Nuffield bursary, or the Whitgift SNAP?

Go with your gut instinct I say. I had the opportunity to do the Nuffield bursary but chose not to simple due to the massive time commitment. I organised work experience in a hospital instead. That said, it would have been a really interesting project had I chose to do it.

The Nuffield Bursary will make little impact on your medicine applicant unless you really highlight your love for science, research and academia - which might strike a chord with the medical schools at Oxbridge - but that will beg the question "why not study biomedical science?" in interviews. From my understanding, since two or three years ago the Nuffield Foundation have even started saying they would rather medicine applicants didn't take the bursary as it is to encourage those pursuing research/academia in the pure sciences. I even had 3 friends apply to Oxbridge (1 Ox, 2 Cam) who did the bursaries, focussed on it to varying levels in their PS, but all got rejected. They were asked about it, but more as an opening few questions to ease them into the interview than to test aptitude.

However by the sounds of things, you seem to have your heart set on following the bursary through after all the effort invested in securing it. If this is the case, go ahead and do it - but just be careful of how much emphasis you put on it on your PS as there will be better things to talk about.

The volunteering with autistic school children will be more beneficial for your application in my opinion if you reflect upon it properly. But having said that, reflecting on your nuffield project correctly will also place yourself in a good light, but perhaps not as strongly as the volunteering.

In most cases your academic potential will be shown to medical schools via your grades and scores in the entrance exams sat as well as your A2 results' outcomes. That satisfies them enough. The personal statement should highlight your personal suitability to become a doctor, show traits where you've exhibited such skills and how you are aware of the demands, pressures and evolving nature of the profession. Obviously you've got to highlight some interest in actually studying the basic sciences too, but that can adequately be done through just enjoying your A-levels and keeping up-to-date with major advancements in the news and their implications for medicine.

Hmm...so would you say that I shouldn't mention it as a significant part of my personal statement? You're right, it seems like a trap that I've put myself in, and if I did get that question, I'm not sure how I'd answer it :/ Hmm, did your friends have strong academics as well? Like for the cambridge ones, how were their UMS's?

Yeah, I'm inclined to take it, as I'm called around 30 places, and most have just answered that it's for postgraduate people only. Do you think it's possible to talk about Nuffield Bursary in a way that shows my commitment to medicine/without the risk (or a lesser risk) of getting asked the question, "why not biomedicine?"?.

I understand that volunteering with the autistic children is great to show care, but would volunteering at a primary school be sufficient?

Also, could I ask for some advice on what I should put on my personal statement? Ignoring work experience (as I've got 2 main placements at respiratory and dermatology), but I volunteer at a care home, a primary school and at microbiology (also had a week of work experience at pathology). Would you say that I should only mention the care home and the primary school? As I suppose I've covered the 'sciency' stuff with the Bursary, so there's no need for the microbiology?