So perhaps my claim of 'I could hear next week' was a bit optimistic but I've finally heard something!
Up until now, University correspondence had been minimal. Moral was low.
HYMS (Hull and York Medical School) contacted me asking for more information on my gap year. Leeds thanked me for applying and let me know that due to 'large volumes of applicants' I shouldn't expect to hear until the first week of December at least.
Cardiff also said thank you, and reassured that whether interviews were held in November or March, applicants had an equal chance of an offer.
Southampton remain silent.
AND THEN...
An email from HYMS last week, inviting me to interview! Luckily, it's the day after we get back from our Derren Brown cruise - so in a space of 24 hours I'm going to be travelling from Bruges to Southampton to Swindon to Hull. And then back to Swindon. I don't mind, if I'm honest. I don't mind the 5 hour train ride, or the nervous build-up, or the £100+ it's going to cost me in Travelodge fees and packet sandwiches. I don't even mind the pressure of an interview or the awkward moments spent 'sizing-up' the fellow applicants. FYI, HYMS received 1000+ applications for 150ish places. 600 people are interviewed for around 350 offers. That's just about 50-50. The way HYMS work is a 'leader board' style... where more points at interview mean a higher chance of acceptance.
I'm also aware not to build up my hopes too much - after all, an interview in no way guarantees an offer - but at least it's something. After six weeks of silence, it's a little relief to know that my application hasn't been completely passed over. Mind, I haven't had any bad news either (I think post-Xmas is usually when the majority of rejections are made).
In reflection, (as long as I have an offer this year) this year has been a great opportunity: I've taken a year out to explore other interests through my work, develop and mature as a person as well as de-stress and remind myself how to be a legal teenager without the constant pressure of exams (read: pub visits and lazy evening in my trackie bottoms)! And I hope I have an opportunity to express this in an interview...
I really would love to get an offer from HYMS - they're a relatively small (read: personable) medical school, with a huge focus on learning through experience (up to 50% of the course is on placements in primary and secondary care centres). They also practice PBL, a form of team-based learning where each week presents a 'challenge' to explore and research, therefore expanding your knowledge as you work. HYMS trains you to be a doctor, rather than teaching you medicine.
My outfit is set (pink pin-stripe trouser suit, with a pencil dress as the back-up option), now just for the preparation! Re-reading my statement, EPQ, books I've quoted, finishing my scrapbook, cramming as much from NHS Behind The Headlines and the news, watching TED on my iPad, plus scanning the HYMS website and prospectus for any pearls of wisdom. Exhausting, nerve-wracking, exciting stuff.
I don't want to set myself up for a fall by giving away too much now, so I'll let you know after the interview/on the decision day.
Sunday 27 November 2011
Monday 7 November 2011
Cartography.
So I'm all applied and raring to go (according to the emails etc I could be hearing back any time from next week-ish...), whilst feeling a nauseous mix of anxiety, confidence and scepticism.
With Medicine, there's no 'the hardest part is...' because it's all time consuming and nerve-wracking and difficult, from the personal statement to the UKCAT, to actually choosing where you want to go. If I'm honest, last year I copped out on my choices - they became secondary issues, despite how important it is to think carefully where you want to live for the next 6 years!
Last year my choices looked like this:
University of Bristol because it's local. And reputable. And I kind of like the shopping there.
University of Oxford again it's local. The shopping is very good and the streets are just so quaint. (Plus it's the only place I'd ever visited prior to applying - admittedly whilst I was in Year 8 - so it just made sense.)
Peninsula Medical School apparently everyone gets in there.
Keele University the prospectus is pretty. It looks like a castle, on a lake, IN A VILLAGE. Too cute.
Looking back, I'm not surprised the 'so why do you want to study here' part didn't go so great... and it's actually rather embarrassing to read my honest responses here.
This year, however, was far more thoughtful... and hopefully you'll find the reasoning behind my choices potentially useful, regardless of the course you're applying for! It's difficult to know where to go - after all, it's logistically impossible to visit all of them, and when you do they all look fantastic and lovely and welcoming.
FYI, there are 32 medical schools in the UK, three of which are for postgraduate medicine only - compared to a subject like Maths, or English, Medicine is relatively easy to begin narrowing down.
The first step was clearly to eliminate anywhere 'too far'; I'm talking Scotland, Northern Ireland and Newcastle.
And then I'm thinking how poor I'd be if I lived in London (plus I couldn't cope with black-coloured snot 24/7), so those were crossed out too...
And I wouldn't want to apply anywhere for the second time running - if I wasn't good enough last year, then I guess they probably won't want me this year.
So now I'm left with thirteen. Birmingham won't accept me (they'd like 7 A*s and I have 5), plus it's a big, mean-looking city. Come to think of it, I'd much rather be somewhere with a bit of breathing space... so Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham can be crossed off too. I've tried the Oxbridge thing, and I wasn't really feeling it so Cambridge might as well go too.
So I'm down to my final eight (much like Judge's Houses on the X Factor) and four have to go. If I'm honest, neither Norwich nor Sheffield really inspired me when I read up so that makes narrowing down slightly easier... And I'm left with six, only two more to decide against before my final four.
So what do we have left?
L for Leeds
H for Hull and York Medical School
Le for Leicester
C for Cardiff
S for Southampton
B for Brighton and Sussex Medical School
I thought about the things I most wanted out of medical school; I like the PBL learning method (each week you learn about a topic e.g. heart disease and your learning progresses outwards, like a spiders web, rather than linear learning, like at school), I want to practice full body dissection, I want an opportunity for research and intercalated degrees (a mini-degree as an extra year within your medical degree), I want to live on a campus but the change of a dual school Uni is appealing. I want fresh air and space to think.
So I tallied them. I read the prospectus and gave each school a mark in a column if they have it. Cardiff practice full-body dissection. Southampton are research-led. BSMS can provide plenty of fresh air and space, Leeds is a perfect student, party city. And you have to remember applying to medical school is competitive - where do I appeal most? My strong UKCAT score would be wasted at Cardiff, who barely look at it whereas Leicester love it. Southampton don't interview, so you need a strong personal statement - is mine that individual?
Eventually, I think my heart and head compromised. Regardless of the 'scores' I'd given each, I'd already started to fall in love with the four I knew I really wanted. All for different reasons, but all unique and perfect in their own way. Cardiff's dissection room. Southampton's research labs. Leeds' student-friendly campus. Hull/York's contrast between beautiful York and poverty-stricken Hull.
It'll be interesting. At the moment I have a vague idea of where I'd like to go most -> least. But then I haven't visited them all yet... and I doubt I'll have much of a choice to make. Best of two, if I'm lucky. We'll see; I've been told to expect answers before Christmas.
With Medicine, there's no 'the hardest part is...' because it's all time consuming and nerve-wracking and difficult, from the personal statement to the UKCAT, to actually choosing where you want to go. If I'm honest, last year I copped out on my choices - they became secondary issues, despite how important it is to think carefully where you want to live for the next 6 years!
Last year my choices looked like this:
University of Bristol because it's local. And reputable. And I kind of like the shopping there.
University of Oxford again it's local. The shopping is very good and the streets are just so quaint. (Plus it's the only place I'd ever visited prior to applying - admittedly whilst I was in Year 8 - so it just made sense.)
Peninsula Medical School apparently everyone gets in there.
Keele University the prospectus is pretty. It looks like a castle, on a lake, IN A VILLAGE. Too cute.
Looking back, I'm not surprised the 'so why do you want to study here' part didn't go so great... and it's actually rather embarrassing to read my honest responses here.
This year, however, was far more thoughtful... and hopefully you'll find the reasoning behind my choices potentially useful, regardless of the course you're applying for! It's difficult to know where to go - after all, it's logistically impossible to visit all of them, and when you do they all look fantastic and lovely and welcoming.
FYI, there are 32 medical schools in the UK, three of which are for postgraduate medicine only - compared to a subject like Maths, or English, Medicine is relatively easy to begin narrowing down.
The first step was clearly to eliminate anywhere 'too far'; I'm talking Scotland, Northern Ireland and Newcastle.
And then I'm thinking how poor I'd be if I lived in London (plus I couldn't cope with black-coloured snot 24/7), so those were crossed out too...
And I wouldn't want to apply anywhere for the second time running - if I wasn't good enough last year, then I guess they probably won't want me this year.
So now I'm left with thirteen. Birmingham won't accept me (they'd like 7 A*s and I have 5), plus it's a big, mean-looking city. Come to think of it, I'd much rather be somewhere with a bit of breathing space... so Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham can be crossed off too. I've tried the Oxbridge thing, and I wasn't really feeling it so Cambridge might as well go too.
So I'm down to my final eight (much like Judge's Houses on the X Factor) and four have to go. If I'm honest, neither Norwich nor Sheffield really inspired me when I read up so that makes narrowing down slightly easier... And I'm left with six, only two more to decide against before my final four.
L for Leeds
H for Hull and York Medical School
Le for Leicester
C for Cardiff
S for Southampton
B for Brighton and Sussex Medical School
I thought about the things I most wanted out of medical school; I like the PBL learning method (each week you learn about a topic e.g. heart disease and your learning progresses outwards, like a spiders web, rather than linear learning, like at school), I want to practice full body dissection, I want an opportunity for research and intercalated degrees (a mini-degree as an extra year within your medical degree), I want to live on a campus but the change of a dual school Uni is appealing. I want fresh air and space to think.
So I tallied them. I read the prospectus and gave each school a mark in a column if they have it. Cardiff practice full-body dissection. Southampton are research-led. BSMS can provide plenty of fresh air and space, Leeds is a perfect student, party city. And you have to remember applying to medical school is competitive - where do I appeal most? My strong UKCAT score would be wasted at Cardiff, who barely look at it whereas Leicester love it. Southampton don't interview, so you need a strong personal statement - is mine that individual?
Eventually, I think my heart and head compromised. Regardless of the 'scores' I'd given each, I'd already started to fall in love with the four I knew I really wanted. All for different reasons, but all unique and perfect in their own way. Cardiff's dissection room. Southampton's research labs. Leeds' student-friendly campus. Hull/York's contrast between beautiful York and poverty-stricken Hull.
It'll be interesting. At the moment I have a vague idea of where I'd like to go most -> least. But then I haven't visited them all yet... and I doubt I'll have much of a choice to make. Best of two, if I'm lucky. We'll see; I've been told to expect answers before Christmas.
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