Hello, I’m Katie.

I have found that there’s a lot of pressure put on the application process, and having the best personal statement, the best grades, best UKCAT score, etc. but sometimes things don’t go quite as you planned and somehow despite your best efforts you end up getting four rejections and having to consider biomed instead. That was me two years ago, so I’m going to tell you all about how I still managed to get an offer for the same year that I applied. Admittedly it was not easy, but the past two years have been worth it!

 

I didn’t really decide I wanted to do medicine until I was already in sixth form, but there were still a lot of things I could put on my personal statement due to hobbies such as dancing, being in the school orchestra or volunteering at a local Brownies club. In terms of work experience, I would definitely argue that it’s what you gain from the experience that’s important and not the quantity and length of time that you do this for. I came across difficulty in that the main hospital in my local area didn’t accept anyone for work experience, so instead I was able to shaddow a GP and volunteer at a local care home. One of my most valuable experiences was at a two-day workshop at a local mental health clinic where we got to talk to the patients about what it really means to have an understanding and empathetic doctor, and how we ourselves could achieve this. I found this to be extremely helpful as a discussion point at interview also. One tip I have is to keep documentation for everything as you may be asked to provide evidence for anything you reference in your personal statement.

 

I attended two interviews: one MMI and one panel-style. I had a preconception that the MMI might have been a lot harder but found that a panel interview can be just as tasking. One of the universities I applied to required me to sit the BMAT, so I’ll be sharing some tips on that too.