[SmileAway]

(Original post by science-oliver)
Yeah that's very true, so what would you suggest i say first incase it is a receptionist? hahah because it would sound very wierd if i just rushed into it

Well, they'll probably pick up and say something along the lines of 'I am so-and-so at *name of hospital*, how can I help you?' I would say "Hello, I would like to enquire about *week-long/two weeks* work experience at your hospital. Is there anyone I can talk to about that?" Or something along those lines They'll then transfer you over to the person who sorts out work experience placements, then you can ask them your other question; and the conversation will continue from there I guess...

[lsaul95]

(Original post by Swords N Thorns)
Ooh, I live in Newcastle too! I do agree, Newcastle University is lovely and so are the hospitals here. They all seemed so friendly when I went to do my work experience!
I was just curious, how did you manage to get this placement, if you don't mind my asking?

Hello fellow Newcastlian! haha.
I got it through my volunteering at the RVI, I just started networking and then ended up meeting someone who wanted to set up work experience for me, so I didn't decline hahaha. I was very lucky as I've seen that not many consultants want to let us shadow at such a young age in Newcastle unfortunately, however when they see that you're dedicated to it and have done a lot in the past, they're more open to the idea. Your best bet would be to get onto the hospitals, email/phone them and ask if there is anything you can get involved with for work experience, explain what you may have done in the past so they don't just think you're an annoying teenager haha.
What college/sixth form are you going to?

[Friar Chris]

If anyone's going to the Birmingham Medical School's open days today or tomorrow....

See you there

[laurie:)]

sooooo early

i swear, i didnt even start posting in the 2012 thread until september 2011

[iSoftie]

Is there an article/stalking page?! D:

[priya8D]

HEY! I'm planning on applying for medicine in 2014 - wow that sounds so far away.
I just finished my GCSE exams and am planning on volunteering at a care home at a care home during the holidays and adopting some hobbies haha. Oh yeah and I am taking Chemistry, Biology, Psychology and English Literature for A level.

[t()m]

Hi! I've got two exams left can't wait until wednesday, when they are all over. I too want to apply to medicine for 2014. I've got two week placements for this summer in barts and kings,very excited about them.
I am definitely taking Chemistry, BIology Maths and History A level.

I was wondering if anyone had advice on whether i should do further maths as well because I'm good at maths got a* already at gcse and am predicted A at FSMQ so basically I'm not sure if i should i think my teacher thinks I should but I'm not sure if this would be too much work.

the advantages i can see is that I would always drop it at AS and i would then hopefully finish A level maths in JAnuary of yr 13 if i take it. So is it worth taking or not?

thanks and good luck to everyone

[InkyOne]

(Original post by t()m)
Hi! I've got two exams left can't wait until wednesday, when they are all over. I too want to apply to medicine for 2014. I've got two week placements for this summer in barts and kings,very excited about them.
I am definitely taking Chemistry, BIology Maths and History A level.

I was wondering if anyone had advice on whether i should do further maths as well because I'm good at maths got a* already at gcse and am predicted A at FSMQ so basically I'm not sure if i should i think my teacher thinks I should but I'm not sure if this would be too much work.

the advantages i can see is that I would always drop it at AS and i would then hopefully finish A level maths in JAnuary of yr 13 if i take it. So is it worth taking or not?

thanks and good luck to everyone

I did those exact subjects to A2 - And I dropped further maths after AS. I found that doing the 5 at AS was a lot compared to everyone else, as I only had 2 frees a week, and everyone else had 6 or 7, but other than the workload, which was a bit rough, i'd recommend trying it out at the beginning of the year and if it gets too much you can always drop down to normal maths

The advantage was that I completed my maths a-level in 1 year, so I had a grade in the bag when applying which has really taken the pressure off this A2 year. Also, if you can handle all 5, I know that king's has given an AAaaa/b offer. Any other questions, about my application or anything just ask, because our situations seem quite similar

[t()m]

Hi, Inky one .
So are you at Uni then? which one? where did you apply?

Yeah I think the work load would be fine to be honest( I've learn what works for me and I've manage well at GCSEs) I know theres a step up to A levels but i actually know how the scale of it is as I've got a brother whos 3 years older. I wouldnt be too fussed about missing the free periods for it as I know that my post16 just waste them as more social times and yeah it would be nice but I would use that as reason not to take further maths AS.

Well my brother did it and like you finished Alevel early so when it came to exam time in year 13 he actually had less to compared to those around him, despite doing like I m considering 4 and a half.

Sounds like situation is very similar may i asked what Unis you applied to? and thats good news for Kings as my school has links with them or something.

Can I count a week experience in a micro biology lab at imperial, where they genetically modify mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria and ActionAid( global charity) for medicine or are they irrelevant?

Also one last thing (sorry for all questions) I live in London so I would prefer to apply to only one, max 2 london unis but I'm not sure on whether i should do 2 or 1, i know this is really early but I just would like the idea of newcastle or nottingham places like that are substantially far from home. So basically wondering if anyone had suggestions of largish city university that do medicine out of London.


Sorry for loads of questions.

[kashagupta]

(Original post by SmileAway)
I am predicted 10 A*s and 1 A (damn english lit!)

Woah! Mine are exactly the same! I do hate English lit, haha :')

[InkyOne]

(Original post by t()m)
Hi, Inky one .
So are you at Uni then? which one? where did you apply?

Yeah I think the work load would be fine to be honest( I've learn what works for me and I've manage well at GCSEs) I know theres a step up to A levels but i actually know how the scale of it is as I've got a brother whos 3 years older. I wouldnt be too fussed about missing the free periods for it as I know that my post16 just waste them as more social times and yeah it would be nice but I would use that as reason not to take further maths AS.

Well my brother did it and like you finished Alevel early so when it came to exam time in year 13 he actually had less to compared to those around him, despite doing like I m considering 4 and a half.

Sounds like situation is very similar may i asked what Unis you applied to? and thats good news for Kings as my school has links with them or something.

Can I count a week experience in a micro biology lab at imperial, where they genetically modify mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria and ActionAid( global charity) for medicine or are they irrelevant?

Also one last thing (sorry for all questions) I live in London so I would prefer to apply to only one, max 2 london unis but I'm not sure on whether i should do 2 or 1, i know this is really early but I just would like the idea of newcastle or nottingham places like that are substantially far from home. So basically wondering if anyone had suggestions of largish city university that do medicine out of London.


Sorry for loads of questions.

I'm just finishing my A-levels at the moment (last one - biology - is tomorrow)

There is a massive step up at A-level, I didn't really believe it when people told me, then for the 1st half term was completely panicked that I would fail everything! But after that point you just get used to the amount you have to work - it's really good that you've already figured out how you work best!

I applied to Kings, Nottingham, Newcastle and Birmingham. I got all 4 interviews, offers from Kings and Newcastle and withdrew from the other two before I got replies. My firm is Newcastle, and I declined King's, but I also have applied to Trinity College Dublin, as i'm Irish and I love the Uni and course (you don't apply through UCAS - so that's really an explanation for another post, but feel free to ask if you're interested)

Definitely include that work experience - it sounds interesting and different, and will make you stand out and give you something original to talk about at interview! I too did work in a lab and also in business (and some shadowing) and I got asked about it at interview, moreso because I got some published work out of it.

For Unis outside of London, if you have 7+ GCSEs at A*, Birmingham is always an option, obviously i'd really recommend Newcastle, i'd also recommend Trinity, Edinburgh and Nottingham, as they're all in large cities. Southampton and Sheffield, I believe, also are great for a student experience, but you're not in the middle of nowhere.

Don't worry about the loads of questions! If you have any more feel free to ask

[Swords N Thorns]

(Original post by lsaul95)
Hello fellow Newcastlian! haha.
I got it through my volunteering at the RVI, I just started networking and then ended up meeting someone who wanted to set up work experience for me, so I didn't decline hahaha. I was very lucky as I've seen that not many consultants want to let us shadow at such a young age in Newcastle unfortunately, however when they see that you're dedicated to it and have done a lot in the past, they're more open to the idea. Your best bet would be to get onto the hospitals, email/phone them and ask if there is anything you can get involved with for work experience, explain what you may have done in the past so they don't just think you're an annoying teenager haha.
What college/sixth form are you going to?

Ahh thank you! You're lucky, it must be really difficult to get to do anything like that...I've been onto some hospitals actually, I'm hoping to book some work experience soon...at the minute I've only done a few months in a charity shop and I think I've got a week planned in a hospital sometime during the summer but I'm not too sure. Hoping to get into a care home soon as well, as soon as my CRB check comes back.
I'm going to Queen Alexandra Sixth Form in North Shields I think, but I've heard mixed reviews about it...have you heard of it before? And which are you going to?

[Lasagefemme]

(Original post by lsaul95)



Hey! Ah, why do you say that?

Hi, well I can only apply to one Uni because I have children and don't want to move them. Liverpool have said I can only apply for the 6 year course ... They didn't specify but I'm assuming it's because I don't have much science, or specifically chemisty. I've emailed and asked if I can take the OU courses they specify and then apply for the GEM.

They've not gotten back to me yet. I can't afford to do the 5 or 6 year course so if I can't do the 4 year and Liverpool I can't see a way

It's rubbish really, I keep seeing all the f1's and f2's at working and wishing I'd gone into medicine when I was 18 its so much harder as a 30yo single mum!




This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[t()m]

(Original post by InkyOne)
I'm just finishing my A-levels at the moment (last one - biology - is tomorrow)

There is a massive step up at A-level, I didn't really believe it when people told me, then for the 1st half term was completely panicked that I would fail everything! But after that point you just get used to the amount you have to work - it's really good that you've already figured out how you work best!

I applied to Kings, Nottingham, Newcastle and Birmingham. I got all 4 interviews, offers from Kings and Newcastle and withdrew from the other two before I got replies. My firm is Newcastle, and I declined King's, but I also have applied to Trinity College Dublin, as i'm Irish and I love the Uni and course (you don't apply through UCAS - so that's really an explanation for another post, but feel free to ask if you're interested)

Definitely include that work experience - it sounds interesting and different, and will make you stand out and give you something original to talk about at interview! I too did work in a lab and also in business (and some shadowing) and I got asked about it at interview, moreso because I got some published work out of it.

For Unis outside of London, if you have 7+ GCSEs at A*, Birmingham is always an option, obviously i'd really recommend Newcastle, i'd also recommend Trinity, Edinburgh and Nottingham, as they're all in large cities. Southampton and Sheffield, I believe, also are great for a student experience, but you're not in the middle of nowhere.

Don't worry about the loads of questions! If you have any more feel free to ask

oh right well good luck for tomorrow.

Yeah I know the step up and but I think I'll cope because I actually enjoy the subjects, I would probably choose them even if I didn't want to be a doctor.

So what were the offers from Kings and Notts? How much experience/volunteering did you do , i know its about quality and what you've learnt but just as what worked for your individual case...
May I ask why you withdrew, was it just that the other two were your favoured or something else?

Wow, you got stuff published that sounds really like it was a very interesting experience then.

I'm guessing you got very high gcses if you applied to Birmingham, were you tempted to apply to Edinburgh yourself?

Also concerning Kings why did you choose it over Imperial/UCL... ?

Sorry again for all these questions just you responses have been very useful.

Thanks for the help and hope you do well tommorrow

[InkyOne]

(Original post by t()m)
oh right well good luck for tomorrow.

Yeah I know the step up and but I think I'll cope because I actually enjoy the subjects, I would probably choose them even if I didn't want to be a doctor.

So what were the offers from Kings and Notts? How much experience/volunteering did you do , i know its about quality and what you've learnt but just as what worked for your individual case...
May I ask why you withdrew, was it just that the other two were your favoured or something else?

Wow, you got stuff published that sounds really like it was a very interesting experience then.

I'm guessing you got very high gcses if you applied to Birmingham, were you tempted to apply to Edinburgh yourself?

Also concerning Kings why did you choose it over Imperial/UCL... ?

Sorry again for all these questions just you responses have been very useful.

Thanks for the help and hope you do well tommorrow

Kings gave me an AAA inc bio and chem, Newcastle gave me AAA no specification. I withdrew because Newcastle was my first choice, and I was 100% sure on that, and I wanted to get my accommodation application in as it was 1st come 1st serve, and I wouldn't get a lower offer than Newcastle's. I deckled King's as if I put it as my insurance, I would not get accommodation as I live within the M25. Also, the main reason I applied in the UK was as an insurance for Trinity which is my 1st choice, as realistically I need at least A*A*A*A to get in.

I didn't apply for Imperial/UCL as, to be frank, I was too lazy to do the BMAT (Really stupid reason!!!!!) and I didn't really find anything that they had that I really wanted and King's didn't offer - they have great links with US unis and loads of student selected components (you can learn a random language) that I loved the idea of, but ultimately I wanted to get out of London.

I was lucky to get 10A*s at GCSE. I would have applied to Edinburgh instead of Nottingham, as I didn't go to the interview as I grew to dislike the city (too much bad time spent there!) so it was basically a wasted application. Wrt Edinburgh I was put off by rumours that they dislike English students' applications, so I though I wouldn't get it, but I find the likelihood of any bias like this actually existing very slim, looking back!

Work experience - 3 wks on a ward, and research - I published from that.
1wk in a lab - published
1wk in business
3months volunteering - coaching sport.

Also I did an EPQ - A* - which i brought to my interviews to talk about.

I'd really recommend doing more than I did! Some long-term volunteering at least - I think I scraped by because I published, but it wasn't a good situation to be in (I got asked in interview why I didn't do anything in my community etc!)!

Again, i'd be happy to answer any more questions you have!

[lsaul95]

(Original post by Lasagefemme)
Hi, well I can only apply to one Uni because I have children and don't want to move them. Liverpool have said I can only apply for the 6 year course ... They didn't specify but I'm assuming it's because I don't have much science, or specifically chemisty. I've emailed and asked if I can take the OU courses they specify and then apply for the GEM.

They've not gotten back to me yet. I can't afford to do the 5 or 6 year course so if I can't do the 4 year and Liverpool I can't see a way

It's rubbish really, I keep seeing all the f1's and f2's at working and wishing I'd gone into medicine when I was 18 its so much harder as a 30yo single mum!




This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Hmm, yeah I can imagine it being a lot tougher for you then! :/
Is there no financial help you can get?

[t()m]

(Original post by InkyOne)
Kings gave me an AAA inc bio and chem, Newcastle gave me AAA no specification. ....Again, i'd be happy to answer any more questions you have!

Oh i see, yeah it seems actually very hard to actually get an insurance offer as they are all very high. I never heard of this M25 rule is this 100% if you live inside it you cant live in halls? is this the same for the other london Unis ? Is this only for catered halls?

Yeah thats what i like about the london Unis as I live in London my school has lots of trips to them and you get that good feeling when visiting.

You got 10A*, jesus, well done !!!! why did you grow to dislike Nottingham? was your bad time just a unique experience, like would you advice strongly against it ?

I love idea of Edinburgh but I've been put of by uncertainties over gcses (predicted very high but in honesty believe will fall 3 short of the minimal 8a*)

I've never actually heard of people publishing on their WE how did you do this? where you asked or was it just something anyone could do, I got 2 placements coming up you see so if there was a way I could publish something I would be very keen.
Yeah I think getting longterm stuff is the only thing I'm organising this summer, I already volunteer once a week at cancer research, and am looking into hospital/hospice.

I didn't know what EPQ stood for and googled it and it recommend 120 hours of work? Which is when I remember people telling me bits about how it helped thier med application, but I never really been told any anything more than that. did you do as much as 120hrs? was this something you did through your college or externally and did it not all built up with 4.5 Alevels as well?

Sorry again for all the questions( feel slightly guilty:/), I know you dont probably know all the answers but its really good to have your opinions.

[lsaul95]

(Original post by Swords N Thorns)
Ahh thank you! You're lucky, it must be really difficult to get to do anything like that...I've been onto some hospitals actually, I'm hoping to book some work experience soon...at the minute I've only done a few months in a charity shop and I think I've got a week planned in a hospital sometime during the summer but I'm not too sure. Hoping to get into a care home soon as well, as soon as my CRB check comes back.
I'm going to Queen Alexandra Sixth Form in North Shields I think, but I've heard mixed reviews about it...have you heard of it before? And which are you going to?

Yeah, you just have to be lucky, like you said! It's my last day tomorrow, I'll ask the consultant what the best thing would be for getting that sort of experience or if you could even have a position with her (she's fantastic). Since I don't really know you I can't really give a good recommendation to her to take you on, but if she's willing to take on more students then she'll probably be open to me giving you her contact details, etc, to sort you something out I don't want to get your hopes up though!

I too have a week planned in a hospital during the summer, when I read that I thought of this placement my high school set up for me, I've been getting in contact with them to stay up to date but there have been no details back from it yet. It might be the same placement! Was it organised by your school with Lynn Taylor or something like that?... If this doesn't sound familiar at all then just ignore this past paragraph hehe

Can't say I've heard of that sixth form, but I'm sure it will be good enough, and if not then just put extra hard work in haha. I'm going to Newcastle College, I've already done an art course there and I really like the freedom you get there, as well as how helpful all the tutors are if you need it! Also, Owain (tutor) is pretty much a medicine god, so he knows all the ins and outs on medical applications and should be able to sort me out with some more placements ;D

[Swords N Thorns]

(Original post by lsaul95)
Yeah, you just have to be lucky, like you said! It's my last day tomorrow, I'll ask the consultant what the best thing would be for getting that sort of experience or if you could even have a position with her (she's fantastic). Since I don't really know you I can't really give a good recommendation to her to take you on, but if she's willing to take on more students then she'll probably be open to me giving you her contact details, etc, to sort you something out I don't want to get your hopes up though!

I too have a week planned in a hospital during the summer, when I read that I thought of this placement my high school set up for me, I've been getting in contact with them to stay up to date but there have been no details back from it yet. It might be the same placement! Was it organised by your school with Lynn Taylor or something like that?... If this doesn't sound familiar at all then just ignore this past paragraph hehe

Can't say I've heard of that sixth form, but I'm sure it will be good enough, and if not then just put extra hard work in haha. I'm going to Newcastle College, I've already done an art course there and I really like the freedom you get there, as well as how helpful all the tutors are if you need it! Also, Owain (tutor) is pretty much a medicine god, so he knows all the ins and outs on medical applications and should be able to sort me out with some more placements ;D

Ahh thank you, I'd really appreciate that! Thank you! I'm assuming you've enjoyed the week you spent there, haha.

And nope, mine was organised by someone else (I can't remember their name). It's in North Tyneside hospital I think, sometime at the beginning of August or something like that. I'm hoping I'll get to shadow a doctor, but as I didn't personally organise it, I think it could just be going around with the nurses...oh well, it's still experience so I'm not complaining!

Ah I did consider Newcastle College, I know a few people there but unfortunately it would take too long for me to get the bus there every morning, and I think I'd prefer a sixth form environment. Queen Alexandra is branched off from Tyne Met I think, except it only offers A Levels, not BTECs or anything like that. And woah, I'm jealous! I almost wish I was going there now. You'll have to pass his advice on to me.

[aquacapella]

Yay! I'm happy this thread exists. Just wanna verify: does doing 5 AS and 4 A2 hold any advantage for medicine applications (esp to Oxbridge) as opposed to the traditional 4 AS and 3 A2??