Offers And Accepting

There's probably not a huge amount I can say about this topic, but I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway.

When I went for my interview at Brighton and Sussex Medical School we were told in the presentation/talk prior to our interviews that approximately 5% of people will receive their offer of a place on the same day. We were also told that those people would be the ones who scored full marks at every station. Everybody else would receive their offers sometime before May.

Now, I hadn't exactly made the best first impression when I arrived at BSMS as I'd forgotten to bring my qualification certificates with me, but what I did have was a letter from a doctor who I work with, who looks after my Father, stating that I had just found out he had an incurable cancer, literally two weeks before my interview, and hence, I wasn't as well prepared as I would have liked to have been, and probably wasn't in the best frame of mind either. I showed this letter to the admissions team, who were sympathetic and supportive, and informed the interviewers before I went in.

These circumstances meant that, while in the long term I wanted a place to study medicine, in the short term I didn't care very much about whether I received an offer this year. It made me strangely relaxed about my interview. I had bigger things in my life to worry about than if those five people liked me that day. In a way I think it turned out to be beneficial to my interview as I usually get very nervous and don't interview very well, but on that day I couldn't bring myself to even worry enough to be nervous, I just hoped I would get through the day without crying in front of people.

I did making it through the day without crying, just. I had a couple of wobbles but no tears. One of the interviewers told me he was sorry to hear about my Father, which was kind but not what I needed to hear mid-interview, but I still somehow managed to keep it together.

After the interview, I went back to the train station to wait for my train home. I even fell asleep in the waiting room, as I was emotionally and mentally exhausted. It's a good job I had remembered to put my phone back onto loud as it woke me from my sleep. It was a call from the admissions team, they asked me how my interview went and if I was okay, and I was thinking this is a kind courtesy call because of my Dad, but then they informed me that I had done really well and they were going to offer me a place, and that I could call my Dad and tell him. I was in shock. I rang my family immediately to let them know and my Dad told me straight away he wanted me to accept the place, even though I would be further away than I would like while he battles this illness, he was adamant that he wanted to see me live out my dreams, and not put my life on hold for him. It almost broke my heart, and it almost breaks my heart all over again typing it now. But I was incredibly thankful for his support, and even that he made the decision for me. I wouldn't have been able to leave him without his blessing.

While I was shocked and thankful for the place, I did have some doubts about my performance. Even though I had felt comfortable in my interview and I had felt I had answered most questions fully, I didn't think I had done that well, and I questioned for a few moments if it was a sympathy place because of my Dad. But my friends, family, and medical colleagues soon put me right, I wouldn't have been offered the place if I wasn't good enough, and I shouldn't ever put myself down.

I had to wait for the offer to be made official on UCAS but as soon as it was I cancelled the other interview I had been offered, withdrew from the other applications I was still waiting to hear from, and, along with my Father, I clicked the button to accept it straight away. Some people feel I was a bit rash about it, but it had been my top choice out of the universities I had applied to and it was an unconditional offer, so I didn't see the pointing in waiting, travelling to other interviews, and putting myself through more stress at a bad time.

So, I had accepted my place. Now it's time to wait for the rest of the offers to be sent out before I can sort accommodation and finance, forward my certificates and vaccination history, and get my DBS check done.

Thanks for reading.
Katherine

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