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Medicine at Cambridge

I was thinking about applying to Cambridge for medicine but I feel like because it’s so competitive I’ll be wasting an application space. The only proper research I’ve done is this year long Cambridge competition and I’m not doing an EPQ either so I feel like I don’t have enough ‘research activities’ to have a strong application. What’s your opinion?

Reply 1

HappyPenguin2121

Original post by Anonymous #1

research is not a requirement for cambridge. what you have done already is good enough

Reply 2

razzledazzle123

Hi, I applied for medicine at Cambridge this year and got accepted, so hopefully this is of use. I did 4 A levels, but offer asks for A*A*A in the 3 science subjects and a C in Computer Science, so they don't seem to care if you do more than 3 A levels. I also didn't do an EPQ. As @HappyPenguin2121 said, research is not a requirement, anything that shows you have an interest in medicine, in particular the academic side, is good enough. I did a little bit, not much, and mentioned it on my PS but wasn't asked about it in interview.

The main things you really need to focus on are the admissions test (I believe it's UCAT instead of BMAT next year) and the interview. This is what I really believe carried me through, as my BMAT score was exceptional. UCAT in a way can be helpful, as you'll know your score before applying. Personal statement and GCSE grades are also important, but I'd say the admissions test and interview play a larger role (although I don't know this for certain at all, just speculation).

If you mention anything on personal statement academically relevant, be prepared for questions in interview, as people have been asked before (though this was not the case for me). However my personal experience of the interview was all scientific questions loosely based on A level Biology, but with unique twists/applied thinking. Others got some questions on ethics and other stuff from what I know. They really want to see how you think, and will ask you weird questions to see this. If you can show them you're intelligent AND can apply this knowledge to unfamiliar scenarios, then this will look good for your application. Unfortunately you can't really prepare for this apart from making sure your A level Biology knowledge is on point, as questions I got were unlike anything I had done.

If I'm being honest, my admissions test exam BMAT really carried me far above anything else, so my own viewpoints may not be accurate. However, I hope this helps in deciding whether to apply!