[Coffee_Please]

I've been selected to do the Nuffield Bursary this summer! I'm just wondering, how good/useless will Nuffield look on your personal statement? compared to the Extended project?

[Mr_Muffin_Man]

(Original post by Coffee_Please)
I've been selected to do the Nuffield Bursary this summer! I'm just wondering, how good/useless will Nuffield look on your personal statement? compared to the Extended project?

It's amazing! I was selected for that 2 years ago, i had fun doing it and it does look really good on the personal statement. I carried mine out at one of the university labs and i learnt a lot which i put on my CV it is really helpful and it was a great experience!

Also, because not everyone can do this it does look better than extended project and at the end of it you get a gold CREST award which is according to them the science version of a gold DoE award but im not sure about that i just know it has helped me alot

[Coffee_Please]

(Original post by Mr_Muffin_Man)
It's amazing! I was selected for that 2 years ago, i had fun doing it and it does look really good on the personal statement. I carried mine out at one of the university labs and i learnt a lot which i put on my CV it is really helpful and it was a great experience!

Also, because not everyone can do this it does look better than extended project and at the end of it you get a gold CREST award which is according to them the science version of a gold DoE award but im not sure about that i just know it has helped me alot

ahh great to hear thank you so much, answered my questions perfectly!

[Mr_Muffin_Man]

(Original post by Coffee_Please)
ahh great to hear thank you so much, answered my questions perfectly!

You're welcome

[purplefrog]

(Original post by Coffee_Please)
I've been selected to do the Nuffield Bursary this summer! I'm just wondering, how good/useless will Nuffield look on your personal statement? compared to the Extended project?

It has limited scope for a medicine application. It is good for giving you an insight into research and the practical skills etc. involved and places like Oxbridge may like to see you've done that. However unless you're really keen on studying academic medicine or going into a research career, it isn't the most amazing thing to do. If I recall correctly, they are now not as keen on medical applicants as they ideally want the bursary to go to people who a genuinely interested in sculpting a career from laboratory research.

How good it looks will depend firstly on what spin you put on it in your PS and secondly upon what qualities and traits the medical schools you apply you prize the most. Having done the bursary for the sake of it and just mentioning it will not gain you any credit at all.

In terms of how it compares to the EPQ. The EPQ gives you an accredited qualification for the research processes and skills you carry out/develop. If you want, you can make your Bursary project your EPQ project too, and kill two birds with one stone. Though as somebody mentioned earlier, you also do get a CREST award (level depends on hours of research amongst other things) if you do the bursary and complete the additional work.

But as said, the Nuffield Bursary is there to encourage people into careers involving scientific research and general academia. Chances are, if you're applying for medical school, you're more interested in the applications of such research rather than you carrying it out yourself (generalisation, I know... you might genuinely be interested in academic medicine). But if nothing else, it'll help you understand how important research is and the labours involved in producing original material.

[Coffee_Please]

(Original post by purplefrog)
It has limited scope for a medicine application. It is good for giving you an insight into research and the practical skills etc. involved and places like Oxbridge may like to see you've done that. However unless you're really keen on studying academic medicine or going into a research career, it isn't the most amazing thing to do. If I recall correctly, they are now not as keen on medical applicants as they ideally want the bursary to go to people who a genuinely interested in sculpting a career from laboratory research.

How good it looks will depend firstly on what spin you put on it in your PS and secondly upon what qualities and traits the medical schools you apply you prize the most. Having done the bursary for the sake of it and just mentioning it will not gain you any credit at all.

In terms of how it compares to the EPQ. The EPQ gives you an accredited qualification for the research processes and skills you carry out/develop. If you want, you can make your Bursary project your EPQ project too, and kill two birds with one stone. Though as somebody mentioned earlier, you also do get a CREST award (level depends on hours of research amongst other things) if you do the bursary and complete the additional work.

But as said, the Nuffield Bursary is there to encourage people into careers involving scientific research and general academia. Chances are, if you're applying for medical school, you're more interested in the applications of such research rather than you carrying it out yourself (generalisation, I know... you might genuinely be interested in academic medicine). But if nothing else, it'll help you understand how important research is and the labours involved in producing original material.

How can you make your bursary your EPQ project, I've never heard of that being done before? and surely the Nuffield Bursary is better than nothing. Its gonna appear as a colossal work experience for 5 weeks than anything else?

[AspiringGenius]

I've been selected for this too! I'm so excited! What exactly is the gold CREST award? There was an application form, but I wasn't entirely sure what it entailed

[purplefrog]

(Original post by Coffee_Please)
How can you make your bursary your EPQ project, I've never heard of that being done before?

You make the research question of your EPQ the same as your bursary. Then just do everything in parallel. And also do some wider reading around your bursary title for the EPQ.

and surely the Nuffield Bursary is better than nothing. Its gonna appear as a colossal work experience for 5 weeks than anything else?

It's only worth something if you make it worth something. You aren't going to get selected over another applicant who is relatively identical (with exception of the bursary) purely because you've done the bursary. If you talk about it and reflect upon and show something about you in it, then it will be those traits which give you merit, not the bursary in itself.

[Meltingice]

(Original post by AspiringGenius)
I've been selected for this too! I'm so excited! What exactly is the gold CREST award? There was an application form, but I wasn't entirely sure what it entailed

HI ! Which region are you at?

[AspiringGenius]

(Original post by Meltingice)
HI ! Which region are you at?

Devon how about you?

[John Locke]

limited use, the same as EPQ, but a worthwhile life experience. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to mention on a PS unless you're applying to somewhere that explicitly wants evidence of academic endeavor.