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University of Cambridge A101 2022 Entry

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Original post by dennm078
Alright, hold up a bit. Ecolier is very helpful, absolutely, but posted a slightly patronising response to me. It’s fine to call that out while also recognising that ecolier helps so many people out on here, which OP did.

Healyo2 actually has helped at least one person (me) by informing me that interview invites will go out on Wednesday. I hadn’t seen the eddies post about it.

There is nothing remotely patronising about 's reply to you. Literally nothing. God knows how you'll get on in your interview if a post like that makes you so prickly and entitled.

If you think that's patronising from me, then you're clearly not au fait with my posts. :laugh:
Original post by Reality Check
There is nothing remotely patronising about @ecolier's reply to you. Literally nothing. God knows how you'll get on in your interview if a post like that makes you so prickly and entitled.

If you think that's patronising from me, then you're clearly not au fait with my posts. :laugh:


I am sure this post will be found to be patronising or condescending... but I expected better from grad applicants.

The grad threads from years past tend to be much less toxic than other threads.

That's all I am going to say. Nothing further from me about this.


Post originally created by ecolier.
Agreed.

@Oxford Mum - you know what I was telling you about the Cambridge threads this year...
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by dennm078
I don’t understand- is this you trying to prove you’re not patronising? And that you don’t just lurk on these forums to mess with students who are just trying to support each other? Huh.

No it certainly isn’t. I have been trying to help Oxford and Cambridge students in by giving them encouragement on both threads and have been highly successful over the years. My son is in his fifth year of Oxford medicine and I use my experience to try to help.

This year I was called to the Cambridge thread by someone who enjoyed being encouraged by me the previous year and I was doing my usual stuff. It was fine until we came across a medic who was annoyed because he thought the interviewers were rubbish and had asked him the wrong questions. He was very rude about them.

There was a backlash from a couple of anons who asked me why I was commenting when I was not dbs checked and the student was only 18.

I ended up leaving the thread and I was inundated with support, and pm’d by students and even a director of studies at Cambridge who had his advice shouted down by a student ( even though, at the time, he was interviewing students)

The point I am making is, you can all ask for all the encouragement you want ( and I do sympathise with you) but ecolier is here to give you the facts and he has done so. If he says it’s harder to get in for certain courses then it is correct and yes, he is trying to comfort you by saying it could be worse.

Ecolier tirelessly spends a lot of time giving valuable advice about medical admissions when he has a stressful, time consuming job in a hospital. He is giving his time for free and can walk away from this thread any time he pleases ( as I did with the Cambridge one).

Yes, it’s tough to get into Cambridge graduate medicine, I won’t pull the wool over your eyes. However heed my son’s words (an Oxford German graduate) β€œsomeone has to get in, and it might as well be me”.
Original post by Oxford Mum
No it certainly isn’t. I have been trying to help Oxford and Cambridge students in by giving them encouragement on both threads and have been highly successful over the years. My son is in his fifth year of Oxford medicine and I use my experience to try to help.

This year I was called to the Cambridge thread by someone who enjoyed being encouraged by me the previous year and I was doing my usual stuff. It was fine until we came across a medic who was annoyed because he thought the interviewers were rubbish and had asked him the wrong questions. He was very rude about them.

There was a backlash from a couple of anons who asked me why I was commenting when I was not dbs checked and the student was only 18.

I ended up leaving the thread and I was inundated with support, and pm’d by students and even a director of studies at Cambridge who had his advice shouted down by a student ( even though, at the time, he was interviewing students)

The point I am making is, you can all ask for all the encouragement you want ( and I do sympathise with you) but ecolier is here to give you the facts and he has done so. If he says it’s harder to get in for certain courses then it is correct and yes, he is trying to comfort you by saying it could be worse.

Ecolier tirelessly spends a lot of time giving valuable advice about medical admissions when he has a stressful, time consuming job in a hospital. He is giving his time for free and can walk away from this thread any time he pleases ( as I did with the Cambridge one).

Yes, it’s tough to get into Cambridge graduate medicine, I won’t pull the wool over your eyes. However heed my son’s words (an Oxford German graduate) β€œsomeone has to get in, and it might as well be me”.

PRSOM :smile:
Original post by Oxford Mum
No it certainly isn’t. I have been trying to help Oxford and Cambridge students in by giving them encouragement on both threads and have been highly successful over the years. My son is in his fifth year of Oxford medicine and I use my experience to try to help.

This year I was called to the Cambridge thread by someone who enjoyed being encouraged by me the previous year and I was doing my usual stuff. It was fine until we came across a medic who was annoyed because he thought the interviewers were rubbish and had asked him the wrong questions. He was very rude about them.

There was a backlash from a couple of anons who asked me why I was commenting when I was not dbs checked and the student was only 18.

I ended up leaving the thread and I was inundated with support, and pm’d by students and even a director of studies at Cambridge who had his advice shouted down by a student ( even though, at the time, he was interviewing students)

The point I am making is, you can all ask for all the encouragement you want ( and I do sympathise with you) but ecolier is here to give you the facts and he has done so. If he says it’s harder to get in for certain courses then it is correct and yes, he is trying to comfort you by saying it could be worse.

Ecolier tirelessly spends a lot of time giving valuable advice about medical admissions when he has a stressful, time consuming job in a hospital. He is giving his time for free and can walk away from this thread any time he pleases ( as I did with the Cambridge one).

Yes, it’s tough to get into Cambridge graduate medicine, I won’t pull the wool over your eyes. However heed my son’s words (an Oxford German graduate) β€œsomeone has to get in, and it might as well be me”.

:congrats:

don't let them grind you down Mum :hugs:

:holly:
As the interview invites come out tomorrow can we please get back on track with the conversation? I understand there are hypothetical clinical questions in the MMI format as well. Is anyone using any great resources for studying for the interview?
Original post by CarolineMur
As the interview invites come out tomorrow can we please get back on track with the conversation? I understand there are hypothetical clinical questions in the MMI format as well. Is anyone using any great resources for studying for the interview?

OK, so back on topic we go...

There are no MMI stations for Cambridge undergraduate medicine, but there are for Cambridge graduate medicine

Please see this great youtube video by an actual current Cambridge graduate med school student

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=actbtmXiOcU

and here is another video by another Cambridge grad medical student

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPckn7g-DX8

More on Oxbridge medicine by the medic portal

Are Oxbridge Interviews Different?

The Oxbridge interview is designed to reflect a tutorial or β€˜supervision’ that students at both universities experience on a regular basis.

The interviewers will ask challenging questions that are designed to see how well you adapt to different scenarios – and you’ll be expected to talk the interviewers through your thought process as you make an attempt to establish an answer.

and this

Once you’ve warmed up, you should expect to be asked more scientific questions than Medicine ones. That’s because the ratio of scientists to doctors who will be interviewing you could be skewed towards scientists.

Like other Medicine interviews, the questions are asked to see how you think – they don’t expect you to have the correct answer or to have memorised obscure scientific facts.

For this reason, you should expect to be surprised by the questions you’re asked. Oxbridge interviewers want you to be challenged and have to think on your feet, as that is the way they will test your potential.


It is notoriously hard to predict exactly what questions you will be asked, but the type of questions and the approach you can take to answering them well is much easier to anticipate. You will often find you are faced with a scenario, during your Oxbridge medical interview, where you need to apply scientific reasoning to an unfamiliar problem.

What Are Oxbridge Interviewers Looking For?

The main thing Oxbridge interviewers are looking for in candidates is a genuine enthusiasm for the course as well as a desire and commitment to become a Doctor.

Oxbridge Medicine applicants should be able to:

Demonstrate a good ability to solve problems
Handle unfamiliar questions and scenarios confidently
Tackle problems they might not necessarily know the answer to

Oxbridge-specific Interview Tips

Prepare to be shown an image - like an x-ray, graph, or chart - and have to answer questions relating to it.

Practice answering creative questions.

Verbalise your thought process, guide the panel through step-by-step

Revise your A-Level subject knowledge, because you may be asked about things you should already have learned

Supplement your knowledge with extra reading, as you may need to show you have additional knowledge

Remember that it's supposed to be hard! The questions are designed to make you uncomfortable and put you under pressure

Focus on yourself.

Don't worry about what others say - you've got this!

Unfortunately, there is nobody on this thread who has gone through the Cambridge graduate medical interview process. But I know someone who has gone through the Cambridge medicine undergraduate process. They wrote a Cambridge Demystified chapter for me:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6479550&p=88494984#post88494984

I also wrote a chapter for Oxford Demystified, describing how my son got in for Oxford medicine. It remains the most viewed chapter in the Oxford Demystified series

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6019726

And here is my son's views on the Oxford application process and the interviews there

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6044384

And another Oxford Demystified chapter, written by a (now current) Oxford medical student

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6616982&p=90128126#post90128126

Note how their experiences are broadly similar.

Also, if you want to know how to cope with the interviews, I have taken the best handy hints from all the Oxford Demystified chapters and put them in one place (after the re-application part):

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6891280&p=93381234#post93381234

Please note that there are sample Oxbridge interview questions and Youtube videos at the end of each Oxford/Cambridge Demystified medical chapters. You could use this to practice.

I honestly don't think anything can prepare you for the real thing. My son called his medical interview(s) "the hardest bloody interview in Oxford". He also added that "even a medic would struggle" and that "after the first ten minutes, I proceeded to make a fool of myself". Just roll with the punches, expect the questions to be hard and don't worry.

When I asked my son what the questions at his interview actually were, he said "you wouldn't understand". As an ex doctor's wife myself, I was used to medical terminology but I was absolutely bamboozled by what he told me. He was right. I didn't understand.

The best preparation you could have made for your interviews was in your general research. I presume you read some books or papers and looked up the medical terminology in a good medical dictionary. I can recall a Cambridge medical reject saying "I didn't have a clue what they (the interviewers) were going on about".

The work you did at A level (and maybe your degrees) will help you to a certain extent. Just keep calm, concentrate, focus on the questions rather than the grandeur of the event and give each question your logical best shot, using evidence and examples if you have them. My son had to be prompted a lot, so don't take it as a failure if you are too. Just take any crumb of knowledge you are given and try to build on it. Even if you look up the answers later and find out you were wrong, you may still get a place if they like the way you think. Just don't give up halfway through, carry on and don't stress about it too much afterwards (though this may well be impossible). My son said afterwards "I can imagine myself getting a place, and I can equally imagine myself not getting a place".

Oh and here is the entire book "Oxford Demysified". In the third chapter "making your application" there are quotes from tutors saying what they are looking for

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6100480
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by CarolineMur
As the interview invites come out tomorrow can we please get back on track with the conversation? I understand there are hypothetical clinical questions in the MMI format as well. Is anyone using any great resources for studying for the interview?


Hi Caroline!

I have been doing some further research and there are indeed MMIs for graduate medicine interview only at Cambridge. Please see an excellent youtube video on my post above (which has now been edited).
Also, it might be useful to look at last year's Student Room Cambridge graduate medical thread, to have an idea of their experiences:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6249900&page=10
Reply 50
Wow I definitely wasn't expecting that reaction haha

thanks for all of your effort and volunteerism. I feel there is just a time and place for facts and stats though. But please do with that critical feedback what you will and don't let it stop your other good work.

@dennm078 glad that was helpful for you. The St. Edmund's grad email are amazingly helpful for a quick response to a query.

@Oxford Mum sorry that your experience hasn't been great on some of the forums. Really appreciate those resources so much.

@Reality Check thanks for the good wishes on my interviews.

Best of luck to everyone on interview emails tomorrow. So many of us have worked so hard on our applications and that will stand to all of us regardless of the result.
Original post by healyo2
Wow I definitely wasn't expecting that reaction haha

@ecolier thanks for all of your effort and volunteerism. I feel there is just a time and place for facts and stats though. But please do with that critical feedback what you will and don't let it stop your other good work.

@dennm078 glad that was helpful for you. The St. Edmund's grad email are amazingly helpful for a quick response to a query.

@Oxford Mum sorry that your experience hasn't been great on some of the forums. Really appreciate those resources so much.

@Reality Check thanks for the good wishes on my interviews.

Best of luck to everyone on interview emails tomorrow. So many of us have worked so hard on our applications and that will stand to all of us regardless of the result.

I spent all morning on the resources, and had a lot of fun doing it! I really didn't know that Cambridge Postgraduate Medicine had MMIs so you learn something every day. If my info helps just one person on this thread get a place, I will be very happy.

Ecolier and I go way back. Both of us have been voted TSR Member of the Year by the students on this website, which is a great honour. We came joint top and I am proud to share this title with Ecolier, who is the best expert on medical admissions I have ever seen.

Reality too - he is a Cambridge graduate so is familiar with Cambridge admissions.

I, too hope many of you get interviews tomorrow and that you are successful. Will be watching this thread tomorrow and I hope to see a bit of good news.
(edited 2 years ago)
Hey guys, what % of applicants do they interview and what is the success rate of interviews?
Original post by girl2487
Hey guys, what % of applicants do they interview and what is the success rate of interviews?

2018/19 statistics:

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.2022.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/graduate_admissions_report_2018-19_v4_0.pdf

over the last 5 years (please download PDF)

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a101_admissions

Some pretty graphs:

https://www.admissionreport.com/university-of-cambridge/mb-bchir-medicine/graduate-entry

Mark in Style states:

15. The lowest success rate at Cambridge can be found at Medicine Graduate Course at 9.1%.
(The Independent, Global Scholarships)

The hardest courses to get into at Cambridge are the Medicine Graduate Course with a 9.1% success rate, Economics with 13%, Politics, Psychology, and Sociology with 15.1%, Medicine with 15.3%, and Veterinary Medicine with 16.5%.


Stats on Cambridge university medicine graduate page

2020 Entry
Applications per place: 13
Number accepted: 37

Which proportion of medical applicants receive an interview?

According to St Edmund's college, Cambridge

Proportion of applicants interviewed for Cambridge medicine

Typically between 50% and 75% (undergraduate)

About 10-15% (graduate medicine)

https://applying.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/mature-undergraduates/advice/a100_or_a101/


Hope this helps.
(edited 2 years ago)
Hey guys I have just thought of something positive!

If 10-15% of Cambridge postgraduate medics get interviewed and 9.1% of applicants get offers, you statistically get a good chance of an offer if you receive an interview invite- am I right?

(Correct me if I’m wrong- I only just scraped a c in o level maths)
Original post by Oxford Mum
Hey guys I have just thought of something positive!

If 10-15% of Cambridge postgraduate medics get interviewed and 9.1% of applicants get offers, you statistically get a good chance of an offer if you receive an interview invite- am I right?

(Correct me if I’m wrong- I only just scraped a c in o level maths)


I think there are 90 interviews for around 40 places, so a pretty good chance of an offer should you get an interview. :smile:

Good luck to all hearing back tomorrow and thanks to Oxford Mum, Ecolier and everyone else for their help on this and other medicine threads! :biggrin:
Original post by Wiganjames
I think there are 90 interviews for around 40 places, so a pretty good chance of an offer should you get an interview. :smile:

Good luck to all hearing back tomorrow and thanks to Oxford Mum, Ecolier and everyone else for their help on this and other medicine threads! :biggrin:

Will be thinking about you all tomorrow and will be watching this thread.

Love to you all
Original post by Oxford Mum
Will be thinking about you all tomorrow and will be watching this thread.

Love to you all


Thank you :smile:
Original post by Wiganjames
Thank you :smile:

Prsom
@Oxford Mum thank you so much for your very considered and thoughtful response.

And thanks again for your good wishes. If we get to interview it seems like it’s almost 50/50 on getting an offer so hopefully some of us will have good news tomorrow! I’ll be refreshing my emails impatiently all morning πŸ˜…

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