help!! applying for medicine soon!!!
hello! i'll be sending in my applications in october this year and i've been so worried that i've not done much besides studying for my 3 a levels (bio math chem) and how that will affect my cv/personal statement.
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
You've got this !
You have plenty of time.
You have been doing absolutely the right thing focussing on your grades.
Well done on arranging a hospital "rotation" whatever that may be. I think you might be better to skip MOOCs and do thr BSMS online work experience and Observe GP. Both free. And reflect on what you learn. Try keeping a journal.
Remember, it is how you reflect on what you see, not what you do. Tey searching online for the RCGP reflective diary. Your route to medicine. Very helpful.
Most (but not all) med schools don't even look at your PS when deciding who to interview, and some will look at it during the interview, but the biggest deciding factor on who to interview is a combination of your GCSEs and your UCAT.
So think about your UCAT. Not so much starting to revise now as it is too early, but more planning when you will revise and when you will take it. I always suggest people try and do it relatively early in the summer if they can, that give them.more time to make a strategic application and tailor their PS to their strategic choices. Come back to TSR and look at the application megathread for your best strategic choices once you have your UCAT.
Find out when your schools deadline is for early applications. (It will be well before the Oct deadline) and work back from.then planning your summer. Boring but it will pay off.
Check to see if you are eligible for the UCAT bursary.
If you have any mitigating circumstances that you feel unfortunately seriously impacted your GCSEs then have a look into that process. Hopefully it will not be an issue for you. But if so, timings for letting medical schools know about them is often much much earlier than the UCAS deadline. You will need to gather evidence too.
If you can, see if you can find a people facing job. Would be good if it was in a care home but that can be very tricky to get, esp if you are young in your year But may have volunteering spots but will take time to set up. Look especially at nursing homes (and care homes if no nursing homes) within your area.
But public facing roles such as waitressing shop work, working in Maccies also work. Anything where you will have some reflections on how you engage with people.
If you can combine that with some form of volunteering that would be an extra cherry for your PS. Volunteering, especially committed longer term volunteering is good to have on your reflective log. Can be school clubs, or working in a charity shop all sorts.
These things can take time to get or do. They are not all essential but will be helpful. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all.
Timeline planning, learning about UCAT, BSMS, Observe GP (both easy Easter tasks), reflect, reflect. Public facing work. Reflect.
And don't forget to breathe, and have some fun !
Good luck.
You have plenty of time.
You have been doing absolutely the right thing focussing on your grades.
Well done on arranging a hospital "rotation" whatever that may be. I think you might be better to skip MOOCs and do thr BSMS online work experience and Observe GP. Both free. And reflect on what you learn. Try keeping a journal.
Remember, it is how you reflect on what you see, not what you do. Tey searching online for the RCGP reflective diary. Your route to medicine. Very helpful.
Most (but not all) med schools don't even look at your PS when deciding who to interview, and some will look at it during the interview, but the biggest deciding factor on who to interview is a combination of your GCSEs and your UCAT.
So think about your UCAT. Not so much starting to revise now as it is too early, but more planning when you will revise and when you will take it. I always suggest people try and do it relatively early in the summer if they can, that give them.more time to make a strategic application and tailor their PS to their strategic choices. Come back to TSR and look at the application megathread for your best strategic choices once you have your UCAT.
Find out when your schools deadline is for early applications. (It will be well before the Oct deadline) and work back from.then planning your summer. Boring but it will pay off.
Check to see if you are eligible for the UCAT bursary.
If you have any mitigating circumstances that you feel unfortunately seriously impacted your GCSEs then have a look into that process. Hopefully it will not be an issue for you. But if so, timings for letting medical schools know about them is often much much earlier than the UCAS deadline. You will need to gather evidence too.
If you can, see if you can find a people facing job. Would be good if it was in a care home but that can be very tricky to get, esp if you are young in your year But may have volunteering spots but will take time to set up. Look especially at nursing homes (and care homes if no nursing homes) within your area.
But public facing roles such as waitressing shop work, working in Maccies also work. Anything where you will have some reflections on how you engage with people.
If you can combine that with some form of volunteering that would be an extra cherry for your PS. Volunteering, especially committed longer term volunteering is good to have on your reflective log. Can be school clubs, or working in a charity shop all sorts.
These things can take time to get or do. They are not all essential but will be helpful. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all.
Timeline planning, learning about UCAT, BSMS, Observe GP (both easy Easter tasks), reflect, reflect. Public facing work. Reflect.
And don't forget to breathe, and have some fun !
Good luck.
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by lyeenah
hello! i'll be sending in my applications in october this year and i've been so worried that i've not done much besides studying for my 3 a levels (bio math chem) and how that will affect my cv/personal statement.
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
hi!
i’ve just received 2 med offers so i thought id offer some advice
having a hospital rotation is great experience and it’s something that perfect to talk about in interviews. I’d recommend getting online work experience through observe GP, BSMS online, i remember doing a Newcastle mini medical school so have a look if they’re still doing that! i think Southampton have some virtual experience too? also, id recommend volunteering - it’s always great to talk about, easy to get and very rewarding. i did volunteering at a local charity shop so it doesn’t take too much out your day.
in terms of interviews, try assigning skills to experiences. Eg. Communication: “i saw the doctor using active listening and open body language to communicate effectively with the patient”, then explain why it’s important within medicine. you can write this in a table on excel or on a piece of paper, it’ll really help with interviews. i wont lie, i didn’t do much prep until a few days before which probably isn’t the smartest (so definitely start earlier) but it should show you that interviewers aren’t really trying to catch you out! they just want to see you be open and honest, if you truly want to do medicine and you're passionate about it, they’ll notice that !!
your UCAT is a long time away so you don’t need to be revising yet but when you do start revising for it, i would recommend medentry!
what you should be doing in preparation:
•
keep on top of hot topics and important cases in medicine. eg. Lucy letby, junior doctor strikes, Harold Shipman, covid backlog, etc. you can be asked about them and they’re also great for backing up a point. have a read of the student BMJ - super helpful!!
•
read the GMC guidelines and the NHS core values, these are really important and should be referenced in almost every interview answer. just having a good understanding of both of these and why they’re important within medicine will really help.
•
if you’re applying to any Scottish universities, make sure you know differences between Scottish and English healthcare
•
one thing i struggled with was stuttering and pausing while i was answering practice questions so id recommend auralyze.ai - it makes questions, you can record your answer and it’ll grade it and give you feedback. (This can be done closer to interview time)
resources:
https://www.medicmind.co.uk/free-mmi-mock/
https://www.bmj.com/student
https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/good-medical-practice---english-20200128_pdf-51527435.pdf
i wouldn’t waste any money on buying books or courses, you can find all the pdfs online. the only thing i remember paying for was a mock MMI at Nottingham. it was super helpful so that’s something id recommend because its done by med students so they know what interviewers want to hear but it’s not compulsory at all!
overall, stay calm and stay positive! I remember being absolutely terrified that i was never going to get in but i realised that even if i don’t get an interview/offer, it’s not the end of the world, even if it did feel that way sometimes. you’re obviously very passionate about pursuing medicine and universities will see that
you’ve also got a lot of time till interviews so honestly, don’t worry.good luck!!
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by lyeenah
hello! i'll be sending in my applications in october this year and i've been so worried that i've not done much besides studying for my 3 a levels (bio math chem) and how that will affect my cv/personal statement.
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7328845
Original post by circusqueen
You've got this !
You have plenty of time.
You have been doing absolutely the right thing focussing on your grades.
Well done on arranging a hospital "rotation" whatever that may be. I think you might be better to skip MOOCs and do thr BSMS online work experience and Observe GP. Both free. And reflect on what you learn. Try keeping a journal.
Remember, it is how you reflect on what you see, not what you do. Tey searching online for the RCGP reflective diary. Your route to medicine. Very helpful.
Most (but not all) med schools don't even look at your PS when deciding who to interview, and some will look at it during the interview, but the biggest deciding factor on who to interview is a combination of your GCSEs and your UCAT.
So think about your UCAT. Not so much starting to revise now as it is too early, but more planning when you will revise and when you will take it. I always suggest people try and do it relatively early in the summer if they can, that give them.more time to make a strategic application and tailor their PS to their strategic choices. Come back to TSR and look at the application megathread for your best strategic choices once you have your UCAT.
Find out when your schools deadline is for early applications. (It will be well before the Oct deadline) and work back from.then planning your summer. Boring but it will pay off.
Check to see if you are eligible for the UCAT bursary.
If you have any mitigating circumstances that you feel unfortunately seriously impacted your GCSEs then have a look into that process. Hopefully it will not be an issue for you. But if so, timings for letting medical schools know about them is often much much earlier than the UCAS deadline. You will need to gather evidence too.
If you can, see if you can find a people facing job. Would be good if it was in a care home but that can be very tricky to get, esp if you are young in your year But may have volunteering spots but will take time to set up. Look especially at nursing homes (and care homes if no nursing homes) within your area.
But public facing roles such as waitressing shop work, working in Maccies also work. Anything where you will have some reflections on how you engage with people.
If you can combine that with some form of volunteering that would be an extra cherry for your PS. Volunteering, especially committed longer term volunteering is good to have on your reflective log. Can be school clubs, or working in a charity shop all sorts.
These things can take time to get or do. They are not all essential but will be helpful. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all.
Timeline planning, learning about UCAT, BSMS, Observe GP (both easy Easter tasks), reflect, reflect. Public facing work. Reflect.
And don't forget to breathe, and have some fun !
Good luck.
You have plenty of time.
You have been doing absolutely the right thing focussing on your grades.
Well done on arranging a hospital "rotation" whatever that may be. I think you might be better to skip MOOCs and do thr BSMS online work experience and Observe GP. Both free. And reflect on what you learn. Try keeping a journal.
Remember, it is how you reflect on what you see, not what you do. Tey searching online for the RCGP reflective diary. Your route to medicine. Very helpful.
Most (but not all) med schools don't even look at your PS when deciding who to interview, and some will look at it during the interview, but the biggest deciding factor on who to interview is a combination of your GCSEs and your UCAT.
So think about your UCAT. Not so much starting to revise now as it is too early, but more planning when you will revise and when you will take it. I always suggest people try and do it relatively early in the summer if they can, that give them.more time to make a strategic application and tailor their PS to their strategic choices. Come back to TSR and look at the application megathread for your best strategic choices once you have your UCAT.
Find out when your schools deadline is for early applications. (It will be well before the Oct deadline) and work back from.then planning your summer. Boring but it will pay off.
Check to see if you are eligible for the UCAT bursary.
If you have any mitigating circumstances that you feel unfortunately seriously impacted your GCSEs then have a look into that process. Hopefully it will not be an issue for you. But if so, timings for letting medical schools know about them is often much much earlier than the UCAS deadline. You will need to gather evidence too.
If you can, see if you can find a people facing job. Would be good if it was in a care home but that can be very tricky to get, esp if you are young in your year But may have volunteering spots but will take time to set up. Look especially at nursing homes (and care homes if no nursing homes) within your area.
But public facing roles such as waitressing shop work, working in Maccies also work. Anything where you will have some reflections on how you engage with people.
If you can combine that with some form of volunteering that would be an extra cherry for your PS. Volunteering, especially committed longer term volunteering is good to have on your reflective log. Can be school clubs, or working in a charity shop all sorts.
These things can take time to get or do. They are not all essential but will be helpful. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all.
Timeline planning, learning about UCAT, BSMS, Observe GP (both easy Easter tasks), reflect, reflect. Public facing work. Reflect.
And don't forget to breathe, and have some fun !
Good luck.
this is so helpful and is def what i needed to hear. i rlly am passionate about medicine and can't imagine myself pursuing anything else. seeing how competitive med school applications is so daunting and is rlly the only thing that's been on my mind lately. but seeing people like you be so kind and willing to help students like me is so heartwarming to see and really puts my heart and mind at ease. wishing you all the best in whatever it is you're doing now!(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by aalimk
hi!
i’ve just received 2 med offers so i thought id offer some advice
having a hospital rotation is great experience and it’s something that perfect to talk about in interviews. I’d recommend getting online work experience through observe GP, BSMS online, i remember doing a Newcastle mini medical school so have a look if they’re still doing that! i think Southampton have some virtual experience too? also, id recommend volunteering - it’s always great to talk about, easy to get and very rewarding. i did volunteering at a local charity shop so it doesn’t take too much out your day.
in terms of interviews, try assigning skills to experiences. Eg. Communication: “i saw the doctor using active listening and open body language to communicate effectively with the patient”, then explain why it’s important within medicine. you can write this in a table on excel or on a piece of paper, it’ll really help with interviews. i wont lie, i didn’t do much prep until a few days before which probably isn’t the smartest (so definitely start earlier) but it should show you that interviewers aren’t really trying to catch you out! they just want to see you be open and honest, if you truly want to do medicine and you're passionate about it, they’ll notice that !!
your UCAT is a long time away so you don’t need to be revising yet but when you do start revising for it, i would recommend medentry!
what you should be doing in preparation:
resources:
https://www.medicmind.co.uk/free-mmi-mock/
https://www.bmj.com/student
https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/good-medical-practice---english-20200128_pdf-51527435.pdf
i wouldn’t waste any money on buying books or courses, you can find all the pdfs online. the only thing i remember paying for was a mock MMI at Nottingham. it was super helpful so that’s something id recommend because its done by med students so they know what interviewers want to hear but it’s not compulsory at all!
overall, stay calm and stay positive! I remember being absolutely terrified that i was never going to get in but i realised that even if i don’t get an interview/offer, it’s not the end of the world, even if it did feel that way sometimes. you’re obviously very passionate about pursuing medicine and universities will see that you’ve also got a lot of time till interviews so honestly, don’t worry.
good luck!!
i’ve just received 2 med offers so i thought id offer some advice
having a hospital rotation is great experience and it’s something that perfect to talk about in interviews. I’d recommend getting online work experience through observe GP, BSMS online, i remember doing a Newcastle mini medical school so have a look if they’re still doing that! i think Southampton have some virtual experience too? also, id recommend volunteering - it’s always great to talk about, easy to get and very rewarding. i did volunteering at a local charity shop so it doesn’t take too much out your day.
in terms of interviews, try assigning skills to experiences. Eg. Communication: “i saw the doctor using active listening and open body language to communicate effectively with the patient”, then explain why it’s important within medicine. you can write this in a table on excel or on a piece of paper, it’ll really help with interviews. i wont lie, i didn’t do much prep until a few days before which probably isn’t the smartest (so definitely start earlier) but it should show you that interviewers aren’t really trying to catch you out! they just want to see you be open and honest, if you truly want to do medicine and you're passionate about it, they’ll notice that !!
your UCAT is a long time away so you don’t need to be revising yet but when you do start revising for it, i would recommend medentry!
what you should be doing in preparation:
•
keep on top of hot topics and important cases in medicine. eg. Lucy letby, junior doctor strikes, Harold Shipman, covid backlog, etc. you can be asked about them and they’re also great for backing up a point. have a read of the student BMJ - super helpful!!
•
read the GMC guidelines and the NHS core values, these are really important and should be referenced in almost every interview answer. just having a good understanding of both of these and why they’re important within medicine will really help.
•
if you’re applying to any Scottish universities, make sure you know differences between Scottish and English healthcare
•
one thing i struggled with was stuttering and pausing while i was answering practice questions so id recommend auralyze.ai - it makes questions, you can record your answer and it’ll grade it and give you feedback. (This can be done closer to interview time)
resources:
https://www.medicmind.co.uk/free-mmi-mock/
https://www.bmj.com/student
https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/good-medical-practice---english-20200128_pdf-51527435.pdf
i wouldn’t waste any money on buying books or courses, you can find all the pdfs online. the only thing i remember paying for was a mock MMI at Nottingham. it was super helpful so that’s something id recommend because its done by med students so they know what interviewers want to hear but it’s not compulsory at all!
overall, stay calm and stay positive! I remember being absolutely terrified that i was never going to get in but i realised that even if i don’t get an interview/offer, it’s not the end of the world, even if it did feel that way sometimes. you’re obviously very passionate about pursuing medicine and universities will see that
you’ve also got a lot of time till interviews so honestly, don’t worry.good luck!!
(((Original post by circusqueen
May be worth joining this thread for a bit of moral support too!
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7328845
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7328845
Original post by lyeenah
hello! i'll be sending in my applications in october this year and i've been so worried that i've not done much besides studying for my 3 a levels (bio math chem) and how that will affect my cv/personal statement.
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
can anyone tell me what else i can do that would boost my cv? (besides hospital rotations cause i've already applied and will be starting mine in august)
i'm also starting some MOOC's but i want to know if doing them will rlly give me an advantage in my application?
+ also so nervous ab interviews, any advice on any readings i should do to prepare for the interviews?
pls help ive been feeling so anxious the past few weeks
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