Choosing Your Subject - Medicine

Medicine is an extremely competitive degree course: there are about 19,000 applications for 7000 places in 31 medical schools. The applicant:place ratio varies considerably; Cardiff is 20:1, Glasgow 6:1. You must do your homework on this aspect.

Very few offers will be for less than AAB - realistically you will need to be predicted AAA/AAAA to stand a good chance. In addition, you will need at least 6 A/A* at GCSE. If you go to a medical school, you are aiming to be a doctor, and all doctors are expected to be entirely on top of their work. Exam pass marks in medical school may well be 80%. 79%, you fail. In other courses, 80% is genius level, in medicine it is just a pass. There is no room for glamour in medicine, neither is there a place for arrogance.

All candidates must discuss their applications strategy with Mr. Ridd during the Summer Term, and should read the UCAS "Getting in to Medical School", available in the careers centre. Use the "Survey of UK Medical Schools Requirements and Selection policies" to help you understand the requirements for entry to all the medical schools. Be aware that medicine is one of the longest courses of study for any degree, and so you must be utterly convinced that this is what you want to do with your working life. A course in medicine is academically, physically and emotionally demanding, and you need to be robust enough to cope with crisis, error and failure.

You will usually be called for an interview, although some universities, like Southampton, are using your UCAS form combined with your UKCAT score to make a decision. Remember that admissions tutors are interviewing applicants not just for a degree course but for a career. Training a doctor costs £150,000 so institutions want the kind of people who will make a success of the course and who will stay in the profession.

If you are still thinking of applying for this course, then, here are a few tips.

• Lots and lots of work experience - In a hospital; not just shadowing a doctor, but maybe spending some time shadowing other staff, such as nurses or lab staff. Learn to appreciate everything that all the team do; take notes! They prove useful in interview. It may be worthwhile to spend some time doing voluntary work in a residential home, or working with small children. It makes you appreciate just the sort of hard and messy work that the public will not appreciate you for. You will be at a serious disadvantage if you have arranged very little or no work experience.

• Team sports and other posts - Medical schools love reading about your participation in team sports, orchestras, or previous posts that you have held. This is so that you appreciate that medicine is not an isolationist career, such as being a writer, but is very much a team career. The theory is that being in team sports or heading a team shows that you appreciate that. Also, from a purely selfish point, it means more members for their rugby team/orchestra/hockey/netball/rowing squads.

• Art, reading and other hobbies - This is to show that you have methods of relaxing to cope with stress. The doctor is the very definition of stress; otherwise how can one cope with being on call for 36 hours? Even as a medical student, when you hit your clinical years, you go on what is known as 'on take', which is basically on call for the med student.

• Why do you want to be a doctor? - This is the first question that interviewers will ask. The answer should also form the first sentence/paragraph of your UCAS personal statement. Try and think why you want to be one - not just the old 'I want to help people' answer; 9 times out of 10 you will face the retort of, 'So why don't you become a nurse then?' This is probably the most difficult question as, of course, the answer is totally individual. "Diagnosis" is what they want to hear - only a doctor diagnoses - and express your interest in the science of the subject and how the appliance of that is used to benefit patients.

• Some knowledge of current affairs and new medicine - Take clippings from newspapers about the latest developments in medicine, and try to understand them - what the treatment is for, who it will benefit, a little of the science behind it. For current affairs, at least keep abreast of the headlines; increased spending on what?

• You can only choose 4 medical schools - The reason behind this is to prevent oversubscription of places. You can, however, apply for one other closely related subject such as biomedical science. But be sure that you would accept this if offered, otherwise it's a waste of everyone's time.

• Sending the UCAS form - If you want any chance of getting in to medicine, be the first one to send off your form; admissions tutors will then be the first to read yours, and hence, will consider you first. You will need to complete it by the 15th of September (internal deadline) to give the school enough time to check and process the form. This is the same deadline as Oxbridge, and is only one week after we return in September.

Here is a list of personal qualities you will need to demonstrate:

• A clear sense of vocation
• A willingness to learn at all times - particular interest and curiosity in science and scientific matters
• Practical concern for the welfare of others - diagnosis rather than just caring
• Good communication skills
• Determination, energy, perseverance, resilience, enthusiasm
• Humanity, compassion, patience, integrity, modesty, sense of humour
• Originality and initiative
• Leadership skills and the ability to accept responsibility
• Good physical and mental health

Your personal statement is absolutely critical in the selection process. You should prepare your draft in the summer term and discuss it with Mr Ridd and your housemaster. Above all, you should use it to demonstrate your passion for and commitment to studying medicine, together with your motivation and ability to deal with stress. Make sure you discuss what you have learnt from your work experience, and your views on modern developments in the medical field.

There are some specific medical admissions tests of which you need to be aware. In the Key Links section at the top of this page are links to ukcat.ac.uk and also a link to a PDF of an information leaflet. There's also a link to the BMAT, and other admissions tests information including GAMSAT and MSAT tests. Make sure you know which tests you need to take for your particular university applications.