I thought I'd start a new blog, as my old one.. well, let's just say I've neglected it for about a year and a half.
The purpose of this blog is to document the process of getting into medical school and, hopefully, my journey whilst there. I have applied to do Medicine for 2012 entry, and this blog will be a mish-mash of my thoughts, experiences and perhaps a few tips - that is, if I am successful. And if I actually remember that I have a blog.Anyway, enough of that. This first post is going to be an overview of my academics, extra-curriculars and where I have applied. Here goes.
GCSEs
Like most other people, I took all of my GCSEs in Year 11. I did take two early, in the November - Maths and English Language - but the rest were taken in the summer. The important thing to know about GCSEs is that they really aren't that difficult. Obviously, people have different strengths and weaknesses (for example, I am hopeless at art and music so I dropped those like a hot potato back in Year 9), but you really should aim to do as well as you can in your GCSEs to give you the best shot at getting into medical school. Some universities don't put a lot of emphasis on GCSEs, so it isn't the end of the world if you get a few Bs, but you still want to put yourself ahead of the competition by getting the best possible grades.
Here are mine:
7 A*s in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics, German, Geography and English Literature.
3 As in English Language, Spanish and History.
The really important thing is, try to get the top grades in the core subjects - Maths, the sciences and English. Some universities will overlook Cs in History if the rest of your grades are fine, but most - if not all - universities require at least a B or above in both Maths and English.
A-Levels
Assuming your GCSEs are of no concern, then the next step is to choose your A-Levels. When I chose my A-Levels, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Previous ambitions of mine include veterinary surgeon, palaeontologist and.. clown. Please bear in mind that the clown thing was when I was about three - although I did take it very seriously, and only responded to the name 'Coco' for about a month.
Anyway. I took the subjects that I enjoyed, and also happened to be good at. There is no point in taking subjects that you absolutely detest just because you're all right at it.
For Medicine, Chemistry is almost essential. Most universities require "Chemistry plus one other science A-Level", with 'other science' being either Biology, Physics or Maths. There is some strange assumption that Maths is critical if you want to study Medicine.. it isn't. If you're not that good at it, don't take it. Simple.
At AS-Level, I took Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Politics. Politics seems like a bit of a wildcard thrown in there, but that the time of choosing, I was really interested in politics. I'd originally wanted to do German, but my school didn't run the course as I was the only one wanting to do it.
Problems did arise with Politics, however. I am not the best essay writer in the world, and much prefer subjects with 'set' answers. I didn't think of this when choosing my options.
My AS grades were:
Biology - A.
Chemistry - A.
Maths - A.
Politics - B.
The B in Politics isn't the end of the world. At the end of the day, it's a subject unrelated to Medicine and I was 4 UMS off an A - but you really should try to aim for AAAA at AS Level. Just makes life a bit easier, as many candidates will have fab GCSE results and straight As as AS.
At A2, I dropped Politics. I am now just taking Biology, Chemistry and Maths. As my AS grades were high enough, I'm predicted an A* in Biology, an A*/A in Chemistry and an A in Maths. If I take my AS UMS marks and award myself an A* for subjects in which I got over 90% (I know this doesn't happen), then at AS I would have achieved A*A*A*B. Again highlights the point I made about taking what you're good at.. My Politics grade was effectively 2 grades lower.
Extra-Curriculars / Volunteering / Work Experience
Aside from getting good grades, you should also aim to be getting some good volunteer work and work experience under your belt. Every other candidate applying will have similar or better grades to you - they wouldn't be applying if they didn't - so you need something to make you stand out. It's good for the personal statement, and shows admissions tutors that you have explored the career.
As this is getting to be a rather long post, I'll just rattle off what I did..
Volunteering
- A year and a half at St. John Ambulance as a First Aider (ongoing).
- 6 months helping out at a local Brownie pack every week (ongoing).
- A year as a 'maths mentor' at school, where I tutored a Yr7 pupil who was struggling with maths.
- A year as a 'lead student' at school, where a friend and I chatted weekly with a misbehaving Yr9 pupil, with the aim of befriending them and eventually changing their outlook on school.
I have a feeling I have more, but I can't remember it currently.
Work Experience
- 1 week at Papworth Hospital. I spent two days on a ward with cardiac patients, and spent three days shadowing a consultant cardiologist and transplant physician. Whilst shadowing him, I got to see non-major procedures such as stenting and also sat in on his outpatient clinics and shadowed him on his ward rounds.
- 1 week at Birmingham Children's Hopsital. Spent the week shadowing a consultant paediatric cardiac surgeon (so I saw a fair few open heart operations), although I also had time to sit in on a consultant paediatric cardiologist's outpatient clinic and chatted to a few junior doctors on their ward rounds. Saw some rather heart-rendering things, and I consider it to be one of the best weeks of my life.
Where I've Applied
Just a quick list of where I have applied. In alphabetical order..
Bristol University. As of yet, I have heard nothing from them other than an acknowledgment.
Edinburgh University. Same as above.
King's College, London. Same as above.
University of St. Andrews. I was interviewed on December 15th and will hear back in March.
Anyway. That's that. I'm not too sure how often I'll update this blog, but I will probably do so randomly as and when I see fit. (:
