Personal statement for top unis - medicine

Hi, my friend is wondering about studying medicine at a top university, and if any of you could share what kind of activities/super-curriculars you did to get in, especially the ones on your PS, that would be greatly appreciated!

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

There's no such thing as a "top uni" for medicine. The GMC considers all medical schools they accredit equal, and the NHS is the only provider of graduate training posts for medics and likewise takes the same stance - and to ensure this is upheld, the NHS blinds recruiters from your medical school to ensure there is no bias.

Medical schools should be selected on the basis of how well one's profile fits their shortlisting methodology and if you like their specific teaching style/structure (e.g. PBL, early clinical contact, etc). Not on irrelevant notions of whether one is "better" than another, because that's not how it works in medicine.

Note I believe some medical schools don't even read the PS, and quite a few don't score it at all. So you (or "your friend") are focusing on the wrong aspect of the application really in most cases. Applying to medicine is about ticking boxes - focus on making sure you actually have ticked all the necessary boxes. If you have surplus time then reflect on your work experience and write about those reflections in your PS.

No university wants to see a PS that is just a list of things you have (purportedly) done without any critical thought or reflection by yourself on those.

Reply 2

Arii256

Original post by oceanb1ue

Hi,

I’ve applied for medicine and have got 1 rejection, 2 interviews and i’m waiting to hear back from my 4th uni.

I think a big misconception is that you need to get a lot of work exp. But work exp isn’t accessible to everybody i.e. it’s easier for those who have fam members that are doctors or in the medical field to gain access to work exp than people who don’t know anybody. Some unis don’t require work exp, but need you to somehow have the qualities that a doctor requires which I think is contradictory bc there’s no other way to gain those skills.

Easy work experience to get is; online work exp. Charity shop( I volunteered at one for a year). Try getting in contact with carehomes now( I got in contact with one in year 11 and actually got a placement just this summer for a week). I know that a few hospitals do a work experience programme for example I did 2 days at one. It’s not much but it’s something and it’s about making the most out of it and learning as much as possible. I also did a fundraiser at college for BHF so i’d recommend doing something of the sort.

Having said that, the person above is correct I don’t think unis look at PS much, they’re literally scrapping them next year. You need to have good predicted, good UCAT and whatever new exam cambridge introduces( I took the BMAT and UCAT).

But you need the work exp to link your skills back to in the interview. Having a part time job is much easier and in my personal opinion I’ve learnt more at my job than I did through any of my work experiences.

Reply 3

Anonymous_7871

Original post by oceanb1ue

Nearly all of the unis don’t look at ps. The work experience you get is mainly to get knowledge and insight which is needed at interview level. Personal statement doesn’t matter.