What should I do to get in to medical school?

Sam_1996

Hi,
I was wondering what is advised to do to get into medical school?Obviously it's very competitive and after ready a few personnel statements,I was wondering what you need to do,providing you get the grades?
I have done:
-bronze and silver D of E
- school football team
-work experience in a school
-shadowed a doctor for a day
I currently:
-Volunteer with cubs
-volunteer in learning support in my school
I'm also close to
-volunteering in a care home
-becoming a member of St.Johns Ambulance
I intend to:
-get work expierence in a hospital

I thought that would be all you need but after reading these statements,I'm slightly worried.

Thanks!

Reply 1

oli_G

Original post by Sam_1996

Remember it's not a box-ticking exercise and it's much more about the quality of your experiences, not the quantity. However I would advise the following in order to make a competitive application:
-Work experience in primary and secondary care (ideally around a week in both if possible)
-Long-term voluntary work (doesn't have to be medically related) for around a year.
-A few extra-curricular activities -e.g. music, sport, art (whatever you fancy, as evidence for having a good 'work-life balance'.)
-Some sort of leadership role and activities within your school/college (this shows you have contributed to your environment and so will likely do so at medical school).

From the looks of what you've posted you've got plenty of stuff going (so that's good) but focus on getting more medicalwork experience before your application :smile:

Also remember that your grades and ukcat/bmat are important factors as well as your non-academic activities.

Good luck.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 2

Maryam A

Hi,

That's quite impressive, really! :smile:

You have a great wealth of experience. Just carry on with it and keep up with the studying too to get the grades.
I would maybe recommend just a bit more medical experience -shadowing- but you have already identified that.

I was in the same position as you not long ago, and I felt the same when reading some personal statements, but trust me Quality OVER Quantity.
You will come to realise later, when writing your personal statement and hopefully at the interview stage, you hardly have the chance to talk about everything.

At my recent interviews, I didn't talk about half the things I did and I did quite similar things to you, so you're on the right track. Don't worry!
And, good luck :smile:

Reply 3

Helenia

Get the grades/UKCAT. The rest is pointless unless you do.

Reply 4

gozatron

Good grades.
Good entry test scores.
Don't be boring.
Get work exp.
Apply smart.
Don't cock up the interview.

Simple as that.

Reply 5

Helloworld_95

Honestly this is going to sound weird but keep your extracurriculars down to just a few or at least only mention ones which you can reflect on very well in your PS in respect to medicine as a career. Admissions officers are looking for dedication and suitability to being a doctor for the most part, if your PS ends up as a list of achievements you will seem arrogant and lacking in knowledge of what it is like to be a doctor. If you end up putting in irrelevant information and will lose space to talk about your work experience, team work and volunteering which are the main things most medical schools look at.

What you've listed is pretty much ideal in terms of writing a medical PS and doing an interview, you have experiences in medicine, team work and you've worked across age ranges. You have no need to worry

What should I do to get in to medical school?

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