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getting back in uni after 2 years/ help

I have been out of school for approximately 2 years. I am going to start going to start uni this autumn, insha allah. The course is biomedical science. I'd like to know what I could do to make my first year less stressful. what should I go over, any tips?

Reply 1

BradfordRep

Official Rep

Original post by Riba232

Hi @Riba232 ,

Hope you're well :smile:

I don't have any knowledge in biomedical science, but what I would definitely recommend is to look on the website of the University you will be attending iA. What to do is look on the curriculum, which will be split into the 3/4 years and will have the topics for each year. Reading up on those topics will definitely be of some sort of help for you. Additionally, do you have any friends or colleagues who might have studied it that you can possibly ask?

Hope it goes well for you

~Zaynab
University of Bradford

Reply 2

EssexStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by Riba232

Hey @Riba232 😊

Which uni are you going to for biomed?

I'm going into my final year of biomedical science at Essex in October. Is there anything in particular you're worried about?

Best wishes,
Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Reply 3

S7479

Original post by EssexStudentRep

Hey @Riba232 😊
Which uni are you going to for biomed?
I'm going into my final year of biomedical science at Essex in October. Is there anything in particular you're worried about?
Best wishes,
Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Hey, I want to apply for biomed at Manchester, could u help me out with personal statement??
I haven’t done any work experience, I’ve contacted everywhere but no one’s getting back, do u have any websites for virtual work experience??
Thanks

Reply 4

EssexStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by S7479

Hey @S7479

The University of Manchester has some info on Virtual work experience , have you had a look at this page already?

Do you know what you'd like to do after you graduate? If you're hoping to become a registered biomedical scientist in an NHS hospital lab then I'd recommend choosing a university that has their biomed degree accredited by the institute of biomedical science (IBMS)

If you're looking more into going into industry, pharmaceuticals, biotech, research, or further education like graduate medicine, then an accredited degree is less essential (but still useful)

What you can also do is email the pathology department of your local hospital and ask if they can offer a tour of their labs so you can see what the day to day life of a Biomedical scientist is like. Using initiative like this looks really good on your personal statement. Even if you don't have relevant work experience it shows that you're keen to learn about the industry. We get tours of students and junior doctors come to our lab all the time.

For your personal statement, talk about transferable skills that you have that you can carry over to your degree like time management, attention to detail, ability to do independent research and reading beyond taught material.

Have a look at the course structure and the modules your chosen uni offer and talk about how you're interested in learning more about certain subjects and why.

A personal statement doesn't need to be all about your experience, you can use it to talk about the future. Why you've chosen this degree, what you're looking forward to, what you hope to get out of the uni experience, how studying there will enable you to pursue your dreams, etc

Hope that all helps 😊
Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Reply 5

S7479

Original post by EssexStudentRep

Hey @S7479
The University of Manchester has some info on Virtual work experience , have you had a look at this page already?
Do you know what you'd like to do after you graduate? If you're hoping to become a registered biomedical scientist in an NHS hospital lab then I'd recommend choosing a university that has their biomed degree accredited by the institute of biomedical science (IBMS)
If you're looking more into going into industry, pharmaceuticals, biotech, research, or further education like graduate medicine, then an accredited degree is less essential (but still useful)
What you can also do is email the pathology department of your local hospital and ask if they can offer a tour of their labs so you can see what the day to day life of a Biomedical scientist is like. Using initiative like this looks really good on your personal statement. Even if you don't have relevant work experience it shows that you're keen to learn about the industry. We get tours of students and junior doctors come to our lab all the time.
For your personal statement, talk about transferable skills that you have that you can carry over to your degree like time management, attention to detail, ability to do independent research and reading beyond taught material.
Have a look at the course structure and the modules your chosen uni offer and talk about how you're interested in learning more about certain subjects and why.
A personal statement doesn't need to be all about your experience, you can use it to talk about the future. Why you've chosen this degree, what you're looking forward to, what you hope to get out of the uni experience, how studying there will enable you to pursue your dreams, etc
Hope that all helps 😊
Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Thanks for the info🫶🫶

Reply 6

Riba232

Original post by BradfordRep

Hi @Riba232 ,
Hope you're well :smile:

I don't have any knowledge in biomedical science, but what I would definitely recommend is to look on the website of the University you will be attending iA. What to do is look on the curriculum, which will be split into the 3/4 years and will have the topics for each year. Reading up on those topics will definitely be of some sort of help for you. Additionally, do you have any friends or colleagues who might have studied it that you can possibly ask?
Hope it goes well for you
~Zaynab
University of Bradford

thank you for your reply, I actually don't know anybody and that's what's making me nervous. I will be attending their open day with my parents soon insha allah so I hope I make some friends then!

Reply 7

Riba232

thanks for replying! I will be studying at University of Roehampton. there's nothing in particular, its just in general, like what topics should I go over so I won't be lagging behind in class

Reply 8

BradfordRep

Official Rep

Original post by Riba232

thank you for your reply, I actually don't know anybody and that's what's making me nervous. I will be attending their open day with my parents soon insha allah so I hope I make some friends then!

Hi @Riba232 ,

That's all part of the University journey. Sometimes it might start off lonely and you may not know anybody but as time progresses and goes on, you will end up meeting others and making friends iA.

Try to be optimistic and don't worry :smile:

~Zaynab
University of Bradford

Reply 9

EssexStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by Riba232

thanks for replying! I will be studying at University of Roehampton. there's nothing in particular, its just in general, like what topics should I go over so I won't be lagging behind in class

Hey @Riba232

No worries, you won't lag behind as long as you keep up with your lectures and do a bit of reading around them.

Your first year of uni is all about getting everyone to the same level, so you'll find the first lecture of each module will feel like going back to basics and they'll tell you what you'll be covering in the term/year.

It all depends on what comes easier to you vs what you might struggle with for what you could do a bit of extra reading for. For me, I struggle with genetics but I do quite well with anatomy and physiology. There's things like cell signalling and pathways that have a lot of steps that can be quite difficult to learn. All the cellular respiration, glycolysis, ADP to ATP energy synthesis stuff you might have covered before, but you'll go into far greater detail at uni level.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, just go over a bit of cell structure and function as a bit of a refresh before you start. Like I said, they'll go over everything in your lectures so nothing should come as a horrible surprise lol

Essex Student Rep - Hayley