The Student Room Group

What are some things I can do to go above and beyond for medicine

This is it. The year I've been waiting for my whole life. This is when stuff starts to get real. 5 highers and 5 As to get into medical school.

Here is my focus for this (school) year
- 5 As in higher
- Work Experience
- More volunteering especially within a health care setting
- Background Reading for interview
- Creating a portfolio of stuff that I have done
- Maintain sporty extra-curricular activities

Is there anything else I should or could do? Like is there any cool things I could do that would look nice on an application? What other things did you guys do to prepare?
Reply 1
Original post by Alexmazy
This is it. The year I've been waiting for my whole life. This is when stuff starts to get real. 5 highers and 5 As to get into medical school.

Here is my focus for this (school) year
- 5 As in higher
- Work Experience
- More volunteering especially within a health care setting
- Background Reading for interview
- Creating a portfolio of stuff that I have done
- Maintain sporty extra-curricular activities

Is there anything else I should or could do? Like is there any cool things I could do that would look nice on an application? What other things did you guys do to prepare?

You are honestly doing pretty good, one thing I would recommend is to ensure you are reflecting on your experiences as well in your personal statement rather than just listing what you saw on placement.

Another thing I would add is to read health articles (BBC Health is just fine you are not expected to be reading BMJ or Lancet articles yet) to make sure you know what is happening in the world of health, you can do this closer to your interview date but it's always a good idea to start a bit earlier!
Trying to stand out on your personal statement is not really helpful as you’re not selected on the basis of anything you do pre-interview. With UCAT cut off points, the personal statement is diminishing in importance. To put it this way: I had thousands of hours of clinical experience but I have lost out at some of the places I applied this year to people with barely a week’s experience (if that). The amount of experience you accrue or even some stellar, one of a kind experience will not make a difference to you being selected for interview. And if you get to interview, straining to impress your interviewers and stand out can easily backfire. A simple, straightforward and honest application where you can demonstrate consistency, reflective skills, a caring approach, responsibility and moral maturity is sufficient.
Everything you’ve got planned fits with that goal. Keep a diary of your experience and reflect daily on what you’ve learned. Try to participate in things that you can specifically evidence like Duke or Edinburgh, where reflection and development are part of the process. Look at interview questions along the lines of “tell me about a time when you” and fit your experiences to those and practise the STAR technique. And give yourself plenty of time, but not too much, to prepare for your UCAT.

Quick Reply

Latest