A Few questions...

Hello,I'm a current GCSE student.
I have been considering my future and I have some question which I would appreciate is answered.

Firstly,Il start of by saying,I will like to do Medicine at Cambridge.
I've been considering Extra-curricular activities lately for University(My grade are All good have done a few controlled assessments so far with Good scores).
I have been starting to worry about my us as point recently.

I'm in exactly the same position as you! I want to get started on stuff now so I've been doing quite a few things to get started (bit of work experience in a pharmacy etc.)
Do you currently do any volunteering?


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My questions:

1)How many ucas point do you require to make a competitive Cambridge application?
From my understanding only barts looks at UCAS points the rest usually want good grades extracurriculars and WE/Volunteering, some unis focus on few things more eg Cambridge on AS ums usually 95%+ i think

2) I currently do the Gollowing extra curricular a:
Piano-Grade 5
Drums-Grade 4
Bass guitar-Grade 4
Table tennis-County
DOfe-Bronze(Will do all the rest)
I Am planning on starting a few more,Or is what I'm currently doing enough?

3)I'm in year 10,I have been thinking about work experience at a hospital near by,Is this a good time to start(The earlier,the better?) and will I need to do it for three year until university's?
Yes start emailing all hospitals near and far away from you as it is so tough to get WE, I had to get a 2 hour train for mine



4)4 or 5 A-levels?
If you go to state school to my knowledge (what all state schools and some private schools are doing) from next year max as and a levels sixth form students are allowed to take is 3



6)what Other qualification and diplomas can I do to enhance my Cv and get ucas point and so on and how would I go about doing those?

7)Other Points that are important or tips would be helpful?

8)what other stuff will be useful.Like blogging or volunteering or Cambridge summer courses and where to find these and do them....

In advance,Thank you very much.
I'll Reply for any replies if Needed.


Thanks.

Thanks very much.Appreciate it
By the way,I currently am at a grammar school and the ordinary A level No. Students take are 4.Should I do 5?
And also,Any more a dive on other Q's?
Apart from that,Thanks

OP Are you still around
I can give some advice

Yeah what I am saying is that a levels have changed this year I am going to a grammar school as well and I'm doing 4 a levels but from next year some schools are going to limit it to a max of 3 of course you need to speak to your sixth form about that but if you can do 4 I think you should but its up to you, sorry got to go ill have a look at the rest of the questions later

For extra-curricular's, I play violin grade 5, an orchestra group, rugby club, Bronze DofE, Saltire awards, and I volunteer in numerous places.

The pharmacy work experience was sorted out through my school, all I to do was fill in an application form and then I got accepted.

What do you do for your DofE volunteering?


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Me?
Sure I would like advice...
What's OP?

OP is Original Poster

Well my advice for medicine in Cambridge is for the moment don't worry to much about extracurriculars...They're good and all but when it comes to medicine, a highly sought after course in one of the best institutes in the world, Grade 5 piano and DofE don't really mean much.

For medicine you need to show a passion for it, that you are prepared to enter a profession that is extremely stressful. You are literally responsible for someone's life.

I recommend forget about extracurricular activities soon...possible at the end of year 11 and really immerse yourself in the world of medicine. Get as much WE as possible, I have 4 possible 5 shadowing opportunities in top London hospitals.

Get a volunteering role in a care home or equivalent. A doctor isn't a pretty job, you have to be prepared to handle cleaning up after people.

Also to be in clear WE or shadowing placements are EXTREMELY COMPETITVE, you'd better have good connections or an immaculate set of grades and references.
Also no hospital will take you for WE until you have passed the age of 16

Well,My dad is a surgeon At the hospital so hopefully that's a good connection.
You stated you had 4/5 possible shadowing opportunities in a London hospitals.So are you recommending do work experience at. Ore than one hospital then?
Also,if I started work experience now or at 16 do I keep doing it for 3 years until uni?
Finally,I'm 15,is that acceptable or?
Btw,what's a s harrowing experience,how does it differ from WE?

1) perfect connection
2) The only reason I have work experience at 5 different hospitals is because they are all different department. e.g. Orthopaedics at a local hospital, gynaecology at University College London Hospital, plastic surgery at the Royal London Hospital and ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital. My recommendation to you, is find WE in as many different departments, to show your all roundedness.
3) You realise you can't continuously do work experience, but yes. If the opportunity arises for you to do some shadowing in a holiday, jump at it.
4) 15 no. You would need to wait until you are 16+ to do any form of non administrative work
5) Shadowing is more following a consultant, seeing what he/she does. Taking notes. Work Experience is more clerical, more doing tasks...

Ah,Ok,Thanks for the help
So theres no point in doing work experience in just one department in which you think you want to specialise in?Im interested in Neuro/cardio however is it better to try them all out?
Also, how long does work experience typically last and say i was going to do it in a a few months(when I'm 16) then would i need to ask my school for help or can i do it independently(will it still count/be ok)?
what type of jobs would you do in a hospital for work experience?
Finally,would it be beneficial to go to certain medicine courses over holiday(E.G-Ive seen courses for a few days in medicine) would that be useful to show interest in the subject or would blown in the medical field be useful too?

It is far too early for you to get too set on a specialty just yet. You need work experience to give you an idea of what being a doctor is like, and it doesn't need to be in multiple different departments. My feeling is that you get a better idea of real medicine spending time on the wards with junior doctors, watching them do their everyday jobs, rather than sitting with Daddy/Daddy's mate in theatre/clinic - remember the vast majority of doctors are not surgeons, even though most applicants think they want to be one!

You don't need to spend time in loads of different departments either - great if you can get it but far from essential. Going to a GP would be a useful contrast to hospital medicine. But you are only going to be spending a few weeks doing this at most, whereas medical school will give you 5+ years of different specialties, which gives you far more opportunity to work out what you like and might want to end up doing. Plus you only have 4000 characters on your UCAS personal statement, so you physically don't have space to write about loads of different placements!

Most applicants only get a few weeks max of actual medical work experience. The bigger time commitment is voluntary work, which many med schools expect you do to regularly for a long (6+months) period. This doesn't have to be directly medical, but can be in any kind of caring/responsible role, such as a residential home, a group for adults/children with disabilities, Brownies/Scouts etc.

Ah,ok Thanks a Lot!
Do medical school value Non-medical related extra curriculars such as music or sports?

Medicine is not for everyone, it's all well and fine for you to say I want to medicine at Cambridge, but so do a LOT of people. So do 5000+ people. What makes you think you can stand out? I remember seeing somewhere that 50 people compete for 1 place. Do you think this is a feasible option?

Yes, but no need to go overboard. If you have a particular hobby/interest that gives you useful skills for a career in medicine, then great, and to a degree it's useful to show that you have interests outside academia, but they're not a major selection critieria - they're not going to pick someone who has grade 7 piano over someone with grade 5, for example.

It's worth noting that large numbers of medical students seem to be high achievers in extra-curriculars (I've lost count of the number of friends who "only" got to grade 8 on their respective instruments) but I don't think those are the things which got them into med school.