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How does one stand out in medicine?

qwert7890

Medicine is really competitive, but almost every potential applicant has great academic records, extra-curriculars, UKCAT scores, do work experience and voluntary work, do the DofE, do extra reading and exploration, been on the student council, etc.

I guess my question really is: if everyone's application seems similar, how can one stand out? I'm sure the admissions team must be bored of reading how you're only interested in medicine because you're a people person and you love science, or the fact that someone/you in your family got ill and this inspired you to help others.

Can you perhaps share anything that you did that made your application stand out/ look a little different than others'? Literally at this point anything you did that might be helpful to enhance my application would work.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 1

username3822514

I think I heard of someone that worked at a zoo and then related it to medicine selection criteria

Reply 2

Easosos1

Original post by qwert7890

Medicine applications are becoming less and less about standing out. Applying to do medicine is a process which has several parameters. Most universities do not read your personal statement but instead assess the non academic side of the applicant at interview. I have a place to study medicine after taking a year out and my advice would be 1) get good a levels (3 As or above) 2) make sure your GCSEs are over the thresholds 3) carry out a variety of work experience.
Also apply smart, the main reason people don’t a place is because they apply to a heavy Ukcat university with a weak Ukcat or they apply to a university which has GCSE requirements that they do not fit. In terms of work experience try to get a variety of it in and focus on the skills you have gained from it.

Reply 3

arigziegler

It's not really about standing out tbh. It's mostly about ticking boxes and then impressing at interview, more with your communication skills and empathy than because you've climbed mount Everest and fundraised £10K for kids in LEDCs.

Reply 4

Harlastan

As above, but emphasis on UCAT/BMAT. The majority use admission tests alone to shortlist for interview, after screening your grades for the minimum of course. At interview, you could probably (not ideally) get away with one experience to draw from at every MMI station.

The real 'outstanding' candidates are those that have the standard stuff you mention, but use it well in interviews where it's unlikely the interviewer knows anything other than your name.

Reply 5

Ggr12034

Different medical schools look for different things when deciding whether or not to interview you so it’s not just as simple as saying “do this and you’ll be guaranteed an interview” or “if you don’t have tons of work experience you won’t get in”.

They all want to see that you’re a rounded person so make sure you’ve done plenty of voluntary work and reflect and think of how each activity shows a particular skill that is necessary for medicine e.g. teamwork, empathy, leadership. Voluntary work does not have to be medical related!

IMO you need to focus on getting a high ukcat score because this is actually where a lot of medicine applicants I know did poorly/ average on. This meant that whilst they had amazing GCSEs, tons of work experience and high predicted grades, they only received one or two interview invites - purely because the med schools ranked people in order of ukcat scores and then rejected those below the cut off, no matter how interesting their PS was or how much work experience they had!

If you have a high ukcat score (~700+), solid GCSEs, predicted 3A* and a range of work experience and volunteering then you will meet pretty much all med schools interview invite requirements so then ya just need to perform very well at interviews and you’re sorted! (Easier said than done haha)

Sorry this is so long! Hope it helps

Reply 6

jp.lk12

Original post by DGeorge13

I think I heard of someone that worked at a zoo and then related it to medicine selection criteria

Would not recommend writing that in a medicine personal statement really. It's more suited for a vet med personal statement...

Reply 7

username3822514

Original post by jp.lk12

Would not recommend writing that in a medicine personal statement really. It's more suited for a vet med personal statement...

I think they worked more on the retail side - personally I’d just do the standard things and hope it paid off

Reply 8

qwert7890

Thanks for your reply! What checklist might that be? 😂 Here’s a list of things I’ve done/plan to do - could you perhaps add anything to this that you think might help me give an edge?

1. 6A*s at GCSE
2. A*A*A at A Level
3. Silver DofE
4. (good UKCAT score)
5. 2 weeks of Work experience in a healthcare setting
6. Voluntary work (health and non-health related)
7. Read books around life in medicine
8. Been to workshops, fairs, etc.

Anything else you might suggest I add to the list to perhaps make it a little better? Or any essential box that I’m forgetting to tick?

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 9

the bear

Original post by qwert7890

as well as books about Medical Life, you could mention movies & TV such as Doc Martin etc.

Reply 10

Ggr12034

Tv shows are often over dramatised or misleading so I really wouldn’t recommend saying you’ve watched doc martin in your personal statement or at interviews lol

Whilst some books are useful to read, watching medically related movies or tv programs are definitely not gonna be the thing to make you stand out haha - if anything, mentioning these could give med schools a negative opinion of you as it could indicate you have unrealistic ideas about what a career in medicine is gonna be like!