There are two types of medicine applicants. The first latter have been determined since “young” to get into medical school, have outstanding grades, extracurricular music/arts qualifications, numerous work experience and volunteering experiences etc. The second category is where I fit in, average grades, one or two work experience/volunteering experiences and highly unsure of whether I am good “enough” to apply. Hello everyone! My name is Kirthana and I’m a first-year medical student. I’ve always had an idea to share my experience with fellow applicants, in an attempt of what to do and not to do, and any possible tips to make the process easier.
Being in a grammar school environment for seven years drastically impacted my confidence and killed my ego (literally). I was surrounded by applicants who fit into the first category, who were extremely smart, wealthy and willing to pay for opportunities like work experiences. A grammar school does not necessarily broaden your chances of getting into medical school; I was still a first gen student, with a low income and the first to attend university in my family. In fact, I lacked the appropriate support to get in and struggled so much during my application process.
What I’m trying to say is, that you can also apply to medicine being in the second category. There are so many opportunities being designed as we speak for disadvantaged pupils- Sutton Trust Summer School programmes, foundation year degrees, FREE virtual work experiences, FREE mock MMI circuits. (I’ll attach links to them at the end of this article).
When I had my mock exams for UCAS predicted grades following the first COVID lockdown, I performed terribly and my teachers couldn’t predict me the AAA grades I needed to apply for Medicine. I was only able to apply to 2 universities for Medicine because I went to the Sutton Trust Summer School. Year 13 was probably the lowest point of my life so far, because I was preparing for interviews, doing my UCAT exams whilst catching up on Year 12 and Year 13 content, and constantly thinking I wasn’t “worthy” enough to get into Medicine. I would wake up at 6am every morning before school to revise, received a bursary to finally go to tuition (even if it was £30 an hour!), and worked my socks off to end up with A*AA in my final exams. If I could pull it off in less than 6 months, so can you!
I’ve summarised my tips below:
1) UCAT prep: Try to do it in Year 12 summer and get it out of the way, because once year 13 starts you’ve got a lot of your plate! I used Medify to help me prepare for the UCAT, you do have to pay, but I applied for a bursary with Medify and I only had to pay a small amount. I sat my UCAT for free, it’s usually £65, but I also was granted a bursary with the UCAT Bursary scheme.
2) Work experience: You can easily get virtual work experience for free via doctors on social media. They’re trying to support you with the application process! E.g @meddenx on Instagram was a massive help to help me apply. I also went on my local hospital website pages, found a list of consultants and emailed about 50+ doctors! I luckily managed to get one response from a cardiologist, and I was granted a 3 day in-person work experience which was immensely beneficial. DO NOT pay for work experience.
3) Sutton Trust Summer School: Definitely, definitely apply! They broaden your chances so much, and actually give you a great shot at getting in, especially if you haven’t got the predicted grades required. It’s also really interesting to learn about what medical school will be like, you get to live on campus in halls during the summer.
https://summerschools.suttontrust.com
4) Interview prep: Practise, practise, practise! I gained a lot of info from websites online, and even found a mock MMI circuit template to practise with friends and family. Do not rehearse your answers, or speak so fast so that it sounds rehearsed. Once again, I gained a lot of insight with help from @meddenx. You can also gain free MMI circuit help from university societies, my university has a society to help medicine applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds and one of the things we do is free interview help. Read up on NHS Hot Topics!!
5) Comparing yourself: The waiting process is by far the worst phase to be in. Rejection abruptly is nasty but the kindest way in my opinion – there are some unis that make applicants wait months for a response just to reject them in the end. But most importantly, please try not to compare yourself to your peers; I sound like a hypocrite saying that because I destroyed my mental health comparing myself to my friends who heard back from their unis, or friends who did better than me on exams. It’s just not worth it, and it’ll eat you up inside like a parasite. Don’t go there!
All in all, I hope my tips and listening to my experience has helped. I’m not trying to scare off prospective applicants, I’m just giving a realistic view on what the application journey will be like- it’s one I’ll never forget, and I’ve been in medical school for 2 years now. Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best of luck
I am so proud of you and so proud of what you been doing. You honestly will be the best doctor and the most hard working
Keep shining