Applying For Medicine

Applications for medicine take place early on in the academic year so you will need to be organised early. If you find yourself too pressed for time remember there is no harm in taking a year out and gaining some relevant work experience and giving yourself time to prepare.

Applications are made through the UCAS online application system, although I believe paper applications also have to be submitted for certain universities, such as Cambridge. The UCAS deadline for medicine applications in 2017 was 15th October, for September 2018 start.

You will also need to make sure you sit the correct entrance exam for your particular university within the required time frame. Most exam dates are before this October deadline so you will need to think about this even earlier, ideally before the summer holiday if you are still at college. There are three different entrance exams that I'm aware of:
UKCAT - https://www.ukcat.ac.uk/ - This is the most common entrance exam used in the UK.
BMAT - http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/ - This exam is used by Cambridge and Oxford as well as a handful of other universities across the UK.
GAMSAT - https://gamsat.acer.org/ - I believe this exam is used by some universities for applications to the graduate entry medicine course.
I sat the BMAT exam, November sitting, for my application, but I will talk about that in depth in the next blog.

Let's talk about UCAS - https://www.ucas.com/
If you are applying for university while still at college you will be guided through the application process, and I believe you can apply for free. If you are applying independently there will be a fee to pay. The fee I paid for 2017 for September 2018 start was £24.00. I am unsure if this fee is dependent on how many universities you apply to or not, I applied to four. I understand you can only use four of your five choices to apply for medicine courses. You are advised to use your fifth choice for another course in a subject you would enjoy.

The application includes sections to complete on personal details, education and qualifications, employment, personal statement, reference, and course choices. All of these sections, including getting your referee to write and submit their reference for you, have to be completed, and the fee paid, by the October deadline.

For most applicants, writing your personal statement will be the biggest deal during the application process. If you are still at college you will usually be given ample support for this. If not, utilise the advice pages on the UCAS website. Remember to tailor your personal statement to the fact that you're applying for a medicine course. Think about what qualities and experience universities will be looking for and write about those.

I chose to include a bit of information about how I came to the decision to apply for medicine, my experience and plans/motivation for my future career, and a small paragraph about my other interests outside of medicine.

Don't forget to try and make it interesting, without being silly, as admissions teams sometimes have to read thousands of these. And definitely don't copy someone else's, as you'll be caught out by the similarities system, or ask someone else to write it for you, as you may be quizzed on it during your interview. It's not worth the risk.

Once your application is submitted and your entrance exam is sat, it's time to wait for interview invitations. Invitations to interview usually arrive between December and February approximately. Keep an eye on your emails as UCAS will email you as soon as something changes on your application, either an invite to interview or a rejection. The universities will also contact you directly via email if you are being invited to interview. You will want to look at these as soon as you receive them as you will likely be asked to book yourself an interview date and time. These slots will be filling up quickly so the earlier you look the more choice you will have.

There is plenty you can be doing to prepare for your interviews while you're waiting, and I'll talk about that in the blog after next.

Thanks for reading.
Katherine

In The Beginning...

I was already twenty three and half way through a degree with the Open University when I decided I wanted to be a doctor. Fast forward two and a half years and I've just accepted an offer of a place to start my medicine degree this September.

I'd been thinking about starting this blog throughout the application process but I figured there would be no point if I didn't end up getting a place, so now that's secure I've decided to get this up and running.

My plan for this blog is to first cover a little bit of my relevant background, and outline the application process as fully as possible, then I'm planning to take you on this journey with me while I sort out finance and accommodation, moving in, and studying the degree, and hopefully also what comes after that.

My Background
I was always into science, for as long as I can remember, but mostly physics and space to be honest. My childhood dream was to work for NASA, and unless I end up doing it as a doctor it looks like I have a new dream. I studied triple science at high school with three As at GCSE, and Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics at A-Level with three Bs... and a D in mathematics (it turned out maths wasn't my strong point!). I never applied for university while I was at college because I simply didn't know what I wanted to do. I started working immediately after I finished my exams, in a local General Practice as a receptionist. Six months later I started my Open University degree with a module called "Molecules, Medicines and Drugs". I had no idea where the degree was going but I had chosen to study an "Open Degree" meaning I could pick and choose the modules which interested me as I went along. During my time working at the GP surgery I trained as a phlebotomist (blood taking) and stayed in that position for a year, only leaving it to undertake some charity work. The following year I had to take some extra modules for my degree to improve my grade from a lower second class honours to an upper second class honours. I completed the degree with a 2:1 in June 2017, and became the first person in my direct family to complete a degree. After another stint of charity work the application process began.

My Provisional Plan
My current plan for the future is to complete my medicine degree followed by F1 and F2 years. After that I think I would like to follow the Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) training pathway. The final stage would be specialising and I'm interested in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine. I'm also hoping to intercalate a relevant masters year into my medicine degree. The reason this plan is provisional is because I recognise my interests may change during the course of my studies and also healthcare needs change, and I need to be able to get a job I enjoy at the end of it.

The next few posts will cover the application process and tips for what to revise for interview.

Thanks for reading.
Katherine