Medicine 2017 entry

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I've been trying to find summer projects which would help me to get more experience and possibly enhance my application (e.g. research projects), but most of what I've been able to find are summer schools at universities, which would still be useful, but I'm more focussed on stuff that would help show my passion for science and medicine :tongue:

Have you guys found/applied for anything along the lines of what I'm talking about?

I'm going to be doing a Lourdes pilgrimage over summer for a week, if that's the sort of thing you mean? If it's possible to go on one of those, I'm sure it will look great, because you basically volunteer in a place where there are so many ill people and it should be such a great experience, and something great for the PS, so I'd suggest looking into doing one of those with a group, even if you aren't religious :smile:

Reply 41

alibevan

Hi all so glad i've found this thread,

GCSE : 7A* and 4A's
A-Levels: Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Government and politics and i'm hoping to get A*A*A respectively (I will drop either geography or politics depending on what I do worse on in the AS exam)

Work experience : A working week in a GP's, another in a children's hospital, a week in the thrombosis research institute, couple of days with hospice nurses
Voluntary: 9 months (4 hours a week) in a cat sanctuary and a year of (4 hours a week) at a care home.

Hobbies: rugby at a regional and national level, hoping to complete gold dofe, completed some extended certificated research courses (medically related), mentoring younger children, NCS challenge

Cardiff is my dream uni but I'm well aware that competition is extremely high and so chances are slim :frown:

I'm excited to see what other uni's are like on their open days.

I was wondering if anyone has started preparation for the UKCAT (or BMAT) and if so, what material would you recommend? thanks

Reply 42

Moodicrus

Original post by violavenisis

Have you guys found/applied for anything along the lines of what I'm talking about?

I think most unis will just want you to focus on getting those grades tbh, you don't need a lot of work experience, you just need a few poignant moments that changed you or 'made you a better applicant because.. etc.' Have you thought about an EPQ?

Reply 43

Moodicrus

Original post by alibevan

I was wondering if anyone has started preparation for the UKCAT (or BMAT) and if so, what material would you recommend? thanks

I started looking into the UKCAT really early, but you really don't need to worry about it for a while.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1905812094/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0198704313&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=13N6F9CAJPTA7Y7C9YHV
is quite a useful book with lots of questions, however, apparently the quantitative reasoning is a harder than the real exam apparently. And the BMAT:
http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/bmat/preparing-for-bmat/

Loads of past papers there, hope it helps!

Reply 44

violavenisis

Original post by Moodicrus

I have, but I'm not sure whether or not my school would let me (since I am considering doing 4 full a levels- this isn't definite though).

Regarding the UKCAT and BMAT, when do most people take the UKCAT? I know that lots of people take it before applying (that way you have some kind of back-up to your applications), but how far in advance do people take it? I've been trying to find out and haven't really had any luck. What do you guys think?

Reply 45

Gogregg

Original post by violavenisis

Most people do the UKCAT the summer before applying :smile:

Reply 46

pandaronium

GCSEs: 8 A* 3As (two As in english language)
AS: predicted 4 As in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Economics.

I was just wondering if its an advantage for you to carry on with 4 A levels because I was thinking about dropping economics next year?

Reply 47

Gogregg

Original post by pandaronium

There isn't really an advantage to taking 4 A-Levels, but you can get 'relaxed' offers if you take 4 A-Levels, but it does require a lot more work. I'd say drop the subject :smile:

Reply 48

Iyla

hi! I was wondering if anyone could help.. GCSE results day was a disappointing one to say the least, I got 7a's and 3b's, which yes is good, but for medicine is pretty bad! Could anyone tell me if it is still even worth applying for medicine or which unis do not look at GCSEs as much as others ? Thank you!!

Reply 49

Kalpzmadyson

Hi everyone I did my GCSE's in SriLanka Its a different syllabus We even call it as O/L's. Will it be a problem when applying for medicine? Also the highest grade we can get is an A

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 50

alibevan

Original post by Iyla

You should apply to UKCAT heavy universities such as Newcastle/Durham which basically disregard gcse's. But you do need to ensure that you get a very high UKCAT score to do this.

Reply 51

hashman

Hey guys i got 3A* 5As and 2Bs at gcse :frown:

. ive done 2 years worth of volunteering at old homes and work experience in UCLH. Im doing maths bio chem and psychology this year and was wondering what unis i should apply to for medicine?

Reply 52

Gogregg

Original post by hashman

Hey guys i got 3A* 5As and 2Bs at gcse :frown:

. ive done 2 years worth of volunteering at old homes and work experience in UCLH. Im doing maths bio chem and psychology this year and was wondering what unis i should apply to for medicine?

You're profile looks quite good :h:

What are you're B's in? And it feels a bit early to say right now, there are a few that you can rule out e.g. Oxford, Birmingham and Manchester, but just look around the websites and see which universities appeal to you right now, it's really hard to say without UKCAT scores or AS-Levels yet...

Reply 53

hashman

Original post by Gogregg

You're profile looks quite good :h:

Thanks ever so Much. The Bs are in English Lit and English Lang.

Reply 54

Gogregg

Original post by hashman

Thanks ever so Much. The Bs are in English Lit and English Lang.

Hmm, the B in English Lang may be a problem for some universities, although I imagine most will be fine with it. You will have to be really certain that universities accept B in Lang before applying for them though, you don't want to be rejected for a reason as bad as that

Reply 55

hashman

Original post by Gogregg

yeah thanks ever so much for your advice :smile:

Reply 56

alibevan

Original post by hashman

Hey guys i got 3A* 5As and 2Bs at gcse :frown:

. ive done 2 years worth of volunteering at old homes and work experience in UCLH. Im doing maths bio chem and psychology this year and was wondering what unis i should apply to for medicine?

You should be looking to apply tactically as you will most likely not be considered by 'gcse heavy' unis. However, it's clear you've done an extended amount of volunteering which would give you a great chance in applying to Keele who place a real emphasis on voluntary work (in their R and R form). You should also look to do well in the UKCAT as this could open up lots of doors for you.

Reply 57

hashman

Original post by alibevan

You should be looking to apply tactically as you will most likely not be considered by 'gcse heavy' unis. However, it's clear you've done an extended amount of volunteering

which would give you a great chance in applying to Keele who place a real emphasis on voluntary work (in their R and R form). You should also look to do well in the UKCAT as this could open up lots of doors for you.

Thank you lots for advice

Reply 58

medicapplicant

Original post by Moodicrus

Ok I might get some stick because this is a bit early but there's no harm right? The sooner we start the more prepared we are. :smile:

GCSEs - 6 A*s Chemistry Physics Maths Further Maths French Music
6 As Biology History Economics English Lang English Lit RE

AS - Biology Chemistry Maths Economics

Work Experience - Volunteer at King's, 1 week with a cardiothoracic surgeon, 1 week GP, 1 week shadowing a doctor.

Potential unis - Cambridge (if my AS modules are good enough, maybe...)
King's
UCL
(haven chosen a 3rd/4th yet)

Further reading - I recommend A brief introduction to medical ethics, really useful book for interviews apparently and not too long.
The man who mistook his wife for a hat

Hobbys - PIANOO (Liszt FTW), tennis and dance

Discuss anything related to applying to study Medicine at University. What did you guys get at GCSE/aiming for at A Level?