply 42

friendlyneutron

Good idea on giving a wee brief profile liz, might as well do mine while I'm waiting for my washing hehe.

I applied to Cambridge (Sidney Sussex College), King's College London, Edinburgh and St. Andrews. I got offers from Cambridge (AAB at AH, A in Higher physics), KCL (AAB at AH) and St. Andrews (Unconditional), and withdrew my Edinburgh application as I'd decided I wouldn't go there, and didn't want to potentially take someone else's place. I was interviewed at Cam, St. Andys and KCL so I'd be more than willing to offer advice on those three.

The best advice I can give anyone applying to medical school this year is, SERIOUSLY consider applying to English medical schools. Scottish schools are being increasingly awkward with who they're admitting, it seems. The Scottish Executive is also apparently pushing Scottish graduates to stay in Scotland too, so if you don't fancy staying here, get out now.

Like Liz said, the BMAT is quite yucky, but it's really not the most important aspect of your application. I think the interview perhaps is, if your application is so-so, a good interview can really swing them in your favour. Start preparing for interviews *now*. Read new scientist, the student BMJ, the BMJ and anything else you can get yours hands on. "The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine" by James le Fanu was a book I found quite handy. Keep aware of topical medical issues, but for heaven's sake if they ask you about something you've read recently at interview, don't talk about something like bird flu. Pick something you're genuinely interested in (unless of course, you're really really interested in bird flu) and perhaps a bit less obvious, and be able to talk coherently on it. Find an article you found interesting, and know it inside out. Try and think up possible questions they might ask you on it, and in general. Practice infront of the mirror, get your friends/teachers to ask you questions, just get used to speaking about medicine!

It's quite common to be presented with an ethical scenario at interview. Show the interviewers you're aware of different views on the issue given. For instance, "well I personally think X, as A, B and C, but I can see why people would think Y, for D, E and F reasons". Make sure you can back up your opinions. Oh, and make sure you can talk about your work experience and what you *learned*, not just what you did. What were your favourite parts of your w/e, and why? Why did it confirm you want to study medicine? What did you learn about the role of other health professionals in medicine, about the doctor/patient relationship and peoples' attitudes towards medicine?

Tumble dryer just clicked, so I'll cut short this essay, lol. :redface:

Reply 43

BlueRoses

NathanM

i'll remind you :biggrin:

Why thanks :biggrin:

This is such an elitist thread by the way...

So? What do I have to watch out for this year, Highers wise? Currently enjoying everything except biology (ITS BLOODY PLANTS I JUST DONT CARE) and english. Which no-one seems to enjoy.

Reply 44

friendlyneutron

English is good if you're doing good texts!

Reply 45

ad absurdum

Liz150888

...heavier than cambo anyway...

Cambo, eh? I like it :biggrin:

Makes it sound so much cooler.

English is a horrible, horrible subject. We were doing The Great Gatsby which had always been a favourite of mine, but after my exam I had grown to hate it so much I burned my copy. And don't even get me started on the close readings :mad:

Reply 46

Liz150888

laura u sound so like my friend at sindey that is frightening me slightly lol. i liked ur "if u don't fancy staying here, get out now" comment as well. tis true though, if u graduate from a scottish med school you'll be stuck there for your two FY years i'd think at least.

defo defo read things like new scientist. have one article that u really research and know a lot about so u can talk about that if they ask you if you've seen anything in the news that has interested you. mine was on the corpus callosum in the brain and right and left handedness. bit random but seemed to go down well. they did ask me the strangest questions on it though.

speaking of strange questions! they do ask you some weird ones. i was asked why the guards at buckingham palace faint, a question in french...gosh i cant even remember now. oh yeah sorry the weirdest one was the showed me an xray of an ARM and aske me if it was a man or a woman. so odd. then one of my interviewers asked me about malarial tablets (it was relevant!) so i was talking about one that makes you more prone to sunburn. and i said well i cant take that cos im quite fair already. so they kind of snorted which i mistook to me "ur not that pale love get over it" so i went well im a bit fairer than my friends and the guy went "no you're very VERY fair"." it was all very amusing until i realised that man may be teaching me anatomy now...

stop slagging english, its amazing. books rock my socks. :p:

Reply 47

ImperceptibleNinja

English itself should be a fascinating and enjoyable subject; the system degrades it to the point where the phrase 'English lesson' becomes synonymous with torture.

Reply 48

Liz150888

true the english course is rubbish. altho adv higher is far better.

Reply 49

BlueRoses

We're reading The Great Gatsby, but haven't started it yet. I have a useless student teacher too. She just stands there, hands out worksheets at the beginning of the lesson and collects them at the end, no explanation or anything.

In fact, I have bad teachers for all my subjects this year, except chemistry. Will this affect my work terribly? I mean reeeeeeeeally badly, as obviously its gonna affect me a fair bit lol.

Reply 50

FeralWolf25

Starting a little late in the thread, I know, sorry!

Applying for Natural Sciences (Physical) at Corpus Christi, Cambridge (anyone else applying there?) for 2007. Sending away the CAF on Monday, and sending off UCAS Apply to referee on Monday too.

Early application sending should please the other Universities (hopefully).

Just need to get my medical friends' arses into gear and get them to apply soon as well!

Just to follow on from what you've just been speaking about, yes I also dreaded the "English Lesson", but once there started enjoying it...hmmm maybe I'm a masochist.

Reply 51

ad absurdum

FeralWolf25

You are far too organised. I haven't even started my personal statement, although I did print off the CAF yesterday. Good luck with the application.

Reply 52

FeralWolf25

ad absurdum

You are far too organised. I haven't even started my personal statement, although I did print off the CAF yesterday. Good luck with the application.

Thanks very much! Good luck to you too, although looking at your grades you don't need it! It is less organisational skills, but more boredom throughout the whole of the summer!

Edit: Ad Absurdum just have to say that I really love your Betrand Russell quote, it is superb!

Reply 53

ad absurdum

FeralWolf25

Thanks very much! Good luck to you too, although looking at your grades you don't need it! It is less organisational skills, but more boredom throughout the whole of the summer!

Thanks, hopefully we'll be able to meet up or something if we both get into Cambridge. I wish I'd done that during my summer boredom, I wasted my time watching the A-Team non-stop :frown:

FeralWolf25

Edit: Ad Absurdum just have to say that I really love your Betrand Russell quote, it is superb!

Yeah, Bertrand Russell is a really amazing man. He also looks like the mad hatter, which is infintely cool.

Reply 54

friendlyneutron

Picked a college yet, ad absurdum? :p:

Reply 55

ad absurdum

friendlyneutron

Picked a college yet, ad absurdum? :p:

I think I'm going to put Trinity, Sydney and Christ's in a hat and pick one that way :p:

Edit - I emailed some guys from Sydney and Christs and asked a few questions. Whoever seems the nicest in the email back will win the prize of me applying to their college. Trinity lose out because I couldn't find any email addresses on their website. (This is surely a fool-proof way to plan my future).

Reply 56

FeralWolf25

ad absurdum

I think I'm going to put Trinity, Sydney and Christ's in a hat and pick one that way :p:

It should be done no other way :smile:

All though, to be quite honest, I doubt seriously the colleges differ in anything other than aesthetics and so, since Corpus has a pink scarf, surely that is reason enough for anyone to want to apply there?